New Owner Interested in Cheap Autocross Mods... springs/tires?

Intro: Im from Ft Worth and have always wanted an autocross toy. I never had the funds to do so with all my other projects. I have been riding sportbikes for years, have a LT1 powered AWD S10 Blazer, and recently came across a cheap NA. Sooo....

My boss and I are just picking up a couple miatas. A 90 and 91, bone stock cars to be exact. We bought them for the sole purpose of autocrossing since our pickups are certainly not race cars. lol Now these are bone stock budget cars with very tight "race" budgets. We have read lots of good info online about SCCA, Equipe Rapide, etc and plan to come out and play with you guys soon. Mine will not be a daily driver, but would like to drive it on the street with tags, inspection, insurance and all. So we will call it a street car for autocross. His will be trailered from our shop to the parking lots to play with no tags or insurance, just a title and keys, so his will be a race only toy.

Here are the questions...
On a shoe string budget, what if anything, would be recommended to do to the cars? Im talking just a few hundred dollars. I can only dream of high end shocks, race tires, wheels, turbo, cage, fire system, etc. Remember, Im talking a few hundred bucks. The stock Miata will be a blast to run by itself this year. From what I have gathered... springs, shocks, and tires would probably be the best starting point.

So, I was thinking about doing new springs and sway-bars.
Racing beat springs $175 http://www.trackdogracing.com/websit...prings_kit.htm
Racingf beat springs and sway bars $350 http://www.trackdogracing.com/websit...ension_kit.htm

Maybe some tires. What would you gusy say is a good, cheap, sticky road tire? Ir just stockers at 40psi till I really can do some suspension work?

Any input would be great!
Thanks so much!

Welcome aboard! Run what you brung until you decide what clubs you want to autocross with. If you want to run SCCA and/or ER, you will have to follow their strict classing rules. If you want to run NTAXS, BMW or Porsche, it's a more wide open,generic classing. You can run all clubs of course, but they have very different classification rules.

Having said that, if the suspension is original on those cars, it's going to be very tired. Typically the first upgrades are tires, bump stops, shocks, front sway bar. Cars must be mechanically sound to pass the mandatory inspection before you run with any autocross club. Basic stuff like..lack of wheel bearing play, fluids, belts, secure battery, etc.

What Sammmy said.

I pretty much ran my car as I got it for a few months until the all-seasons that came on it wore out. Them I bought good tires. A few months after that, I bought a sway bar, and so on... Anyway, seat time (in your car as is or modified) is the most important. BMW and NTAXS events offer eight runs. PCA events are usually more than eight. ER is usually six. SCCA (because of the number of people) is usually 4-5 runs. There is a BMW event on Saturday, so bring 'em out as is.

BTW, don't bother with a rear sway bar for autocrossing. The stock rear bar (or no rear bar at some venues) is all you need. My rear RB bar sits in my garage.

The basic AX needs are a set of Koni Sport (yellow) shocks, a front sway bar (RB or FM), and good tires. After that, they sky's the limit.

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Originally Posted by sammm

Welcome aboard! Run what you brung until you decide what clubs you want to autocross with. If you want to run SCCA and/or ER, you will have to follow their strict classing rules. If you want to run NTAXS, BMW or Porsche, it's a more wide open,generic classing. You can run all clubs of course, but they have very different classification rules.

Having said that, if the suspension is original on those cars, it's going to be very tired. Typically the first upgrades are tires, bump stops, shocks, front sway bar. Cars must be mechanically sound to pass the mandatory inspection before you run with any autocross club. Basic stuff like..lack of wheel bearing play, fluids, belts, secure battery, etc.

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Ill go over the car with my mechanic to make sure the car is tip top mechanicly. Im sure we have some tired suspension since its 20 years old and 150k miles on them.
We would like to keep them fun and easy to play with whicle all the while upgrading to better and better as the years go on. My neighbor just bought a Forumula Ford he plans to autocross as well. Should be a good time!

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Originally Posted by jrj512

What Sammmy said.

I pretty much ran my car as I got it for a few months until the all-seasons that came on it wore out. Them I bought good tires. A few months after that, I bought a sway bar, and so on... Anyway, seat time (in your car as is or modified) is the most important. BMW and NTAXS events offer eight runs. PCA events are usually more than eight. ER is usually six. SCCA (because of the number of people) is usually 4-5 runs. There is a BMW event on Saturday, so bring 'em out as is.

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Thats good advice. Seat time is more important than mods. I work this saturday and my car wont be ready. We are doing bodywork and fun custom paint jobs on them before anything. (we run a bodyshop)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jrj512

BTW, don't bother with a rear sway bar for autocrossing. The stock rear bar (or no rear bar at some venues) is all you need. My rear RB bar sits in my garage.

The basic AX needs are a set of Koni Sport (yellow) shocks, a front sway bar (RB or FM), and good tires. After that, they sky's the limit.

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So you think that Koni shocks are the way to go, $600 http://www.trackdogracing.com/websit...nsion/koni.htm
front sway bar $115-$160 http://www.trackdogracing.com/websit...b_swaybars.htm

Be careful with bodywork as for SCCA and ER that can jack you into rough classes (thinks like a CF hood or body kits). Otherwise, paint them powder blue :-)

No no, I just mean fixing dings and dents and a new nifty color. I'm thinking 96 Corvette Grand Sport blue with stripes and hash marks. My only body mod will be blasted and painted handles and a license plate frame. Lol

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Originally Posted by GregW

So you think that Koni shocks are the way to go, $600 http://www.trackdogracing.com/websit...nsion/koni.htm
front sway bar $115-$160 http://www.trackdogracing.com/websit...b_swaybars.htm

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Konis seem to be the best "cheap" performance shock, but cheap is relative. Several people on this board would also suggest the Bilsteins, but I have not tried them. Either is good and they have decent resell value if you want to upgrade later.

