Hey all, over Easter weekend I decided to go to the track (and beat on my Mazda 2 a bit). The club hosting the HPDE was Tarheel Sports Car Club based out of NC, and the track in question was VIRginia International Raceway's North Course. VIR-N is a brilliant little track and I've always had fun running it.
Phat modz:
15x6 et45 BBS wheels off of a 1995 Mazda Miata M-Edition
195/50R15 Dunlop Z1 Direzza Star Spec rim protectors
Hawk DTC60 stoppy bits
Racing Beat rear sway bar
Spare tire removal
A splash of ATE 200 when the brake sensor was flashing at me mid-corner
Interesting cars in my run group:
200x Panoz GT2 car
2001 VW Beetle Turbo S
2008 Nissan Versa 5-door
2003 Ford Mustang Cobra making 560whp
The Mazda 2 is super inappropriate for track, and that's a good reason why it was so much fun. It really is dog slow and painful at times (could only brush up against 100mph indicated on the 3/4 mile front straight), but it was super fun to catch people in the corners. The car handles well for what it is, but it has some serious limitations stock: no camber & lifting the inside tire. I have no desire to change out the suspension because this is a daily driver, but things got a bit sketchy with the super torquey DTC-60s when trying to compress the braking zone for T1. The track being off-camber amplified the car drifting towards the center of the track under braking because there is almost no weight in the rear; even when steering to the left under braking did the car move towards the center of the track.
The DTC-60s are impressive pads and the Star Specs only helped them. Since the car is so underpowered, I think that running a narrower tire is definitely the way to go because it will still stick to the track, but it won't have an unsprung weight or increased rolling resistance penalty.
If you're going to track your 2, be ready to point people by; however, please try to have fun with it.
Phat modz:
15x6 et45 BBS wheels off of a 1995 Mazda Miata M-Edition
195/50R15 Dunlop Z1 Direzza Star Spec rim protectors
Hawk DTC60 stoppy bits
Racing Beat rear sway bar
Spare tire removal
A splash of ATE 200 when the brake sensor was flashing at me mid-corner
Interesting cars in my run group:
200x Panoz GT2 car
2001 VW Beetle Turbo S
2008 Nissan Versa 5-door
2003 Ford Mustang Cobra making 560whp
The Mazda 2 is super inappropriate for track, and that's a good reason why it was so much fun. It really is dog slow and painful at times (could only brush up against 100mph indicated on the 3/4 mile front straight), but it was super fun to catch people in the corners. The car handles well for what it is, but it has some serious limitations stock: no camber & lifting the inside tire. I have no desire to change out the suspension because this is a daily driver, but things got a bit sketchy with the super torquey DTC-60s when trying to compress the braking zone for T1. The track being off-camber amplified the car drifting towards the center of the track under braking because there is almost no weight in the rear; even when steering to the left under braking did the car move towards the center of the track.
The DTC-60s are impressive pads and the Star Specs only helped them. Since the car is so underpowered, I think that running a narrower tire is definitely the way to go because it will still stick to the track, but it won't have an unsprung weight or increased rolling resistance penalty.
If you're going to track your 2, be ready to point people by; however, please try to have fun with it.
