The Targa Miata

The shocks are back from being rebuilt.

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:15:39 -0700

After a long rest on the jack stands, the car is going back on the ground shortly. The reason the bumpstops failed during the race was because they were not properly supported on top. These blue cones are the solution. After testing on the bench, they've improved the function of the stops nicely. I'm also going to try a few different kinds of stops along with these, mirroring some testing I'm doing on Janel's street Miata.
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New wheels for the Targa car!

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 21:55:53 -0700

The SSR wheels that we used during the race are going to California to be part of an endurance racer. So a set of Team Dynamic Pro 1.2 wheels were ordered to take their place. In white, of course. Rally cars have to run white wheels, it's an unwritten law.
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The car's currently sitting on jackstands as the shocks are being repaired.

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:06:05 -0700

It'll be a while before they come back because I'm waiting for a newly developed part that will support the bumpstops. That was the source of our problems during the race - the bumpstops couldn't handle the impacts and deteriorated, leading to the damage to the shaft seals and also to the increased travel that gave us tire rub under braking (you can hear it in some of the videos, such as at the beginning of Mooring Cove) and helped the rear subframe brace ground out.
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The race might be over, but development continues.

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:45:13 -0700

The shocks are off at AFCO being tested and rebuilt, and they'll be reinstalled with a new bumpstop design. Whether we take part in the Targa again in the future or not, I'm going to keep working on fine-tuning the car.

As I'm sure happens every year, a few communities are reconsidering their involvement in the race.

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:34:44 -0700

The CBC reports that Lewisporte has backed out for 2009. That's a real shame, although from what I remember we showed up, raced, and left. No car show, no meal, no meet-and-greet. So the community involvement was restricted to watching the cars on the streets. Hopefully the Targa organizers can work with the Lewisporte council to bring more benefit to the community. I know that the locals I talked to there were fans of the event, and I made sure to thank them for letting us come play.
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All of the videos are online!

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:06:30 -0600

It's taken quite a while to add meaningful comments to these, but hopefully they add something to the viewing experience.
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Video time!

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:52:19 -0600

I've been hard at work logging and digitizing all the video files throughout the race. It's actually been really interesting and a real trip down memory lane. They're starting to slowly appear on the video section of the site - keep your eyes open.
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When I pulled the shocks out to send them back to AFCO - they're going to be tested and rebuilt with a few tweaks - I discovered coil bind marks on the rear springs.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:09:07 -0600

I'm guessing the destroyed bumpstop allowed the extra travel to put the spring into bind. Ouch! I'm glad nothing got damaged, and I didn't realize I was that close.
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These tires have all seen three days on the Targa plus an autocross.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:02:00 -0600

They look good enough for another year! I have race tires everywhere in the garage now - the six Targa ones plus the four I used for testing.

Peeking under the car, it became obvious just what had been throwing sparks during the race.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:01:05 -0600

The rear subframe brace was grounding out on full compression on Newfoundland's crowned roads. It's bent, it's scraped up - and it protected everything above it, just as I'd hoped. Up front, there's a small scuff on one cross brace but again, nothing important got hurt. The braces worked as skid plates.

The weekend after the wet and foggy autocross, I was at it again.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:51:23 -0600

No, you just can't have enough racing. This time, though, I was driving Elvis. That's a Miata put together at Flyin' Miata with an LS1 engine - an all-aluminum Corvette engine, basically. Brandon and I were sharing the car so it ended up being a real driver's competition. I managed to beat him, but by less than 0.3 seconds.
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It's hard to believe that it's been a full month since the race.

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:39:39 -0600

I haven't just been trying to catch up with my life - although there's been a lot of that. The weekend after returning home, I had the car out on the autocross course again. It was an interesting day, not just because it was rainy and so foggy at times that you couldn't see two gates away. No, it was interesting because of how long it took me to get back into autocross mode again.
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An interesting angle on the car.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:08:05 -0600

Little Bay East, I believe.
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Action shot!

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:01:47 -0600

Ralph handed me a print of this picture shortly after we crossed the ceremonial finish line, and I immediately identified it. It's in Fortune the second time around. There's a youTube video of this out there as well.
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One of my favorite pictures from the event.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:59:12 -0600

It's not completely in focus, but it captures the speed really well. Gooseberry Cove, driving into the sun flat out. This one's going to get turned into a poster for my wall.
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Enough of the rain, let's have some sun!

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:57:24 -0600

Northwest Brook, I think. Ralph took some great shots, but he needs to reset the clock on his camera! It's interesting how much the suspension is compressed here. I think it's a high speed corner and the car's leaning a bit.
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Now this is what I'd expected the Targa to be like all along.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:54:10 -0600

I'm thinking it's Point Leamington, fairly early on. We're moving pretty fast, judging by the fact the hood is starting to lift. I could see it bulging in the middle at about 160 kmh.
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Some more race photos, this time from Ralph Saulnier.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 17:52:16 -0600

Ralph took some great shots. There's something about this one that looks very purposeful - it's not really a fantastic picture, but I like it. So I put it up.
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We've been chosen as Miata of the Month!

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:04:47 -0600

Twice, actually. The Targa Miata was the Miata.net MOTM for September, during the race. That got a lot of people following our race, I expect.
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Terrorizing Brigus.

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:49:11 -0600

This is the stage I keep showing people to show what the Targa was like. It's only 2 minutes long and crazy fun. Where else do you get to use a house as an apex marker?
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