Contrast: The Hunter has Become the Hunted

I've posted numerous photos showing one of my Miatas being dwarfed by a truck or SUV. These kinds of pictures are easy to come by, since my car is almost always the smallest in any given parking lot. Encounters with Loti and MR2 Sypders are rare. An exception occurred the other day, when I pulled into my local strip mall to find the highlighter-yellow Smart Fortwo that I've seen there recently. For once, my car was the "big" one. This relationship was especially true because I was driving Zelda, my "big" Miata.

These two cars are remarkably different, given that they are both rear-wheel-drive two-seaters, don't you think? Both cars,do look very happy about the experience, though.

This post reminds me that I wish Smart would bring back the Roadster and Roadster Coupe and export them to the States. Those, I would drive.

Lucky Number 13

The latest issue (volume 1, issue 5) of the online magazine Miata Journal---a scholarly publication with a readership rivaling that of Nature or Science---features an article I wrote about Zelda. A few copy errors were introduced during the online publishing process, but it's otherwise very close to what I wrote. To read it, go here, register, click on "Contents," then click on "134 Lucky Number 13."

2010 DC ProSolo: STR

Almost a month ago, I competed in the 2010 DC ProSolo. "What's a ProSolo?" I hear you asking. Well, solo is the name that the Sports Car Club of America uses for their version of autocross, which you've read me discus repeatedly on this blog. A ProSolo is not simply a solo contested by professionals; otherwise, I certainly wouldn't have been allowed to participate. No, a ProSolo is a closely related motorsport that mixes traditional solo with drag racing. It's a lot of fun, and, since the format is so different, I thought it warranted posting a video of me running my '09 NC Miata in Street Touring R at the event. Unfortunately, The video was cropped when I tried to embed it, perhaps because of the large number of pixels. So, instead, here's a link to said vid on YouTube. The superimposed text didn't work out as well as I would have liked, so I apologize for the difficulty you may have with reading it.

Team Grondul Goes Racing

A couple of weeks ago, Alison and I attended an autocross run by Autocrossers, Inc., an affiliate of the local SCCA region. Below is a video summarizing our exploits.

Team Grondul Motorsports: Part 3

I'm quite confident, gentle reader, that you haven't been pining away, wondering when I would post an update on my exploits autocrossing in the SCCA's Street Touring R class. Well, here is said update anyway.

My lackluster---nay, terrible---performance in the Washington DC Region's practice event, which I reported earlier, was delivered with Zelda in mostly stock trim. I'd installed stiffer engine mounts (to reduce engine motion), a stiffer, adjustable front anti-roll bar (to reduce body roll), and a lighter, higher-flow axle-back exhaust, and I had removed the Induction Sound Enhancer (because it was unnecessary), but the car was otherwise unmodified. I discovered on the course that stiffening only the front swaybar did reduce roll, but it also yielded substantial understeer. I did my best to compensate with differential tire pressure, but I only achieved partial mitigation. Even so, I made steady progress during my 4 runs; each was faster than the last. My final run was substantially quicker than the others, and I knew it as I headed for the finish. Sadly, I hit the last or next-to-last cone on the course and incurred a 2-second penalty. So, I finished an embarrassing 10th out of 10 drivers, but only by 0.003 s. Curse you, Aure!

The class winner at the practice autocross was driving a well prepared Clown Shoe. Also present were an M Roadster, a Z4 roadster , an S2000, and various generations of Miata. One of the things I like best about this new class is the variety of makes and models which are able to compete on a near-level playing field due to the wheel- and tire-width restrictions, which fact segues nicely into my report on my next autocross. Of course, the playing field is not completely level. I hope to post a quantitative analysis of of the potential performance of the most conspicuously competitive cars in the this class sometime soon. For now, I will only say that I expect the car to have for STR will be either a 2008-9 S2000 CR, a 2006-8 Miata Club Spec or SV (the trim level with the 5MT and without air conditioning), or a 2009-10 Miata Touring 6MT (in other words, my exact car).

For the next WDCR event, which was the first points event of the season, I fitted new rolling stock: Enkei RPF1 wheels, size 17x9+45, and Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 tires, size 255/40-17. These wheels and tires are the maximum width allowed in STR, and the tires' treadware rating of 180 is near the 140 minimum allowed in the Street Touring category. Just for comparison, the stock wheels are 17x7+55, and the stock tires are 205/45-17. This change should give Zelda more grip potential that almost any car eligible for the class. Again, my times improved during the event, although everyone struggled on the newly resealed and thus slick surface. With Zelda's new shoes, I was able to finish 9th out of 15 entrants. This time, the class winner drove an M Roadster.

