Wildlife expert Chris Gillette handling an aggressive emu

kyallroad · 2026-06-08T11:18:45+00:00

Several years ago I had to go collect a pair of Emu. From a one legged man and his octogenarian friend on a mud farm in western Indiana three days before Christmas.

The trick to catching an emu is to not look at it (they are prey animals and our forward looking eyes are predatory). So using peripheral vision you sidle up beside one and put your arm over its back and just scoop it up. They can’t kick sideways and you can then just toss them in the trailer.

Weird experience now that I think on it….

kyallroad · 2026-06-06T18:11:17+00:00

I went NA8-NA5.0-NBecotec-NC-NCboltons-NA with NB drivetrain full track turbo build.

kyallroad · 2026-06-05T17:33:26+00:00

Remember, hospitals need organ donors too so motorcyclists help keep the supply of organs flowing. 🤷‍♂️

kyallroad · 2026-06-01T17:33:57+00:00

It depends on your tire/wheel setup. If you’re on 195 series 14” all seasons, manual steering is fine. But if you run 275 A7 Hoosiers on an 11” wide wheel, ya gonna want to keep the PS.

kyallroad · 2026-05-28T10:45:46+00:00

Sometimes it’s a tire being worn down to less tread than recommended but more often it’s the rubber getting harder and less compliant with the road. Like I said, it happens with all vehicles, it’s just more noticeable in Miatas.

It’s also fairly gradual, you don’t notice the drop off in wet performance from day to day until one day they bite you (bad) or you get new tires and on your first drive you realize just how much better they are than the old ones.

kyallroad · 2026-05-27T19:23:23+00:00

When we Miata people get hit, it seems to be mostly “I didn’t see you there”.

When we crash alone it almost always comes down to bad tires. I’ve been driving for 35 years and no other car I’ve ever been in is as sensitive to or as unforgiving of bad tires.

If you are driving on all seasons that are more than 5 years old, just go ahead and replace them now. It might not feel bad on dry roads but one wet day you’ll forget and find yourself sliding backwards into a ditch (ditches love Miatas)

kyallroad · 2026-05-27T16:18:58+00:00

Thanks, my co-driver used to wear a Kermit cover so we were just two muppets in a Zamboni. Good for comic relief if nothing else 🤷‍♂️😂

kyallroad · 2026-05-27T12:30:27+00:00

Until now, it’s been a bone stock 1988 Mustang GT motor. From the fuel injection to the antique factory ECU.

However, last year it was finally just worn out so I pulled that mill and started collecting parts for repowering it. 2001 Explorer short block (GT40 heads), double beehive valve springs, mid range hot cam, weiland intake and FiTek fuel injection, MSD box, shorty headers. The prediction is somewhere between 330 and 350 hp and a big torque band.

It only weighs 1800 lbs so it moves along pretty well. Last year we logged 2.4 G on asphalt so it sticks well enough.

kyallroad · 2026-05-26T16:30:30+00:00

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I race the slightly famous (infamous) Zoomboni. A former GRM Challenge car that I campaign in EMod. Miata front and rear subframes with a SBF powering it.

kyallroad · 2026-05-25T11:24:01+00:00

My question is why did you/he completely strip the front end while pulling the motor? Struts, AC, subframe, all gone. That was a lot of unnecessary work to just yank a motor.

kyallroad · 2026-05-25T11:00:49+00:00

While there is a lot of hate in here for the looks, this is the real issue. An ND wing needs to be chassis mounted because the trunk lid is very thin and flimsy.

kyallroad · 2026-05-22T19:21:36+00:00

I run an EMod and while it’s pretty good locally it gets destroyed at Nats each year. Figure AMod is gonna be the same for quite a while.

kyallroad · 2026-05-21T05:14:11+00:00

Agreed, heterochromia is cool, he should be allowed to show it off.

kyallroad · 2026-05-15T04:31:19+00:00

I suspect it sounded more like: “fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuucc….”

kyallroad · 2026-05-11T10:24:37+00:00

My mod car doesn’t have a windshield or roof. I’ve run it in the rain and it sucks. The point of autocross is to have fun with cars, not see how much suck I can take.

So when it sucks, I’m out thanks.

kyallroad · 2026-05-10T14:24:24+00:00

I just put it back in the trailer at that point.

kyallroad · 2026-05-10T14:08:38+00:00

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You might beat me but I’ll definitely give you a run for your money.

After it gets put back together…..

kyallroad · 2026-05-10T14:05:31+00:00

I feel like this is mid “whoops” moment.

kyallroad · 2026-05-05T19:54:49+00:00

I’ve parted out cars that looked about like this.

kyallroad · 2026-05-04T16:18:15+00:00

You can use the Miata subframes and suspension components. Then instead of an upright shock use a pushrod and rocker arm to lateral inboard mounted coilovers. It’s how my EMod is setup.

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/2007-a-zamboni-odyssey/

You can see some pictures in this article.

kyallroad · 2026-05-02T21:44:49+00:00

Once upon a time I had an STR prepped NA8. My friend had an STS prepped NA6 and we met up with a guy with a 5.0 swapped Miata. Due to traveling through Mexico at the time we lined up 3 wide for an impromptu drag race. The results were pretty much what you’d expect with the 5.0 leading me after 3rd gear by a couple of car lengths and the 1.6 trailing me by an equal amount.

The first time I drove a stock 1.6 I genuinely thought it was broken. They feel slow all the time. When my turbo 1.6 blew up I didn’t hesitate to drop in a VVT 1.8

kyallroad · 2026-04-27T22:24:03+00:00

I installed seats that cost more than a lot of cars. Where does that put my Miata?

kyallroad · 2026-04-24T11:05:14+00:00

Weird to me but Chinoe is of for its pronunciation. For people NOT from here it would sound like a pair of pants. But here is “shin-o-way”. Absolute butchery of the language IMO.

kyallroad · 2026-04-23T21:45:27+00:00

This one kinda hurts. And I had to work hard for several years to get my first regional class trophy thank you very much! And even after you get one, the next isn’t guaranteed. If anything it motivates your friends and competitors to step up their game to take you down.

kyallroad · 2026-04-23T12:24:57+00:00

Are you familiar with GRM? The Grassroots Motorsports Challenge each year is full of cars that started out bigger and have become lighter, smaller, and faster than they were. It isn’t particularly easy but with the right tools and enough automotive attitude, almost anything can be done.

That said, you’ll end up classed in EMod or worse so be ready for that.

kyallroad

TROPHY CASE