Goals for this blog: combine three things I love in a way that avoids breaking laws and losing appendages.
Beer: 'Gansett lager. In the words of my neighbor "It takes all kinds." Trashy Massachusetts townie beer. Delicious!
Food: Veal burger in a pita with farm share hippie lettuce and BBQ sauce. I'll stop eating baby cows when they stop tasting delicious.
Cars: I am driving a 1992 Mazda Miata. To answer the unasked question, it's faaaaabulous. It serves as my weekend driver and autocross car. It currently has 97K on the clock and (most importantly!) zero rust. I have records dating back to 1994, when the second owner purchased it. I bought it in May 2009 from the third owner, who had it for about 8 months, but needed to fund an engagement ring. The car has (so far!) had zero mechanical issues. I have replaced the timing belt and water pump, replaced the brake pads, replaced the shocks and springs, and switched mufflers. The front-engine, rear-wheel drive means there is plenty of room for access. Add the fact that almost the entire car can be taken apart with 4 different socket sizes, and it's a home mechanic's dream.
Racing: Autocross is one of the best activities for the Miata. It keeps it exercised and happy, while making sure the driver understands vehicle dynamics and the difference between the throttle and brake. Looking at your here, Toyota owners. Just so we get things clear, my daily driver is a RAV4. I have cornered the market on the first cars you would buy your 16-year-old daughter. But I digress...
Last year I raced the Miata in fully stock form, other than a cold-air intake and a slight timing bump (+14 degrees, for those of you in the know). I came in dead last almost every race, but I did take home the "Most Improved" trophy. Can't complain about hardware!
Over the winter, Bilstein shocks and Flyin' Miata springs went in. I replaced the front sway bar with a 22mm unit from a later model. For you nerds, the 22mm is 180% stiffer than the stock 19mm unit. Yay for stiffness proportional to radius^4! Fat Cat Motorsports has an amazing wealth of Miata knowledge, namely their suspension calculator that showed the stock handling balance (front roll couple) would be maintained if I removed the rear bar completely. So far, it's paying dividends! Turn-in is much quicker, no more turn the wheel, wait five seconds, then the car responds.
At the last event, I had Ben W, our resident hotshoe, drive the car during post-event fun runs. His response was: get an alignment, and something is up with your brakes. He recommended -1.5 degrees camber front and rear, zero toe both ends, and as much caster as they can give me. I got the car aligned yesterday at In Tune Automotive. They did great job aligning to the specs I gave them, for their usual $80. Sweet! To further geek out, here is what my camber curves should look like. Again taken from FCM's excellent site:
As for brakes, something is definitely up. It was sneaky, and I compensated for it without realizing something was amiss. The pedal is firm, indicating that brake pressure is good and there's no air in the system. I have checked both front calipers and neither one is stuck, nor or the slider pins corroded. New pads and rotors have been ordered. In the rear, when I replaced the pads 2 years ago, the rear sliders were a bit crusty. Apparently a common issue. Once those parts go in, we shall see how the car feels. A coworker suggested it could be a master cylinder problem, too. Let's hope not, those get expensive!
No 16 year old daughter of ours will have a miata or a rav! She will have a bicycle!
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