Below is a photograph, taken by my Miata clubmate Kate Claffie from SCCA WDCR #1. This photo shows the wider wheels and tires that I've fitted. Note that I'm not looking directly ahead here; I'm looking at the exit of the left-hand sweeper I've just entered in this shot.

Here's another shot, this one by Danny Kao, from the same event. This is probably my favorite shot of Zelda so far. Because I'm turning left in this shot, the car has rolled to the right, and the ridiculous static wheel-well gap is hidden. If you could see the car from the other side, you'd be amazed at how high the left side of the car is.

For the second points event, I made no modifications to the car, other than tire pressure. However, I did change my approach to driving in an effort to improve my times. In particular, I used a bit of visualization to help memorize the course and plan my line. I was frustrated with my first 3 runs, but I somehow managed to uncork a fast run on my final attempt, and I finished 5th out of 13. The drivers who had won the previous two events were absent---this event's winner was behind the wheel of an AP2 S2000---which almost certainly helped me as much as or more than my more careful preparation. We did have a couple of non-competitive drivers in second- and third-generation MR2s, though, which added some nice variety.

Below is a photo, by Kate Claffie, from SCCA WDCR #2. The car looks quite attractive in this shot.

Below is a photo, by an unknown photographer, of me queuing before the start. It appears I'm concentrating on planning my run. In actuality, I believe I'm squinting because the sunlight is quite bright, but I don't want to lower my tinted visor, thus blocking off cooling air flow, until just before the green light.

After SCCA #2, I fitted higher-performance brake pads. The new parts are still "street"pads, rather than "race" pads. Race pads resist fading at higher temperatures but need to be heated to an elevated temp to work properly. In autocross, since the runs are short and nonconsecutive, the brakes need to work at ambient temps, and brake fading is not typically a concern.

The next event was not a competition but yet another school. This time, that school was the DC Region's Level 1. I suggested to Alison that she enroll as well, and she agreed. I was quite proud of her performance. I was worried that she would be tentative, afraid to hurt my car by stressing the engine or driving over pylons. Before we arrived, I encouraged her to use full gas and full brakes when necessary, and to hit the cones if she needed to. Based on how she drove, I believe she took me at my word. She drove faster than most of the first-timers in the class, including all 5 of the other novice women. For comparison's sake, I think my fastest clean run of the practice course was 33.o s, and Alison turned in several cone-free runs ranging from 37.7 to 37.9. That's not a bad performance differential for her, given how much more experience I have.

Last weekend brought my most recent events. I was involved in 3 days of autocross-related activities surrounding the SCCA Northeast Divisional Championships. On Friday, before placing the required decals and passing technical inspection for the Divisional, I attended the Evolution Performance Driving School's Phase 1 class. The class was helpful, certainly, though I struggled to improve my times much after the first few. The looking-ahead drill was quite challenging, as well.

Saturday and Sunday made up the Divisional proper. There were 4 runs of each day's course on each day. The lowest Saturday time and the best Sunday time were combined to yield a total time for each driver, and the total time was the figure of merit. I somehow managed to finish third on each day and---wait for it---third overall, out of 7 drivers. That high a placing might incite you to ask about the competition, and you'd be right to be suspicious. Several of the faster local drivers were absent, and only one competitive driver traveled in for the event. He won the event in his well-developed S2000 CR. My friend and fellow Miata driver James finished second in his 2006 6MT NC. I somehow finished ahead of Noel and his Z4. Noel has beaten me in every event where we've met so far. He said he was pushing his car as hard as he could, but that it just wouldn't give him any more. He also pointed out, quite rightly, that his car is not likely to be competitive, given equal driving talent. The Z4 has about as much power as an S2000, but weighs 200 lbs more and is limited to equal-width wheels and tires in STR. That means weaker acceleration and grip. Meanwhile, his wife said that eye's been eying S2000s. So, if Noel shows up to the next event in an S2k, well, I called it.

Here's a photo of me on Saturday by Danny Kao. Note that, although I've barely turned the wheel, I'm looking far off to my right toward the exit of the element I'm entering. This picture also shows off the Tire Rack banner required of all participants in the Divisional Championship. (The Tire Rack is a major cash and merchandise sponsor of of SCCA Solo.)

Below is a shot from Sunday by Kate and Alan Claffie. This is another of my favorite photos of Zelda, because the blurred wheels and background suggest significant speed. This shot shows 1 of the 2 Divisional Championship decals required for the event.

