Yet another Miata track build?

Okay, let's say someone's got a '95 M edition - cosmetic rat, but mechanically OK, and they wanted to make it into a street-legal track rat OR sell it and buy one. Now I hear all the time about guys getting great deals on other people's upgraded Miatas. But when I look at Craigslist, what I see is nice builds for $4500 and up, and below that a lot of flawed stuff - bad or beaten components, et cetera.

So it seems to me that one might just be better off building the '95 M. At least then the component history is clear. It currently has the stock BBS with old model Azenis. Track day organizers around here don't typically require hard tops. I'm thinking of a recipe as follows:

Stage 1:

-Hard Dog Roll bar -Upgraded brake pads -Seatectomy -V-Max sport stage 2 coilover/bar combo -Remove AC

Stage 2 (When budget permits):

-Hard top -Chasis stiffening -Bushings -Seat -Tires -Cosmetics -HP?

Or is it better to buy one that someone else has already gone to town with?

I'd say if all you want is something to go fool around with on track days, option one in the stages described makes perfect sense. Your "Stage 1" adds a little over a grand to whatever you have to pay to get the car. Stage 2 could be another grand or another 10 grand, depending on how far you are going to take it. If you are thinking, "then I'll jump up to Spec Miata some day", it makes more sense to let someone else spend the money and buy used when they get tired of it or move up the "food chain". They aren't especially common, but I've even seen used Spec Miatas offered on Craigslust.

I gotta say, after building a miata track car recently (took a super-cheap 1990, added a torsen, roll bar, hardtop, race seats, etc), I would recommend just selling the car and buying an E36. At least here in the southeast the E36's are getting to be as cheap or cheaper than decent miatas and you don't need the roll bar or hardtop. Plus, you'll have more room to grow as a driver with the E36 (won't be immediately power limited 99% of the time like in a miata).

I love the miata, it's a great chassis for having fun. But, it's not the deal that it used to be, in general.

My $0.02

I'm still working on on mine, and mine is more of a combination of your stages one and two. It's also my third dual use track/road Miata. I figure by the time I get to #5 I probably have this figured out.

• I don't like the OEM seats - even with a foamectomy - for track use. I still slide around too much and end up somewhat bruised, so race seats are high on my list these days.
• I usually start with the brakes, then the suspension, followed by wheels and tires. I'm happy with the Classic VMaxxes I've got (with NB mounts and the FM sway bars). Brakes I tend to do the minimum first (braided lines, good fluid, good pads) and take it from there. Then throw on some 15x7s with 205/50/15s.
• I personally don't mind the A/C, but then again I have to drive 4-5h to tracks out here and it helps in summer.
• The one thing that keeps bugging me about the car is that it's just too slow (and yes, I'm also a slow driver). This has been the reason I've sold a bunch of Miatas - well, either the lack of power or the semi-constant attempts at self-destruction that a homebrew turbo one was suffering from (I bought it from a "forum egg spurt" and then got to redo a lot of his work). I'm at the point where mine will either get sold or get the supercharger I have on the shelf for a little more poke. Of course I live at 5000', the local track is a little lower but not that much and that makes for a very tired hamster under the hood.

I'd skip the stiffening and I use to be a big proponent of it.

But I want from FM Butterfly brace and 390/250 springs, to know Butterfly Brace and 800/500......I didn't notice the chassis flexing anymore, making weird noises, etc.

As for what to do, What's your budget and what do you want to accomplish with the car?

HPDE? Time Trials? Maybe a full blown race car someday?

In reply to z31maniac: What you said about the spring rates and chasis stiffening didn't make sense to me. Are you saying that stiffer springs and no brace felt better than soft+ brace? That's counter intuitive.

Intent? Well my first track car was amazing (The Stalker. long since sold). And to a certain extent it's speed and good manners helped cover up my mediocre driving. Like a lot of people, I've been contemplating a variety of awesome builds while actually doing little. Meanwhile, there's a neglected Miata in driveway. Perhaps I'm a moron, because always jonesing over other cars is like ignoring the girl next door. So in short, I want a stopgap car to build my skills with on the cheap and have a good time while saving for, or building my next ubercar.

