/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.836177]

Has there ever been a track build /diy/ thread? I have a stock 96' Miata that I want to eventually turn into a track car but I don't know where to begin. I've been to forums but there's not really a lot of learning going on. It's mostly people documenting their builds. Now I want to do all the work myself so that I can actually learn the process and know what to and how to improve something. My dad is a mechanic 25+ years and could help me but I'd prefer to do it myself. Are there any tips or info that any of you who are in to auto racing can give me?

[Anonymous No.836180]

>>836177
>Has there ever been a track build /diy/ thread?
it would be more of an /o/ thing really

>I have a stock 96' Miata that I want to eventually turn into a track car but I don't know where to begin.
do you mean drag or autocross? that's about all you can do with a production car other than really, but rally isn't really racing as such

[Anonymous No.836182]

>>836177
>Has there ever been a track build /diy/ thread?
Maybe
>I have a stock 96' Miata that I want to eventually turn into a track car but I don't know where to begin.
Good tires, track suspension (kw, tein), bigger brakes, engine mods and many track days.
There are a lot well-documented builds out there. Check MiataTurbo and the Driftworks forums.

[Anonymous No.836188]

>>836180
/o/ isn't really helpful with this type of stuff.
>>836182
I know that much. But what I wanna know is the how and the why you know.

Do you know if you can learn this stuff from books?

[Anonymous No.836190]

>>836177
ask your dad.

the problem is that their builds are idiots guides to your build. there is a lot of engineering that goes into converting a car to a track car.

but here is the important thing that you need to know:
>track cars cannot idle for shit
>track cars will not pass emissions
>track cars will become unroadworthy once you perform internal engine modifications

I imagine that you just want to make it go faster and so just have the fastest miata out of your friends miatas. if so, slightly larger turbos, injectors and an after market ecu and tune at a tuning shop will do this.

unfortunately you do need a dyno and EFI tuning is not something you can really do yourself.

before you begin, there are stages to modifying a car. right up first be ready to manufacture and tune your own intake and exhaust systems. if you dont know how to bend pipe or weld, this will be hard. basically you will be adding more air and more air will be coming out and the small tubes will restrict this. along with these tubes, you're going to want to completely tear down your engine, get your bores machined/resleeved get your cams, head, crank machined, new crank arm bearings, new seals.

basically before you even begin, you are looking at 2000$ in parts alone just to get your engine back into perfect condition.

unless you just mean cut the springs and add a body kit.

[Anonymous No.836199]

>>836177
Start by removing weight from your car by removing a lot of shit, seats included. Also remove things like the catalytic converter and EGR valve if you have one.

Do some stuff with the ECU as well.

Then get cheap shit like better air filter. Then think about changing the exhaust and getting better tyres as well as rims (the lighter they are the better basically).

This should already give your car a decent rideability. I mean this is the stuff you wanna do before you move on to more expensive mods, which then becomes basically a point of no return since you'll be dumping money in the car and you gotta be sure you're really into racing. From that point onwards your car stops being a road car.

Anyway, if you decide to dump more money then probably getting a turbo is a good start. I don't know about Miatas but you might even wanna consider engine swap for something more powerful.

[Swifts !WiNDUPyWhk No.836202]

At the very least you'll need a roll bar for your Miata or there's a big chance you won't even be allowed on the track.

[Anonymous No.836216]

>>836180
Never heard of Spec Miata, huh?

[Anonymous No.836224]

>>836177
ITT: People who have no idea what they're talking about, or learning to "tune" from watching Fast and Furious ("Tuning" is a vastly overused word.)

"Track car" is nearly meaningless. Here's a better question: Where and What class should I race my Miata in?

You could run your Miata in Autocross, on spec tires, with no other modifications. This is under a stock class. Or you could make a bunch of suspension / engine changes and move it under another class (I would not advise this.) How do you know what you can change? Read the Autocross rulebook to see what changes are allowed per class. *All* racing orgs have a publicly available rulebook that you'll need to follow to ensure your car is legal and will pass inspection.

You could go drag racing. In stock form, you could run a dial-in race, matching your old time. A form of handicapping that reward repeatability and precision. Or you could go nuts modifying the engine for another class (again, would not suggest this either). How do you know what you can do? Read the rulebook.

