Trying to get caught up with stuff now that I’m back in town. More to come on SLB USA.
Interview in the pits!
SLB USA 2019: Day 2 Results From The Track
Superlap Battle USA 2019. We brought the HyperMiata to a power track to battle against 600, 700, and 800 hp cars. Day 1 we got down to a 2:23.4 and surprised a lot of people that we could be so fast with just 300hp. I am pretty sure we had the lowest hp in out of all 19 cars in Limited. The fact that we got protested in this field of monsters is both comical and a compliment. We’re doing things right. Competitors are taking the Miata seriously, even at COTA.
After the Saturday night data and vid review we found a lot of areas where we could make improvements. Day 2 we had the setup dialed and I had all the places to find time on the track hammered into my brain. Unfortunately the transmission had an issue that ended our day early, but we’re coming away from COTA with a solid 5th place out of 19 cars!! It was an awesome event, amazing track, and we can’t wait to return next year.
I will have more to post soon, trying to clean up our Airbnb and get on the road this morning. Lots of miles to cover back to CA.
The cars ahead of us had no less than 650hp, and word is a couple were over 800. I’m curious to find more info on them. We learned a ton. We had more in it. We’ll have to wait until next year to find it.
There have been tons of people reaching out on social media, forums, etc. following our efforts and I want to thank everyone for all the well wishes and support. It’s been a truly epic weekend. I also can’t thank my crew enough; Moti of Blackbird Fabworx, and Greg and my awesome girlfriend Bri, both of Goodwin Racing. The four of us were in constant motion and full attack mode all weekend. No way could I have done this without them. Here are a couple more pics grabbed from various locations for now, will have more soon.
Miata Is Always The Answer!
Me being awkward, no idea what to do with my hands!
Texas BBQ!
SLB USA 2019: Day 1 Update From The Track
Day 1 was a whirlwind. Super cold morning, could barely get heat in the tires. It got better in the afternoon but never ideal surface temps. After session 1 we were notified that a competitor protested our rear trunk lid due to specific rule wording (we’ve ran this trunk lid for the last two years) That’s part of this rodeo. Moti fabricated a new compliant trunk lid out of alumalite on the spot, even covered in correct colors with vinyl.
The track is phenomenal. This car is so good in the esses.
I’ve been knocking about a second off with each session. Haven’t seen the official standings at the end of day 1 but I believe we are something like 6th place with a 2:23.4. There are a couple guys in the 2:21’s and then everyone else in class is 2:23 and up. There’s a whole pack of Limited teams in 2:23-2:25 range, it’s incredible how close it’s turning out to be. As always, I want to be at the front of the leader board, so I’m pushing to find more but I remind myself what a big mountain we are climbing with 1/2 to 1/3rd the power of others in our class. Pretty crazy that we’re even near the sharp end of Limited class.
After some strategizing we went out for some good ol’ Texas BBQ tonight, a much needed break after working till midnight last night on stuff. Then back to the house and we’ve been poring over the data and lap vids to figure out where I can find some more time tomorrow. We’re playing a lot with the balance between drag and downforce too.
More details to come, my brain is fried. We’re running around all day, hard to even get my phone in my hands for a minute but will try to update on IG and FB through the day.
Early pics courtesy of Matthew Jones posting them on FB
SLB USA 2019: Arrived in Austin
We’re in Austin! Moti and Greg are in the air after both of their flights were delayed. Greg’s is a direct flight from SD, he’ll be here in an hour. Moti was connecting to another flight in Phoenix, but his flight out of Burbank got delayed by an almost comedic number of issues. That meant he missed the connection so now he’s in Phoenix working out a plan B. Sounds like he’s arriving tomorrow morning now. Good thing we have Friday as a cushion.
HyperMiata Partner: CSF
This is a perfect time to announce a new partner for the HyperMiata, just in time for Superlap Battle USA.
When I was building the HyperMiata I got to pick a radiator to design the cooling system around. The choice was simple, I wanted a CSF. Now I’m extremely excited to be representing CSF officially with our efforts and achievements. CSF is the manufacturer of some of the best radiators for Miatas, including the Goodwin Racing triple-pass NC radiator (as used in Hyper), and the Supermiata cross-flow radiator for the NA/NB. These radiators need no introduction, they’re known throughout our community as the best rads you can put in these cars.
