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Flyin' Miata
499 35 Rd
Palisade, CO 81526
 
 The Flyin' Miata "Track Dog," which was
formerly a test bed for parts developed for the naturally aspirated Miata, was completely stripped before being prepped for the OTC.
Once the E Production-spec fender flares and nose had been grafted to the stock tub, the car was sent to the paint booth.
 
 
Flyin' Miata had a stroker crankshaft built, which was combined with the .15mm overbore pistons to help them stretch the 1.8-litre block's capacity to 1995cc. Replika Maschinen handled the cylinder head and intake manifold machine work, while Flyin' Miata's Bill Cardell assembled the engine. Ground Control's Advance Design aluminum-body shock absorbers were also part of the recipe. |
Track Dog
Turning a Once-Ratty Miata into a Viper Killer
story by David S. Wallens
reproduced with permission
Ever since its public introduction back in 1989, the Mazda Miata has won constant praise for its nimble chassis and excellent handling. While the car has always been offered with a willing four-cylinder engine, few people would call the Miata overpowered, as balance has always been its strong suit.
However, in creating his turbocharged Open Track Challenge entry, Flyin’ Miata’s Bill Cardell believes he has built the first Miata that actually accelerates better than it handles, thanks to an incredible surplus of both horsepower and torque.
Making Miatas Fly
Bill’s shop has been tweaking the Miata for more than a decade, with their own line of bolt-on turbocharger setups helping them stand out among the crowded Miata tuner market. Thanks to their own software for the Link programmable ECU along with lost of development work, Flyin’ Miata can turbocharge any Miata, easily doubling stock horsepower and without causing and drivability headaches.
A long list of options and upgrades also allows these turbocharger setups to be custom tailored to any Miata owner’s needs, so cars sporting Flyin’ Miata setups are no strangers at autocrosses, track days or even on the interstate.
Flyin’ Miata hasn’t ignored owners interested in naturally aspirated cars, as their 1990 model – officially known as the Red Rat – has served as a test bed for this market. Up until recently, its battered 135,000 mile body housed a trick, all-motor setup. It would become the basis for their latest project.
"It had ‘race car’ written all over it," Bill says.
He isn’t exactly sure where they got the idea to rebuild the car for the Open Track Challenge – a seven-day run through seven popular West Coast circuits – although he thinks a post on the miatapower.com online mailing list got the ball rolling. "From getting the wild hair to going to the race track was like two months."
Revamping
In creating their Open Track Challenge entry – the car was renamed the Track Dog during the process – Flyin’ Miata wanted to build something that would hand with Vipers while demonstrating the durability of their products. To properly do the job, the entire car would be stripped to the basic elements and rebuilt from the ground up.
New engine was needed, and the 1.8 liter block found in the later Miatas would serve as the starting point. In a bit of psychological warfare, however, Bill’s block bears a Kia stamp.
A Kia engine? Yep, the Kia Sephia, as well as some models of the Mazda Protegé, Ford Escort GT and Mercury Tracer, came with the same engine block used in the 1994-up Mazda Miata. Even though they’re all the same, Bill says the blocks found in the front-drive applications can usually be found for less money.
The Kia block did have one performance advantage, though, as it came standard with a main bearing saddle designed to strengthen the bottom end. Mazda’s sports car didn’t get this feature until the 2001 model year, so running the main bearing saddle in a Miata requires the use of an oil pan from a 2001 or 2002 model.
To stretch the Kia block’s 1.8 liters of displacement, a custom-built crankshaft was ordered, one featuring an additional 4 mm of stroke. Along with the 1.5 mm-over Wiseco pistons used, the Flyin’ Miata racer now sports 1995cc of displacement.
"The only thing that slowed us down was it took a long time to get the crank built," Bill recalls, as most of the engine work went together smoothly. Now that they have located a source for the stroker cranks, Bill plans on offering them to his customers.
Topping the Kia block is a 1999 Miata cylinder head prepped by Replika Maschinen of Santa Cruz, Calif. The head’s combustion chambers as well as the intake manifold were ported, while the outside of the head and manifold were coated with a thermal-dispersal finish. "The thing is a work of art," Bill says. Flyin’ Miata has found the stock 1999-spec cams to work very well with a turbocharger setup, so they were retained.
