NC Miata: The "inadequate stock suspension" myth...

My visit at the Nurburgring last month, and the 440 hard kilometers I drove in the Green Hell, confirmed the fact I already knew: "You should not trust any opinion other than yours".
Yes, I know this sounds extremely selfish. And it seems like a gross generalization. But in the case of a car judgment, this applies fully. Especially when you suspect that the credentials of the persons who express these opinions aren't exactly those which could qualify them as experts.
Expert opinions are also suspicious sometimes. The review of Keiichi Tsuchiya (aka The Drift King), who called the NC "dangerous for drifting" in the famous Best Motoring episode where he loses control of the car, is a fine example of such a "expert" opinion.
If someone's experience with his car includes numerous track sessions, combined with the required knowledge of car physics and a refined driving technique, then he must be the only judge of his car. No one can review his car better than him.
This is exactly the case with the Mazda Miata NC. The voices of dissatisfaction about the stock suspension where raising all around. Some people even called the stock suspension dangerous for your life.
All these was erased and canceled in the Nurburgring Nordschleife! The car laps the ring in under nine minutes (which is pretty fast actually), with a neutral handling which gives the driver vast amounts of confidence. No understeer, no oversteer, only great handling and lots of grip thanks to the Toyo R888s.
I am happy that I refused to trust the people who changed their suspension after 200 miles. Probably they hadn't even aligned the car, and they claimed that they didn't liked the stock suspension because it was inadequate and dangerous. Yeah, whatever.
NC owners: Get your car aligned and trust the Mazda mechanics. They knew what they were doing.

My miata in the Green Hell: Nurburgring Nordschleife

This is an onboard video of my brand new Miata in the Nuerburgring Nordschleife:



The car is a 2007 Marble White Mazda MX-5 Miata NC. It is the Euro Spec Sport model (6-speed manual transmission, Bilstein suspension package etc). The modifications (which were done 36 hours after the delivery of the car!) are the short final gear ratio (FGR 4.1) and the Quaife ATB Limited Slip Differential.

Here are some photos of the car:

The new era...

Yesterday I ordered my new miata: a Marble White 2.0L Sport NC:


I specifically wanted this color, because I think that it enhances the racing spirit of the car. The Sport Edition (6speed manual gearbox, Bilstein sport suspension, extra body stiffness etc) was the natural choice, because I wanted a stock miata which will need only minor modifications.
But all these had a great cost: waiting for 4 months until the car arrives in Greece!


I hope that this summer, I will be able to explore the driving potential of the car in the Eiffel Mountains : in the Nuerburgring Nordschleife...

European MX-5 meeting at the Nordschleife - Summer 2007

This summer, some members of www.trackmiata.gr intend to visit the Nurburgring Nordschleife. We have already checked the 2007 calendar and have settled for the period 25th - 29th of July. The trip is already scheduled and all that is left to do, is to arrange accommodation and some other minor details.

So, we came up with an idea. Why not invite all European MX-5 clubs to this journey and maybe arrange a european MX-5 summer meeting? The Nurburgring's location makes it more convenient than any other place for such a great meeting. The particular dates (25th-29th of July) were chosen because Nordschleife has the most opening hours for the public during this period and it's a very common holiday period, so it should suit many people. If you find this an interesting idea, we would be very happy to meet there all of us.

We have already notified several European MX-5 Clubs and people are already interested!! It would be great to have many miatas for a Nordschleife trip!! The ultimate roadtrip!! Some of us have already been to the Nurburgring, so we know our way around. We will do our best so that every MX5er will have a most enjoyable journey!! All details can be coordinated on TrackMiata's International Section so that all clubs can have a common discussion place!!

We are looking forward to your participation!

Onboard Videos

Here are some onboard videos of my 1.6 NBFL Rotrex Supercharged Miata:

• papdoc @ Serres Circuit
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auVYD-JPn6E
  
• papdoc @ Megara Circuit
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k9NFNlQcbU
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2UZ77-QFA0
• opterios @ Megara Circuit
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=migvjhWONJI
• KingManos @ Megara Circuit
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTcUzsPrQb0

Enjoy!

Rotrex Supercharging my Miata

On August 2006, I have installed a Rotrex Supercharger Kit by www.miatadynamics.com. Installation was extremely easy and minimal invasive. The Rotrex centrifugal supercharger is very compact and uses its own lubrication system. It has a thermodynamic efficiency similar to a turbocharger (~75-80%), unlike the Eaton positive displacement blowers which are widely used in miata applications. This leads in relative low intake temperatures, reduced detonation issues and excellent power output. The centrifugal superchargers produce boost relative to engine rpm. This fact retains the stock driving characteristics of the car, with a smooth linear power output. Here is a graph presenting the boost rise relative to engine rpm:

I use the SP30-74 supercharger with a 90mm pulley. This gives 8.5 PSI at the rev limiter.

The dyno of the car showed a 68% of power increase:

164 rwhp (190 bhp @ flywheel)

17.8 kgm rear wheel torque (21 kgm @ flywheel)

This dyno was done on the hottest day of the summer (40+ *C), when the car was non-intercooled. There is also a comparison with the stock power curve.

This was the look of the non-intercooled setup:

...

The car had absolutely no detonation issues in the hot Greek summer. Even though, I decided to install a side-mounted intecooler, in order to be as safe as possible when I torture my car in the track:

...

So the engine bay now looks like this:

The fuel injection and ignition timing is managed by an E-Manage Blue Unit, which is connected to the factory harness with a Boomslang Plug’n’Play harness. I use 310cc Nippon Denso Injectors and I monitor the Air/Fuel Ratio, the Exhaust Gas Temperatures and the boost level with a Zeitronix Wideband O2 sensor.

After six months, I must say that the car isn't really what I expected... It is far better than that! It is fun to drive, it has no reliability issues, and as a bonus it holds the miata lap time record in Megara Racing Track in Athens.

Track Miata Forum

On the 21^st of November 2006, www.trackmiata.gr was founded. It was an idea of 3 people: Alex-Diver, Themis-opterios and me. The site is dedicated to the track aspect of the Mazda Miata MX-5. This aspect is frequently underestimated, especially in our country where the majority of Miata owners have absolutely no idea about the racing potential of their car.

Many interesting discussions are held in our forum, focusing exclusively on technical topics, thus maintaining an extremely low noise-to-signal ratio. The forums language is Greek, but many international miata enthusiasts visit our international session.

Visit www.trackmiata.gr ! We will be happy to meet you there!