I read about SCCA’s Track Night on social media. It looked like a great opportunity to get my feet wet in the world of racing. It also was happening at GingerMan Raceway, a great road course not too far away. I signed up and got me a helmet!

When Caroline and I got to GingerMan, we pulled right into a spot on the paddock. We parked next to a stock-powered 240SX that proved to be very quick.

This was taken before the second session, but you get the idea. I was still excited!

Here was our lineup. My wife rode along for a few pace laps before the first serious run. Because of the tendency of new drivers toward showing off to their passengers, riders aren’t allowed for the normal sessions unless they’re instructing (and qualified to instruct).

Here we go! Driving on the track was a great freedom. I could never (or would rather not/should not) push the car like this on the street. It was great to find that the modifications made to the Mazda were not made in vain.

That EF hatch was quick.

Caroline was laughing, joking about how the roof and wing were just barely visible coming up the front straight.

The sun came out a bit at the end of the track night.

I still had difficulty placing myself for the turn 2 at the end of the night. I sometimes caught myself just hugging the inside of the turn.

My wife was kind enough to play the photographer on this night. She took some great shots despite minimal fancy camera experience.

I’m glad I had the experience to drive on this road course. I’ve been up to GingerMan with my Dad for a few events. We’ve been up to watch my uncle race in his Mustang GT a couple times. On another occasion with a few of my friends in high school, we went up for a Viper Days event. I almost forgot… My first time showing the car was at Gridlife Midwest which took place here. The event coverage is a few posts back.

I wondered if I would see this guy. He has a Facebook page with car-related whatnot and was at the last Track Night up here.

This was the fastest car on the track that night, as far as I know. Though, there was a car that looked like it was straight out of Nascar.

I like the color combination here.

This guy was not far from us in the paddock. I love this car. It’s such an unusual sight.

Our instructor for the Novice group took us on a field trip to turn 1 to watch the Advanced guys go through it. It’s a fairly quick turn at the end of the front straight. We were being advised on what line to follow through it and into turn 2. It was a great photo opportunity.

All the details of this car seemed just right.

The owner is a friendly guy who competes in some hill climb events up near the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

I hope I see this car at some other events.

Datsun Z! Here’s a fairly lightly modded 280Z.

Here are two chassis I own. My Merc doesn’t look half as good as this one. And my Z will take some time to complete.

This fuel got someone through the evening.

My wheels were looking pretty dirty at the end of the night. Dead bugs, tire rubber, dirt, and brake dust.

She made it! I had to tighten up a few things under the hood in the days after the event, but overall, great shape.

It was a lot of fun. I’ve shown the car a few times this year and that’s been fun. However, car shows aren’t nearly as fun as being out on the track. You can push the car to its limits and still talk cars with the people you meet.

My wife had a great time, as well. I’m glad that she could come, help out, and have some fun. It’s my hobby, but I’m glad we could share the experience together and have a great time. We’re ready for September 11th when we go back for more!

When you’re into cars, the summer is guaranteed to be the busiest time of the year for you. There are car shows, meets, races to watch, track days, days spent in the garage… It depends on what you’re into, but regardless, when the weather is warm and the sky is sunny you will be busy.

We had a weekend back in July that involved three different events in one weekend. The first event was something I look forward to every third Saturday of the month, the Tire Rack Cars and Coffee meet. It’s a relaxed environment and car people of all types mingle and talk about what they love.

The mid-sixties, a great time in automotive history.

From a distance this car looks pretty normal.

What’s this?! It’s a turbocharged LS V8 powering a Subaru.

I didn’t get a chance to look closely at this truck. All manner of cars and trucks show up for the meet.

BMW performance

The classic whale tail Porsche.

Here’s a one-owner Mustang. It had some work done to make it a little more suitable on the track.

The factory gauges weren’t working right, so the owner installed some digital ones to monitor vehicle and engine speed.

There was a driving program at the small track to help teens learn the limits of the cars they’re learning to drive.

After the meet at the Tire Rack warehouse, it was time to drive home and pick up my wife. A coworker’s son-in-law works at US12 Speed and Custom in New Buffalo, Michigan. The shop was having their annual car show. I’ve been invited the past few years, but have always been busy. I figured we could check it out this year. So after a delicious lunch at the Stray Dog in New Buffalo, we went.

I love the look of the customs being built these days.

