Month: January 2021

Remember watching Initial D and thinking how cool it would be to race down winding canyon roads in real life? Battling the local touge; running nose to tail, back and forth across narrow slivers of sketchy pavement, blasting into blind turns dusted with pebbles, victory determined not by lap times but the gap created over the course of the run. However; if you are averse to run-ins with local law enforcement or just aren’t looking to test your luck with a rescue team/tow truck, The Touge Society has something that might be of interest to you.

This was only the second Touge2Track Touge Battle, and while the reigning champ (an older Civic with a K series intimidatingly protruding through the hood) was unable to attend, there was still a healthy turnout from the H brand including quite a few S2000s as well as a handful of ZN6 cars; however, the biggest surprise was the Fiat 124 Spider that ended up running for third. While we managed to pull a qualifying time of 1:11 out of somewhere. Going into the battle we had better tires but the mechanical whine of a supercharged FRS said otherwise.

The faster you went the narrower the road became. While the streets weren’t actually real, the dangers of dropping a wheel and/or going very much were. It was wonderful not having to keep your head on a swivel, worry what will happen when you cross the yellow line, and those pesky cyclists. Horse Theif Mile was very technical with tight switchbacks, headfirst downhill dives, and a very fast chicane leading into a long uphill sweeper. It was no wonder that any BMI title worth buying had a Hot Version Touge Showdown segment.

Continue reading “Touge2Track Touge Battle! @HTM 01/22/21 …and now for Something Completely Different”

One of the great things about having an unreliable car is that somehow you always happen to have the part you need somewhere in the garage. As was the case when the running lights finally gave out. This has been a persistent problem with the Craigslist Miata, I remember the moment right before I drove away the previous owner handed me an alligator clip and said, “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, this is for the lights. There was something wrong with a relay or something that I couldn’t get” so he hotwired it.

A better solution was implemented, and being a modified car, before too long the decision to delete the center console where the switch had been located led to a rewiring. All was well and good for a time until all of a sudden the dash and side markers went dark, but then they came back 20 minutes later; then went out for good a week after that. After much internet sleuthing and a quick phone consultation with a few “experts”, it was determined that we are showing that there is a change in potential across the circuit, but no current is flowing. It turns out that the fix for the factory light switch not working was little more than a faulty LA10 relay.

Due to the fact that we take full advantage of the Mazda Motorsports parts pricing plan, there was an assortment of extra relays still wrapped in mylar. For reference sake, it was not the LA10 under the dash next to the fuse box (working on your back inside a car is the worst) but the one under the hood next to the guy we replaced when the pop-ups stayed popped. The running lights have never been brighter. The old battery lead was removed in an effort to pass tech, same with the tow strap. The easiest thing is to use an extension to get at the rearmost bolt and then slide an offset box wrench right in that little rectangular opening to get the other two out.

Continue reading “Let There Be NA6 Running Lights with an LA10 Relay”

It was almost a year ago when we first ventured out to Riverside’s Adams Motorsports Park in order to try our hand at Time Attack. Looking to step up the reality factor from the usual parking lot coursed by orange cones; we had fun, pushed some parts past their limits, and finally came back to break into the 50s. It was very nice being able to show up at 6 o’clock, run a few laps and then head home before it got too late. After spending some real early mornings for full-on track days, this more casual approach to getting your speed on was such a simple release.

Now that I am a racing driver, my first excuse is that the new track surface is super slippery. Like drifting on the RT660s slick, check the videos. The second being a scattering of small rocks right between the apex and track out leading onto the front straight in the third session. Lastly, we were supposed to get three hot laps per session (not two), but perhaps it was the compressed schedule that caused the loss of an extra lap at speed.

It felt very good to be back behind the wheel at what we consider to be the best “autocross with consequences” in Southern California. The top speeds were low enough not to be a reminder of Buttonwillow, and the tossable nature of the short wheelbase roadster racing on a go-kart track made it such a fun experience. While we didn’t set a record this night, I think there was a Versa wearing wider tires that lapped slower; and she made it home under her own power. So, this one will be chalked up as a win.

Continue reading “Time Attack @AMP 01/09/21 Back Where We Started Before Covid”