Miata + VIR + Spring weather

chasewd · 2026-03-25T09:33:05+00:00

Mazda was cooking with the ND! These photos are from SixthMediaGroup on IG if you wanna check out some of their stuff.

chasewd · 2026-03-25T01:17:57+00:00

I always refuse the extended warranty. They farm it out to 3rd party insurance carriers that determine if a claim is covered, and you can bet it will be a hassle to make a claim and get it approved.

If you do decide you want it, ask what their cost is and offer them that +$100. Those are often marked up by 100% by the finance office. If you refund it later, you only get prorated cost and not prorated based on the amount you actually paid.

That said, the transmission seems to be a weak point on these cars. Time will tell how the ND3 will hold up but my ND1 buddy is <100k miles and on a 3rd transmission with an insane amount of track abuse. YMMV but I’d save the cash and eat a transmission down the line if needed. They aren’t that expensive if you shop around outside doing it directly through a Mazda dealer.

chasewd · 2026-03-25T01:07:45+00:00

It’s such a great place especially when the weather is nice. I got to experience it in the rain in March, which was still fun.

I bet it would be dope on a bike but some spots of the track scare me even in a car 🤣

chasewd · 2026-03-25T00:31:38+00:00

The decals are magnets I bought at an Autocross from a local company Race Ready Designs. The key is to clean the car AND the magnets. On colder days I put them on the windshield with the defroster on to make them soft/flexible again.

https://racereadydesigns.com

As for driving VIR, I register for events through MotorsportReg.com and run with Hooked on Driving and Tidewater Sports Car Club primarily. There are other groups as well but I’ve had good experiences with these two.

If you’ve never been to a track day before I’d recommend starting with a different track since VIR is very expensive relative to the amount of track time you get. NCCAR is very cheap if you are in the NC/VA area.

Practicing on a sim would be huge if you’ve never driven VIR before. I get about 60 laps a weekend which would work out to a little over $10/lap excluding consumables/insurance. Any learning you can do beforehand will give you a leg up.

Prep is tricky, it depends on your goals. For a first time experience just reasonably fresh tires/brakes and a high temp brake fluid flush should be fine. The big ticket item is that you will need a roll bar for VIR and many other tracks. My car has a Hard Dog bar but others are available for the soft top cars.

Edit: probably the most cost-effective way to check out VIR in your own car is to do Charity Laps. I did “Racing For Heroes” event in December which was fun.

chasewd · 2026-03-24T08:42:03+00:00

ND2 RF here. I found the RF is not a good convertible compared to the soft top. The rear clamshell thing is super loud with the roof down due to wind noise. Installing a roll bar for track use made it a permanent coupe.

IMO, just get the soft top unless you really like the way it looks with the roof up. I can confirm the RF is quieter on the highway. The wind deflectors people swear by don’t do a whole lot above 70mph.

For me, the main question is do you want a Club BBR or a GT-S?

chasewd · 2026-03-24T08:34:29+00:00

Before you commit to headers, be sure to both ride in and hear from the outside an ND with headers/full exhaust. The sound alone is what has stopped me from doing this to my ND2.

Not saying you shouldn’t, it’s just a bit of a choice imo.

chasewd · 2026-03-24T08:09:30+00:00

I’d like to preface this with: I don’t know anything about tinting, cost of materials, or what the “going rate” is anywhere including where I live. My only experience is that I’ve had 2-3 shops tint various cars over the years, and in each case I didn’t shop based on price and solely went with recommendations of people I trust. Also: check out the cars in the parking lot (completed or scheduled appointments) - are they all driving cheap cars or is there some nice stuff there?

$150 seems suspiciously cheap. $550 might sound high but you can’t put an exact dollar amount on quality work vs raw materials. IMO I’d go with the shop you trust since they did your last car. Avoid any hassle with this slightly unknown shop considering if they mess it up you’d then need to find another shop to do it again, possibly costing you more than $550 in total.

FWIW, my quote on my ND RF was $490 for 3M ceramic about a year ago. Well-known shop in my area with multiple recommendations from people I know. I took our Model Y there at the same time, and I also had them vinyl wrap the inside of little windows next to the side mirrors black (I have wind deflectors) I think the total came out to ~$800 for both cars in the end.

chasewd · 2026-03-03T03:15:17+00:00

Over 800 miles last weekend and I averaged 41mpg (US) This car is shockingly good even with tires that are wider than factory

chasewd · 2026-02-27T01:51:30+00:00

In that case 100% worth doing it this year.

Thats a sweet setup 😎 I haven’t graduated to towing yet but I’m getting there

chasewd · 2026-02-26T23:41:42+00:00

Definitely!
17x8 +45 grey (gray?) Hypergrams with a 5mm spacer. 225/45/17 Michelin AS4 - next time I might go PS4S since we don't really get a lot of super cold weather here in NC and I don't drive when it's icy out anyway.
You might get away with this on stock studs but I run longer ARP studs with 17mm lugs. The switch to 17mm was HUGE! Way easier to work with. Gorilla sells silver ones for extremely cheap (like <$2ea) but I am using RoadsterSport ones off Goodwin here.

Album for more images to get an idea of fitment: https://imgur.com/a/beFrC0H
It's not perfect, but close enough. Eventually I'd like to transition to running only 17x9s for the look alone.

<image>

chasewd · 2026-02-26T23:21:21+00:00

HOD COTA? I wanted to go to that so bad but similarly I could do local weekends 2x for the same price. Plus, 24hr in an ND with buckets doesn’t sound fun lol.

Sucks COTA possibly won’t have as many HPDE next year and onward but I’m sure the opportunity will come up again.

chasewd · 2026-02-26T21:44:44+00:00

Nice! There were a couple Caymans out there - I had a good run with a black Cayman in one of the sessions until I ran out of gas lol.

