Sounds like a car I'd like to play with. I'm surprised it had enough
muscle to keep the tires spinning with the tail out. Brave on your part!
I'm no road racer, although when I was a journalist I got to drive a
lot of tracks, so I know how much fun it can be. My most critical
moment came at Lime Rock where I got a 911 Turbo pointing about 90
degrees off course in the first tight turn after the end of the
straight sweeper. I narrowly saved it, but the Porsche PR guys weren't
impressed. On another occasion I drove an understeering Camaro off
the track at the GM proving grounds, but I consider that one to have
been the car's fault rather than mine:-). I'm sure I'd be dangerous in
a real race car.
Paul
On Aug 25, 2009, at 11:17 PM, Doug Franklin wrote:
paul stenquist wrote:
Looks like an entertaining machine.
Oh, and /way/ entertaining. The Miata is entertaining, for a driver
anyway, in virtually any guise that doesn't include a trashed tranny
or a worn out motor. It was designed and built to be a drivers car,
to be an LBC (Little British Car) like the MGB, Sprite, and
Spitfire, but with the reliability of a Corolla. I don't generally
race Miatae, but I have a 1990 street car with big suspension mods,
and I've raced a Spec Miata once at Road Atlanta.
I couldn't tell you how it compares to a 911 or a Maserati or a
Lotus or any of those big bucks cars. Compared to that stuff, I'm a
pauper. But I can tell you that a '90 Miata plus two grand of
suspension parts can perform with cars /way/ out of its "class".
My '90 has stock engine and trans, so five speeds and 116 HP and 100
ft-lb of torque. Body kit that includes skirts to keep air out from
under. Dropped about 1" or 1.25" by spring change. 40-50% harder
sway bars. Three way adjustable shocks tuned to be as soft as
possible without bottoming out the suspension. 17" rims with 215mm,
40% tires. It drives like a go-kart.
One of my favorite automotive memories originates with that car. I
was southbound on I-75 nearing Atlanta about 0600, nautical
twilight, on a Sunday morning, with virtually no traffic. I was
planning to transition to I-85 northbound at the intersection known
locally as Brookwood. The ramp is a long, gentle, favorably
cambered left hand curve with lots of run off room, bordered by
nasty concrete walls. I hit that curve at about 90 mph, way over in
the run off area on driver's right, gliding into the reducing radius
apex, which required tapping the brakes while tipping the steering
wheel to throw the rear end out and "dirt track" it around the
corner, at those speeds.
About a second after I threw the rear end out and started "dirt
tracking" through the ramp, I heard a commotion behind me. Looking
in the mirror, I saw that both of the cars behind me, like 300
meters behind me, had locked up their brakes and were "crash
stopping". I don't know why they'd do that, and maybe it had
nothing to do with me, but I guess most drivers don't see a Miata
four wheel drift for a half mile under power. :-)
--
Thanks,
DougF (KG4LMZ)
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