Miata nerds - need some help

[turbogrill]

Would this car with a stock engine make  good chumpcar/wrl?

 

https://www.trackjunkies.org/topic/6246-1994-spec-miata-18/#entry112615

 

Or is there any reasons another miata would be better?

 

A buddy wants to start racing, I told him miata

[LuckyKid]

If I'd to do it over right now, I'd build a 1997 motor for an NA/NA8.  Also considering an NC, but the costs on that are higher.

 

1990 at 116hp = 250pts

1997 at 133hp = 300pts 

1999 at 140hp = 350pts

2006 at 167hp = 400pts

 

That said, we have a non-optimal car/engine combo and are still competitive.

 

For mods you'll want a wing, splitter and airdam.  I would also skip the full top, and build a fastback with a half top.

 

With the extra 50pts, I'd build more aero, flat bottom, side skirts and clean up the rear.  

 

Edited February 22, 2019 by LuckyKid

[turbogrill]

2 hours ago, LuckyKid said:

If I'd to do it over right now, I'd build a 1997 motor for an NA/NA8.  Also considering an NC, but the costs on that are higher.

 

1990 at 116hp = 250pts

1997 at 133hp = 300pts 

1999 at 140hp = 350pts

2006 at 167hp = 400pts

 

That said, we have a non-optimal car/engine combo and are still competitive.

 

For mods you'll want a wing, splitter and airdam.  I would also skip the full top, and build a fastback with a half top.

 

With the extra 50pts, I'd build more aero, flat bottom, side skirts and clean up the rear.  

 

 

Thanks!

 

So aero is a big thing it seems like! What about suspension? sways and stuff?

[LuckyKid]

6 hours ago, turbogrill said:

 

Thanks!

 

So aero is a big thing it seems like! What about suspension? sways and stuff?

 

Springs - 850/450 2.5" I think 6" front and 7 rear, but we are moving to 6" rear.

Shocks - Bilsteins

Perches - Ground Control

Front Sway - RacingBeat Hollow Front Sway, get it with the reinforcement bracket.

Rear Sway - Stock

 

We also have a few other bars, SM and Flying Miata.  The RB hollow is 5lbs lighter and 30% stiffer.  Stiffer isn't always better, fyi.

 

Tires: 245/40-15 RS4 (Hankook)

Wheel Bearings: Repack with Neolube

Wheel Studs: ARP

Hubs: Do not get Centric economy hubs or Timken.  Centric has a part number for good hubs, the economy one ends in E. Or go OEM.

 

Once we welded a few spots on the cage to the chassis and with the new sway we are under 2 degrees of camber. we are still testing but it could even land closer to 1 degree, max caster.  Toe depends on the track, but if you want safe and consistent do 3/32nds toe in in the rear.  You want toe out in the front, I've seen as little as 0 and as much as 1/4" .  I think we are around 1/16" to 3/16" toe out in the front.  We have 0.5" of rake I think with 4.375" front and 4.875" rear ride height.

 

Megasquirt is the besy bang for the buck, but you need Dyno time, which is expensive.  Then the RB 4-1 header dynos the best out of all on the market.  There is some weird vortex cone one which I haven't seen independent numbers on and it's too expensive for me to test.

 

DIY coolant reroute is free if it's DIY.

 

Treasure Coast top is light AF. But I wish I bought the half top and built a wood fastback.

 

Also reflow your injectors.  From the motor some were barely working, after 3 races two were down to 65%.  Crazy.

Edited February 22, 2019 by LuckyKid

[atxe30]

12 hours ago, turbogrill said:

Would this car with a stock engine make  good chumpcar/wrl?

 

https://www.trackjunkies.org/topic/6246-1994-spec-miata-18/#entry112615

 

Or is there any reasons another miata would be better?

 

A buddy wants to start racing, I told him miata

 

@turbogrill hey dude, swing by the house. there are local hard core miata folks i can plug him into.

[turbogrill]

1 hour ago, atxe30 said:

 

@turbogrill hey dude, swing by the house. there are local hard core miata folks i can plug him into.

