Project Frankenmiata: Failure is ALWAYS an Option

by Dave Coleman

Wanna see what happens when an engine eats a screw? Wanna know how to fix a head gasket with JB weld? Wanna know what a Mexican Dodge Stratus and a U.S. Subaru WRX have in common? Ever wondered if an engine with a thrown rod can still be driven? Start reading.

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Driver Profiles - Beth Chryst

By Amanda Martin

Get to know Beth Chryst, rookie driver in the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup.

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Project Miatabusa, part 10:

Tubular Subframes and Engine Mounts, Oh My!

by Dave Coleman

In July, 2010, we posted Part 2 of Project Miatabusa and proclaimed, in a very carefully worded headline, "the engine is in!" "In" was the operative word. Not "installed", or "mounted" or anything nearly as accomplished as that. In fact, we had kinda faked it, hacking away with a plasma cutter to see just what the engine wasn't going to get along with. Now, finally, the engine is actually mounted.

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Frankenmiata: Dyno Secrets Revealed For The First Time!

by Dave Coleman

Secrets? What Secrets? How about the secret to how we found 45 hp completely by accident? Or the secret to how we made 20 lb-ft of torque for $8.32? 

 

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Project Miatabusa Part 6: The Wiring Job From Heck...

By Dave Coleman

Yea, well, it wasn't really the wiring job from Hell, but it was damn near the wiring job from Purgatory, considering how long it took me to get around to mostly finishing it. Surprisingly, nothing about the complete de-wiring of the Miata's engine control system and the integration of the Suzuki Hayabusa engine harness was really all that complicated. 

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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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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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Somebody sent me a link to this video. This video is very obviously not a Cosworth production so it's not a web marketing sneak attack or anything. Anyhow, its great to see real world performance improvements of a product you had a hand in. If you have an MX-5, you know you want one. If you don't want one, well you certainly own the right car already.

Supercharged MX-5 Video

Somebody sent me a link to this video. This video is very obviously not a Cosworth production so it's not a web marketing sneak attack or anything. Anyhow, its great to see real world performance improvements of a product you had a hand in. If you have an MX-5, you know you want one. If you don't want one, well you certainly own the right car already.

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Wide Body Miatas

While the Miata is cool fun little car, it doesn't measure too high on the manliness scale when you compare it to other Japanese cars that are commonly modified. The stock bumper has that look like its smiling and it is pretty small overall. Then in the US, you have many women who own Miatas and of course gay dudes. You're shielded from my criticizm if you're a normal dude and own a Miata, but chances are you're not a normal dude if you're reading this blog. To avoid gayness, look no more: AWR Racing has wide body kits that look pretty clean.  None of the cars on the AWR website are very complete, but ...

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