You could go race Spec Miata. This would involve removing most of the car's interior and installing a roll cage, converting it into a track-only car. Spec Miata runs a stock engine, not sure on chassis mods / tires allowed. But you can find them out... from the Spec Miata rulebook.

All these assume you have somewhere to autocross/drag race / run Spec Miata. So really, again, first thing is to decide what you want to race. Then bring the car to that state... using the rulebook to understand what you can change.

[Anonymous No.836272]

>>836177
/o/ is the only place you'll be safe from ridicule for owning a Miata, because they are a bunch of homosexual poorfags

[Anonymous No.836351]

Start by painting your Miata teal. All Miatas should be teal.

[Anonymous No.836358]

>>836199
dont do this.
the EGR valve is important. its not a throw away derp item unless you get a fuel remap done.

do not remove the cat, necessary for back pressure and the tuned harmonics of the exhaust system.

>better air filter
ok, yeah, again, you're just suggesting that he detunes his engine.

you ever wonder how they get more than 100% volumetric efficiency? ever hear of passive supercharging?

[Anonymous No.836744]

Wider wheels and tyre combination. Better braking system. Weight reduction and roll cage. Maybe get tighter set of coil overs to help deal with the increase in grip from wider tyres. This is a good place to start and it's almost all just bolt on upgrades which will help do track days.

[Anonymous No.836770]

>>836224
This first few replies in this thread is a bunch of people talking out of their ass
>just get a turbo and injectors
and watch your engine explode in 3000 miles

[Anonymous No.836779]

>>836770
did I mention overhauling the engine first?

[Anonymous No.836783]

>>836770
I guess I could have suggested he turn it into a locost

[kg No.836794]

>>836770
I'm >>836224

It could be that OP means, by "track car," just another aesthetics-modified vehicle. In that case, it's just rims/struts/spoiler/bolt-on body kit and paint, along with whatever shit kids are doing to cars these days. That's not a track car... it's just a car with a bunch of shit bolted to it.

OPs pic makes me think that's what he's really looking to do. For guidance on that, best consult with his friends / car forums / car mags re: what's cool now, b/c whatever he does, it doesn't really matter since there's no performance goals.

[Anonymous No.837222]

miata=mx5 here in nz

hairdressers car, although I gained a tiny bit more respect for them once I found out they were rear wheel drive

I don't know why more people don't stick rotaries in them, they would haul ass then

>>836783
they must twist like a bitch when you take off

[Anonymous No.837225]

>>837222
well that's just the stripped down donor

[kg No.837291]

>>837222
Don't knock the Miata until you drive one, a manual, anyway. They're a lot of fun driven at their limit... most people just don't know how to drive them. And since they're lower powered, they are more forgiving than high-powered sports cars.

It's one of my favorite cars ever built, and I used to benchmark cars for an OEM.

[Anonymous No.837363]

OP here. I'm talking about a legit performance car. Not some fast and furious super street shit. I want to know how and what companies do to turn a regular car in to a full out performance car. I don't know much but I do know its way more than just bolt ons.

[Anonymous No.837372]

>>837222
>I don't know why more people don't stick rotaries in them

Because you shouldnt put a rotary in any car

That and if you want to do actual car work, you buy a nice platform to work on.

[Anonymous No.837376]

>>837363
>to turn a regular car in to a full out performance car.

Start with a better platform
Sure there are legit performance Honda civics out there (the ones ricers try to emulate), but them you realize they dumped 40k into them.

Bolt on some shit and be done with it, youll hit the price wall pretty fast with a miata. If you dont, youll be dumping money into it without a return on your money when you could have bought a whole different car.

[kg No.837423]

>>837363
I'm going to tell you again, there needs to be an ultimate purpose to what you're trying to build. "Full out performance" doesn't mean shit without context. An OEM engineer, given your request, wouldn't know what to tell you b/c you haven't asked for anything that can be specified.

Figure out what race class you want to run in and build to that. Otherwise it doesn't matter what you do. Want it faster? Increase compression... pistons or forced aspiration, blueprint the engine. Want better handling? Get better tires, then start playing with adjustable struts and alignment settings. Etc.