This next photo, is also by the Claffies and is also from Sunday; you can tell because I've removed the front license plate to maximize cooling on the nearly-90-degree day. This pic shows clearly that I have the happiest car at the whole championship. Mazda really needs to dial down their corporate smiling grill, at least on their sports cars.

So, what's next for Team Grondul Motorsport? I hope to install an STR-legal cold-air intake this weekend to help bring my torque-to-weight ratio more in line with the competition. In a week and a half, I'll be attending one of the regular points events of Autocrossers Incorporated, an SCCA affiliate organization that uses the SCCA rules and has a strong membership overlap with the DC Region. A week later is the DC ProSolo. ProSolo combines autocross, which the SCCA calls Solo, with a drag-racing-style start, and there are only about 8 ProSolo events each year, in the entire country. It sounds like great fun, so I am very much looking forward to it. A week after that is the WDCR's points event number 3. So I'll be pretty busy autocrossing for the next month.

Meanwhile, somewhere during that time frame, I should finally receive the custom coilovers I ordered a couple of months ago from Fat Cat Motorsports . Once I get them installed, no doubt with significant help from members of my local Miata club, the car should be much less prone to roll, and it should have much, much more grip on all surfaces. I hope so, at least.

Team Grondul Motorsports: Part 2

Alison and I have been very busy working on the house (and working at work) this spring, but we've also managed to squeeze in some more recreational activities. Aside from my adventures in CrossFit, I've also been autocrossing a bit more seriously than I have in the past. I've been to 3 autocrosses so far this season, so I thought I'd share a few photos with you, gentle reader.

Here are Zelda and I at an Sports Car Club of America autocross on March 28. You can see in this shot how high the stock suspension on the third-generation Miata is. And this is with the car cranked over to starboard a bit. The coilovers I'm expecting in May should solve that problem.

Here I am at a Capital Driving Club autocross on April 3. Notice the substantial body roll resulting from the excessively soft stock springs and dampers. The new suspension parts should ameliorate this problem, as well.

This photo also shows off Zelda's new axle-back exhaust. I considered several options when purchasing this part; all were from Goodwin racing. All 4 options offer a few-percent improvement in engine power and, being entirely stainless steel, all 4 would have lasted far longer than the stock part. The RoadsterSport Q(for quiet) dual exhaust is the most mild, at nearly stock sound levels, and shaves a pound or two off the stock unit's 27-pound weight. The RoadsterSport II dual is much lighter, at 16 pounds, but the cost is a louder exhaust note. The Street Single, being single-sided, cuts the weight down to 10 pounds with only a small penalty. The Race Single is very light, at just 7 pounds, but it is also the loudest choice. I settled on the Street Single as the best compromise, so I saved 17 pounds compared to the stock exhaust while gaining a few horsepower and considerable longevity, all at the cost of a louder, but not obnoxious, exhaust note.

In the next photo, I'm successfully dodging cones at the SCCA's Level 2 autocross school on April 4. The cones lying down are that way intentionally; they tell the driver on which side of the stand-up cone to pass.

In this shot from the same day, I'm being less successful:

My next outing will be this Sunday, April 18. I have much larger and somewhat stickier tires to put on the car for that event, so I hope to experience much less understeer and much more overall grip. We shall see.

Team Grondul Motorsports: Part 1

For those of you wondering how I spent my Sunday. I have some evidence.

Sunday was the first autocross of the season for the Washington DC Region of the Sports Car Club of America. I'm planning to run the whole season in a new and potentially very entertaining class called Street Touring R.* Zelda is not currently prepared to anywhere near the limit of the rules of STR, but she could get pretty close without extreme effort or expense. The real limiting factor is the driver, especially given my apparent lack of driving talent and the long duration since my last autocross. So, needing practice, I attended this event, which is described as a "practice" autocross, since its results don't count toward the season championship.

Here are a few photos of me on the course. These were taken by locally famous autocrosser and general nice guy, Danny Kao. You'll note the rather extreme body roll in several of those shots. I plan to fix that problem with new dampers and springs in May or so.

Here's a video recorded by Daniel Donohue in Street Touring S during one of his runs on the same course. Just imagine the sliver first-generation Miata replaced by a silver third-gen Miata and dial down the speed just a touch, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what the experience was like for me.

So, how did I do? In a word, poorly. Actually, I would have been pretty happy with my performance in the only car in the class running on stock tires if I hadn't hit the second-to-last cone on my final run--the only cone I hit all day---thus incurring a two-second penalty and turning my fastest run of the day into an uncompetitive** one. Sigh.

