My New 1996 Mx-5 Miata - 2017 Dixie Championship Tour

done.jpg


It's all done now :) Runs plus oil/tar free!

I was almost done and was pushing the PCV valve into place when it cracked into 2 pieces :lol: one more trip to autozone. I guess I should have replaced it anyway.

So now I can say I have changed a water pump, seals, and a timing belt. I used this video for the timing belt alignment on the cam sprockets, then the haynes manual, from the library, for the rest of it.

It feels like 75% of the work was cleaning it. Just one more thing ( new seat belt ) and it's ready for the autocross on the 6th. New radiator coming soon.
 
OK, my car 100% ready for my first autocross on the 6th:

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New Rear Stud​
stud.jpg

New Shifter Knob
knob.jpg

New ( used - purchased from a guy at my local miata club ) Driver's Side Seatbelt
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All set to go :) Once I get good at more performance oriented driving I'm getting a roll bar and hunting out a track day ( future plans ).
 
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LeadFootLiam
These cars are perfect for autox, you'll have a blast.
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I can't wait, only a few more days.

DaxCobra
Looking good mate.
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Thanks 👍

Anyone have any tips for my first autocross? What should I bring? Right now I have:

Spare Clamps
Zip ties
Gloves
Big Hat
A camera that may or may not work...
Tire Iron
Basic screwdriver and small sockets ( I keep this always in the glove box )
Water
Gatorade
Comfortable light clothing

Not sure what else...
 
A floor jack and aircompresor with tank are helpful. And snacks. And a tyre pressure gauge.

👍 on the big hat and water.

Edit:
Add duct tape and a razor/box cutter to the list.
 
car.jpg


Myself and the car completed our first autocross, and everything went very well. Except my time. man was it slow. I blame "part" of it on having tires that just don't grip. Even when I had an instructor drive my car, one of the first things he commented on was the lack of grip.

So alignment and tires for the next event on the 20th.

tl;dr: Smallish track, nice people, car did great, Had fun 10/10 will do again and again. Didn't hit a cone but got close!

The day started off great. Showed up, had my paperwork done ahead of time, sign my name, find a parking spot, and put the numbers on my car.

Walking the course was helpful. I actually recreated the course virtually in AC, and used the PURE Miata mod to practice. Unfortunately, that car had more lateral grip than my car has because it's not simulating my garbage tires. But still, the course layout was pretty accurate. Unfortunately a few of the cones were way off where the map said they would be, so I had to change the line that I had already worked out in my head.

Here is a video of the track, not mine but you can see my car in the video ;)



So the first run. Must say, it was probably the most fun I had. Turn 1 was "OK" They have a short slolumish section afterward. I played it safe under braking for the next corner, but I still mucked that up. Then on the fastest corner of the track, I missed the apex, which is actually quite common amongst a lot of drivers because it was sandy. There was a bit of a miscommunication regarding the track sweeping, I think. Then I just drove the last sections, not doing too badly. But I sort of stayed on the racing line. My instructor commented on the fact that I knew where the line was.

For my second run, I had a different instructor. I asked for help with braking because I was having trouble with turn one. even though I didn't overshoot the corner, I over-slowed the car on the first one. So this time I got it better, but slightly over-cooked it. He said I actually was using the right brake point and just needed to mash them harder.

Then he drove the car. He set a 39.3, and I was a mid-40 for the first two runs. He felt the car is capable of doing a 38 flat.

After he drove, I drove again and ran a 39 flat because I learned a lot watching him drive. Then my next lap, I got into the sand entering the fastest corner of the track, and the rear end really came loose this time. I can't believe how easy this car is to drift. When I felt it go out, I just kept my foot down and steered into it. I think I had one of the longest drifts in the day until a guy in a BRZ showed up. I actually got the most compliments on this :lol: I'm amazed I still haven't spun this car, even in the rain.

Ran a few more times and eventually got a 38.3, but I really should have had mid 37s. I had to switch to right foot braking. I just can't get the left foot to fit on the pedal, so this was awkward for me since I'm used to left foot braking in all the sims.

