Time for a Field Trip!

Yes, we needed a break from all the work on the track Miata and fortunately there are some really interesting places to visit around Raleigh if you like cars.

Today a friend of ours joined us on a ride over to Long Road Racing in Raleigh.  Glenn Long is the owner and was nice enough to give us a tour of the facilities without a formal appointment.

Long Road Racing

Glenn has a long history with motor sports having started in autocrossing and rallies back in the 1970′s.  In the 1980′s he joined the SCCA and raced an FP Sprite at Lime Rock, one of my favorite tracks in the east.

All this led to more SCCA involvement including flagging and communications work at the tracks. 

Its no surprise that his son Tom was influenced by all this motor sports activity and began racing competitively in 1992.  Since then he has become known as a very talented driver.  He is now a professional driving instructor with BMW Performance Driving School, Skip Barber Driving School, and VIR’s Certified ‘House Driving Coach’.

Looking into the shop area

Having grown in its scope since 2001 Long Road Racing can provide you with a Spec Miata completely prepared and supported as well as driver instruction and coaching.  They can also race prep your own car and have a four-wheel dyno to facilitate tuning.

Four-wheel-dyno

One of the neat things they have is a race track computer simulator that consists of three large flat panels and a race seat with steering wheel and pedals.  This allows drivers to not only preview tracks but also use it at the tracks they are running at so they can continue to perfect their driving even when they haven’t got track time.

Track simulator

The 12,500 square foot facility is a busy place with all phases of race car preparation taking place including metal fabrication and welding.

Fabrication area

Long Road Racing specializes in Spec Miata rentals, race car service and preparation of all brands, trackside support, race team management services, and transportation and logistic services. In addition, they also offer maintenance, repair and performance tuning for all sports cars.

Track Car – Progress yes!

Time moves on and so does the project Miata. 

A lot of focus has been on getting the front suspension done.  The right side was torn down and the lower control arm was cleaned and its original bushings were pressed out to make room for the Energy polyurethane bushings.  It also would get a new ball joint bolted in, but first it had to be repainted.

Using a tool to pop out the old ball joint

The upper A-arm was tossed in favor of a lightweight tubular version from the folks a Flyin’ Miata.  The factory upper A-arm needed a new ball joint, but the stock design doesn’t facilitate replacement.  A new arm costs in the neighborhood of $240-$300.  For about $221 I could get the Flyin’ Miata tubular replacement that has a ball joint that can be replaced in the future.  Nice option.

Tired old parts

Flyin’ Miata offers tubular replacements for all the suspension arms, but unfortunately it was outside the scope of my budget.  Maybe later.

Flyin' Miata's A-arm

The new upper arms also come with polyurethane bushings so all I had to do was lubricate the bushings and press in the metal sleeve before bolting them up.

Spindle cleaned and painted

The spindle was wire brushed free of any surface rust and old paint and then it was masked, primed and painted with a satin black.

With the lower arm cleaned and painted I pressed in the new Energy polyurethane bushings and metal sleeves.  Then the new alignment bolts and excentrics were used to bolt it back in place.

Lower control arm bushings

The freshly painted spindle was given a touch of anti-seize in the tapered holes that the ball joints would be inserted into to ensure that things would come apart with very little drama if and when replacement was due.

Since the car was going to have a ride height lower than it came from the factory with I was a bit concerned with bump steer creeping into the picture.  This is when the angle of the tie rods is so severe that as the suspension moves up and down it actually steers the front tires.  To correct things I installed a special Miata tie rod end that was used back in 1993 on its type R Miata.  It will minimise bump steer by correcting the angle of the tie rods.

With the ball joints and tie rod end bolted in place and the castle nuts secured with cotter pins it was time to put on the big brake upgrade.

The splash shields had already been unbolted since the new rotors were too big to be accommodated by them.  New hub and bearing assemblies were bolted in place and the big nut torqued and staked in place. 

There had been a bit of a problem in that the first hub assemblies were incorrect.  They were the correct part numbers but the gear-like ring that ABS uses to sense the rotation of the wheel was mounted too far out for the sensor to pick it up.  I got with my friends at Auto Zone and they helped me acquire the hubs that were compatible with my car.  It took a couple of tries, but they were persistent and made certain I ended up with the correct parts.  I can always count on them.