 

Will do! I could probably drive to harris hill and hold a sign "need miata help". Would have hordes of miata people around me telling me what to do

4 hours ago, LuckyKid said:

 

Springs - 850/450 2.5" I think 6" front and 7 rear, but we are moving to 6" rear.

Shocks - Bilsteins

Perches - Ground Control

Front Sway - RacingBeat Hollow Front Sway, get it with the reinforcement bracket.

Rear Sway - Stock

 

We also have a few other bars, SM and Flying Miata.  The RB hollow is 5lbs lighter and 30% stiffer.  Stiffer isn't always better, fyi.

 

Tires: 245/40-15 RS4 (Hankook)

Wheel Bearings: Repack with Neolube

Wheel Studs: ARP

Hubs: Do not get Centric economy hubs or Timken.  Centric has a part number for good hubs, the economy one ends in E. Or go OEM.

 

Once we welded a few spots on the cage to the chassis and with the new sway we are under 2 degrees of camber. we are still testing but it could even land closer to 1 degree, max caster.  Toe depends on the track, but if you want safe and consistent do 3/32nds toe in in the rear.  You want toe out in the front, I've seen as little as 0 and as much as 1/4" .  I think we are around 1/16" to 3/16" toe out in the front.  We have 0.5" of rake I think with 4.375" front and 4.875" rear ride height.

 

Megasquirt is the besy bang for the buck, but you need Dyno time, which is expensive.  Then the RB 4-1 header dynos the best out of all on the market.  There is some weird vortex cone one which I haven't seen independent numbers on and it's too expensive for me to test.

 

DIY coolant reroute is free if it's DIY.

 

Treasure Coast top is light AF. But I wish I bought the half top and built a wood fastback.

 

Also reflow your injectors.  From the motor some were barely working, after 3 races two were down to 65%.  Crazy.

 

How much do you gain with MS and why?

Edited February 22, 2019 by turbogrill

[LuckyKid]

14 minutes ago, turbogrill said:

 

Will do! I could probably drive to harris hill and hold a sign "need miata help". Would have hordes of miata people around me telling me what to do

 

How much do you gain with MS and why?

Minimum 10hp, you could see 20+.   The single biggest thing is removal of the MAF and putting the intake on the PAX side.  This is worth the first 8-10hp.  Miatas run rich, which is why there are so many spec miata tricks for fuel, so that is worth a handful of horse powers, then another couple for timing.   There are also other tricks for fuel conservation and the like.

[turbogrill]

3 hours ago, LuckyKid said:

Minimum 10hp, you could see 20+.   The single biggest thing is removal of the MAF and putting the intake on the PAX side.  This is worth the first 8-10hp.  Miatas run rich, which is why there are so many spec miata tricks for fuel, so that is worth a handful of horse powers, then another couple for timing.   There are also other tricks for fuel conservation and the like.

 

Interesting! Feels like I am saving 30+ hours of googling with this conversation. Very much appreciated.

 

So moving the intake is to reduce IAT? Or does the MAF restrict flow in some strange way.

[cowboys647]

Maf on the Miatas is a pretty huge restriction and is worth ~4-5 hp with tuning. The cooler iats also help make power too. You also want your intake to be a certain length to get a resonant wave effect at higher RPM. I believe Emilio on MiataTurbo.net had a pretty good write up somewhere if you don’t have access to dyno time playing with intake lengths. 

[LuckyKid]

3 hours ago, turbogrill said:

 

Interesting! Feels like I am saving 30+ hours of googling with this conversation. Very much appreciated.

 

So moving the intake is to reduce IAT? Or does the MAF restrict flow in some strange way.

Lol, you aren't going to find all that info on Google, some but not all.  Its 17 years of racing Miata's and tips from top teams in the series.  The setup listed produced some of the top times for a Champcar Miata, as far as I know, but we still have ALOT of development to go. 

 

I'm always happy to share.   We will be providing splitter and airdam templates to our Miata brethren, FYI.    We are also working on a Lexan windshield and we will provide templates for that too, free of charge.

 

Miata is always the answer!