Flyin' Miata : Track Dog testing

Due to other commitments, this is our last planned test session at a track until the beginning of the OTC. Thanks to a lot of work, the car is in good shape. It's another 100 lbs lighter, for one thing! This session was to test some detail improvements, experiment with wing angles and generally do a final check. Pahrump is a much slower track than Thunderhill - while the distance is a mile shorter, lap times are almost identical! This allows us to check the low-speed behaviour of the car.

The car was running a pre-loaded Torsen differential. We were concerned about halfshaft longevity with our spool setup. The Torsen will spin a wheel if the driver is too aggressive on the berms, but it hooks up just fine if the car isn't upset. It's also happier moving around the pits! While we will have a spare diff with us on the OTC, this is what will be installed in the car.

Wing testing was very interesting. We saw a huge drop in lap times as we honed in on the ideal angle - over a second. The driver was unaware of what changes were being made to the wing itself with the stopwatch giving most of the feedback.

We also tried some new brake pads and the new instrument setup. The front pads were not an improvement but the instrumentation got rave reviews. The new hood ducting did help with cooling although the faster times are working the tranny harder. It'll be getting a cooler.

So, how much faster was it going? Well, at the OTC last May only one car - a Viper ACR - got into the 1:47's with a 1:47.355. We pulled a 1:47.03 among a string of other 1:47s - on worn tires. Heh heh heh...

Pictures

Ahhh, Nevada.
Hang on, that's not a Miata! Left to right, Rick, Bill and Teri play with various bikes the day before to warm up. Where was Keith? Working on the Track Dog's wiring in the pits...
Ready to run.
Some early laps. Right off the trailer, the car was 5 seconds a lap faster than during the OTC.
Rick in his office.
The new front pads were difficult to modulate - whoops!
The cost of locked brakes - turn 8 is a tough one. The tire was worn out anyhow.
Back on Wilwood B compounds, the Dog is much happier.
This is the parking lot equivalent of crop circles, spotted back at our hotel. We have no idea where they came from.