There was a Lincoln truck in the shop with a crazy amount of detailed metalwork.

It kind of has a steampunk vibe.

We took this photo because I like the switch box up near the ceiling. I’ve been frustrated with the electronics in the Miata lately and like the idea of a simple box like this to control all the essential functions.

Yes! This jet-powered dragster was fired up. The police were kind enough to block traffic for a minute while the fog of smoke that was created rolled away.

I’m glad we went. It was cool to see the cars, especially the dragster. I’ve seen jet-powered cars at air shows before, but never up close. We headed home after stopping at Oink’s for some ice cream.

Sunday was left unplanned, but it didn’t stay that way. My parents were going to the Gilmore Car Museum near Kalamazoo and invited my wife and me to join. Knowing that we won’t live in this area forever, we decided to go along.

Here’s a 1929 Duesenberg.

I found this somewhat luxurious Studebaker truck pretty cool. Definitely a rarity.

The helicopter-engined Tucker.

Someone was telling me the other day how much they didn’t like old style flames. They prefer the photorealistic vinyl printed stuff. To each their own, I guess.

When it comes to muscle cars, I’m a Mopar guy. I was really happy to see this Charger Daytona on display.

Here’s the Little Deuce Coupe, the one on the cover of the Beach Boys album. This was built some in Michigan and more details were finished at George Barris’s shop in California. It’s a piece of custom automotive history.

There wasa turbocharged F1 or Indy car that looked like it was from the 80’s.

We had lunch at this diner on the grounds.

This is my kind of Bentley.

One of the new buildings on the grounds, a faux Cadillac dealership on the outside.

So much detail. I wonder if cars will ever have this level of detail in their design again.

Inside the Ford Model A building there was a display with all sorts of license plate ornamentation.

The garage/gas station on the grounds is iconic, but here’s a shot of the stocked interior.

I’m interested to know how the museum came to own this bus and how it was transported to the US. It looks to be about the same age as my father-in-law’s London taxi.

It’s a great museum. I’ve been there before, but it had been a while. The new buildings are a good addition. It’s funny to think that it’s such a large, quality auto museum and it’s not far away.

I didn’t get to work on the Miata that weekend, but it was fun. As I said, when cars are your hobby the summer is a busy time.

This is how the car was looking in July of last year. The car needed an intercooler for the turbo setup. It’s an easier step to make than setting the car up with a completely aftermarket ECU, so I decided I’d start small.

I guess a person could say “You don’t need an intercooler.” They’d be right. A turbo setup can function without it. However, if you want any power with a turbo car you’ll want one.

I had purchased a kit, but it was no good. So many of the parts that came with the kit I just stared at wondering where and how they were supposed to go together to form one cohesive unit. That included all four mounting brackets that came with it. I decided to make my own brackets.

If you haven’t noticed yet, I like to reuse holes already drilled in the car when possible (until this method gets in the way of efficiency or functionality). I think it’s less scary to me when I know I can reverse any change made to the car. Since I had taken out the air conditioning system, it seemed like a good idea to use the mounting places originally for the AC condenser for the intercooler.

This wasn’t very difficult. It was mostly a matter of measuring, drilling, eye-balling, and checking that things fit right. You’ll also notice the power steering lines are in some of the photos. I did install the intercooler after I did the tie rod end upgrade, but before swapping the manual steering.

Alright! After this, the car had a visible intercooler through the front grille for at least eight months before the turbo setup was functional.

So, I have to admit something. I didn’t do anything with the Miata’s alignment after lowering the car considerably. Tire wear didn’t come across my mind often because it’s one of those things that takes time. I lived with the handling being fairly squirrely because it did feel responsive. Maybe just a little too responsive. The toe was out in front. Enough that a person could tell by just looking at where the wheels pointed. It was time to fix things.

The decision was made to change the tie rod ends for something that would help reduce the negative characteristics from lowering the car. Adjustable tie rod ends would help at least with the change in toe occurring when turning and traveling over uneven road.

The original tie rod end is above. That’s what I like about this car. It’s a clearly worn part, not beat to junk, not rusted in half, but obviously in need of service considering the boot is no good. Simple.

I measured things out. I counted the number of threads visible. If nothing else, it would at least be close to right.

Here’s the new tie rod end on the driver’s side. It’s an adjustable part made for an RX-7, but the threads are the same as the MX-5. You can see how much farther down the new ends would bring the inner tie rods. So much better.