CSF makes superb quality radiators for a huge variety of applications. CSF’s standard all-aluminum premium radiator is the go-to upgrade for enthusiasts, and they have a budget-friendly ‘factory replacement’ version with high quality core and plastic end tanks. They even make a rad for my Nissan Titan; very important when I’m towing 1300 miles through the desert and need to know I’ll get to the racetrack without delays.
See you at Circuit of the Americas!
SLB USA 2019: On the Road
Loading up took longer than usual yesterday. Feels like I’m bringing half the shop this time. Lots of spare materials (aluminum, steel, lexan, dibond), ALL of my hardware, welder with bottles for mild steel and stainless, twice as many spare parts, Greg’s tools in addition to my own, scooters for the crew, etc. etc.
On the road at 5AM today. 735 miles straight shot from San Diego through Arizona and New Mexico to El Paso, TX. My girlfriend Bri made meals while we were rolling so we only had to stop for gas. Timed our 3 refuel stops, got it down to 6min 30 seconds. Total elapsed time 14 hours and now we’re in El Paso! Tomorrow, *just* 600 miles across Texas to get to Austin.
Lots and lots of this view today:
Driveshaft CV Replacement
A driveline vibration developed in the second half of the day at Streets. Upon initial inspection I thought the CV on the driveshaft had gone. When I pulled the driveshaft out I was very surprised to find the nut on the output shaft of the transmission had loosened, allowing play in the tail. Re-torqued to spec (42 ft-lbs) with loctite and vigorously staked the nut. Without an opportunity to run the car at speed somewhere to confirm that was the only issue, the CV might also be bad, so the CV gets replaced too (CVJ033 from driveshaftparts.com):
Trailer Additions: Wheel Rack & Splitter Hanger
Need to bring spare wheels/tires 1500 miles and don’t want them sitting in the truck bed overnight at hotels so it’s time to build the wheel rack for the trailer that I’ve been planning for at least a year. Nothing overly fancy, quick one-day build. Need to get on to the next thing on the list!
Room for two sets of wheels/tires plus space for the trailer spare.
Also needed to make a new hanger on the ceiling to store the splitter, (because it has to come off for the car to fit in the trailer, and with my shorty trailer there’s nowhere else to put it). So more square tube and cutting/welding was in order.
The seldom seen in-progress pic…
What’s this X-wing looking thing?
And now it has a home:
I’ve been hanging the splitter from the ceiling of the trailer for a while now, but the rack was originally designed for my old splitter. The new splitter, much larger, didn’t fit in it and required some extra bungee cords to keep it in place. A 3,000 mile round trip was more bouncing around than I wanted to trust the bungees with.
Pre-SLB Prep (More)
More and more spares going in the box.
Got some valuable sim time in yesterday. A buddy of mine, Connor, is a pro driver in Pirelli GT4 and he has a killer rig setup that he practices on daily. Occulus VR, four corner shakers, speed-based fans, etc. He very generously let me get a bunch of time in on COTA and even gave pointers on fastest line and where I should make adjustments. I got about 90 laps in, feeling much more confident about the track than I was before. It’s inspiring watching him drive, he just hops in and is on pace and hitting every mark by the third corner on the out-lap and his mid-corner corrections are super precise. I guess that’s why he does this for a living
For me, it was a day away from the car but one of the most valuable for getting ready for COTA.
Pre-SLB USA Checks
Full inspection after SOW is done. Several small items to address (which is usual) but nothing major.
We have a couple new sponsors coming on board for 2019 which I’m really excited about. More on that soon but I need to get them integrated before COTA, and wouldn’t you know it the vinyl plotter just took a dive! Outsourcing decal production to a local shop this morning and getting the embroidery shop going on suit patches, etc.
Also going over lots of spreadsheets and on the phone with a few of our partners to fill out the spares list. I want to be sure that if we have anything go sideways that we have everything we need to fix it and get back out on track fast. I don’t have space to bring a spare motor or trans but we should be able to handle anything other than a major driveline failure.