It was time to mount the new big brakes.   On went the eleven inch diameter two-piece rotor.  It sure looks impressive with the aluminum hat and slots.  It was from the Australian company, DBA.  The calipers were Wilwood four piston jobs. 

The new brackets look and fit beautifully.  The Good Win Racing folks make an excellent product.

A minor hang up

When it came time to fit up the new stainless steel braided flexible brake lines there was a problem.  Things just were not fitting as they should.  A quick email to Brian Goodwin and then a couple of photos sent cleared up the mystery.  Brian said that although the packaging of the lines had the correct label, the contents were incorrect.  He was good enough to ship out the proper parts ASAP that afternoon.  You can have the best product and the best components, but if the customer support isn’t up to par it can be a miserable experience.  Fortunately Good Win Racing is all of the above.  Their customer support is tops.  Thanks Brian!

Almost there

While we wait for the replacements we moved on with the project.

Doug was able to provide some more time this weekend to help with the project.

We knew that we wanted to get the Flyin’ Miata Butterfly Brace installed, but we also knew that we had to get the exhaust system installed first.

Doug also wanted to install all the new coolant lines while the engine compartment was clear enough to get to everything.  So while he concentrated on doing that, I worked on a few small items to get them out of the way.

I went and installed a couple of the exhaust studs back in the head.  They had come out when the nuts holding the original exhaust header were removed.  I cleaned up the threads on those two and the other eight studs with a thread restoring die.   Its better to use a thread restoring die than a regular die that cuts new threads.  The threads on the studs were rolled originally, not cut, giving them more strength.  The restoring die doesn’t cut like a standard die so it preserves the rolled threads and their integrity while still cleaning them up.

Removing the old exhaust header

The two studs that were replaced in the head were coated with red Loctite prior to installation so they would stay in place in the future.  Then the exposed threads that the nuts would go on were all coated with a small amount of anti-seize grease.  This would keep the nuts from rusting in place over time and heat cycles.

Beat Rush header and new O2 sensor

With a new exhaust gasket in place we were ready to install the Beat Rush header that we had gotten from the folks at Go Miata.  This is a beautiful piece of engineering that fit like a glove.  Doug made certain that the torque was to specification on the nuts and we were ready to install the Magnaflo high flow catalytic converter.  Following right behind was the center pipe with resonator, also from Beat Rush and finally the single outlet muffler from Beat Rush.  This exhaust system was part of a power upgrade package from the folks at Go Miata. 

New center pipe and factory bracing in place

With it all in place I could finally re-install the factory bracing that was an upgrade that came with the M-edition Miatas.  It ties in the rear braces to support the pressure from the lower rear A-arms and therefore reduces a lot of chassis flex in that area.

Rear exhaust

You sharp-eyed folks out there can see from the photo that the exhaust system isn’t completely bolted up.  I decided to get some flange bolts and nuts to complete that portion.  So that won’t be completed until a trip to Ace hardware’s metric bolt assortment isle.

It is coming together folks.  The bench has a lot fewer parts waiting to be installed.  We still have the Butter Fly Brace to install as well as Frog Arm bracing that will go under the front fenders.  There is the engine work of timing belt and waterpump replacement, too.

Stay tuned.

VW – the Bark Side

If you remember last year’s Super Bowl commercial from VW you will smile over this year’s:

Track Car – sweating the details

Many times the modifications that take place on the Miata are pretty cut and dried.  One item is unbolted and the replacement is put back in its place.  It takes time and a little care, but no reengineering required.

Then there are times when a modification requires additional thought and preparation in order to ensure that everything works properly and in harmony with each other.

The front sway bar (anti-roll bar) is one of those pieces of the puzzle that requires a bit of work.  For one thing, the design of the factory brackets that support the mounts on this Miata are a bit flimsy.  They work well enough with the standard bar and in most street driving, but they are a known point of failure when the car is tracked with a larger sway bar and very sticky tires are employed.

