Over the years, the pair of miatas watched many beautiful and amazing track cars come and go from the shop.  This pair  hoping they would someday be adopted and restored to track duty.   Sadly they were pushed from one corner of the shop to another, often be left outside in the weather.   Many would walk buy, some making a offhand comment about a future track car build but year after year their parts slowly removed and given away to others who would go and play at the track.  All hope seemed lost and they seemed doomed to the crusher.  Then one day a new conversation started between two old friends.  One a track junkie down on his track days short of cash.  Another an shop owner looking to make a little more space in the shop.

The negotiations started slowly, just a quick comment here or there about what could be done to save the miatas from the crusher.  Then the hard questions, how much would it cost, how long would it take?  How could this be done?   Perhaps a weekend car build party.  Weeks passed into months, there was another project that seemed drag on to fix the Porsche.  Then, discussions became more urgent, prices were negotiated, promises made and kept and then it begins.  The story of the speedracer Miata track car build.   Read on, its a story of blood, sweat, grease and the hope of one day being at the track.

The build, once complete, should be an absolute riot. The car is a 97 Touring (PEP, minus Torsen) with ~52k original miles. Bought it three years ago come February with 22k miles. It was at a Ford dealer in my hometown (Mobile, AL), but with heavily oxidized paint and a literal rats nest in the intake box it was clear it didn't spend most of its life in a comfy garage. After some baseline maintenance and swapping over coilovers/wheels from my previous 95 Base it's been 30k (mostly) problem free miles on the street and at autocross/the track. 

Car as it sits.

+5 JacksonRacing Header - Enthuza OBD-II cat - RacingBeat Powerpulse catback

+1 HPS Intake modified to fit NA

+7 Koni Sports 600/450 with RacingBeat front sway bar and choice of 11 or 12mm rear sway

+3 4.1 Torsen

-3 205 RC-1 or -5 205 VR-1

= 13

Weight is currently unknown, but being a full interior street car with OEM hardtop, 4 point bar, stock seats, A/C, power steering/windows/mirrors, etc my guess is it's probably over min comp weight WITHOUT me even in it. 

Plans
+3 MS3 Basic (Going in this weekend. Plan is to run 93 on street and e85 for TTE to hopefully hit my 141whp limit based off 2335 comp weight. May require RacingBeat header, test pipe, playing with intake lenght, etc, but is certainly doable)

+3 6 Speed (5 Speed + 4.77 final drive is a common TTE Miata upgrade. 6 Speed with 4.1 actually gives slightly shorter gearing, but maintains a usable highway gear)

Alternatively I could run full aero. I already have a trunk lid with Blackbird spoiler, but that requires a lot more compromise. 1000/500 springs, stock sways, OEM header, swapping aero bumper/trunk, etc. It'd be the faster setup paired with a 4.3 or 4.77 final drive, but isn't really what I'm aiming for at the moment. 

Looking forward to meeting the group and trying my best not to be a moving chicane.

Here's a lap of Moonshine and I gettin' it at Harris Hill a few months ago. Two year old dead ZII's, wonky alignment, open diff, and less than optimal line didn't make for much of a good lap time, but good fun none the less. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOTvc0WVcAI

• BMW E36 M3
• Mazda MX-5 (NC)

So, here it is, 2007 MX-5 Touring (you have seen the car already):

We bought the car back in July 2009 as a fun car before having kids. The plan was to keep it for couple of years and sell it before the first kid. As you realized, we never came around selling it and it became my back up track car.

FUN FACT: the Miata is on my wife's name, so technically it'll be "her" race car :)

This is the list of current modifications:

• 17x9 TRM wheels and 255/40-17 Federal tires
• FatCat Motorsports coilovers - they need to go!
• Exedy HD clutch
• AWR rollbar
• Goodwin Racing header and exhaust

• 4.0 Liter 1UZ-FE VVT-I V8
• Ported heads
• Precision valve job
• PPE Headers
• Modified intake manifold
• Magnaflow spun cats
• Custom dual exhaust w/cross pipe
• Link Xtreme ECU 
• Koyo radiator

Transmission:

• R154 5-speed manual transmission from MKIII Toyota Supra
• Marlin Crawler billet 1-2 shift fork, Driftmotion billet 3-4 shift fork
• New ACT heavy duty clutch and pressure plate
• Stage 1 SPEC clutch
• McLeod Racing clutch release ram and bearing
• Camaro clutch release and bearing
• Modified, lightened 3VZE flywheel
• OEM clutch master cylinder
• OEM SC300 clutch, break pedal assemblies

