BMC Tool Racing Update from Thunderhill - Friday 12/4/09

by Eric Hsu

Qualified on the pole 1st overall. So far, so good.

---

[Read the rest of this article...]

 

BMC Tool Racing Panoz DP02 25 Hour Car

by Eric Hsu

Under the skin of the BMC/Tool Racing Panoz DP02 25 Hour car. This is an ex-IMSA Lights race car that was torn down, rebuilt, and refitted with all Cosworth gear in less than 8 weeks.

---

[Read the rest of this article...]

Freebuilding The Engine

by Dave Coleman

The engine used in this project was freebuilt from no less than four junk engines. Freebuilding is like rebuilding, but without all the stuff that costs money. Ignore all your instincts to think long term, and focus only on what is absolutely necessary to make the engine perform the task at hand -- surviving 14 hours of abuse before exploding. Labor cost, it should be noted, is not considered in LeMons accounting, a fact that can lead to countless lost weekends and the absolute destruction of any social life. You have been warned.

[Read the rest of this article...]

 

How to Turbocharge a Miata for less than $100

by Dave Coleman

After a few timid part-throttle passes listening for detonation, we finally buried the pedal and watched in horror as our little creation ripped off 170 hp on 7 psi of boost, pegging the 100-psi fuel pressure gauge in the process. Shock, horror, giddy satisfaction and abject terror had a bus fight on the way to our heads. Abject terror won the fight. There was no way the car would survive 14 hours of racing at this power level. It would overheat, throw a rod, melt a piston, ping its ring lands into oblivion, and overheat some more. Then the fuel lines would explode and we'd all burn to death. We immediately started trying to figure out how to make less boost.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Goodbye FD

 

This is, or was, my 6th rotary powered car and my 2nd red FD3S. While I eventually wanted to finish building it, I was just unable to find the time to do so. I was having a really difficult time getting a title for it. Learn from my lesson and avoid buying a car without a title. I got the run around from DMVs from 3 different states and the two previous owners. Eventually I said screw it and I just gave up. I would have hated to drop big $$$ into a race car only to learn that something was wrong with the title. So Pete and I cut the fucker up since I didn't want to burden the next guy. If anybody needs FD parts hit me up.

 

...

[Read the rest of this article...]

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.

...

[Read the rest of this article...]

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 ...

[Read the rest of this article...]