It's been a while since posting an update on the Time Attack Miata Project, simply because there's been nothing to report.
Several weeks ago the head was removed and shipped down to Delta Cam for some cleaning and spiffing.
Halfway into the job we stopped by to get some details about the process of cleaning up a Miata head. Click the jump to see Rob working his magic in a short video -- you might just learn something.
What you're looking at here is the harbinger of of Travis' doom. Yes, the Bell Engineering BEGi-S kit for the Driving Sports/Forever MX-5 Magazine Time Attack project car. And that's not some ordinary turbo. Nay! It's the Garrett GT2860 -- aka the "Disco Potato" -- good for enough horsepower to cause some serious scoot in our little 2200-lbs jalopy. Click the jump to see the turbo up close. Best thing about this setup? Even with the totally awesome turbo, you're still looking at just under $2-Grand.
Of course, I have to get the motor re-assembled, first. We'll see if I can do this myself, or if I'll need to bring in some expert assistance.
The best way to increase grip, is to increase the amount of rubber between the chassis and the ground. Said another way: bigger tires. Currently, the wagon is sitting on 225/45/17 tires. This isn't bad, but to really have any amount of decent grip, we need to go bigger. Much bigger. However, the stock, slab-sided body means one can only add so much rubber.
Finally started the teardown on the Miata Time Attack project car. As our initial diagnosis showed, it was, indeed, a funked exhaust valve causing the low compression on cylinder number 4 (circled with orange, for your viewing pleasure).
Later this week the head will be shipped down to Delta Cam in Tacoma, where they'll replace the valves and generally add some hotness to the topside of our little 1.6 motor. In the meanwhile, I have to decide if I'm just going to leave the bottom end alone, or pull it out and give it a once-over, too. Hrm. Decisions, decisions.
Click the jump to see the complete head (lobbed off with the stock intake manifold still attached), in all of its diminutive glory.
Look what just showed up in the mail today for our Time Attack Miata project: A pile of goodies from AEM! Lessee, we have an AEM Plug-n-Play stand-alone programmable engine management system (EMS). There's also a pair of gauges: the UEGO gauge/controller that taps to the wideband for real-time tuning results (AFR/Lambda-switchable), and AEM's Serial gauge, which monitors 19-data channels from the EMS. These will go on just after we get the Bell Engineering turbo kit installed. It's looking up to be a fun month of March in tuning-ville.
I for one have never been much for big power. Sure, lots of grunt is good and fun, but does it make your car better? For most of us interested in some form of amateur motorsport, the answer is no.
While this idea of less power is better might be blasphemous to some, Subiesport Technical Editor, Tim Bailey is one of these, I find that having balance, predictability and just a little bit less power than you have talent is a good way to find lower lap times.
But before I get into my most current round of chassis R&D, I have to set the record straight. In a previous article my colleague, employer and rival, Ryan Douthit stated, “Who's car has yet to put down a hot lap at our testing airfield? Oh right, that would be Travis' beloved Dreadnought Impreza. Excuses have ranged from 'the clutch is going' to 'the engine can't take any more,' yes, I've heard it all. Fact is, the car simply hasn't been able to withstand an entire lap, let alone run a complete race.”
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Only a week has gone by and already we have an update on the Miata Time Attack project car.
A few days ago I took the car down to the local boys at F.A.M.E. Automotive (I believe they're huge Irene Cara fans) where we did a compression test to check the health of the motor. Unfortunately, cylinder #4 was well outside the normal variation for compression (100psi, versus 180psi in cylinders 1-2-3.) That meant more drastic diagnostics were required: a leakdown test
Though Travis contends my project won't have much of a weight advantage, his logic is about as shaky as the underpinnings of his busted old 1993 Impreza. According to MSN Autos, a 1993 Impreza weighs 2,635 lbs, versus my featherweight contender, a 1990 Miata, which tips the scales at a mere 2,182 lbs. A difference of almost 500 lbs. Last I checked, a quarter of a ton was still considered a good amount of weight. He'll have to work a lot of magic to pull of a win in this project car battle.
Even with the Miata's diminutive dimensions, it manages to have a track only one inch slighter than the Impreza's and is on the books with a height a full seven inches shorter -- and that's with the fabric top up. Travis can spin delusions of "lower center of gravity" and "the beauty of all-wheel drive" but the facts just don't back all his babbling. He's going to lose. That is, assuming his car is in any condition to start the race in the first place. Who's car has yet to put down a hot lap at our testing airfield? Oh right, that would be Travis' beloved Dreadnought Impreza. Excuses have ranged from "the clutch is going" to "the engine can't take any more," yes, I've heard it all. Fact is, the car simply hasn't been able to withstand an entire lap, let alone run a complete race.
Some of us like to fancy ourselves race car drivers. What is worse, some of us fancy that not only are we racers, but that we also have the ability to build race cars. This is a dangerous combination as you have someone who thinks they know more than the mechanics and engineers, and then that same person thinks they can drive faster than everyone else. It's like outrunning your gaurdian angel, only this time it's your mechanic.
Ryan Douthit is one of those guys. If ever there was a guy that was all thumbs with a wrench, it's THAT guy. Also, I have seen him drive. But I won't get into that.
Why all the smack talk? Ryan has it in his head that he can take on my Turbo Impreza Wagon, the Subiesport Magazine Project Dreadnaught, this season in a Time Attack slug-fest. And he wants to do it in a Miata.
I’ve come to a decision in my life. I want to go racing. Though, like many others, I don’t have the wherewithal to run the Speed Challenge series. I can’t even afford to run a privateer rally car, for that matter. I’ve recently found one form of racing that not only can I afford, but I also really enjoy: Time Attack.
What other motor sport allows you to show up and compete -- not at the local WalMart parking lot, mind you, but at real race courses. Legendary tracks like Laguna Seca and Virginia International Raceway. No race car? No problem, If you drive a Yugo and can pass tech, you can race. Motor swaps, aftermarket turbos and lots of bizarre configurations are allowed, giving those that are really into the sport lots of room for creative solutions to the never-ending quest for power. That’s one thing that frustrates me about many other forms of amateur racing: no creativity in the cars.
Even if you don’t win, in Time Attack you may still come away with stories worth telling. Such as, how you almost lost it on the infamous corkscrew, or your brakes wore out with four more laps to go. Apologies to all the autocrossers out there, but three hours of waiting for 2 minute sprints around a bunch of cones on a level parking lot doesn’t provide enough for me to chew on. Give me drop-offs, banked turns and open passing and I’ll be grinning for weeks.
Continue reading "Let the Battle Begin: Miata vs. Impreza Rumble!" »
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