After driving around with the new tie rod end improvement, I decided to swap out the power steering rack for the manual version. The power steering would get in the way of the turbo stuff. Also, I can always justify in my mind a change to the car if it saves weight, even if it’s a laughably small difference.

It was a fun project. Not too difficult. I sourced a manual rack through Panic Motorsports. Great company. I called since it wasn’t on the site. They said they thought they just got one in and called back very shortly thereafter to confirm. The price was right and two days later I had a manual rack. I went with SuperPro bushings to mount the rack. They’re marginally stiffer than stock rubber bushings.

I did have to modify these parts for use on the manual rack. They’re from the power steering rack, but I made them work on the manual rack. I did use the dremel around the inside to make the holes large enough to work. In the end, the tabs still bent in as they were meant to. If time didn’t matter, I would have ordered the correct parts. However, I had scheduled an alignment at a race shop outside Chicago called TF Works. I didn’t leave myself any time to spare.

After the tie rod end swap and the alignment, the car was handling much better. It was not as unpredictable. It responded very well to small steering inputs, but less frantically.

With a turbo setup coming together, I figured it was a good idea to upgrade the cooling system. Over the fourth of July last year, I upgraded to a new radiator in the Miata. I didn’t want to do any extra work later, so I upgraded other related things on the way.

The engine bay gets pretty roomy when you take out the radiator and fans. I flushed out the old system using a cleaning product. I should have done it sooner. It needed it.

The old and new. I upgraded my 240Z with a Koyorad radiator and I was pleased with the quality. When I was looking for the Miata, I found that Koyorad was making a new thinner version that performed just as well as their older performance radiator. I went with the new one.

The new radiator could accept the factory shroud and fans, but I decided to upgrade those parts. I figured I’d do it eventually and it would be better to do the work when the radiator was out. The shroud and fans are part of a kit made by Flyin’ Miata.

Nearly finished . I replaced the hoses with silicone pieces and used Breeze clamps to hold them in place.

I’m glad I swapped out the radiator. Eventually, I’ll reroute the coolant to make the most out of the system. It’s been doing great on the street.

I’ve been going to the Offset Kings shows around Chicago for the last 4 or 5 years. The last 2, the show has teamed up with Gridlife at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet. Not long after I registered the Mazda to show at Gridlife Midwest, I registered it for Offset Kings as well.

After a late-ish night, I got up bright and early to wash the car. Waxing I did at the show. My wife, who joined me on this trip, also helped by cleaning the windows. We were there a little earlier than we needed to be, staging in between groups of cars that wanted to park together, but that was ok.

We spent the first hour or so getting the car to a show-worthy condition. Some people stopped by. We talked for a bit with Ivan, the owner of the silver WRX to our right. Theo, owner of a fairly built white Miata and a few more project MX5’s, came over. It’s fun to talk about the details with people who are doing similar things. After this, it was time to walk around, see the sights, watch the racing, and enjoy all the event had to offer.

Below is what we found around the show and the paddock. There were many high quality builds. It was great to see cars with so much attention to detail, so much time put in. I wish I could show all of the photos I took, but I’m sure it would get a little boring.

There’s a gas station/food mart near the track. If you’ve ever seen the Blues Brothers, this needs no introduction.

Thanks in part to our nation’s vehicle importation laws, there were many R32 Skylines in attendance at the event. I liked this SR20-powered sedan.

These guys must have been here very early to occupy the front row. Nice formation.

This is one of the most easily recognized Z’s in Chicago.

I could be wrong, but I think this car did double duty last year. I remember seeing it on the track and in the show.

The drift style is one of my favorite looks.

Hokusai’s woodblock print, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, has become an icon of Japan.

I owned a few Honda’s when I first started driving.

This is one of the coolest Forester’s

If you want different tail lights for a Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, or Toyota 86, you have a world of options.

The BEAMS Yamaha-tuned Toyota engine makes good power. I can’t pretend to know how rare they are, but they do make good power thanks to fancy engine tech.

Here’s a little VIP style.

The S13 looked straight outta Japan.

It was cool to see a Liberty Walk kit on this G37.

This car has been around a while, but it’s now sporting a Rocket Bunny front conversion. It’s definitely Mopar-inspired, looking a lot like a Plymouth ‘Cuda. It does have a supercharged V8, but I think it’s an LS motor.

