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RR of the Day: Three-wheelin' like only a Miata should
We couldn't find a better way to kick off our autocross-themed RR of the Week than showcasing one of the most potent cone-assassins available, the Mazda Miata. Certainly, the two killer photos of Alex Renner's Miata in action made for eye-candy of the highest order, but as soon as we saw the intercooler peering within the Mazda's maw, we knew this had to be Monday's submission.
Alex's '95 Miata is located in Chile and has been perpetually under the wrench since it was purchased in 2002. The aforementioned intercooler provides a steady supply of cool air to the blown 1.8-liter four, as pumped by a Mitsubishi TD04-13T turbo. Naturally, all that additional oxygen needs the appropriate amount of fuel, so Alex enlisted the aid of a Walbro 255 LPH fuel pump that sends the explosive stuff through a JimB fuel rail and feeds 330cc injectors. An Apexi SAFC2 and a Greddy PfofecB boost controller, coupled to a Vortech FPR, handle the computing duties and the whole process has been wideband tuned to create a reliable 12:1 air-to-fuel ratio. Spent air and fuel is sent through a BEGI cast exhaust manifold and out of a custom 2.5-inch turboback exhaust.
According to Alex, the Miata puts 210 HP down to the wheels at 6,500 RPM and 212 ft.-lbs. of twist at 4,500 RPM. On the handling side of things, Mr. Renner went with Tein coilovers that lower the drop-top over a set of 15x7 Rota Slipstreams, wrapped in Pirelli Pzero C tires. Behind the front rolling stock is a set of Wilwood calipers, providing pressure to 11-inch discs via four pistons. The inside gets more race duty details including a HardDog rollbar, Momo seats and steering wheel, and a video camera mount so Alex can relive his weekend excursions (we're waiting for a YouTube link Mr. Renner).
A modded Miata driven in anger is exactly the kind of vehicle (and driver) we're looking for this week, so follow along after the jump to see some of Alex's opposite lock action and get directions on how to submit your own RR of the Day.
NEXT WEEK'S THEME: Cars of the '80s!
Break out the leg warmers and your old Atari 2600, because we're going back to the '80s for our next RR of the Day theme. All next week we want to feature glorious cars from the decade that brought us the rise of Kevin Bacon as an actor and synthesized music as an art form. If you have a vehicle that originates from the 1980s, submit it to our Autoblog Flickr Pool to be considered for a RR of the Day feature. Man, it's gonna be a rad week.
How to submit to RR of the Day:
Create a Flickr account if you don't already have one. Search for and join the group called 'Autoblog RR of the Day'. Upload up to three photos of your ride to your own account at a size no larger than 450 pixels wide if possible and include as much information about it and yourself as possible. Even if your ride is sweet, it will not be chosen if there's not a lot of info accompanying it. Click on each photo and just above the picture it will say "Send to group". Click that and select the Autoblog group. You're done, that's it!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Bill 1:19PM (11/13/2006)
The early Rabbit/Golf/Jettas were easy to put into 3-wheel mode too. They always did this on road tests on TV (MotorWeek), and all the magazines made mention of it in their tests too.
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Kansei 1:26PM (11/13/2006)
what's better is seeing a miata with one FRONT wheel off the ground. Any car can do 3 wheels with one in the rear off.. hell, when I pull into my not-even-steeply-angled driveway I go three wheeling in my Protege5.
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Opposite Lock 1:29PM (11/13/2006)
Too much grip, not enough roll stiffness. Bump stops are not effective dampers.
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spdracerut 2:06PM (11/13/2006)
Oh common guys! What ever happened to 'having fun' while driving? Looks like he was having fun to me!
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menice 2:23PM (11/13/2006)
jeez, anyone gonna say 'nice ride'?
Nice ride Alex, looks like your having fun with it.
all that work and no appearance mods? no rims?....ah who cares 200+ hp in that car must be a blast. congrats on RRotD.
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Opposite Lock 2:33PM (11/13/2006)
I didn't mean to be so negative, I love those cars. It just looks like it needs a little more chassis work.
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Brian 2:37PM (11/13/2006)
Here's an example of the opposite (i.e. what happens when you have the correctly front-roll-couple combined with extra rear suspension travel and sticky tires): http://forum.miata.net/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=19702
This car needs less rear bar or more front bar.
The wheels are not stock, menice.
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thefultonhow 2:51PM (11/13/2006)
For another example of what can happen with a soft suspension and sticky tires...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikit0_s7r1o
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Alex Renner 3:06PM (11/13/2006)
Opposite lock: The miata doesn´t have much roll stiffness from the factory. I´ve added a 6-point rollbar, a full set of chassis bracing and it´s still quite flexy, i need this, or a full roll cage:
http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?deptid=4538&parentid=0&stocknumber=13-69920%20%2090-97
Menice: I rather like the stock look, and i´m not a fan of "appearence" mods, or anything that adds weight without any increase in performance. The current rims are Rota Slipstream blacks, it looks better than those white momo GT2´s in above pics.
To the rest of the guys, thanks! I´ll try to upload a video later.
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Hank Wallace 12:16AM (11/15/2006)
Repeat after me.. Swaybar and springs.. Swaybar and springs.. They will transform the car! Forget about chassis flex until you do this.
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Andy 3:52PM (11/13/2006)
Damn. A Miata. How about a Lotus Elan instead?
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Arnie 3:50PM (11/13/2006)
Mazda Miata or MX5 as known in Eurpoe rocks !!!
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Sixer 4:03PM (11/13/2006)
As I recall, no Lotus in Chile
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Tim 5:20PM (11/13/2006)
Nice ride Alex!
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Spear 7:09PM (11/13/2006)
yea, but it's a.....miata
a WOMAN's car
for a WOMAN that can't afford a Z4 or better
it can be hardly called a "sports" car
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Billy C. 8:10PM (11/13/2006)
Spear - you can take your finger out of your nose and your hand off your dick now.
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bert 11:17PM (11/13/2006)
If lifting a wheel up off the ground is so great for handling why dont all race cars do this? Maybe someone should try a little suspension tuning, but wait, that might require a little more skill than turning a wheel and pushing some pedals.
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Tom Winch 11:22PM (11/13/2006)
14. yea, but it's a.....miata
a WOMAN's car
for a WOMAN that can't afford a Z4 or better
it can be hardly called a "sports" car
What an ignorant moron! More Miatas are racing any given weekend than any other single model automobile. If that isn't true testament to the Miata being a sports car, I don't know what is! If you've driven a stock Miata, you should realize it's potential. If you've driven a properly set up, modded Miata, then you'd know what you're talking about. I could go on and on. Ignorance is bliss, I guess.
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snutz 12:29AM (11/14/2006)
A Miata is twice the sports car that a Z4 will ever be. Very nice ride.
And menice, this is autocross week, these cars are all about going fast. As much as you would like to think so, dubs, a body kit, and racing stripes don't give you more power or speed.
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JOZ 4:04PM (11/18/2006)
Any Miata will always get my vote. Spear, your an idiot. I drive a miata and a wrx and the miata is just so much more fun than the wrx. Plus the last SCCA also known as SPORTS Compact Car of America (for idiots like Spears) the miata's were beating the STI times and tied with a EVO.
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