210k mile Miata to the track. What to check?
 

Hi, I am going through this forum section to get some tips on a future track day with my high-mileage stock Miata. I've read the First Track day stick thread (https://www.miataturbo.net/race-prep...ay-read-53649/) already and I have a list of upgrades already in the pipeline:

• Coilovers
• Rollbar
• Track pads and brake fluid, new fluids in general
• Frame rails + strut brace
• Cat-back (because racecar)
• Wheel/Tires/alignment
• Sway bars?!?

Now I'm wondering, what else should I check engine-wise before trying to rev past 4k without being afraid of blowing up the engine? (I will have few months to set everything up, anyway). :rolleyes:

Dont need most of that list

You need a

helmet

tires with good tread (not extreme performance summers beacuse you need to learn car control and dynamics in a lower grip setting first)

and the rollbar.

Literally everything else (other than solid maintenance items) is a waste of money.

^This.

Safety and maintenance is what you want for a first track day (is this your first track day -- or first track day with this car?). Event organizers should have a tech inspection checklist. That's a great guide.

With a car this age . . . when's the last time the TB/WP were replaced? What's the condition of your radiator? If you spill coolant, everyone will hate you, so . . . .

It's my first time with this car. I've been to a couple of track days already, with my other car. I'm just worried about this one being old. I think TB/WP weren't done too long ago, if I remember correctly based on the receipts from the previous owner, but should I consider doing them just in case?

Look at the receipts and check to see if they were actually done. Look over hoses etc to see if anything is in danger of cracking or just go ahead and replace everything with the hoses.

• Brakes,
• cooling system,
• suspension function (NOT to be confused with “performance” —just basic functionality/good working order)
• cooling system
• Oil, fresh and enough of it. Does the car use/leak oil? Track use will accelerate these, don’t run low
• cooling system.

Also so make sure to check the cooling system lol.
but really, it’s gonna be awful if you blow a hose or a radiator tank shatters. Lots of little hoses running to throttle body and IM, especially look at the heater hoses near the exhaust manifold. They like to crack and dry out.

If you don't know the last time the hubs and wheel bearings were replaced, now is a good time to do them. There are threads you can lookup on here with more info on that for track use.

Check over cooling system function and follow the suggestions other people have posted here as well.

Skip the frame rails and strut brace.

Don't forget new rotors when you do pads and fluid. The cheap ones from O'Reilly's work fine for me.

Everything else looks good. Do the alignment last. Follow this guide. Miata Race alignment

Wheel bearings are valid but I thought hubs had pretty much been narrowed down exclusively to cars that had seen not-infrequent track use with nonstock suspension and/or on sticky tires...?

Hub failure can be accelerated by sticky tires, but isn't limited to it. At 210K, I would be concerned with bearing failure.

This isn't first track day stuff, but . . .

On a dedicated HPDE car, I like having frame rails because they act as protective skid plates. However, if you get into TT or racing, they add points and weight for no competitive advantage, so . . . .

Strut brace = bling.

I just did my first HPDE day. I have a '97 with 213k miles. I'm going to re-say much of the above. ALL maintenance should be done and recently. Belts, fluids, hoses (there are 9 coolant hoses that you can get to. Have fun), filters, etc. You will have a blast with a bone stock Miata. Roll bar, helmet, maintenance, good attitude = good to go. I will say that I didn't realize that the top speeds were going to be so high so I replaced all of my brakes ( this: http://949racing.com/Stage-1-Miata-brakes-90-05.aspx, all of my calipers and my master cylinder. The master was leaking in the back where it wasn't visible. What about your tie rods, ball joints, etc. Better check'm. Stuff gets old.

Edited

Thanks everybody. I can confirm that my current goal is to prep the car for both street and HPDE, not a dedicated racing car. In the future, maybe but right now I’m looking into getting some fun at track days.

In the same boat as OP. What's the general concensus on wheel bearing/hub manufacturer?

Edit: nvm.
https://www.miataturbo.net/race-prep...2/

Bearing and hub are one unit in the front. And the rears, if you go through all that trouble to do the bearing but don't do the hub then you're just shooting yourself in the foot anyways. It's like doing the timing belt and skipping the water pump.

Ok so far I got:

• bearing and hubs
• TB + WP
• provabbly have to check/replace all the hoses
• also thinking about upgrading the radiator but no coolant reroute yet

"probably have to check/replace all the hoses" Unless you know for sure that they have been replaced, replace them. You can't tell the condition by looking at them.

Ok so, I got a premium T/B and W/P replacement kit from Treasure Coast, with added thermostat and fuel filter (I figured I'd change everything I could). I did not add an air filter as I changed that myself. Got also a set of competition engine mounts, since I believe those have never been changed either.
Now onto the wheel hubs and hoses. Although I have an idea of where to get different hoses, I am wondering what's the right choice for wheel hub? Timken products?

You need to do a little searching as the info you seek is right here for the taking.

The reason why new hubs were suggested and discussion on which ones are better.
https://www.miataturbo.net/race-prep...el-hubs-90331/

To be honest, I do search but the quantity of information is disarming, thanks for the direct link. I guess I know where to start from now.