Flyin' Miata : Supertuner Challenge : The event

The Challenge took place on May 13 and 14th in Ontario, California. After the failure of the stroker crank, we decided to build an extremely driveable Miata instead of going for peak output. It worked. Everyone who drove the car was impressed with just how well-behaved Elvis was. Smooth power delivery and fast throttle response were the comments.

The track day was cool, overcast and windy. The wind was heading straight down the front straight and the 1/4 mile track (well, it was actually pit row), making times slower than expected. A couple of cars couldn't batter their way to 130 mph in time, so they settled for 120. It was an exciting day with only two mechanical failures out of a total of 16 cars. We didn't count as a failure, but the oil contamination problem that killed our stroker motor continued and hurt our engine output considerably. Who would have thought that the intake manifold would cause ring wear?

And Elvis? Mid pack. Very respectable for a street-oriented car. We were surprised when he weighed in at 2500 lbs. Still, despite the headwind, Elvis' higher gearing, heavy weight and a driver who wasn't completely familiar with the car, he turned in faster 1/4 mile and 0-60 times than a Diablo VT!

What would we do differently next year? Well, we'd probably compromise driveability for performance. Competitions like this emphasise the numbers. The biggest thing we could do would be to pull weight out of the car, plus of course a more powerful engine and more time spent tweaking the handling. We really want more rubber, too. Since the competition, Elvis has had several more engines dropped in as we test various things.

Of course, another option would be to simply put a licence plate on the Track Dog...

On the way to California. We drove Elvis down along with the turbo Protege.
The night before the competition begins, we swapped on the new wheels and tires and did some cleaning up. Utah bugs are messy!
Howell Automotive drove down in style. These guys were pretty fun.
The first day was spent in a parking lot. Various magazine editors were driving the cars, lots of tires were being kicked. The Miata stood out because it was so restrained, compared to the stickers on the other cars. The editors that drove the car - and pretty much every one of them did - really liked the way Elvis behaved. Like a Miata, only more so. They've tried various other aftermarket Miata setups and have been very disappointed in the past.
The most aggressive car by far. Sport Compact Car wrecked the Cobb WRX recently, but the Cobb team has it put back together.
Over to the track for photo shoots. The caravan over was quite entertaining.
"Hey guys! Let me out!"
Now, where are we again?
Bill and Teri want to go to dinner, the track crew wants to close up - and Keith wants to keep taking photographs of that blue car.
On the sighting lap for the course. It began with a 1/4 mile run, then turned right to go through the road course. At the end of the infield, it was on to the banking for a full-throttle speed run. Hit 130 mph and stop - and you're done.
A pre-run burnout.
Launch!
Elvis on the infield section of the course. Right where a Miata belongs.
At speed in the infield.
Despite the appearances in this photograph, the car was rock steady at 130 mph. A gusty headwind meant that the time to top speed varied greatly.
Larry Webster did our driving. Here he gets cornered by Car & Driver TV.
The staging area. That S2000 was extremely fast.
The sun did come out once in a while.
Packing up to go home after a very strong showing by the MINI. The FM team was also hitting the road for the long drive. Top down, of course.

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