Chassis bracing isn't as noticeable on the track as it is on the street.

Your Stage 1 is probably just what I'd do. Of course, start with "fix what's broken". You could have a lot of fun with that, even if it won't have a lot of poke down the straights. It'll still be fun.

kreb wrote: So in short, I want a stopgap car to build my skills with on the cheap and have a good time while saving for, or building my next ubercar.

After reading this, I think the E36 makes even more sense. You can just pick one up get some tires, brake pads, maybe some shocks, and go to the track. No messing with a roll bar, no wondering about power upgrades, just get it and go.

The flip side is, you can turn a Miata into an uber car and progress along with it.

For instance, my car has a roll bar, all bushings, hubs/rear bearings........and WAY more brake than necessary for a 1.6 with Wilwoods at all 4 corners. But now the only thing missing is a decent VVT engine and a Torsen and my car will dang quick at my local track.

I'd say go all in on safety/maintenance/brakes now, then upgrade as your skill level progresses.

And later if you want you can go full race car.

JohnyHachi6 wrote: you don't need the roll bar or hardtop.

You don't need the hard top on the Miata, either. It's a thin piece of fiberglass, so there's no rollover protection in it, and it tends to rip right off in any kind of rollover anyway. Miata race cars have them because it improves the aero, and the 92 hamsters at the wheels need all the help they can get down the straight. If you're building a track day car (vs something limited by the rules), IMHO you'll do better to put that $1000-1500 into suspension, rather than a hard top.

As for the build-yourself-vs-buy-already-modified, it's the standard tradeoff. You'll always come out ahead money-wise buying the car that someone else built, but you don't know how well it was built, and you may wind up dumping a bunch of extra money in it to fix the things that were done wrong, or weren't done the way you wanted them.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned going with a Miata, throw a few things to make it track ready(brakes,torsen,tires/wheels and required rollbar) Enjoy it for awhile then go with a Exocet build for stiffness and lightweight. If that isn't enough after awhile add power through a Turbo,Supercharger or V8 swap.

Exocet is great for someone who doesn't want to brave the world of Sevenesques. I've built a NA 3.4 Stalker previously, and the next step up my personal evolutionary chart would be a Locost with 300ish HP and IRS. In the mean time I just want to hit the track with something that will allow me to evolve and not cost a ton. Listening to the feedback above validates my sense that working with what I already have is the ticket. An e36 would be faster, but more expensive over the long run, I believe.

I'd add a big aluminum radiator to your stage one. If I'd had one, I'probably could have gone without that pesky engine replacement due to meltiness thing...

I'd also add a real temperature gauge on the A pillar and tape over the idiot light disguised as a gauge that comes stock on the Miata.

kreb wrote: Exocet is great for someone who doesn't want to brave the world of Sevenesques. I've built a NA 3.4 Stalker previously, and the next step up my personal evolutionary chart would be a Locost with 300ish HP and IRS. In the mean time I just want to hit the track with something that will allow me to evolve and not cost a ton. Listening to the feedback above validates my sense that working with what I already have is the ticket. An e36 would be faster, but more expensive over the long run, I believe.

I don't think an Exocet is a "Seven lite". It's a less compromised car in a lot of ways, definitely side-stepping all the fitment problems of the average American male in a tiny British car. You can wear shoes, for example And I think that chassis is quite a bit stiffer as well. They're different, that's all, just like Caterham vs Atom. I'm looking forward to getting my Seven and our Exocet on the track back to back. They definitely drive differently.

The Miata gauge is real. Basically, once it starts moving, you want to start cooling the car down. But you don't have a problem immediately, it will show you the temperature rising once you see it start to climb. Miatas have REALLY tough head gaskets, you would not believe how hot they have to be to blow one.

On Miata vs E36 - definitely work with what you have. If you had an E36 mouldering in the driveway, that would be the one you'd want to tweak. But you have a '95 M, which is a pretty solid base to work from in a bunch of different ways. Especially from an emissions standpoint