I just came home from buying my first supercharger. It's a m45 jrsc kit for a 1.8 miata. Now I just have to put the 1.8 engine and a megasquirt into my 1650lb miata that currently has a stock 1.6. I'm pretty excited.I paid $800 canadian and he threw in a set of solid spoke miata wheels. I'm hoping that I will be able to bring it to the challenge this year.
That's Super!
Don't try to push that M45 too hard, it's a fairly small blower and you hit the point of diminishing returns pretty much immediately. But it'll be a fun upgrade, especially with the Megasquirt.
1650 lbs? I want to know more! That's about 150 lbs below what I would have called plausible with a Miata drivetrain.
I'm willing to bet he's the guy running around without a windshield and other, uh, amenities.
Maybe those are Canadian pounds.
David S. Wallens wrote: Maybe those are Canadian pounds.
Hah!
No doors, no windscreen, no windscreen header, no interior . . .
MW's car has been radically altered from what I can see. 1650lbs is plausible.
Fear he.
As I look at the picture above my first thoughts are, "Locost without the Lotus 7 look." and "why use a Miata as locost donor when you can still keep it a Miata?"
That is it posted above. Some of the weight savings include cutting out the front bumper except for the skin and also cutting out the rear bumper and and trunk floor. Also the doors are just aluminum skins, no rad fan, no heater, etc. There's still a lot more weight to lose if I was willing to spend any money on it. 1650lbs is with the stock 1.6 drivetrain solid sway bars, steel bodied koni's, H&R lowering springs, unmolested hood and trunk lid, brake dust shields, and lots of wiring that I have to take out. How much more does the 1.8 engine weigh? I don't think I will have to push the m45 too hard to be fun in this car. It is already hard to keep traction with the 1.6 and 20x9.5 hoosiers.
http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/553/
ZOOMiata wrote: No doors, no windscreen, no windscreen header, no interior . . . MW's car has been radically altered from what I can see. 1650lbs is plausible.
what a smart idea - really.
definetly not a chick car, I like it
I love it!
That's an impressive curb weight. I always thought this guy was aggressive in adding lightness, but it seems that he only got down to 1900lbs.
http://www.lightweightmiata.com/beast/
mw, challenge rules require a windshield, but you could probably meet the letter of the law by attaching a motorcycle helmet face shield or a cut-down motorcycle windscreen in front of the instrument cluster somewhere. i certainly wouldn't protest that.
I like that idea for a locost much better than the actual ones.
Maybe because it's something I would actually get up the energy to do. You sound like a deserving soul for that blower.
It's not quite equivalent to a Locost due to the engine and driver location. In a Locost, the engine is about a foot further back and the driver is basically leaning on the rear suspension. There is nothing beyond the wheels at all. The CG is also lower, and that extra 350 lbs is still going to be noticeable.
But in terms of effort, it's a clear winner.
I did a fair bit of lightening on my Targa Miata. No bumper structure, no extra wiring, latch mechanisms gone from the hood and trunk, etc - but the car is weather tight and has a rally roll cage and some under-body armor, so that bumps the weight back up again. Nice work, that's lighter than I thought possible even at this level of commitment. You've probably already figured this out, but the trunk lid is possibly the heaviest body panel in the car...
dyintorace wrote: That's an impressive curb weight. I always thought this guy was aggressive in adding lightness, but it seems that he only got down to 1900lbs. http://www.lightweightmiata.com/beast/
guy lives near here, I've seen it autox.. it's fast, but for sale.
Sold, actually.
The Beast got sold? Whoever bought it got my Challenge wheels and tires. 
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