There are a couple of aftermarket solutions out there.  They work very well, but their cost can range from $50 to $150 or more.  Fortunately Mark has fabrication and welding skills so he listened to my concerns and came up with a great solution that will keep the sway bar secure and not even dent my budget. 

From another angle

He reenforced the existing brackets with strategically placed and welded angle iron. 

With a little paint applied

The stock front sway bar is being replaced with a 24mm bar from Whiteline out of Australia.  It comes with new brackets and polyurethane bushings.  And there is another engineering challenge to deal with.

New clamp brackets with original sized bushings

Because the new bar has a greater diameter than the stock one, the bushing in which it mounts is taller than the stock bushing. 

The new bushing on the left is a lot taller

In the past I would have just cranked down on the mounting bolts until the metal bracket was secure and compressed the heck out of the new bushing.  I would have done so out of complete ignorance of the fact that in doing so I had compromised the proper operation of the sway bar.

New bushings, new bracket, and Mark's custom made spacers

With all the clamping load required to compress the new bushings I would have just about locked the sway bar in place and inhibited its ability to rotate in the bushings, as it should.  This would have resulted in unpredictable handling as the bar struggled to act as a torsion spring between the two sides of the front suspension.

Compression of the bushing is now going to be proper

With all the above in mind Mark and I put our heads together once again.  The outcome was a pair of spacers that would raise and support the brackets as well as limit the compression of the bushing and allow the bar to rotate as a proper torsion spring.

Just the right amount of lift

All I had to do was source a longer set of bolts.  Ace Hardware solved that little problem.

It is great to have clever and creative friends.

A pair to be proud of

Track Car – on to the drivetrain

It was time to move on to the drivetrain of this roadster.  With 150,000 plus miles on the clutch I really didn’t want to trust it to a track session or two before I replaced it.  With a little Internet searching I came across a good deal on an Exedy clutch kit and a lightweight chrommoly flywheel that was about seven pounds lighter than stock.  The Exedy clutch kit included the pressure plate and disc as well as a new pilot bearing and throw out bearing.  The only thing I added was a set of ARP flywheel to crankshaft bolts.

An old and tired clutch assembly

Miata.net has plenty of good information on performing a flywheel and clutch replacement so I won’t bother repeating all the details involved.  I did spend some time disconnecting the transmission from the power frame and removed the 11 bolts that hold it to the motor.  The clutch slave cylinder is held to the transmission with a couple of bolts that were also removed.  With the help of a transmission jack which I secured it to with some bungy cords I was able to get the tranny unhooked and off the engine. 

a black mess

It was a black mess of old oil and clutch dust in the bell housing.  The pilot bearing fell right out onto the shop floor.  It was dry as the desert.  I cleaned up the back of the engine and then used a puller to remove the rear main seal, which was also pretty hard and brittle.  I had a new one of those that I oiled up and inserted in its place. 

This got cleaned up and a new seal inserted in place

The new flywheel matched up perfectly to the crankshaft and I secured it with the ARP flywheel bolts after coating the threads with some blue Loctite.  I have a flywheel holder that engages the teeth of the flywheel so I used that to hold it from turning while I used a torque wrench to apply the proper amount to the bolts.

New flywheel held in place with ARP bolts

Next I cleaned the flywheel’s surface with a paper towel and brake cleaner.  I had previously set the pilot bearing into the flywheel. The kit came with an alignment tool so I set the friction disk in place using the tool.  Next I cleaned the surface of the pressure plate and set it on the dowels of the flywheel.  The kit also came with a set of new bolts whose threads I also coated with blue Loctite. 

New clutch diskPressure plate bolted in place

Pressure plate in place

I took my time and slowly brought the tension down on the pressure plate with the bolts alternating around so it would occur evenly.  These bolts were finally tightened down with a torque wrench.  Everything looked as it should and I turned my attention to the dirty transmission.

Mark was good enough to help me set it on a couple of wooden horses so that I could alternately spray with Purple Power, scrub with a brush, and rinse off with water from a pressure nozzle.