Differential

• SC300 4.27:1 final drive gears.
• Torsen T2R limited slip differential
• High-durometer polyurethane differential and rear subframe mounts
• Driftmotion driveshaft with Cr-Mo U-joints

Brakes:

• OEM MKIV Supra Twin-Turbo calipers
• 4 piston calipers in front
• 2 piston calipers in rear
• Supra TT rotors
• OEM brake master cylinder 

Suspension:

• Bilstein HD coilovers, with custom spring rates (950F/600R 1100F/700R) and shock valving
• Titan Motorsports Supra front and rear sway bars
• OEM Supra TT front, lower control arms
• FIGS Engineering front control arms
• OEM SC400 rear control arms
• Polyurethane bushings in front upper control arms, rear lower control arms, and rear lower shock mounts
• New wheel bearings, front/rear
• Power House Racing solid steering rack bushings

Wheels/Tires:

• Enkei RFP1: 17x8 front, 17x9.5 rear; 235/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear
• Hankook R-S4: 235/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear
• Bridgestone RE-71R: 235/45/17 front, 255/40/17 rear

Seats/Safety:

• Sparco Evo drivers seat
• Schroth ASM drivers harness
• Roll Bar by Mayco Performance

 
I found the original build thread here. Looks like good, clean work to me: https://www.superhawkforum.com/forums/everything-else-31/my-lexus-sc400-project-28537/
 

 

I try not to be too "sales-y" and my primary goal is to share technical tips and lessons learned in our various exploits working on, driving, and competing in various car models. For a competition car we do the unthinkable - we share shock settings, spring rates, and even tire pressures we run (#500psi). The hope is that people get inspired and buy these cars and build on what we've learned (and many people have told me that in the past 2 years they have done just that).

I bought my first two E46 models (above) on the same day almost exactly 7 years ago (which Facebook just reminded me of last week) and I have owned about a dozen more since then. These cars tend to follow me home - and I'm buying yet another this weekend! A lot of what I have learned the hard way is being shared in this thread. If you have one or might buy one of these E46 cars you might learn something from my mistakes.

Why should you care? Well globally BMW made FOUR MILLION of these E46 chassis cars in the late 1990s and 2000s. This means that the "non-M" E46 coupe and sedans with the straight 6 engines (325/328/330) are getting VERY affordable. The SpecE46 series is growing like crazy, these are still popular in some SCCA autocross classes, and we're even seeing some success in NASA TT classes - not to mention fun HPDE builds, which are abundant. So with one of these you can make something handle as well as a Miata, have a better p-to-w ratio, produce lower lap times, and end up with a car that has much more room inside (and a real roof over your head) than those itty bitty convertibles for about the same money.

We started with a different car in this build (325 Coupe) but moved to this 330 Coupe shortly after kicking the project off in 2015. There are lots of updates in this thread showing the progression from a stock 330 which struggled in TTD class, to a TTD winner, and onto the TT4 class car we have currently (below). The 330 we have been racing still has much of the interior, roll up windows, and working air con - but that might change soon.

We also cover a number of other E46 non-M cars that we have worked on, built for customers, and are still seeing every week. We cover pure street cars, dual purpose cars, and track-only builds in this thread. And like I said, we're adding more of these to our "fleet" all the time, and I've learned something new on each one we've purchased and worked on.

Today I will port over the 66 posts from August 2015 up until Nov 2017, and then update this TrackJunkies thread in real time as we continue along with E46 builds....

Thanks for reading,

Before 4 wheels, I was a long time addict on 2 wheels. I call this one "Relapse". 

-td

Bought this in 2013. I've done everything to this car except replace the windshield and back windows and fabricated a majority of the parts. The goal is to make it the lightest caged E46 M3 possible. For 2021, working on weight reduction, optimize ECU tune, and figure out the front splitter (longevity, quick removal).

As of now the car sits at 2761 (2791 w/ driver, helmet, hans) with 38L of fuel.


2696 dry - that is more than I expected. Don't have much low hanging fruit left. i can replace the 46 lbs AGM battery with a lithium battery which saves 42 lbs. And run Hoosiers instead of NT01s - saves another 16 lbs.

Down to 2638 lbs post battery w/ hoosiers. I need to get to about 2550-ish dry so I can install a 1.5" dia x .095 wall roll cage (carbon roof at the same time) and meet NASA and BMWCCA rules with about 20-25lbs of wiggle room.

