What have you done to your Miata today?

[WillD]

Yeah I'm with you on that one. I'd never consider putting a turbo on my N/A Miata.

I drove my brother-in-law's BRZ a month or so ago and loved it. I would purchase one of those over the STi if I had to go back and do that purchase over again.

That said, my Miata doesn't stand a chance at any road course against your or Pablo's turbo'd cars.

 

[JamesCH]

Going from my first Miata (no turbo) to my turbo car, but with the same wheels/tires I gained around 1-2s on the cars just above my level. Of course other things changed, my skill level, conditions, their skill level/setup. I always wondered what real difference a turbo makes given equal drivers and tires. It's so hard to make a good comparison there. I was 2-4s back from the fastest Miatae (two NB Miatas, largely stock) but they had much better rubber, Dunlop ZIIs and BFG Rivals IIRC, with better, more experienced, drivers. Made me wonder what I could pull with good 225 tires on 15x9 wheels...

Speaking 15x9s, I see 6UL 15x9, $189, 13.6lbs... and TRM 15x9s, $104, 15.xlbs. Aside from custom wheels, are there any other decent/proven options? Or are custom wheels cost-effective? I'm considering options to get hooked on the purple crack.

 

[WillD]

I don't know of any other 15x9 options. Those are the most common.

Honestly, there aren't any good street tires that I know of that come in a size that would need/benefit from a 15x9 anyways. 225 rivals is as wide as it gets and they would be happy on a 15x8.

 

[JamesCH]

I don't know of any other 15x9 options. Those are the most common.

Honestly, there aren't any good street tires that I know of that come in a size that would need/benefit from a 15x9 anyways. 225 rivals is as wide as it gets and they would be happy on a 15x8.

I'm not worried about street tire setups for this decision. I have S.Drives on 15x7s and RS3s on 15x7.5s for street use. I am thinking strictly in terms of race/autox performance.

I picked up a number of one-race-used 225/45-15 Hoosiers for really cheap from a spec Miata racer who was selling off everything. I hear 15x9s are the best, and the fastest miatae at my autox were all on 15x9s, so I figured I'd look for some 15x9s. Though it does indeed appear that those are the only two options. FWIW the 15x8 and 15x9 TRM wheels are the exact same price... which is weird.

 

[aMaff]

Here's some epic fail at Nationals. On my final run, I ran into an... issue. Listen to the engine no

I hear 15x9s are the best

That depends HEAVILY on what your specific application is. 15x8 or 15x9 will be fine for 225 R6/SM6s. Start running real tires and you'll want to be on 10s or bigger. You're SSM right? So 275/35/15s or 275/45/16 or 275/35/17s will be the hot tickets. Once you get into making odd wide/tall tires onto a miata, you're going to be getting into custom wheel territory more than likely.

 

[JamesCH]

That depends HEAVILY on what your specific application is. 15x8 or 15x9 will be fine for 225 R6/SM6s. Start running real tires and you'll want to be on 10s or bigger. You're SSM right? So 275/35/15s or 275/45/16 or 275/35/17s will be the hot tickets. Once you get into making odd wide/tall tires onto a miata, you're going to be getting into custom wheel territory more than likely.

Hrm... I am in SSM. I hear you that they'd be the fastest setup I could get, but I don't think I'd be up for the extra expense associated with them. I picked up ten 225/45-50 hoosiers that I want to burn up first. My fiance is also bugging me to get better tires for her MR2 now that I got her hooked on autox... that's what I get

 

[WillD]

Ha, that's not a bad problem. I've been trying to get my wife to co-drive for years.

 

[princess peach]

Ha, that's not a bad problem. I've been trying to get my wife to co-drive for years.

It could be when she wants her own car, wheels, tires, etc.. then again, you don't have to worry about money

 

[WillD]

Nah, she just doesn't have any desire to do it.

SSM has some serious machinery though. If you're just doing it occasionally for fun you might as well run the most cost effect/fun wheel/tire combo you can find. aMaff is on the money about what you'd need to run to be "competitive".

