Blueiii - the search, the build. . . the miata journal

[Blueiii]

7/09/2012

Driving Impressions, First Day
I made a fatal error on Saturday, procrastinating a bit on the papers that I needed to grade. This cut down on the "Miata time" on the first day. I did some of the typical "I just bought a new-to-me car" stuff, though. Washed it quickly at a spray 'n wash, started cleaning the engine bay (lightly) and hit the hood with clay bar / rubbing compound / sealer wax to see how well the paint will come back. (SHINY!)

Around 9:30 I finally had some time, and took an hour or so long drive around town. With an autoX in less than a week, I need to relearn how to drive a stick and get to know how "Camber" is going to behave.

First thought: My automatic 87 Fiero GT is also classed for autoX as "E Stock," the same as the miata. I had always figured they must be somewhat close in terms of performance if they are classed the same. Was I ever wrong in that assumption! The fiero always felt "sloppy" in turns, while the miata feels extremely precise and controlled. Turning is sharp and very responsive. Despite trying to push it (in safe-ish environments where there was no one around) I haven't really found the edge.

My BMW never felt sloppy, but I don't remember it feeling this tight, either. I'll be curious to see how it feels at the airport (SCCA race) next week, since the miata came with the same tires as I had on the Ti. On the Ti they always felt spongy.

Brakes: I think the slide bin might be binding a bit. The brakes have a bit of a squeek squeek squeek (might be a bearing?) but, since I'm replacing the pads and rotors, I'll be greasing the slide pins when I do them.

Lights: They're on, but I can barely tell! Time for e-codes.

Radio: The least of my concerns, although I do like my music / news from time to time. The factory cassette player isn't going to cut it.

[Blueiii]

7/12/2012

I thought I should outline my plans for the rest of the season, in part so that members can keep me honest!

In my SCCA region, we've never had the supplemental "road tire" class until this season. Its also been probably 3 years since I've autocrossed, and back then it was an occaisional "fun" weekend, but not much else.

Rather than trying to build the car right out of the gate, my main goal right now is all the little maintenance and to focus on the most important mod of all - driver mod. Tomorrow I'm going through the brakes and doing everything but the stainless brake lines. (Truly maintenance, since they are squeeking and the pads are shot.)

My plan and logic for the rest of the season is this:

LEARN TO DRIVE THE CAR.

I'll be running illegally on 195/50/R15 Kumho's, however they are the cheap ones, so I'm hoping no one protests. (There shouldn't be much reason to, since these aren't the "good" Ecstas.) I have a set of stock wheels, but unless I find a killer deal on a set of 185/60R14 Star Specs or Azenis 615s, I won't be changing the tires this season. (If I decide to run STS, its pointless to buy tires when I'll want pixie dust R15 Star Specs.)

I got underneath and looked at the shocks last night. They are black, and I could see "NA-01" written on them. A quick search online showed these to be OEM (replacements.) They don't [i]feel[/] sloppy, but I've been driving an Explorer on 150k shocks, so I'm probably comparing from a biased perspective (mush to even worse mush.)

In either RTR or STS, I'm eventually going to want Koni's and a new front bar. These might be winter plans, as well as refurbing the existing suspension. (I wish I had a bigger working space than the shed for the lawn mower... thank goodness miatas are small!)

I'm hoping to get Camber cleaned up tomorrow for a few pics (stationary and rolling shots from Sunday's race.)

[Blueiii]

7/14/2012 (104,000 miles)

Well, I took Friday off and now have accomplished a few things. The front brakes are now done, however I didn't have time yesterday to get the rears. Despite being semi-clear in the reservoir was pitch black in the lines. We pumped it out and kept topping it off with clean, clear fluid. I'll probably do the same thing when I switch over to the stainless lines. I still have to do the rear brakes. There was literally 1 mm of padding material left on the fronts, which have now been replaced with semi metallic pads and new rotors. Stomped them yesterday and was quit happy to find I can lock the wheels up with these el-cheapo' Rock Auto pads.