Behind that casting is where the new seal for the input shaft is

It took a lot of time and cleaner, but eventually the transmission was clean and ready for the next steps.

A new tailshaft seal installed

It was brought back to the shop and secured to the tranny jack where I was able to remove the input shaft casting.  that gave me access to the old seal which I removed and replaced with a nice new one.  The throwout bearing arm was cleaned up, coated with high temperature grease in the appropriate places and reinstalled. 

cleaned and lubed - a new throwout bearing and lever

Next the tail shaft seal was removed and replaced with a new one.  All these seals had done their duty and needed to be refreshed.  Later, when the timing belt and water pump is replaced the crank seal will also be replaced.

An old rusty slave cylinder

While looking around at the frame where the slave cylinder for the clutch was positioned I saw that there was missing paint and instead had some some rust, which was a clear sign that the slave cylinder had been leaking.  I decided to replace it and the clutch master cylinder as well.  I also had a new braided stainless steel flexible clutch line to replace the original flex hose. 

A new clutch flex line of braided stainless steel

While I was under the hood changing things I put in a new master cylinder for the brakes as well.

A new clutch master cylinder

All this is not overkill.  With the miles and age of this car I knew that I had better do this now rather than finding out the hard way when a failure might occur on the track.

The old master cylinders - replaced

With all that going on it was time to replace the motor mounts.  I had picked up a set of heavy duty Megan Racing mounts to replace the stock mounts with. 

Motor mount - the old and the new

Its more than a little tough to take out the old ones since, at that point, the two mounts were the only thing that held the engine in place.  I worked on one side at a time, getting the nuts and bolts loose and then prying up that side of the block so I could wiggle out the mount assembly and place a rubber hammer handle to hold things up temporarily.

I took apart the motor mount assembly and cleaned things up before I put it all back together with the new mount in place.  One side in and then repeat for the other side.  Whew.

The next day I had some help to put the transmission back in place.

Transmission back in place.

Track Car – Topping the Miata and adding a Hard Dog

Before the roll bar

A couple of posts back we took a road trip to Bethania to visit the garage where Hard Dog roll bars are made and sold.  It was a fun trip and we hope to make it back again when the Miata track car is complete.  Now we have the project of installing their roll bar and door bar kit.

Many things to be removedCarpet, trim, and the top removed

First off we had to remove a lot of stuff.  Now, if this was a street car we would be careful to pull back the carpet and get the top and interior shelf pieces removed only temporarily.  But since this is a car that is being constructed for track duty we removed the carpeting completely and the top and shelf trim that was not going back in.

This air-powered nibbler tool was perfect for the sheet metal cutting.

Getting all that out of the way really simplified the process for us.  An air-powered “nibbler” tool was used to trim some of the sheet metal so that the back braces of the roll bar would fit.  We made the openings large so that we could get a drill bit in to the mounts without having to resort to an angle drill.

Getting the first hole drilled from the top.

 

View of the backing plates from underneath the car

 

With the first hole done we could use the backing plates as a template for the other two holes and drill from underneath the car.

The open hole is where the ABS cable went - it will get a new hole.

Since this car has ABS the wiring had to be disconnected and a new hole made as the plates on the back braces went right over the original ABS hole.  The ECU also had to be removed and its bracket modified so that it would fit after the bottom bar plates were in place along with the door bars.

The ECU is removed while the main bar and door bars are bolted in place.

The Hard Dog bars went in just as described in their on-line directions.  The result is a package that not only provides safety, but also structural rigidity.

The Hard Dog Hard Core bar in place.

Track Car – BIG brakes

With the rear suspension completed (minus the V-Maxx coil-overs) it was time to get the rear half of the big brake kit on that we had purchased from GoMiata.  The kit is developed by Good-Win Racing and had gone through a recent upgrade.  It sports 10.5 inch rear rotors with the stock rear calipers relocated by aluminum brackets.  It comes with Porterfield R4S pads for the rear.

These aluminum brackets are perfect.

The new brackets are beauties.  But don’t let the good looks fool you, these are high quality pieces.  Anodized aluminum with perfect fit.  The stock caliper bracket bolts secure it to the hub and special allen head bolts mount the stock caliper bracket to the new adapter. 