So at least 88 lbs to go and I have to lose most of it over the front axle. I've spent very little money in weight loss parts so far but now its time to open the wallet
 

Mods:

* NSX-R ring and pinion
* Short JDM gears
* Fidanza lightweight flywheel
* Stainless brake lines
* DC Sport headers
* TiDave non-compliance front clamps
* Downforce air intake scoop
* NSX-R reinforcement bars
* Taitec GTLW exhaust
* Front NSX-R sway bar
* Rear Zanardi sway bar
* Buddy Club Racing Spec coilovers
* KWv3 coilovers
* Science of Speed baffled oil pan
* Prospeed Stage 2 ECU
* Koyo radiator
* 993 front frake air ducts

I'm sure some of you have guessed, but I picked up @@HDA's NSX today. I'm really excited to own two iconic Honda products now...

I think I have a problem.  Is there a "Miatas Anonymous" group?

The car is a blast to drive, offers lots of room inside for a cage, is well balanced and cheap to build/maintain.  In December i pulled the trigger on my own build for weekend/TT car. I bought  really low mileage blue RX from a seller in Denver. Andrew Keisler who builds the swap is doing the work for me outside of Denver. The cars are cheap and plentiful but the real bonus is the drivetrain.  It's using the GM LFX v6 along with the camaro trans and diff. You pick the gear ratio or diff but all in my drivetrain was $2200 shipped. The ECUs all talk to one another and all the gauges will work.

I'm short on time right now but here are a few photos.  I'll have the car at some NASA events and at ECR members this year if anyone wants to see it.

(photo courtesy of molto bello @HDA )

Since leaving SM racing for the immediate future, I still want to drive track days when I can. This meant bringing out this high mileage girl. Since running it the last two or three member days, I've come to realize that while the S2000 in stock form is a wonderful car to own and drive....it's time to make it a little more "purposeful" without completely ruining the daily-drivability that it has right now. So, time to start a log...

At the moment, current mods / setup-

• Suspension:
  • Ohlins DFV Coilovers (base, not Sakebomb spec)
  • Whiteline Front Sway
• Wheels/Tires: 
  • 949 17x9 on 255 RS4s - square
• Brakes:
  • Hawk HP+
• Misc:
  • Ingalls "Stiffy" Engine Torque Dampener (for looks...)

Goals for near future:

• Intake to replace open air stock box (just did this actually, next post)
• Hybrid containment / adjustable seats  (something like Bride Stradia) but retain factory seat belts and airbags. Don't want to do harnesses and cut into interior trim right now
• Replace 11 year old rubber brake lines with SS
• Bushings...across the board - slop is bad
• Drive shaft possible replacement / fixes (cv axle cups are pitted bad even with flipping)
• Oil cooler
• Oil pan baffle
• Gain more camber via aftermarket mods...

There are a bunch of small things that need to be addressed, and I want to go over all the mechanicals. Every part of the car will be looked over at some point in the process. I'm not sure where to start, but it will probably be the brakes since I'm afraid to go over 40 mph right now. Enough of that here are some pics of the car along the journey and a short video of my first drive when I got home. 

Just after I got it.

Leaving Sunday Morning at 4am.

Somewhere between here and there.

At home. 

out of all the base (or better non GT) 911s that I drove (hard), I found the 70s naturally aspirated Cars somehow irrationally dangerous to drive and relatively low speeds.

the 964 (89-94) is my favorite choice because it preserves the irrationally dangerous as above + adds speed. It is the bastard of 911s. I love it.

the 993 took away, or toned down the irrationality. Great car but not as fun as they 964. At all. More of a gran turismo. 

the 996, ah the 996 - what an amazing car it is. Tight, lighter than the 993, modern - I really liked the one that I drove. The water cooled engine is a leap ahead. Too bad they didn’t nail the design.

the 997 S is a fantastic car. More power, looks great, very nice handling, still feels compact etc.

after the 997 they are not 911s anymore, sort of Aston Martin with the engine on the wrong side.

So I bought a 996 Turbo. It happened. Good deal, 67k miles, Manual, sport seats. I always found the Turbos to be the “cars of the reach guy who’s not a 911 purist and just wants to go fast on the straight”. Despising them basically. 

I have been wrong.

I will write more later but, if you are thinking about one: do it.

I am definitely missing the NC but the CTR is helping me cope with the loss. I can’t wait to really get this thing sorted out for next spring. 

So far I have a few small mods to wake it up for track use. 

