The internet has a way of making direct answers challenging to find and unnecessarily complicated. Unsurprisingly, removing the power steering from a Mazda Miata is no exception. The back-and-forth on the pros and cons is confusing and somewhat comical. That is why I am here to say resolutely that...
I have been building and racing racecars for a long time, and one of my favorite things is removing unnecessary crap. In a 1.6l equipped Miata that spends its life at wide open throttle, the ISC or Idle Speed Control System just so happens to fall into that category. In this guide, I am going to...
The race season is officially over, and it’s time to finish this. I have significant plans for the 2025 season and about a two-week window during which I can devote considerable time to the exo car build. That said, there are a lot of miscellaneous items to address before the final assembly...
I spent way more time on the fabrication of this project than I intended, forcing myself to have a bit of a reckoning. You see, I tend not to be satisfied with my work and continually strive for improvement. That’s a roundabout way to say I can sometimes be a perfectionist. And that is why I...
The hardtop on the Miata is one of my targets for weight reduction on the Super Touring 6 Miata. During the last round of extreme weight reduction on the racecar, I did some testing to try and determine what effect, aside from an 11-lb weight reduction, running without the rear glass would have...
Getting the Super Touring 6 Miata down another 130 pounds is no simple task. In part 1, I laid out a plan of attack that I started at the most recent Nashville Superspeedway event. I brought my scales to document the weights, and although I may have looked like a maniac with a Sawzall in the...
The exo car build has become a very detailed project, and the fact that I am using it as a huge test bed only adds to the complexity. As a result, this initial fabrication phase, including the roll cage, lasted longer than anticipated. But here we are, tying up the loose ends to bring this phase to...
The NA Miata came to me with extensive front-end damage, so much so that the frame rails forward of the front struts were cut. Although I am getting closer to painting and reassembling, I must first construct a front end. I will create a tubular front bumper that ties into the front frame rails and...
Although the main roll cage is complete, a few items must be fabricated before I paint the chassis. One such item is the dashboard and switch panel. I intend to run several mechanical experiments and tests with this chassis, so I need a clean and easy way to mount several gauges. To do this, I...
Building the roll cage for the ‘ghettocet’ is easily the most time-consuming part of this build. But here we are … finally … with a custom cage built and installed by yours truly. There are a few odds and ends to add, like window net mounts and a Lexan windshield. But for...
Last year, I converted the 1.6-liter NA Spec Miata to run in the Super Touring 6 class with NASA. This power-to-weight ratio class allowed me to shed the weight of the underpowered racecar aggressively. The result was a 2230-lb racecar with the driver, a reduction of 45 lbs. from the Spec Miata...
Let’s call this intermission on the Ghettocet Miata. A time to get up, stretch our legs, and see how far we have come. Frankly, I let my imagination run wild during the roll cage build, which has taken significantly longer than anticipated.