Missing the corect slider clips...

Once I had that in place I was ready to insert the Porterfield pads and rotate the remanufactured calipers in place.  One problem though.  The stamped metal sliders that came with the reman calipers interfered with the new rotors and would not mount in place.

The clip off to the right is the one that came with the reman calipers - WRONG!

I asked Brian Goodwin (of Good-Win Racing) if he had any ideas.  We reviewed any potential problem areas, but nothing really made sense.  Then I went on to Auto Zones’ web site to look at what a small parts kit looked like for the rear calipers.  Sure enough, the wrong metal parts had been packed with the reman calipers.  A quick trip to Auto Zone and I had the proper ones that fit just as they should have in the first place.

This is the way it should look. Hawk hi-temp brake grease is the red stuff.

With the new mounts the calipers are rotated about a couple of inches from their original orientation.  I felt that this put too much tension on the parking brake cables so I dismounted them from the brackets that connect them to the car body and found some rubber tubing that fit around the brake cables so that the clamps could be moved along the cable’s length and remounted to the chassis.  This resulted in the tension being relieved and a nice looking installation.

The clamping brackets were moved about an inch from the stock location.

The new rotors are from DBA out of Australia and come with beautiful aluminum hats that really reduce the weight of the brake rotors.  DBA also puts paint stripes on the edge of the rotors that will change color as certain temperatures are reached.  This allows you to determine just how hot your brake rotors have become.  It’s a very nice feature.

The new lines are perfect.

Of course the kit comes with replacement brake lines.  The new ones are braided stainless steel and look great and fit perfectly.

These Vise-Grips are perfect for loosening flare nuts. No rounding.

What a fantastic upgrade.  I can’t wait for the front suspension to be rebuilt so the front brakes can be put on.

While I was under that part of the car it was the perfect time to change out the fuel filter. 

The filter is covered by a plastic shield held on by about six plastic scrivets (screw – rivets).  Once revealed it ws pretty clear that this filter had never been changed in the 150,00 miles that this car had traveled.

I used a set of clamps to make sure that disconnecting the fuel lines wouldn’t result in gasoline draining everywhere.

These clamps went on the flexible fuel lines to stop the fuel flow while the filter was disconnected

The new filter came with a new bracket, which was very fortunate as the old one was a corroded mess.

One tired old filter

When I drained the old filter into a catch can it was easy to see all the crud that had been captured, but it probably clogged the old filter and reduced the fuel flow.

New filter and bracket

 It was time to think about installing that Hard Dog roll bar.

Track Car – The rear suspension comes together at last!

In an earlier post we took the rear suspension apart, although not without some trouble.  The axles were just about frozen into the splines of the rear hubs.  With a great deal of effort we were finally able to extricate the axles and then rebuild the spindle hubs complete with new bearings.  The old bushings were pressed out and new Energy polyurethane bushings were installed.  New bolts were acquired from Mazda and it was time to rebuild the rear suspension.

Upper and lower control arms with Energy bushings

We not only picked up new large bolts to attach the lower control arm to the spindle, we replaced the alignment bolts ( the ones with the excentrics) with the new style that captures the cam with two small slots rather than a large flat area.  That change in design resulted in far more thread to grab the lock nut with.

The new style bolts set is in the upper right of the photo.

First we bolted on the upper control arms and then followed with the lower control arms.  Then we slipped in the new axles.  Well, slipped in sounds nice, but actually we had to really give each one a good shove to get it to seat in the differential.  After a few good shoves they clicked into place.  Next was the spindle casting itself complete with the new hubs and bearings.  Don’t they look nice?

The axle in place.

 

Then the outer splines of the axles were slipped into the new hub and the large bolt was inserted to tie it all together.  Antisieze was coated on the inside splines to make any future removal less dramatic than before.

Its a real suspension again!

This will not be the shock/spring setup that we will end up with.  Flyin’ Miata has informed us that their V-Maxx coil-overs won’t be shipping until March.  We will try to bear the wait.

