My '97 Mazda Miata

My '97 Miata is primarily stock. I race it in SCCA Solo-II and Pro Solo2 in the BS (B Stock, not Bull Shit) class, so I cannot change very much on it. I got this car to replace my '91 Miata , which was no longer competitive due to improvements Mazda made in the car over the years.

I also have my competition schedule and results here online.

The view most people see. :-)

My '91 and '97 Miata sisters sitting side by side. The '91 is on the left, and the '97 is on the right. Note the the difference in ride height.

The differences between this '97 and my '91 that really matter are:

The engine has increased in displacement from 1.6L to 1.8L, horsepower is up from 116 to 132 and torque is significantly higher all across the band.
The viscous limited-slip differential has been replaced witha Torsen limited-slip diff. The viscous was capable of redirecting approx. 20% of the power away from a spinning wheel, while the Torsen is capable of redirecting approx. 80% of the power away from a spinning wheel. The Torsen also acts continuously, due to it's nature - whereas the viscous reacted slowly to a need for power redirection. The result is a huge reduction in wheelspin, and the ability to put more power to the pavement in turns.
The new car is heavier and stiffer, due to side impact protection improvments. While the new car weighs approx. 200 lbs more than the old car, the increase in engine torque more than offsets this weight gain.

I have some other wheeled toys: my '91 Miata , '72 DeTomaso Pantera , my '96 Audi A4 Quattro and my '84 Yamaha RZ350.

Stuff I've Done To It

I've done the following things to it to prep it for competition (note how simple it is to prep a Miata for national-level competition in a stock class):

installed GAB 8-way adjustable shocks. These are very adjustable (both compression and rebound damping) and help me make up for the fact that I can't change the springs in the stock class. I generally run the GAB's on "1" on the street and "8" on smooth autocross surfaces, with settings in between for rougher surfaces.
mounted DOT-approved racing tires. I mounted BF Goodrich R1 tires in the 205/55-14 size on my original rims. These are driveable on the street (I never take them off - even to drive to events over 1000 miles away).
changed the alignment to a more race-oriented one. This means maximum available negative camber (front and rear), maximum available positive caster in the front, neutral toe in the rear and about 1/4" toe out in the front.

This site is part of The Miata Ring
This site is owned by Andy Poling.
Click for the:
[Next Page | Skip It | Previous | Random | Next Five]
Want to join The Miata Ring? Click here for info.