How the Miata has changed my mechanical confidence

Before I owned the Miata, I knew a fair amount about cars, or at least I thought I did.  I understood the basics of how they worked, could change out a few parts, but was not confident in making changes outside of things like simple bolt on modifications.

When I bought the car, I told myself that I was going to use it as a way to learn, as well as a portal for racing.  When contemplating modifications, I often times found myself being timid because I was not sure if I would handle the job.  On several occasions, I had to force myself to bite the bullet and just go for it.  The results have been very much a learning experience for me, and I wanted to highlight some of the mods where I took something away:

-Installing the muffler:  Learned that I should not do exhaust work without PB Blaster and a breaker bar.

-Painting valve cover:  Dove in without good info about VVT removal, figured it out.  Learned about how oil feed VVT works, how to sand and paint metal, and how to replace gaskets with sealant.

-Installing sway bars and end-links:  Learned what these parts do to begin with, how they mount, and how important they are.  Most noticable upgrade so far.

-Installing a volt meter:  Learned how wiring in a car works, or at least how to splice and crimp.  Also required customization of the dash to make the gauge cluster fit.

-Installing the mid-pipe:  Learned that even with PB Blaster and a breaker bar, exhaust work still sucks.  Because of this, learned how to wire up an O2 sensor.  I have replaced them before, but had all been plug and play.  $70 instead of $200 to splice my own wires was well worth it. 

While none of this was terribly difficult(engine internals on my radar) I did learn a lot.  My confidence has improved and I am ready to tackle bigger things! 

Cool Video on Mazda's New Skyactiv Engine

Cool video talking about what Mazda did with their new Skyactiv engines.  I am looking forward to these being in the ND Miata.

Welcome to the Second Gear Racing Blog.

The 2012 Autocross season is in full swing here in Maryland.  My name is Alex, and this is my first year doing autocross.  I have been an automotive enthusiast since I was a kid, and the focus around cars has changed since that time.

I used to be focused on muscle cars and drag racing.  I have owned two Mustangs, and lived in the world of straight line performance for a long time.  After college, my motorsports knowledge blossomed into a much bigger world of racing.  Top Gear is mainly to blame, in conjunction with my personal desires to try more than  drag racing.

I started to do some research about autocross.  I had heard of it of course, but had never participated or watched it in person.  I found a few local clubs in my area who run events, and decided that it was something I wanted to try.  I looked at the Mustang I had, a 2000 GT Convertible, and decided that I needed a better tool to tackle the seas of cones I had seen in various videos.

The natural choice, a Miata.  I bought all three of Keith Tanner's books, started reading forums, and watched many videos on what the little roadsters were capable of.  I then started looking for a car, following Autotrader and Craigslist religiously to find the right one for me.  Armed with the knowledge I had picked up, I knew the one when it showed up.  It was a Race Red 01' LS, with the 6 speed, sport suspension, and low miles.  I ended up picking it up for a great deal, trading in the Mustang at the same time, and was ready to go!  The Miata has received several upgrades since then, which I'll likely cover in later posts.

The purpose of this blog will be to share experiences and learnings from the area autocrosses I participate in.  There may be some general automotive banter, as well as posts about upgrades and changes to the car.  I may incorporate some additional authors as well over time, so look for that.