I also managed to spill oil all over the place today. Whoops, I meant change the oil. The PO had said it was due, but sheesh was it due!!! It was BLACK black. Its now all nice and royal purple.

I also managed to turn around and sell my third car. I sold it cheap, but it will help pay for the miata. (I took a six month loan out of my 401k to cover what I didn't have in cash.) Although it seemed cool when I bought it and started it, I'm happy to see it go. I also have some fairly hard to find parts that I'm now trying to sell off.

Goodbye car number 19. RIP "Grrrr"



I also learned a VERY good lesson. . . NEVER trust that your friend tightened down all the lug nuts good enough. I was out on a date and ended up stranded, since the 21 mm thin walled socket was sitting on my table (rushed to go pick her up.) MAN was I ever embarrassed! Mid-Date, we ended up having to take a cab from the restaurant, to my house, back to the restaurant. If she sticks around after doing something that stupid, I'm thinking she's a keeper.

[Blueiii]

7/15/2012

Until today, the last time I had autocrossed was 2009, in the Fiero. It was the one and only time in that car, and it was TERRIBLE. It was also the reason I decided I would have a miata.

Fast forward to today. I've officially had the car for 1 week, and today I raced it. Well, if you could call it racing. This was at Toledo Express, which is the host of the national pro solo tour next weekend.

Run 1: Got through the course, felt good about it as a first "slow" run, until I heard my name over the loudspeaker, followed by "DNF." I was rather perplexed and, for the life of me, couldn't figure out what I had missed!
Run 2: This time, I knew I DNF'd. I realized I had been going around a gate!
Run 3: Finally hit my gate, effectively wasting the first two chances to learn the car. My time? Not so hot, at least in my opinion. I had planned on not pushing the car until I knew the course, and then incrementally trying to pick up speed. I guess I was a little rustier than I thought!
Run 4: The last run, I finished with no cones or missed gates, and managed to shave 3 seconds off my time. I never got really loose, although the tires felt a little like I was driving on sand a few times. I know that I left a lot of time on the tarmac. Without know what the limit of the car is, I wanted to baby it getting to it (rather than hitting a turn at 75 mph that I should have slowed down for!)

I met a guy who is going to bring me a loaner set of RPF1s and Star Specs for the next event to see how I like them. They're not for sale, but at least for this season its about learning the car. I'm pretty well sold on the fact that I'm going to build it for regional RTR competition, since its a indexed class.

Breakfast...



In the paddock

[Blueiii]

7/17/2012

I had noticed that, after the oil change, Camber was running a little rough. I was rather concerned at first after a horror story from my brother who, years ago, had purchased a Daewoo Laganza. Open changing the spark plugs, he found that one of them was absolutely covered in oil, and when he drained the oil it was at minimum 50 weight. Essentially he had fallen for the "put the banana in the model T differential" trick.

The running like garbage has been getting increasingly worse. Thankfully we have HUGE communities of people with 20 years of experience with these cars! It appears it will be an easy fix - plugs and wires. I'll know for sure tonight, when I have a chance to get in there.

In my past, younger days, I might have sprung for the "super platinum titanium extra hot melt your face off" plugs for an extra $8 each, along with the "200mm wires that deliver enough power you'll feel like your car has a turbo." In terms of bang for my buck, though, I opted to go with OEM plugs and the Autozone "special" wires. I see these as more of a wear item than a chance for any improved performance, and the extra $50 for "racing plugs" and "racing wires" is far better suited for other things...

Specifically. . . one of the autocross had offered to let me try out his star specs on RPF-1s for the next race, but then yesterday offered to sell me them... for $50! I love a community that helps out the newbies!!

[—tsingson—]

Everything looks good so far. What wheels are those? Are they as heavy as they look?

[Blueiii]

I'm guessing the short answer is that the wheels are even heavier than they look. I haven't weighed them yet, however they are made by "Sport Edition." I checked the current line up, and in a 15" wheel, the weights range from 15.2 lbs. on the "light" end all the way up to around 20 lbs.