Again, one of my favorite drift cars.

Two R32 Skyline’s and a Cefiro: imported cars are popular in the drift crowd. I don’t blame them.

Here’s the cockpit of a red Blazer that was out on the track a few times. This looks crazy!

Now, we have the track coverage. There were a lot of familiar cars out there, some new.

Here’s a familiar car.

The Ecotec-powered Datsun. I have to admit, I’d like to know what this car would sound like with a built original motor and performance sidedraft carburetors.

This turbo Corvette put down some fast lap times.

There was a good showing of S2000’s on the track.

Three wheelin’ it.

Sometimes, he stayed on 3 wheels all the way around the first 2 turns.

This Subaru would fishtail a little in the turns.

The radiator fan behind the driver is a cheap way to keep the cabin cool.

One of the coolest Miata’s on the track. This guy let me sit in his aftermarket seat last year to try it out.

Finally, here’s the drift coverage. It’s always a lot of fun to watch, especially the tandem runs and long, smoky slides.

It was getting a little dark toward the end. Rain was passing us to the south, but fortunately for us, it stayed there. The awards ceremony was at the end of the day. I couldn’t have been more excited when I found out I was getting an award!

It was a great day. Lots of fun talking with people, seeing all the built up cars on the track and in the show. Tyler caught up with my wife and I in the middle of the day. Looking forward to next year! (And yes, the date is wrong on the trophy)

There’s a lot I haven’t documented while making upgrades to the Mazda. Let’s go back to midsummer of last year. The car had Tein adjustable coilovers, a Racing Beat front sway bar, a Mazdaspeed rear sway bar, 949 Racing end links, a manual transmission with an Exedy clutch and flywheel, a Hard Dog roll bar, and some other minor upgrades.

One of the minor upgrades I performed was purely cosmetic. I’ve always liked the look of a painted valve cover (or cam cover). A lot of different colors ran through my mind. Eventually, I decided on purple. Yes, purple. I tried a rattle can job, but it looked atrocious. It was embarrassing. After seeing some nice powder coating work at Tuner Galleria earlier in 2015, I went with K&K Coating near the Illinois border. They mixed a base, Illusion Violet, and Chameleon Teal Sparkle. The result was fantastic. The violet can be more blue or more red depending on the light. The teal flakes really make it pop.

I took the time to do a few things while the valve cover work was done. I test-mounted the exhaust side turbo hardware. I replaced the engine and differential mounts with Mazda Motorsports units. Upon reinstalling the cover, I changed out the cam angle sensor o-ring where a small oil leak had developed. I also put in new Magnecor spark plug wires.

On the exterior, I installed a factory hard top, Project-G G-fusers on the sides, and a carbon fiber trunk lid from CarbonMiata. In June, I installed a set of Jass Performance low profile headlights. They make the front end look a little more like the FD chassis RX7.

We’re getting closer to the present day! There’s a radiator upgrade and some suspension changes in the future. Fast forward to now and I’m getting ready for my second car show. My wife will be joining me at Offset Kings outside Chicago at the Autobahn Country Club. We’ll be out there on Sunday!

Here’s the coverage of the track at Gingerman during Gridlife, the most exciting part of the event. I wasn’t on the track, but I hope to start tracking the Mazda soon. First up, it’s the time attack cars.

The starting lineup. I’m not sure which class this was.

It’s great to see a Civic hatchback in the same category as a turbo Corvette.

Some Subies making fast laps.

Gingerman is a world-class track, but everything around it feels like the Michigan I’ve always known. The breeze coming off the lake could not have been more welcome.

Here’s one RX7.

Here’s another RX7 two generations younger. I’m taking some cues from this car for my own Mazda.

I’ve seen this car at a lot of events around Chicago.

S2000 out on turn 7.

This was one of 3 or 4 S14’s set up for grip. It seems like they’re almost always set up for drift.

BMW on turn 1.

I’ve never seen a more built up Civic with this chassis.

The Ecotec motor in the Datsun 510 is significantly more reliable than the old L-motor that used to motivate this classic.

The driver of this car had a great beard.

There aren’t many FF cars in the upper echelons of time attack. This EK hatch was running a big turbo and two wastegates.

One of my favorites.

The last round of photos are from the drift sessions on the course. There was a good mix of amateurs, longstanding local talent, and pro drivers.

Nothing drew the masses to the side of the track like the drift sessions.