 

[chiefmg]

Still having some problems with the clutch. Spoke to a tech at FM yesterday and he gave me one other thing to try. If that doesn't do it then I'll have to get another clutch. Phen, I didn't read of any problems like this when I was researching getting mine and like you say now I have seen several instances of problems. Don't know if this is something that people are just getting more vocal about, or maybe a QA issue with their suppliers.

Got a fresh alignment this morning. Last time I used the FM specs, this time I went with 949's Dual Duty specs. Main difference between the two is more front camber. In just the short drive home I noticed quicker turn-in with lighter feeling steering. Not sure if my power-on oversteer has been affected much or not, that will be checked on my next drive.

I'm in SSM as well due to the supercharger. I just have fun with it, I've read about some of the cars built to the specs and they are hard-core.

 

[aMaff]

Not sure if my power-on oversteer has been affected much or not, that will be checked on my next drive.

Let me guess: you've still got a rear sway bar?


Though, if we're honest, this is what competitive in SSM actually looks like:

 

[chiefmg]

It's there, but been disconnected for a year or so.

As it stands right now I have competition on Sunday. A '90 Miata, if it's the one I remember from last year it is turbo'd and has some sticky tires, among other mods.

 

[JamesCH]

I need to disconnect my RSB... the clutch-pack LSD isn't doing me any favors.

 

[princess peach]

I guess I should post this here as well: I have the tonneau, wind blocker and spare tire (with jack and wrench) from my MSM. If any body wants it, make me a reasonable offer.

 

[JamesCH]

Let me guess: you've still got a rear sway bar?


Though, if we're honest, this is what competitive in SSM actually looks like:
http://www.gotcone.com/photos/plog-content/images/2013-scca-tirerack-solo-national-championships/ssm/img_3414.jpg

[IMG]http://www.gotcone.com/photos/plog-content/images/2013-scca-tirerack-solo-national-championships/ssm/img_3435.jpg

[IMG]http://www.gotcone.com/photos/plog-content/images/2013-scca-tirerack-solo-national-championships/ssm/img_3441.jpg

[IMG]http://www.gotcone.com/photos/plog-content/images/2013-scca-tirerack-solo-national-championships/ssm/img_3455.jpg[/QUOTE]

I am not nearly rich enough for that level of shenanigans! As much as I would like to be...

 

[WillD]

Yeah SSM has some serious, and some of the coolest, machinery. The national champion this year was a pink RX-7.

 

[chiefmg]

Spent about three hours quality time with the Miata this morning. Pulled the 'charger so I could access the O2 sensor plug (I have now moved that so it is accessible at all times), removed the O2 sensor for the wideband and calibrated same. Shimmed the 'charger nose out with an additional two washers to see if that will finally let the belt track straight. Finally, identified my slight coolant leak as coming from the thermostat cover on the reroute spacer, so pulled that off, cleaned it up, made a new gasket and used some silicone on both sides this time. Going to let that dry overnight before refilling the system. Everything else is buttoned back up and ready to go. It's muggy here today so I'll be looking at the clutch later today.

Oh, and while the new alignment is ace, it doesn't stop power-on oversteer. Things are pretty controllable however.

 

[JamesCH]

You might try adding a little toe in to the rear if oversteer is still hurting you.

I have an alignment very similar to 949's, except that I run a bit less negative camber. Around -1.5deg. I really like it so far. Less negative camber biases the rear grip to longitudinal rather than lateral, which I think helps in higher powered cars like ours. It will probably result in a little bit less steady-state lateral grip, but will help keep power connected to the road when you're exiting.

 

[chiefmg]

I wouldn't say it's hurting me, exactly. From an autocross standpoint, maybe (I'll find out on Sunday) but it's kind of fun otherwise.

Measured travel at the clutch slave cylinder, it's 16mm which matched what FM measured on one of theirs. Also checked that I could push the slave pushrod back into the cylinder (this is necessary to ensure you don't have the pedal pushrod too tight), I could. So it's looking like I'll be getting another clutch.

 

[aMaff]

it's looking like I'll be getting another clutch.

On your dime, or theirs?