The engine’s real muscle comes from its prototype FM IV turbocharger setup featuring a single Garrett T3/T04E turbocharger along with a new intercooler, one significantly larger than the models used on the popular FM II turbo setups. While the system should be able to withstand 24 psi, the maximum boost run during the OTC was only 15 psi, enough to produce a maximum of 315 horsepower along with 335 lb.-ft of rear wheel torque at 4100 rpm. "There’s another 100 horsepower in there," Bill adds.
"You can drive the thing like a tractor," he continues, as the car makes at least 300 lb.-ft of torque from 3700 to 5000 rpm. "This thing is a torque monster."
During one session on Flyin’ Miata’s Dynojet chassis dyno, they ran the engine under 21 psi of turbo boost, reaching a maximum of 377 horsepower and 377 lb.-ft of torque. Aside from the extra horsepower, the increased engine displacement also helps spool up the turbo, preventing lag.
The rest of the car was similarly fortified, as the suspension received a set of custom-valved, double-adjustable Advance Design shock absorbers. Thanks to their aluminum bodies, these shock absorbers weigh half as much as the stock units. They tend to perform better, too. Other suspension upgrades include polyurethane bushings and Flyin’ Miata’s own big brake kit.
The entire package is covered by Mazda’s own fiberglass fender flare kit. Designed specifically for E Production road racing, the fiberglass is a bit on the thin side, meaning it’s not really appropriate for street use. (The color is supposed to be Lotus Elise blue, but it came out a little on the dark side).
 Once the chassis was sorted, the Flyin' Miata car became a dream to drive on track, as its 300-plus horsepower
could finally be put to good use. The 1995cc Kia/Mazda hybrid engine features a prototype turbocharger setup with a Garrett T3/T04E blower. The gutted interior now hoses a Hard Dog roll cage and Willans belts while the seat and steering wheel are Momo pieces. Rick Weldon served as the team's colorful driver.
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The car’s first real torture test would be the Open Track Challenge. Bill would handle some of the on-track driving, although the team’s primary pilot would be Rick Weldon, owner of PR Motorsports, a Mazda, Honda and Acura repair shop located in Hayward, Calif.
While most of Bill’s on-track experience has come with motorcycles, Rick has been racing cars since 1981, getting seat time in everything from ITD to ISMA GTU racers. Rick would also provide some color for the team, often arriving at the track with some weird mascot in tow or while wearing an outlandish costume. (It’s not every day you see a guy in a wig and heels at the driver’s meeting.)
Aside from the unyielding heat and a bout of food poisoning, things went pretty smoothly for the team, especially once they got their suspension dialed in; their initial suspension settings, done by a local shop before they left for the OTC, made the Miata a handful once on the track. "I’m pedaling as fast as I can," Rick explained after one of his early sessions. "I don’t feel the car is as fast as I can go."
After visiting Willow Springs, the second event in the OTC schedule, the Flyin’ Miata team visited Checkered Past Racing for some help. The shop is conveniently located at the track’s entrance, and their laser alignment machine and corner-weighting scales proved invaluable. Their final recipe called for a little toe-out up front combined with a bit of toe-in out back. Rick found the new setup to his liking, and the rest of the event went pretty smoothly. The team earned a second-place finish in the Unlimited 4 class.
After the entire Open Track Challenge – which included some nine hours of track time, most of it under desert-like conditions – was complete, the team only had to replace a few minor parts: one radiator cap and a lower shift boot. They changed the front brake pads after the fifth event, although Bill says the old ones looked fine. The car did go through four sets of Goodyear racing slicks, however, including four tires that were sacrificed during a spin.
The engine itself had an easy week, as the car’s datalogging system shows most gear changes were done at only 6000 rpm. A post-race inspection showed three cylinders with zero leakdown, and the fourth one off by only 3.5 percent.
Like most of the OTC racers, the Flyin’ Miata crew is looking forward to next year’s event. Bill is already mentioning how different connection rods may yield a more favorable rod ratio. More power will also require more traction, and he says 16x11- and 16x12-inch wheels wrapped in GT2-spec slicks are on his to-do list. Keep an eye on the Flyin’ Miata web site for updates on their preparations for next year’s assault.