After lunch ( it was good - they provided it ), went back at it. Ran a string of 38.6s. Couldn't figure out why I was slower than my 38.3, then I remembered I was using the wrong line. I was following the tracks of other cars, and it seemed like a lot of people were taking an early apex in one particular spot where you really needed to late apex. So my next run, I late apexed that cone and ran a 37.9. Now I'm on my last run and I figured okay, drive it like I stole it, why not.

This was probably my second favorite run, because it felt so much fun, not so much caring about time and more so just put your foot down and let the rear spin. Amazingly, going into the last couple of corners, I felt I had a lap capable of an low 38, if I nailed the last two turns that I had been kind of going easy on all day, because I didn't want to be the guy who takes out the cone wall there. So this time I stood on the early gas, and four-wheel drifted out to the edge, just barely stopped before the cones, and the car was still sliding around past the finish line, only to have the car finally properly snap oversteer on me. That was the only shock I experienced all day. Thankfully I was able to save it and didn't take out the cones.

Yay for all the practice in iRacing on the old physics model with the crazy fast snap oversteer.

The car did great. Over 160K miles and it will happily jump up to the rev limiter. The shocks felt OK, bakes could be better but I'll correct that soon. No problems at all from it.

For course work, I was a course worker for one, and a grid worker for the next one. Grid working was fun, but it was a bit more work.

Unfortunately, nearly no pictures. The camera battery started dying on me even though I put new batteries in. Also, the run that I had filmed was accidentally not recorded. So I only have shots and video from when I first arrived.



lineup.jpg


A few of the cars in the first run group.



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I'm on the grid!


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Just finished the numbers.
 
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Do you have more confidence in your car now that you've pushed it to, and past, it's limit?
 
Ronald6
Do you have more confidence in your car now that you've pushed it to, and past, it's limit?
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I was fearing new noises to be popping up from the drivetrain but the gearbox and engine took it all without one complaint. I rarely push it past 4K RPMs very often on the street and when I do it is only for a short bit. So I'm really happy that these 38s runs, all well past 5-6 RPMs, didn't reveal any new engine noise either.

The car came home in the exact same shape it left in. So yes, I do feel more confident in pushing the car without thinking about the cars health.
 
I remember my first Auto X event, an instructor told me that if I didn't hit any cones, then I am not getting close enough to them.

For your next event, look ahead. When your going through a corner, look at the next one, if your in a slalom, look ahead to the last cone. You'll have a natural tendency to look straight in front, but force your self to always look ahead. You'll find that your racing lines will be smoother, and you will get closer to the cones, and setting a faster time.

The instructors at my autox school stressed how important it is to look ahead.

Glad you had fun! I still have to take my car to an event.
 
LeadFootLiam
I remember my first Auto X event, an instructor told me that if I didn't hit any cones, then I am not getting close enough to them.

For your next event, look ahead. When your going through a corner, look at the next one, if your in a slalom, look ahead to the last cone. You'll have a natural tendency to look straight in front, but force your self to always look ahead. You'll find that your racing lines will be smoother, and you will get closer to the cones, and setting a faster time.

The instructors at my autox school stressed how important it is to look ahead.

Glad you had fun! I still have to take my car to an event.
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I do fear I was too far off the cones...

I'm not sure if it was learning to drive in an area with a lot of bad drivers, the video games, or my mom but I always look ahead and not at the ground in front of the car. Both said I was on the right lines.
 
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carracerptp
I do fear I was too far off the cones...

I'm not sure if it was learning to drive in an area with a lot of bad drivers, the video games, or my mom but I always look ahead and not at and the ground in front of the car. Both said I was on the right lines.
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Thats awesome, since that's coming naturally, you be pretty good at Autox if you stick with it. 👍
 
Ronald6
If you're going to bring coolent then also bring distilled water to mix with it.
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In the summer I only ran distilled water + Redline Water Wetter. Coolant is really a bad name for it as it's really only there to lubricate seals and prevent the water from freezing, hence the actual name "Anti-Freeze". The water does most of the cooling.
 
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OK, getting ready for my next autocross this saturday :)

My pre-catalytic converter O2 sensor started acting up. At first I was getting a code telling me I needed a new catalytic converter but after a post on a local forum they suggested it was the sensor.