I like my 1 1/8th RB hollow bar.

So quite a bit of the cars setup is open to individual interpretation and opinion. Like which is better, Chevy or Ford? Heh

I would get the front sway first and foremost.. Cheap, easy install, and very noticeable improvement... listen to jrj, he knows what's up! lol

Ohhh and definitely modern day Ford ;)

Sway bar. Any sway bar is better than none or is there a specific brand, size, type that is good to look for?

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Originally Posted by CHeavin_2006

Ohhh and definitely modern day Ford ;)

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Ok, now I know that you are wrong. Cause anyone who knows anything knows it all about Chevy... Well, and Mazda... Honda is good too. but certainly not Ford. ack.

hehe

My Mazda is pratically a Ford...so what exactly are you trying to say?

Yeah, I guess you are right. Lol

So back on topic, where is a good place to get parts from?

flyinmiata.com
good-win-racing.com
trackdogracing.com

I have an NC, though..
jrj has an NA, I would just check with him..

So basically with these cars, parts are mail order? No local shopping/ pickup places?

Trackdogracing is located in Dallas.
I don't know of any other exclusive miata places that are that local..
Also, check around on the dfwmiata.com and good-win-racing classified forums..
You can find some great deals on used parts. There is always sway bars floating around.

I guess it depends on what you need. I use Google a lot to find prices. And there is nothing wrong with Track Dog Racing.

Depends on what kind of parts you need. Nissan Mazda heaven is the local parts recycler and they're good guys. If you need new OEM parts, I recommend you look at the Mazda Comp program (http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/). You get a pretty hefty discount on OEM parts direct from Mazda.

Most of us that are addicted to Autocross will tell you "Don't spend money on the car until you have done a few events." ( You probably won't listen - we didn't either! )

Once you try it, you'll realize - TIRES!!! are MOST IMPORTANT.

You will likely improve with each event you attend - more than any modifications you make.

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Originally Posted by wrx74

Most of us that are addicted to Autocross will tell you "Don't spend money on the car until you have done a few events." ( You probably won't listen - we didn't either! )

Once you try it, you'll realize - TIRES!!! are MOST IMPORTANT.

You will likely improve with each event you attend - more than any modifications you make.

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good advice.

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Originally Posted by goofygrin

Depends on what kind of parts you need. Nissan Mazda heaven is the local parts recycler and they're good guys. If you need new OEM parts, I recommend you look at the Mazda Comp program (http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/). You get a pretty hefty discount on OEM parts direct from Mazda.

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I have bought parts for customer cars at work from Mazda Heaven before. We get a solid discount on OEM through work as well. Its the aftermarket toys I dont have a discount on. dangit! lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wrx74

Most of us that are addicted to Autocross will tell you "Don't spend money on the car until you have done a few events." ( You probably won't listen - we didn't either! )
Once you try it, you'll realize - TIRES!!! are MOST IMPORTANT.
You will likely improve with each event you attend - more than any modifications you make.

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So stop farting around with the car and just go play. I like it! Im sure my wife will too. haha

Yup, drive it for a bit before you start changing stuff, other than obvious mechanical and wear items. Even tires, which are the best upgrade bang-for-buck, should wait till you know what wheels you'll run. Miata radiators and fans are notorious for fragility when they get really old, and oil leaks from the camshaft-angle-sensor are common and troublesome, but easy to fix. New spark plugs and wires seem to do amazing things for these motors, and NGK Blue wires are the hands-down favorite.

Heater hoses between the firewall and engine are also common problem areas that can be fixed really easily/cheaply. I'd change the tranny and diff fluid too, since they are easy and make a noticeable difference. There are a dozen-or-so other things people generally do to newly-acquired NA's to get them autox-ready, but that is a good day's work that should get you rolling and give you a chance to get to know the car better.

There are so many Miata enthusiasts in DFW that I'd highly-recommend looking for local used parts first when upgrading the car, especially since you're looking to keep it affordable more than you are looking for ultimate performance. As you get to know some of the folks on the boards and at Miata GTG's, I think you'll find almost any go-fast parts you want for good prices, since lots of track and autox guys are always upgrading their cars.

So, the proven method is 1) Get her runnin' good 2) Show up to some events 3)Have fun and let your ACTUAL experiences dictate what you do to the car; you'll know what you need as you reach the limitations of the stock car.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. Well taken.

I'd kinda like to see that big blue thing in your avatar run at an event...

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Originally Posted by SixAce

I'd kinda like to see that big blue thing in your avatar run at an event...

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Yeah, me too. One day... One day.
I can buy a stock NA Miata, and be more competitive, for less than what it would cost to make the suspension 1/2 way competitive on that truck. lol

I have been building that truck for 4 years. Plan to be finished next year.

I plan to paint my Miata just the same as the Jimmy though. heh

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/o...w_100_9475.jpg

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/o...9a243061_b.jpg

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/o...w_img_3328.jpg

Here is it running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11T00mbfemM

And this is what it looked like ayear ago. lol

http://www.tycloness.com/images/webs.../april09/5.JPG

An old wheel once told me....."If you can't drive it stock, you can't drive it modified"

Good advice, be very selective on the parts you throw at it.
They may be the wrong ones. :slow:

I'm the other newbie NA owner. Thanks for all the great advice. I'll post a few pictures of my 90 showing before and after paint. Here's a video my wife shot using a phone a couple days after buying it. My current avatar shows it "coming home."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_jl70uw5J4

My car has yet to arrive, so there will be no events yet for me to attend. Dangit. Soon I plan to be out there sqeeling tires with the gang!

Oh and maybe I'll make my own video in our shop parking lot! lol