Project Miatabusa Part 3 - Attack of the Weight Weenie!

by Dave Coleman

Our Miata's stock 1.8-liter weighed 296 pounds. The Hayabusa engine, without gearbox or header, weighed 135 pounds. So it looks like we should have 161 pounds shaved right off the bat. But on top of that, we've managed to save another 73 pounds just by discarding the parts of the car that are really only required by the kinds of people who wouldn't put a Hayabusa engine in their Miata in the first place.

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Technobabble: Help Us Help You Avoid Tetanus!

by Dave Coleman

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Wrench Tips #16: The Homebrew Rubber Lathe

by Dave Coleman

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Project Miatabusa, Part 2: The Engine Is IN!

By Dave Coleman

Holy crap, this is gonna work!

Wanna see this abomination in person? We're dragging it to the MX-5 Miatafest at Mazda R&D in Irvine, CA this July 17. Cliky the linkey for more info: http://mx5miatafest.com/

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Wrench Tips #15: Grip Dip For Your Screw Tip

by Dave Coleman

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Wrench Tips #14: Put Your Studs to Work

by Dave Coleman

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Tire Test (LeMon's Style): Falken Azenis RT615-K

By Dave Coleman

The typical new tire introduction goes like this: The new Pazoosy Jaberwoky XR 745 Ultra R Super Star uses triple-inverted diagonal ply Inconel belts and a directional, asymmetrical tread pattern to optimize wet and dry grip, minimize road noise, increase your fuel economy and magnify your sex appeal. The sad truth is that neither the author, nor the PR team that fed him that line of technospew has any idea what triple-inverted diagonal ply Inconel belts are or what they do.

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Technobabble - Rotard Heaven

by Dave Coleman

For about a decade, the rotary engine looked ready to take over the world. Dozens of companies were developing the powerplants in an effort to exorcise the rotary's demons and realize the potential of its simple concept and compact proportions. Almost all of them failed, and the whole exercise was relegated to a historical footnote.

Here, in a small museum about an hour south of Frankfurt, is a glimpse into just how big and complex that footnote should be.

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Project Miatabusa - Part 1: What The Hell We Are Thinking...

By Dave Coleman

Plain and simple: We're taking a first-gen Miata, stripping it to the bone, and stuffing a 10,000 rpm Suzuki Hayabusa engine under the hood. Madness...

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Wrench Tips #13: Painting Behind Brake Lines

by Dave Coleman 

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