K-Tuned springs

Volk CE28SL CRII

Advan A052's

HKS Legamax cat back exhaust

Camber mods F/R

SS Braided Lines and Motul 660 (installed before next track day)

Cooling mods and maybe small aero stuff to come...

So a rolling review with updates over time as the new car aura fades...

The Good

Ride:

Absolutely excellent. How they managed it with 20" wheels is beyond me, but in Sport mode (default) the car rides just as soft as a modern Accord/Civic. In comfort mode it's hard to remember you're in Type R. Race mode obviously stiffens it up, but it's still incredibly soft. This is by far the biggest difference I've noticed in testing a Focus RS and this. The Focus felt like dedicated track spring rates; it was jarring and annoying.

-Update 6/22/18: Still in love with the ride, but the handling is even better. I really, really, really, really like driving this thing hard - and it really, really, really likes it.

-Update 10/5/18: Yup, still love it. Find myself driving in the middle "Sport" mode all of the time. The wheels, however, are a death sentence around 610 and its pot holes.

-Update 10/23/2019: Amazing ride. Since switching to a 19" wheel and cramming some more tire in there, I actually drive it in R+ mode more than the rest.

Power:

Holy shit. Absolutely zero torque steer. It does not feel like a FWD car. The torque this thing makes at 3k is mind boggling. Honda purists obviously have been crying about this departure from the high-rev screaming VTEC engines of old, but jesus is this addicting so far. The power out of the corners is insane; as a track toy this thing would be nuts assuming it stays cool (which word out there is that it won't - it'll barely make 2-3 laps in 90 degree ambient). For city driving and highway driving, it's a beast. MPG 25-28 but will definitely be getting a speeding ticket here shortly. The passing power without changing gears is a new experience for me...

The only "eh" I've had about the entire thing is the gearbox. It's still wonderfully Honda, and perhaps this is due to the torque / power, but some gears are a bit "notchy." I'm spoiled by the S2000 and this gearbox is right beneath it.

Auto-rev match: thought I would hate it, absolutely love it.

-Update 10/5/18: As the cool weather descends upon Texas, the heat soaking, timing-pulling power loss is gone and this thing will spin the wheels grabbing third. MPG has jumped as well to 30 on my commute. 

-Update 10/5/18: Could be louder. May change exhaust.

-Update 10/23/19: This car, like most boosted cars, is super sensitive to heat soak. During this past summer, which somehow is still here in October, I could swear there were 100 hp swings as it tried to manage 95+ deg days by yanking timing. Still happy with the exhaust but wish they had made it louder; again, spoiled by the S2000 I think.

Brakes:

Good god.

-Update 10/23/19: Brakes are finally toast. A few track days killed them. Still in awe of the brembos.

Looks:

When I first saw photos, I wasn't sold on it. The inner-17 year old loves it, but then practical thirty something me said what the hell are you doing. That all went out the window when we saw it in person. It is...beautiful. Every part on it. The engineering, the tight panel gap tolerances..it's just...ugh. Even the wheels grew on me. The girlfriend loves it so much that we're going to have to make a sign out sheet on the fridge to decide who gets to drive it each day. 

-Update 6/22/18: Still in love with it, look at it every day when walking away. Love the interior looks as well.

-Update 10/5/18: The stock wheels have taken a brutal beating. With such a tiny tire profile, even a rock in a parking lot will scuff this thing (and does). Pot holes feel like they should be bending the wheel if they haven't already. I love the feel, but will be putting on some Titan7 19x9.5's when the tires are done.

- 10/23/19: Rolling 19 x 9.5 +45 Titan7s wrapped in 265 RE71Rs. Hell of a daily driver combo, I love it.

Space:

Tons of space. It's a big girl. Ample back seat and massive storage boot; it's incredibly practical...it's like a swiss army knife if the knife also had a light saber.

-Update 6/22/18: Threw in the type-r trunk mat and weathertech for front and rear seats...it's an incredible family car. The kind of 'finish a track day, pick up the dog and some groceries on the way home while fleeing police' kind of way.

-Update 10/23/19: Trunk space with seats down is incredible, this is probably the most versatile car I've owned outside of a truck...for obvious reasons.

Interior:

As of 10/5/18, this thing has developed a few annoying rattles and squeaks. The most obnoxious is what I've narrowed down to the seat mount. The vibrations from the engine are very severe when revving it out and it's starting to show.

- 10/23/19: Rattles all over depending on the day. They come and go. No persistent ones. Probably due to the stiff engine mounts. Adds character. No fucks given.

Verdict: 

Honda knocked it out of the park. Welcome back Shigeru Uehara ethos.