[Anonymous No.837550]

>>837376
I tend to disagree about that whole performance wall thing you're saying there... The Miata has quite a nice little chassis. You only hit a wall at about $60k, when you're smoking Corvettes with their own engine.

[Anonymous No.837758]

>>837372
I'm no rotary expert, but the one's I've been in have certainly made me shit a little, they're light and rev like an f1, as for maintenance they seem to require a bit if you thrash them.

seems it's not as easy as I first thought though, the crank is quite high in a rotary and makes it a prick for the gearbox/tunnel setup

[Anonymous No.837774]

>>836177

Unless you have a second car you don't want to make it into a dedicated track car. However there are things you can do to improve your performance with minimal compromise to drivability.

Good summer tires help alot and are easy to do when you're replacing your tires anyway. Sway bars improve handling by reducing camber change when cornering without affecting ride height or ride comfort. They also are very easy to change with hand tools, a jack and jackstands. Instead of doing bolt-ons I would look into doing a Mazdaspeed supercharager install, since it was a factory option I would think it would make the install easier. Or look around for a Mazdaspeed Miata and buy it instead and sell the old one.

[Anonymous No.837809]

>>837363
it can just be a bolt on though. the miata is very popular for upgrading. you can buy upgrade kits.

>ecu
for new fuel map values and more sensors like an upgraded MAF
>intake/exhaust manifolds
for differently tuned resonant supercharging effect and a higher RPM
> turbos with adapter flanges
turbos just bolt on

then depending how much of an upgrade you want to go for

>dual injector manifold
instead of one injector per port, you can install 4+1 or 4+4 setups so that your car runs as well at lower RPMs as it does at higher RPMs
>sports cams
the relationship between the intake and outtake valve lifting profiles changes once you go above a certain level so you need higher cams that push the valves out more and at differently spaced timings

>lighter flywheels
>undersized flywheels
less energy spent turning AC/alternator/power steering means slightly more to the wheels

>weight reduction
>head shims
adjusts the compression ratio for forced induction ie turbo/supercharger

>e85 fuel mapping

there are a bunch of companies that make performance kits.

for example, th9is kit has everything except for the ECU which you should probably buy as a deal with your fuel mapping once you're assembled it so that you're using the system that your local dyno technicians are trained to use.

http://www.bellengineering.net/product_info.php?cPath=5_11_49&products_id=244

[Anonymous No.837811]

>>837372
>>837758
rotaries are fantastic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHCMZ0Aj7b0

but they idle like shit because they're shit in the lower end. the only people I've really seen shit on them are the ones who still claim pushrod cams and carbs are the only essential elements to a vehicle.

[Anonymous No.837817]

Get a 240 you pussy

[Anonymous No.837830]

>>837809
Do you even know what a flywheel is?
You are thinking about the belt and pully system not a flywheel. But messing with that is more headache than its worth imo. Not the install but the riability of everything those pullies drive.

[Anonymous No.837853]

>>837830
woops yeah meant pulleys. can also install lighter drivetrain parts but probably not worth the effort. would definitely need a higher performance clutch kit as well but I doubt OPs ability to shift in one of those super touchy button clutch setup without blowing it up.

[Anonymous No.837854]

Go and start reading the content on miata turbo. It's a forum with a lot of racing experience and experience in making Mx5s go fast.

[Anonymous No.837857]

Since it doesn't sound like you are shooting for a particular class, maybe post a hp goal or something along those lines.

[Anonymous No.839136]

I've been wanting to get a Miata for a while myself and there is a lot of info online, since they are one of the most popular track cars out there, and there are a number of easier mods to get better performance out of your car.
http://www.racingbeat.com/mazda/performance/reviews/top-miata-performance-upgrades.html

http://rallyways.com/specialty/mazda-mx5-miata-nc-essential-mods/

I found a better guide than these two, the last time I was looking into this, but sadly can't find it. Like anything the more money you spend the better your car will be, but you can save some money by installing everything yourself if you know how and have the tools for it, like some other anons mentioned there are a ton of after market bolt-on parts if you want easy installs. Just keep in mind if you want to still use it as a daily driver you have to be careful about what you install, check out your local autocross because a lot of those guys will have Miatas and solid advice on what you should and should not mod.