Getting the old sensor out was a nightmare. Even after 16 hours + of soaking in PB blaster it didn't move. Then when I finally did break the thing lose my arm smashed into the frame. I got a decent cut but I really badly bruised my wrist. I was going to do a brake job ( new rotors, rear pads ) before this autocross but after that I was unable to.

But much better this week so I will try and get some done. still babying my wrist so I can do the autocross, should be just fine.

I did get a chance to wax the car and give the interior a good cleaning.

interior.jpg


Now I used "meguiars gold class carnauba" for wax and "Meguiars Supreme Shine Rubber & Vinyl Protectant" for the interior. The wax seems ok but I feel it could be better but I really liked the job the vinyl stuff did. The interior looks new now.

I'm now thinking about tire pressure for my autocross runs, I'm still on the old tire. Last time I ran 35PSI because I was worried about the sidewalls. Now I feel that was way to much. I'm going to run 30 this time.

last.jpg


I really need to get some of the dents pulled out of the body...
 
Heldenzeit
Ugh, I hate the upstream o2! The o2 specific socket helps, but these are almost always rusted in, even my California car.
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I would have never gotten it out without the O2 socket set I loaned from autozone. I wish they made them in 1/2 drive so I could have used my breaker bar from the the underside, with the 3/8s converter on I couldn't fit it in between the frame and the O2 sensor.
 
I didn't bring a camera so for now no picks.

All I can really say about this event is this time I hit cones, lots of cones, can't say I wasn't getting close enough now @LeadFootLiam's instructor :) I didn't spin but I had a few moments of trying.

Funny my first event ( the 6ths ) I was calm, measured, and never felt "bad" I was just new and needed practice ( slow ). This time however I seemed to have no feel for the width of my car or the grip of my tires. In every run I got excited and messed up very shortly afterwards.

I would have loved to have 2 more runs but we only got 4 thanks to a rain scare ( didn't happen ).

The car is fine after the cone eating. So now it is time to track down some 15 rims from a 99 miata, new summer tires, and my composure from my first event :(
 
I highly recommend taking an Auto x school. I did last summer, it was a blast, and I learned so much. If your auto x club has a training course or something, take it! Super good to do if you want to pursue autocross.
 
LeadFootLiam
I highly recommend taking an Auto x school. I did last summer, it was a blast, and I learned so much. If your auto x club has a training course or something, take it! Super good to do if you want to pursue autocross.
Click to expand...

They have a school ( apparently a very good one ) but I don't think I need it / will take for 2 reasons:

I know all the "concepts" backside the cones, finding a good line ( or just copy a driver ) etc. just need seat time to learn and work on execution.

It cost almost 4 times as much as one typical autocross event, I would rather just uses the money to run double events or with other clubs. I would get more seat time doing this, and I feel that is what I need more.
 
How easy/difficult is it for someone to do a timing belt job themselves? Say the only experience they have is changing a front hub assembly and shifter rebuild? :lol:
 
Crispy
How easy/difficult is it for someone to do a timing belt job themselves? Say the only experience they have is changing a front hub assembly and shifter rebuild? :lol:
Click to expand...

Not really hard on this car, just follow any of the many tutorials ( videos / text ) on how to do it. If you can do a fan belt you can do this. It's non-interference engine so the risk level is low.

I did it with only having changed fluids and my fan belts. But I have worked on higher grade RC toys so I knew I could follow instructions.

My tips would be:

Can you live without your car for a week? I would have had my car done in about 3 days ( timing belt / water pump / seals / small stuff ) but I spent about a day and a half cleaning the engine and some parts needed replacing that I didn't expect ( had to wait on that ).

Buy everything you need from the start. Make sure you have the tools, nothing special, but I would recommend a small 1/4 ratchet to fit in a few small places, make it easier.

Make sure you have a torque wrench(s) that can do down to at least 70 inch-pounds up to 118 foot-pounds.

If you don't have a camera or don't want to take a good camera / phone under the hood I would suggest getting a cheap point and shoot camera. I took pictures of every bolt and part. That saved me twice when I started putting it back together.

Either put nuts / bolts back in the parts or have labeled bins or bags.
 
A camshaft locking tool would be a good investment as well. Then just use tipex to mark the crank position.

Saves you having to faff around re-timing up the engine, making the job really quite straightforward. 👍
 

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