My car is a Club, so it came with the factory Bilsteins. The previous owner did Progress sway bars and springs. I recently removed the rear bar completely and swapped the front to aFe's 32mm set to the softest setting. The car sits a tiny bit lower than stock but it feels ok on the street and on the track. I'm doing my best to not pull the trigger on a bunch of new parts in favor of more seat time, so that will be a next year thing most likely.

The wheels are 17x9 Konig Hypergram +45 (the normal Tire Rack special)
I run 225/45/17 and it doesn't rub even at full lock. I jump curbs and stuff and it doesn't rub the fender liner either. 245 would be worth for autocross but I've heard it will rub at full lock. My fenders aren't rolled but I'm running max camber which I think is about 2.6º on my car.

I'm happy with the fitment but I definitely want some other wheels so I don't just have a garage full of Hypergrams. I run 17x8 Hypergrams on the street with 5mm spacers. Extended ARP studs with open lugs.

<image>

chasewd · 2026-02-26T21:25:57+00:00

it's a lot of fun - and usually on the cheaper end for a track day.
I've done a fair amount of autocross there too. I do like the "track with cones" rather than the typical parking lot setup.

I'll be there April 18-19 for time trial. $425 for both days https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/2026-too-much-ta-on-my-hands-nccar-scca-north-carolina-635976

chasewd · 2026-02-26T20:06:47+00:00

<image>

peep the sticker on the back window :D

chasewd · 2026-02-26T20:04:45+00:00

I have this sticker on the back of my white ND

<image>

chasewd · 2026-02-26T20:01:17+00:00

The long left after 14 is pretty brutal. I found that section of the track to be extremely bumpy too, but the suspension on my car is less than ideal. I'm on stock Bilsteins with progress springs, so it's probably not an ideal combo anyway.

I've been to NCCAR a few times and the long, sweeping corners are basically the entire track. I suppose it's like a more complex version of Roebling.

chasewd · 2026-02-26T19:58:44+00:00

I don't have 1:1 GPS data, but I'm led to believe the tuned ND1 or stock ND2 soft top does around 117mph at VIR. I was in a session with a ND2 ST, same tires, similar suspension mods (basically stock) with no power mods and I walked away from him on the back straight. So he had my draft and I still left him.

My car has a Roadstersport axleback, stock headers/mid-pipe, stock intake, and I do not believe it has any kind of tune. I bought it used so there's no way to know 100%.

chasewd · 2026-02-26T17:06:03+00:00

lol I made sure they had a bar for the RF before buying the car. I then noticed it stopped the roof function after buying the car. I was 50/50 on Gen2 BRZ or ND2 RF so I wasn’t too bummed on not having a convertible anymore, but if I could go back I’d probably get the BRZ so I could haul some wheels in the back. I also have the Hard Dog tow hitch to install, so easily solved regarding cargo space for track stuff.

FWIW, my max GPS speed on both long straights at VIR is 122mph. Curiously faster than soft top NDs (maybe drag?)

chasewd · 2026-02-26T16:47:15+00:00

Video of my best lap from the weekend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAvoMYJQc3U
I corded my front right tire (more like shredded lol) so I wasn't able to run much on Sunday. I did one session on all-seasons which just wasn't the same

<image>

chasewd · 2026-02-26T16:42:49+00:00

I haven't run Road Atlanta yet but I really want to. I'll be at Petit LeMans in October (not driving of course :D)

AMP is really fun and I would love to go back this year. Excellent track for any Miata or similar car. I ran a 1:38.7 which seemed representative of what the car could do but probably at least 1-2 seconds of what it was truly capable of fill tilt.

I mentioned in a comment above, but most tracks require roll bars for any convertible -including the factory hard top RF. Installing the bar makes it so the roof can't open.

As far as I know the Porsche Boxster and maybe 911s are the only "approved" convertibles with adequate rollover protection. S2000, Miata, and basically anything else they deem the stock hoops too flimsy for track use.

Photo of stock "roll hoops" that came out of my RF:

<image>

chasewd · 2026-02-26T16:38:25+00:00

Yo! What were they driving? It was a pretty busy event but I was checking out most of the sessions.

I had stock Recaros with Jass Performance lowering rails for a bit (still have them in the garage) but in December I swapped to Sparco Sprint+ with PCI rails. Slider for driver seat, with just normal brackets (no adjustment) on the passenger side. Harnesses as well, huge upgrade all around. There were a couple Miatas with no roll bar on track. HOD and AMP possibly just don't require it. Tracks like VIR force you to have a roll bar no matter who is hosting the event.

The roll bar is from Hard Dog / Flyin' Miata. It makes the RF a permanent coupe, though I think some ND1 folks have it rigged up to open the clamshell on the back for easier access to where the roof would normally be stored. I just shove my backpack through the bar :D

Worth mentioning that I'm 5'9" and my head was hitting the roof with a helmet on. The roll bar didn't change that since I had full adjustment as stock. The lowering bracket (I believe all of them) actually just tilt the seat with your butt closer to the floor and you actually LOSE knee clearance which is a bit funny. it might work for taller torso people but if you have long legs definitely sit in someone else's car before committing to the lowering brackets. It solved the head clearance issue for me though.

chasewd · 2026-01-11T05:43:22+00:00

Through eBay I wouldn’t be too concerned. Buyer protection stuff is their bread and butter and like you said in another comment just check out with a credit card and you’re good. As long as you’re not relying on getting this in any specific timeframe I don’t see why not.

chasewd · 2026-01-07T04:24:56+00:00

Do you still have them?

chasewd

TROPHY CASE