* I hope to post up a bit more about SCCA Solo and its classification system at some point in the future.

** Interestingly, STR was won by one of the two drivers sharing a Clown Shoe.

Zel, Duh.

Zome of you may have felt that the first photo of Zelda that I posted was not sufficiently revealing. So, here's another:

It's her key. Once I accept that the car came with more luxuries---such as keyless entry---than I really wanted, I'm quite happy with the design of the key. The folding "blade" keeps the overall length in check and prevents holes from developing in my pockets. The total volume would be awkward if I carried it on my key ring, but since I carry my car keys separately* from my house keys, work keys, and multi-tool, the size is not a problem.

* I do this for two reasons: (a) Since I have two cars---three in the short term---it seems foolish to carry all their keys all the time. (b) I like to minimize the amount of material dangling from the ignition, because it bothers me to have keys brushing my right knee, and I suspect it's damaging to the ignition switch to hang a lot of mass from it.

Zelda is Ready for Her Close-Up

A few folks have asked for photos of the new car, so here you go:

This shot was taken during the "light" snow we had last week. If I'd tried to take a picture of the car after Saturdays near-blizzard, you would only have seen a white bump.

Snowvertible

The answer to my recently asked meteorological question was, apparently, "No." However, by the time I went into work, the ambient temperature was up to around 40 degrees F, and the it felt warmer in the sun. So, I put Zelda's top down for my commute through the snow. It was a strange, dichotomous experience.

Name Game

I received a few intelligent and well-thought-out suggestions for names form my latest automotive acquisition. Thanks, gentle readers. However, I'm not going to use any of them. Instead, I'm going with "Zelda" for the following reasons:

• "Zelda" conforms to my established pattern of two-syllable female name ending in A.
• It strikes me as kooky and fun, which seems appropriate for such an exuberant vehicle.
• It offers the nickname "Zel," which is even kookier.
• Zelda Gilroy was my favorite character on The Many Loves of Dobbie Gillis.

I'm afraid I can't offer even a tenuous connection to Legend of Zelda franchise, since I'm probably the only person in America under 40 who has never played any of those games.

Thank you again for your suggestions.

Straight Flush, NC High

Regular readers---at least those who don't tune out when I start gabbing about my automotive addiction---know that I've been wanting an NC (third-generation Miata) for almost 2 years now. On Saturday, my very understanding wife drove me to Frederiksburg, Virginia to purchase one.

The new car was a leftover 2009 model, so I was able to get a pretty good deal on it: 7,660 dollars off of MSRP, in fact. I started my search for an '09 a bit late to find exactly what I was looking for in-town. Hence our schlep out to Fredericksburg. The scarcity of leftovers also meant that I wasn't able to find exactly, exactly what I wanted anywhere closer than Massachusetts, so I had to compromise a bit. More on that in a few paragraphs.

Why was I so dead-set on the 2009? Well, I was originally looking for a 2006 to 2008, preferably a 2007. Then I read of people on Miata.net getting 6000 or 7000 off of MSRP on leftover '09s, and my interest was piqued. You see, the Miata received a midcycle refresh for 2009, resulting in what has come to be called the NC2. The changes, which constitute more than a simple facelift, consist of numerous small but meaningful alterations to the engine, transmission, suspension (6MT only), interior and exterior. Almost all of these changes, especially the 500-rpm redline increase, are for the better.

Except for the grill. Oh, and the "induction sound enhancer."

The new grill brings Mazda's company-wide smiling grill to the Miata. It's enormous. And hideous. At least in my opinion. I'm especially annoyed that about 60% of it is blocked off, fake.

Anyway, the new car is the Touring trim level, which means it comes with some nice performance parts, like the 6-speed transmission and a front-shock-tower brace. Additionally, all the '09 and '10 manual Tourings are bundled with the Suspension Package, which includes Bilstein dampers, different springs, and a limited-slip differential.* Sadly, to acquire all those goodies, I also had to get heavier, 17-inch wheels, and a bunch of comfort-and-convenience features in which I was uninterested: power windows, a fancier stereo, fog lamps, auto-dimming mirror with Homelink, and the aforementioned induction sound enhancer. The ISE is a plastic pipe, branching off the induction system and running to the port side of the firewall, thus pointing the intake sound at the driver, presumably to make him feel like he's driving a sports car. I guess it's less obnoxious than a loud exhaust, but it seems like a stupid expenditure of perhaps 3 lb. Especially given the way Mazda touts the "gram strategy" they used on the NC, like how how they shaved 80 g from the (base) rearview mirror. Did I mention that my car has the "luxurious" portly mirror with a bunch of built in electronics? Gram strategy? No.