The Corvolla. I’m not crazy about LS swaps in every rear drive import you see, but I have to admit that a Corvette engine in a Corolla from the 80’s makes for a pretty good power to weight ratio.

This E30 comes with an SR20.

Ryan Tuerck flying sideways through a light fog of tire smoke. There were a few times that cars would have to slow down after the one leading left so much tire smoke, there was no visibility.

Chairslayer

Team Proceed

Risky Devil

Team Breaking out of Fort Wayne

There more than a few cars off the track at turn 2.

This guy lost his rear bumper.

This guy picked up the bumper.

I’ve never seen such a large drift car. I think it’s powered by a 5.6L Nissan V8.

Hardly anybody in the US sticks with the rotary in their RX7 drift car. This one is powered by a 2JZ.

Here’s one powered by a turbo LS motor.

I’ll admit that I’ve never been a fan of domestic drift cars, but this guy knew how to do it. That angle is so much, the rear might be entering the turn ahead of the front.

All in all, it was a great time. It was hot, my face got sunburnt, I didn’t win any award in the show, but it was still fun. I talked to some cool people about our cars. I got to see a lot of great builds in the show, in the paddock, and on the track. Tyler came up and we hung out for a while. Good times! Now to get ready for the next show at Offset Kings in Joliet!

I took one last photo before the drive up to South Haven. This is the shiniest this car has been in a long time thanks to Tyler. He stayed over late into the morning hours doing a real professional quality wash and wax job. I helped. In the morning, the trunk was loaded with products to finish some details before the show officially started around noon. There were also tools in case of a breakdown and a cooler full of cold drinks.

Here are some photos from the show. There were around 200 cars entered. I saw some great builds.

Fortunately, the line to get in was not too long.

I spent a lot of time sitting on a shaded hill looking over the show. It was a hot day.

The car is parked.

I popped the hood. I didn’t notice that I had popped off an intercooler coupler until I got home.

The new tires were mounted on the new wheels at Garage Oneway.

Nice, quality build in this S14 engine bay.

I’ve always liked the S13’s set up for drift.

This was such a clean car. It’s great to see attention paid to non-Impreza Subaru’s.

Street drift style on a Forester; not something you see everyday.

I’d really like a wagon like this someday. Maybe on air suspension.

It seems like any VW is a classic once it reaches a certain age.

This might be a real Silvia, not sold in North America.

This should’ve been out on the track.

Here’s the guy who took the win for the Mazda category.

Straight across from my Mazda was this VIP-styled Lexus. Great build.

This is my kind of minivan.

Unique, VIP-styled Honda Fit.

The show was good, but what I really like to see are the cars that go out on the track. Here are some photos from the paddock and around the grounds.

Here’s how you make a top mount intercooler more effective.

This is probably the cleanest track car that was out there.

I love FD3S track cars.

This diffuser is serious business. Really, the whole car is serious business.

How about a Cummins diesel-powered Miata? I think it was built by a high school auto shop class.

Here’s a Honda K-powered Miata. Tyler and I talked with the guy. Reliable power, aftermarket support, use of factory transmission. The only downside is that there is now a Honda V6 swap with the same pro’s and similar cost.

I’ve never seen a Honda Street anywhere. Compare it’s size to the golf cart next to it.

KP Starlets are not easy to come by in decent shape.

This is one of my favorite cars out on the track. I’ve seen it before, but the mega front splitter is a new addition.

There were at least 3 S15 Silvia’s at the event. They’re awesome cars, but not yet legal to import for road use. Great build here.

Another S15, but with a Toyota 2JZ turbo motor on the hood. I like the purple valve cover inside a black engine bay.

This tire swap station was in full operation for the drifters out there.

The Proceed drift team has the coolest drift cars. They’re all quality builds with graphics that look straight out of Japan. I’m wondering where the Lexus Aristo/GS and Toyota Cressida are.

If there was a hood for the Miata with this design, I would search the world to find it.

Drift damage. In all reality, this is just a flesh wound. There were several bumpers lost by other cars over the course of the weekend.

Inside Rob “Chairslayer” Parsons’s drift S14.

Ryan Tuerck had some trouble with the differential in his 2JZ-powered Scion FR-S. Understandable with upwards of 600hp pushed through it. Here he is talking with the Chairslayer.

This is all fairly peaceful. Check out some photos of the action in the next post!