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If you are a racer or are maybe just a casual tuner who enjoys the curves, then you need to read this book. It will help you improve your lap times and your everyday driving. Highly Recommended!!
Sometimes you are on a drive and end up with the perfect scene to take a picture. This was the case for this 2008 Subaru STI. The driver saw this amazing background, and immediately pulled over to get a shot of his car. Wouldn’t you have?
Own a Subaru Impreza?Want to Make it faster? Then you might be looking for this Subaru Handbook.
Today is just a quick update to let you know that I’m currently in the process of getting some new equipment and will be working on some videos very soon. Both driving videos which will show the beautiful island I live on, and some install videos as well. I won’t yet say what the equipment is as I will do a complete review once I get it. But if it is as good as I am hoping, then I think everyone will be interested in it.
As far as the roadster goes, I will shortly be installing a CAI with Apexi intake, an oil catch can, and a few other things as well. More soon!
If you are reading this page, then you are most likely a fan of tuning your car. However, when we are adding various parts, there is usually one part of the car we leave untouched, the driver. Without a good driver, it doesn’t matter how good a car is, it’s not going to perform well.
Now if you have a chance, you should definitely do a track day and spend a day with a professional teacher. If you like to race, then spending a day of instruction will shave a lot of time off your laps.
In a meantime, I found a great set of videos. These are from a website called hooked on driving and feature everything from the driving line, to heel to driving.
The below video is on heel and toe shifting. This is a racing technique that will help you go into turns more slowly and put less wear on your engine. You can also use this in the real world. It takes a little bit of practice, but after a little bit of practice comes second nature.
I have basically been getting bad gas mileage since I bought my Miata almost a year ago. I wasn’t expecting to be driving a hybrid, but 18 mpg just seemed a bit too low for a 1.8l, even if it is a “little” sporty. I set about trying to make it run better and more efficient.
I basically did all the maintenance stuff (plugs, air filter, pcv valve, gas filter, plug wires, oil change, and transmission change. I also replaced a bad 02 sensor. The car felt much better, but I didn’t see much of an increase in MPG.
I had all but given up.
However, a couple of weeks a go I replaced my worn out engine mounts with Mazda Comp Mounts (the biggest pain in the butt job I have done so far). Not only did I have better shifts, the car seems to maintain speed much better when I let off the gas. Before, it would slow down like I was slightly hitting the brakes anytime I let off the gas. I think it had to do with the engine not lining up well with the transmission because of weak/ripped engine mounts.
So if you are getting low mileage, first do all the regular maintenance stuff. But if that doesn’t fix it, and you have a loose motor (shifter moves when you hit the gas) then you might consider replacing your motor mounts. It made a big difference for me.
Cleaning the drains
Living in a sub-tropical environment, we get a lot of rain. Without the proper maintenance that rain will get inside the Miata’s convertible top. As I recently found out during one of our latest downpours. These instructions are for a 99 JDM Miata Mx-5 NB, but should work on other models too.
There are four drains that need to be cleaned. Two are at the top of the pillers on the windshield near where the top latches. They run all the way down the pillars and come out just below where the speaker would normally sit. The other two are located just behind where the seat belts are attached. They come out underneath the car.
Top Drain
Pillar Drain
Rear Drain
Miata Rear Drain
To clean the drains you will need something to stick through. I used a piece of small cable with ducktape at the end to make sure it didn’t puncture the rubber.
Cleaning Device
Stick the cable in the top and slowly push it down. Any gunk should get pushed out the bottom. I then used a syringe/squirter to force water down the holes and make sure it was clear. Also make sure there is nothing else near the drain holes that could get washed in and cause it to clog again.
The whole process should only take about 5 minutes or so and then you are all done.
Adjusting the hot/cold temperature on a JDM Miata.
If you find that the air coming out of your vents is not as cool or hot as you would like, you can actually adjust it. Use this link http://www.miata.net/garage/heater_cable.html. However, if you own a JDM engine (or any right hand Miata). Make sure you look on the drivers side, not on the passenger side!!
A couple weeks ago I went for a fun drive in my JDM Miata (known as a Roadster over here). The car held on the the ground pretty good, but I couldn’t say the same thing for myself. Due to the minimum support of the seat, I felt like I was always sliding away. I heard that a friend of mine was planning on selling his NB roadster, so I asked if he would be interested in selling the seat. He said he didn’t need any money and would be happy to trade.
So after about 5 minutes of removing and installing, and then a couple hours of cleaning; I have a new seat. I added some new padding and and will replace the cover when I get a chance. I’ll also try to get some more pics up. I should also mention that the new seat weighs considerably less than the OEM seat.
If you are reading this page, then you are probably interested in tuning and driving faster. Now I love to tune my car, but it can also be quite expensive. I generally tend to do my own tuning so that saves me a bit of money, but even so, car parts aren’t cheap. Luckily, there is one part of your car that will likely make a bigger difference than the rest and is quite cheap. The driver.
Over the last couple of months I was in the process of searching for a new car. I had been stuck with a Honda Today as my commuter and decided it was time to get something better(You can check out my Mazda Miata here). This process really got me into the mentality of tuning/racing. I picked up a book called “Speed Secrets: Professional Race Driving Techniques” and started to dig in.
The book is written in a way that it’s easy, though some of the contents are actually quite technical. And while the techniques taught in the book are for racing, you can actually practice most of them in your regular driving. Doing so can help turn even a boring drive in a slow car into something more fun.
The book covers a number of items including the importance of balance, heel-toe shifting, braking, how to take turns, down-force dynamics and much more. This book made me think about a lot of concepts I hadn’t considered before. For example, I knew that drafting reduces the force against your car allowing the car to do less work while maintaining speed. What I didn’t ever think about was that down-force is also reduced limiting your grip.
Overall the book has been a great read (one I will probably read a couple more times) and has changed the way I view a number aspects of driving. It has definitely made everyday driving a little more fun.
I think this is a great book for anyone interested in driving, racing, jdm engines, and tuning. It is also available on the kindle so you can download it straight to you iphone or other smart phone if you have one.
About a week ago I received a set of new Toyota Starlet Eyelids in the mail and handed them over to my friend Masa. He had been wanting a set for quite a long time. I actually thought that the carbon fiber eyelids would look cool, but he wanted them color matched to his car so he went with FRP.
After a few days of preparation (sanding and re-sanding) he turned them over to a shop to get them painted. A few days and about $30 later he had a set of silver eyelids. He had them on the next day. Unfortunately, the “eyelid” specified 3M tape didn’t hold up to well and he has had to remove them. I think it has a lot to do with the high humidity here. These are the pics once he reinstalled them.
He has also just finished installing a custom rx7 intercooler to replace his performance (I think ARC) intercooler. We will write more on this later, but here is a teaser picture so you can get an idea.