-Update 6/22/18: Trying to figure out how to buy another one for the lady.

-Update 10/5/18: Would still buy two if I could.

-Update 10/21/18: No end in sight, best daily driver I've owned. 28mpg. Scary fast when it's not an oven outside.

The Hilarious Stuff That Doesn't Matter But Isn't Great:

Audio / Speakers: They're not terrible, but it's definitely not great. The tweeters are garbage and the lack of an even basic parametric eq (or any eq) makes it worse. The good part is I never have music on when driving it (just like the S2000), so I don't care. The BOV keeps me entertained.

-Update 10/5/18: I've used the stereo twice, and both were for phone calls.

Horn: I almost feel like they're playing a joke on owners as the horn is almost comical to use. I feel immediate shame when using it, like it's the punch line to a bad dad joke.

-Update 10/5/18: Horn is a terrible joke. I won't use it. Which is good, because people in Texas treat it as fightin' words.

Lack of parking / blind spot nannies: Oddly enough, it doesn't have blindspot (or even the blindspot camera that comes with the Si) nannies or a backup "beep." Again, not that I give a shit, but strange that it's missing when it comes standard in lower models (Si and base Civic). The visibility is excellent so no issues there.

-Update 10/21/19: I genuinely hate the cruise control on this car. It works in % of a single mph, and not great at it. I've even watched it adjust down an mph after cruising happily for a period of time. It has a mind of its own, and takes anywhere between 4 and 24 button presses to increase a single mph, which it may or may not like staying at.

Also, I really wish Honda would have let us choose / customize settings between the 3 modes. I'm not a fan of the R+ steering, but love the Comfort mode. I enjoy Comfort mode suspension too, but don't enjoy the throttle map etc. etc. Kinda bums me out it's all or nothing. Minor, minor minor annoyance.

TWO YEAR UPDATE:

As of this month, I have owned the CTR for two years / roughly 18,000 miles. It has been an excellent car. It has retained its value. It is an epic daily driver. It is versatile as hell. It is annoying to clean. It is an epic track toy* when its cold outside. Over the last two years, I've spoken with two people who purchased it and they mentioned my thread as influencing their decision. For that reason....time for this post for posterity. 

*The Civic Type R overheats on track. End of story. 

Without modifications, in stock form, with the heat on full blast, this car will 100% overheat within two or three laps at pace if the ambient creeps above 70 degrees. Understandably, "at pace" my differ by driver and may take more laps for some or less for others and the track configuration may influence it as well...but....the check is in the mail. When she does overheat, she will go into limp mode. Limp mode may take a lap or two to clear, but it will quickly swing back to it once you pick the pace up again. Up until that point, you can feel the car pull timing. It's frustrating.

Other large related issue: the gas tank size for the CTR is the same for the Si. While not a major headache daily driving, under boost this car will drown itself in fuel. A 20 minute session will use an incredible amount of fuel, and while this isn't the end of the world - if the car is under half a tank, you will fuel starve. Big time. 

This is not anything new as you can read up on this elsewhere on the internet, but I figured it needed to be reiterated in my thread.

/rant

It arrived today-  On tap tomorrow is rolling over Arkansas roads in it!

Very cute, fun vehicle to drive around savoring the pleasure of the 70s with slightly more modern feel.

The 1303cc engines feels much more powerful than the 60 or so horse power stated. It still ain't no high revving Honda!!!

This is the model without the flat windshield. Not as rare but nevertheless fun and the looks are mostly the same as the more vintage ones.

Previous owner put so Pherari logos on it with the horse thingy, I may keep them after all but I am not sure.

Read more here

https://www.theitalianpursuit.com/#/1992-porsche-carrera/

2008 NC, grand touring, appearance package, 6 speed, LSD, white with the caramel whatever interior and a brand new top... $2100, yes please.   Grabbed a 2.5L from a 2010 Fusion locally with 95k miles for $450.  That's where the cheap ends.  This is my first project to this degree, have done about everything else on a car, but never a motor swap.  My garage isn't made for this, it's an old house with a "2 car", but we made it work.  Step one, take pictures of everything.  Everything.  Then start disassembling.  On an NC the consensus is to drop the whole subframe, and leave the engine/trans together.

This part went easier than I even expected.  If I did it again, it would take an evening to get to this point.  The one thing to be careful of is the steering shaft.  It doesn't have any in/out play to remove it from the coupling with everything attached, and it doesn't always pop free as you lower the subframe.  So be careful and don't bend it.