I decided that the weight penalty---I calculate about 10 to 15 lbs---associated with all those extra, unwanted luxuries, combined with the additional weight of the 6MT and FSTB---probably around 20 lb---was counterbalanced by the performance enhancements of the 6MT and the Suspension Package. I guess Oh, I suppose I should add the weight of the spoiler that came on my particular car into this computation as well. I'm still not convinced it was a worthwhile tradeoff.

Anyone other than Colin Chapman would say I'm being ridiculous, beyond up-tight, about the weight of my Miata. According to Mazda, the curb weight on my new NC is 2511 lbs. That's 19 lbs lighter than Mia, my Mazdaspeed (NB) Miata, even though the new car has those extra features, a noticably stiffer chassis, and an integrated rollbar. And the new car is more than 300 lbs lighter than the lightest Honda S2000---the S200CR, but only if the hardtop is counted---or the Pontiac Soltice/Saturn Sky. Now that those cars are out of production, you can't find another non-Lotus sports car under about 3200 lbs. That's right; the Miata is the lightest production sports car an American can buy that isn't an Elise or Exige. And those cars have waivers for certain safety standards because of the small production numbers. So I guess I shouldn't be too upset.

"Enough about weight; what about the power?" I hear you ask. The Mazdaspeed Miata was the highest-power, highest-torque Miata ever sold by Mazda. It was rated at 178 bhp and 166 lb-ft using the pre-2006 testing protocol. Using the same procedure, my car would come in at 171 bhp and 140 lb-feet. So, the power-to-weight ratio is almost as high, but the torque is comparatively lacking. I plan to fix that shortcoming this summer. Because the NC is naturally aspirated, it doesn't benefit from simple intake and exhaust modifications like the MSM would. I can't take the NC to 200 wheel horsepower (about 230 brake horsepower) like I could have with the NC, but 167 whp (about 200 bhp) is possible, and that's about the right amount of power for street use in this car, at least in my opinion.

I'm enjoying the car so far. The chassis is clearly much stiffer than Mia's, and the doors are much weightier, indicating improved crashworthyness. How is the weight actually lower, then? Partly because more liberal use was made of aluminum in place of steel; in addition to the hood and engine head, which are aluminum on the NA and NB, the NC uses aluminum in the trunklid, front control arms, and engine block. I think a lot of the weight reduction came from clever engineering; I guess the gram strategy did pay off. My MSM is the ultimate evolution of the NB, which was itself an overhaul of the NA, but not a clean-sheet redesign. The NA was designed in the 1980s, so the MSM is saddled with an engine and chassis that are essentially '80s designs. The NC chassis---a modification of the RX-8 chassis---and engine were designed in the 2000s. Actually, everything in the NC seems both better engineered and better assembled than on Mia or Emma, my NA.

For example, on the NC, the coolant is routed correctly,** and the heater can be turned all the way off, so both the engine and the driver can stay comfortable, even when the car is working hard. Additionally, because the pistons and engine block are the same material, their thermal coefficients of expansion match, preventing the pistons from being either pinched or loose, a condition that both Emma and Mia suffer from.

And that brings me to the name for my latest tiny car. I was originally looking for a True Red example. Since I'm an avid Batman fan, and I've recently been playing Batman: Arkhan Asylum, it seemed natural to me that a red-and black car with a huge, black Joker grin should be named Harley, as in Quinn. I mean, such a car would clearly be the automotive incarnation of Dr. Harleen Quinzel. But, since the best-colored '09 Touring manual soft top*** I could find was Liquid Silver, I'm uncertain what do now. I considered Selina, but this car seems too happy for such a serious name. Besides, Ms Kyle usually dresses in black, though sometimes in purple. Your suggestions are welcome.

Well, I've told you far, far more about my latest automotive acquisition than you wanted. So I'll shut up now. For a bit, at least.

(And don't worry; I'm not keeping them all.)

* The LSD alone is worth the 500-dollar premium for the Suspension Package.

** In one end of the block and out the other, not in one end and back out the same end.

*** No power-retractable hard top for me. If you think I get annoyed about the 10- or 15-lb weight penulty associated with some superfluous conveniences, you should see my head spin around at mention of the 75 lbs the PRHT adds to the car. Plus, I'd prefer to avoid all the elctro-mechanical complexity of the powered hard top. Doubleplus, none of the aftermarket rollbars will fit under the PRHT.