In part 1 of the exo car build guide, I disassemble anything that bolts to the Miata. This would be the interior, dash, seats, doors, soft top, and trunk along with anything else that removes semi easily. And where last time I said, ‘this is going to be a lot of fun.’ This time I realized, ‘this is going to be a lot of work!’
I love junkyard builds and I have always subscribed to the do more with less methodology. So building an exo car is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. It’s also an excuse for me to brush up on some old skills and hone some new ones.
One of the things I have enjoyed about my foray into Super Touring racing with NASA is the open rule book. Building a car to a power to weight instead of the strict rules that go along with Spec racing. This has opened up many engineering possibilities and things I would like to try. One of those is replacing the rearview mirror with a rearview camera.
The little 1.6-liter engine in the NA6 Miata moves too much. This engine movement, combined with soft factory differential bushings, contributes to a lot of drivetrain movement.
The now ST6 Miata has had some serious electrical gremlins from day one. Intermittent starting issues, random fuel cuts, and erratic idling to name a few. I knew at some point I would rewire the car completely. What I didn’t anticipate however, is that I would give the rewire a first pass just days before the regional championship at Nashville Superspeedway.
I spoke about this before in Trying Not to Finish Last at NCM. Although the budget Spec Miata is a blast to drive, it will never be competitive when the expensive equipment comes out to play. That is why I have decided to move the car to Super Touring 6 (ST6). The move to ST6 will open up the rule book and allow me to build the Spec Miata to a power-to-weight limit that will closer mirror the...
And why I need to implement them now. In past seasons, races in the rain were rare, with only a few to suffer through. But lately, it seems like every race weekend has weather looming over it. Half the races this season have been in what I like to call dynamic conditions. And with these dynamic conditions comes fog. Making what used to be a side note a big priority. Namely, developing a valid...
This headset has me excited. After upgrading my rig to the Pimax 8k Plus I can confidently say VR sim racing has arrived. That’s a bold statement I’ve waited several hardware generations to say by the way.
This will be a less than subtle change for the 08 NC MX-5 build I’ve been sitting on to close for a year now. In fact, this car will no longer run in the spec MX-5 series as initially planned.
When I first started racing a friend told me to go where the competition is. Simple advice really but as someone that likes to build it was definitely something I needed to hear. That is exactly what I did when I entered 944 spec with NASA Midsouth. A class with large fields at home as well in the Southeast and Great Lakes regions. I’ve enjoyed several successful seasons in 944 spec and my...
VR resolutions are improving rapidly leaving the narrow FOV (Field of View) the biggest drawback in sim racing. Most mainstream headsets are in the 100 to 120 degree range limiting peripheral vision dramatically. This is fine in a lot of VR games but in sim racing, peripheral vision is a huge component to immersion. Something serious sim racers traditionally remedy with a 3 screen build. Enter...
I’m not sure I actually enjoy sim racing yet. I’ve used sims such as iRacing to learn a new track in the past but never jumped in the competitive ‘deep end’ of the sim so to speak. I’ve always been more drawn to the fps and arcade style genres. Games where you function at 100 percent intensity. Perhaps that is where a distinction could be drawn as iRacing isn’t...