Next we will work on the rear half of the Big Brake upgrade.  Stay tuned!

Track Car – Time for a road trip to Bethania

The Internet has been a boon for those of us looking for ways to improve our rides.  It has amazing search capabilities and its ability to aid in shopping can save a lot of heartache and gasoline.  But sometimes it is fun to be able to travel to one of those sources of parts and get to see the business up close and talk to the people who run it.

So I decided to take a two-hour drive west to Bethania and visit the Bethania Garage where Hard Dog roll bars are made and sold. 

It was a relaxing drive with the aid of the Garmin GPS that I had purchased prior to my long trek to Newfoundland back in September.  Soon I was getting close to my destination.  I had been warned that there would not be a big sign or flashing lights.  It turned out to be a comfortable looking set of buildings that brought back memories of village life.

Bethania Garage and Hard Dog Fabrication

A knock on the door of the larger building and I was greeted by Tom and later, Martha.  Tom was good enough to give me a bit of a tour which took us to the smaller building where there is a white Miata that is used as a visual aide as well as for mocking up new product ideas.  Tom used it to review the installation aspects of the Hard Dog bar that I would be installing on my Miata project car.

Demo Miata

We returned to the main building and went over the different choices that I had in terms of the roll bar.  I knew that I needed a track rated bar, but I had choices of single or dual diagonal braces and chose the dual.  I also knew that I would require the Hard Core bar that would fit under a hardtop.  Then there were the door bars.  While they certainly would provide additional protection, they also would function to add a good deal of chassis rigidity.

Many bars to choose from

Hard Dog also sells Willans Racing harness which is favored by NASCAR and Formula 1 teams.  I chose a pair of 2″ camlock harness sets plus a pair of T-type double sub belts.  The Hard Core roll bar comes with a harness bar welded in as part of the roll bar.

A set of door bars

Even though it is a track car, padding on the bar is required and they supplied an SFI rated high density bar pad and vinyl cover.

Tom demonstrating the sub belt options

Tom showed me the differences in the sub belt choices and then demonstrated the proper way to run the webbing through the metal buckles.  We loaded up my trusty red Toyota pickup, I paid my bill, waved goodbye to some new friends and headed back to the highway and the project Miata.

Next we will install the Hard Dog bar.

Track Car – Thoughts on the Miata

As I wait for more parts to arrive I am continually reviewing what needs to be done to the car to make it track worthy.

There will no longer be a need for Air conditioning so I will remove all the A/C equipment.  I will still want heat and defrost for those crispy Virginia mornings at the track.

It will be important to get the refrigerant out of the system prior to my disconnecting the parts.  A good friend has the vacuum equipment to recover the R134 and keep it from being released into the atmosphere.  Then all the parts and pieces can be removed from the engine compartment and under the dash.  I will also be upgrading the radiator so it will make the removal that much easier.  I am hoping that it will result in leaving about forty pounds off the car.

This version also has cruise control, which I will also have no use for.  With it removed the engine compartment will not only get lighter, it will become more spacious.

I purchased a “performance package” from the folks at Go Miata that includes some important modifications.  First of all is a Racing Beat four-into-one header.  The kit also includes a Racing Beat dual tip exhaust and Power Pulse connecting pipe.  They were good enough to swap the dual exhaust for a single exhaust and add a Maganaflow hi-flo cat to the system.  This package also includes a Racing Beat high performance intake that converts from the factory intake box to a nice K&N cone filter.   A set of Magnacore plug wires complete the package.

Go Miata has a great brake upgrade that I also ordered.  It is for all four wheels and includes DBA rotors with aluminum hats, Wilwood four piston calipers and the rotors are 11″ in diameter.  Braided stainless steel brake lines are also included along with DOT 4 brake fluid.

The folks at Go Miata also hooked me up with a headlight conversion kit that will rid me of the flip-up headlights that act as air brakes if you use them.  The Go Miata Oracle headlight kit is a flush mount replacement that provides a smooth transition for air flow and still lights up the road (I plan to register the car so I don’t have to deal with a trailer and tow vehicle).  It will be good to rid the car of the weight and complexity of the flip-up headlights that came on this car.