Over the years I've learned to build a car with a specific goal in mind, and to (attempt to) not deviate from that goal. To that end, this is going to be a summer DD/Weekend Warrior (AutoX) car. The RTR class seems like where I want to be, however it means that I should be running 14s, which severely limits my wheel options. The PO DID, however, include the daisies. . . So I'll probably have to make a decision in the future.

1.) Race rubber on the daisies, but what I want (15s) for "daily driving."
2.) Buy a set of lightweight 14s (RPF-1s or Kosei K1s) and roll those all the time
3.) Buy two sets of wheels - the second set being a lightweight 15x7 (6 UL?) in the event I switch to STS

etc, etc, etc....

I'm going to be keeping my eyes out for a used set of the old style Kosei K1s in a 14 inch wheel over the winter. They weigh about a pound more than the RPF-1s, but used they should be a LOT cheaper. (They were around 6UL prices new, vs. $200 / wheel for the Enkeis.)

[I<3flippyheadlights]

First off, it its plugs/wires go with simple NGK blues and cheap NGK spark plugs. Miatas seem to really like those while responding terribly to the more expensive stuff. Now for your wheels. If you want to go cheap and it stay a "weekend" car. Put race rubber on the daisys and keep the 15's you have for cruising around. If you want a lighter wheel then the daisy, look into other stock wheels from the Miata. The BBS 14 inch off the LE are the lightest by far, around 8 pounds I believe. There is also a line of hollow spoke wheels made for the miata that you can look into. Its a cheap alternative to buying brand new wheels that cost from 500-1000 bucks.

[Blueiii]

7/17/2012

I picked up the Duralast "stock" replacement wires and NGK copper (oem) plugs and installed them. The massive sputtering that has been developing appears to have gone away, although I'm a little annoyed by how long these wires are. On the plus side, they have a lifetime warranty. For autocross, I don't need "better," since it won't do all that much for times.

However, I DO like lifetime warranties on a day like today. I was informed that my position has been eliminated, so miata modifications will perhaps be a bit slower for a while.

[Blueiii]

7/19/2012

EDIT: I was going to post all the pictures that our professional shot at the autocross, however he copyrighted them all. And people say miatas are gay?

Instead.... As I mentioned, I got laid off from work Tuesday. There won't be much happening with the Miata for a bit (until I get back to having a regular income). However, I did have a few things I had already paid for! So those obviously don't count as part of my "budget crunch!" (And they were purchased using funds from a Fiero part I sold that was sitting in my Paypal account, so its just parts swapping from something useless to something useful!)



7/15/2012 - Garage Star Stainless shift knob: $50
7/17/2012 - Duralast Wires (lifetime warranty from AutoZone and NGK plus - $43.00)

Total Spent: $2,616.00

[—tsingson—]

Sorry to hear about the job. It's tough out there. Good luck with everything though and keep your head up!

[Blueiii]

Thanks. I had only been with my previous employer for a year, and wasn't making use of my master's degree (Graduated with a MA in Economics December, 2010.) Hopefully this just means I'll find something in my field and could end up being a good thing, since my field typically pays a LOT more than what I was making. My former employer is paying for job placement services with a consultant who has already been in contact twice and has proven somewhat helpful. (I only say somewhat because I need to land the "dream job" before I can say "Very helpful!")

[—tsingson—]

I understand. Myself, I am trying to get back into Pharmacy Implementation again but it's hard to get in. I've only been able to get near as a Contractor/Consultant.

[njtrippe]

7/19/2012

EDIT: I was going to post all the pictures that our professional shot at the autocross, however he copyrighted them all. And people say miatas are gay?

I copyright all my pictures, but you are fine to use them as long as they link back to my Flickr page or they note that they were taken by me (Nick Trippe).


DSC_0786 by njtrippe, on Flickr


DSC_0765 by njtrippe, on Flickr


DSC_0662 by njtrippe, on Flickr

Here's the full set as well: http://www.flickr.com/photos/njtrippe/sets/72157630625507976

[Blueiii]

Awesome - thanks!

Rolling shots of my terrible driving! Woohoo! Now to work on that "driver modification."