The interior is going to lose all its carpeting.  Useless weight in a track car.  The windows will either be converted from electric to windup or else eliminated completely.  The radio is only more weight that has no purpose in the track car and will be removed.  The stock seats will be replaced with a set that provides more grip.  The initial set of seats will not be ideal, but they will fit my budget and will be an improvement over the factory seats.

The transmission will get a short shift kit, again from the folks at Go Miata.  It is a Ralco RZ version which will result in a shorter throw and silkier shifts.  The center console will go the way of the radio.

The oil pressure gauge in Miatas was originally a real gauge that showed how the oil pressure fluctuated, but in 1995 it was changed.  It still looked like a gauge, but it no longer had a sending unit and only showed if any oil pressure existed.  I found an earlier version on eBay that came with a pressure sending unit and it will be swapped out for the ’97 one.

I am still looking for a hard top.  While the soft top is nice to cruise around in when you have found some twisty back roads, the safety concerns for track days are easier to contend with if I have a hard top bolted in.  I will continue to search for one.

Bracing is paramount for a track car and especially a convertible.  Fortunately a lot is available to stiffen up the chassis.  For this I went with the folks at Flyin’ Miata.  I have installed their butterfly brace kit on Miatas before and have been very impressed with the results.  In addition I will install a set of Frog Arms under the front fenders.

The folks at Flyin’ Miata were at the Targa Newfoundland event last year and were great to be able to meet and watch compete.

Since the stock Miata front control arms do not have replaceable ball joints and cost nearly $300 for replacements I went with Flyin’ Miata’s front upper tubular control arm that has replaceable ball joints and is much lighter and stronger than the stock arms.  They have a complete tubular suspension available, but unfortunately it is outside of my budget.

Flyin’ Miata also has an excellent coil-over setup available that I have on order.  Their V-Maxx version of coil over shocks sells quickly and the 2012 sets won’t be available until March.  They should be well worth the wait.  With them I will not only be able to set the ride height, but I will also be able to corner weight the car.

The front anti-roll (a.k.a. sway bar) will be replaced with a Whiteline version.  The front sway bar mounts on this era Miata are notoriously weak so Mark will work with me to fabricate a solution.  I expect it will involve welding in some form of box tubing. 

All the factory suspension bushings are being replaced with Energy suspension bushings.  These are available through many sources so I have simply searched for the best price of the bushings.  Not only will the control arm bushings be replaced, but so will the sway bar bushings and end link bushings.  I will stick with the factory rear bar to start with.

With 150,000 miles I would be wise to replace the clutch.  Since I am not rebuilding the engine or doing any massive power upgrades, such as turbocharging, I will stick with a high quality clutch by Exedy and a lightened flywheel.  This comes with new pilot and throwout bearings and should get me through at least one season with no problems.  I will look at the hydraulic clutch components, but so far they look fine.  While the tranny is out I will plan on replacing the transmission seals and the rear main seal on the engine.  It might be a good time to convert the clutch line to a braided stainless steel version.  New clutch fluid, of course.

Basic maintenance is also on the list.  All fluids will be replaced.  The timing belt, tensioner, pullies, water pump, drive belts, seals will be replaced.  The timing belt will be a Gates Racing version.  Along with the Magnacore wires it will get a new set of iridium spark plugs.  A new fuel filter will replace the old one. New coolant hoses, too.

I will likely take a field trip out to Bethania to pickup a bolt-in rollbar from Hard Dog fabrication.  They make some excellent bars and have versions approved by NASA and SCCA.  A complete roll cage might be in the future if budget allows.

Wheels and tires are paramount to good handling.  I plan to go to Tire Rack for my first set.  They will be 16 inch diameter wheels as light as I can get away with.  The tires will be Bridgestone RE-11.  I know that many of you track fiends out there will shake your heads and cluck your tongues, but for me track days are all about learning skills I can transfer to the street and therefore I will start with a real street tire.  Granted it is about as high performance as a street tire can get without being a race tire.

At the moment that is my list.  If any of you out there have any suggestions, please feel free to comment.