According to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the average taxpayer who received a refund in 2017 got a check for $2,763. For auto enthusiasts expecting a refund in 2018, this average refund check is almost exactly what you would need to get a roadster like the Mazda Miata ready for competitive track duties.
Let’s say your starting point is a 1999 Mazda Miata, bone stock, but with a hardtop and the package that includes a Torsen limited-slip differential. It’s by no means a race car, but with the 1.8-liter engine, it’s ahead of the game. There are many grassroots motorsports races—some organized by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA)—that are well within reach. “I’d probably look at SCCA solo classes, including autocross and time trials, or perhaps ChampCar or the 24 Hours of LeMons series,” said Bradley Iger, an eBay Motors Blog contributor and Miata racer.
It’s Time to Go Shopping
With TEIN coilovers, you’ll soon be cornering like the pros.
You could start the process of prepping your car for the track by buying a performance exhaust (minus the catalytic converter) such as this MBS example for $330. The system will let the Miata’s twin-cam engine breathe better, adding power in the 3,000- to 6,000-rpm range. It also has a weight advantage, and cutting weight is one of the bests things you can do to make your car competitive.
Then we suggest adding TEIN Flex Z coilover shock absorbers at all four corners, for $815. Polyurethane bushings would tighten things up. With a set of coilovers in place, you get considerable leeway in adjusting the height of your car for various events. Your ride control will improve, and you’ll be able to take the corners faster.
To the shocks, we’d add a new set of $80 Racing Beat endlinks, which allow the sway bars to be set for specific handling characteristics, including either mild understeer or oversteer. The endlinks are aluminum with urethane bushings.
A roll-bar is an essential piece of safety equipment.
Safety is important so you would want a four-point OBX Racing roll bar for around $500. Having the hardtop will help you walk away from an accident, but the roll bar—a surprisingly recent invention—is important, too. The first roll bars didn’t appear until the 1950s, but their advantage (and that of the full cage extending forward of the seats) was recognized immediately, both for protecting occupants and stiffening the chassis.
Race conditions require racing seats, like these from Shift Up Racing, available on eBay Motors.
According to cage builder Kent Porter of Precision Chassis Works, “Bolt-in roll bars offer additional roll-over protection [especially important if the car is equipped with fixed back seats] and provides mounting provision for the shoulder straps on five- or six-point harnesses.”
And you’ll want to stay in place with racing seats. Considering the G-forces operating on drivers in race conditions, purpose-built seats are essential to keep you centered and in front of the wheel—particularly if you’re competing in an older car with stock seats that don’t provide much side bolster support. Weight savings is often another advantage. We love this pair of Recaros for $535.
We would finish the project with new brake pads from Hawk Performance for about $120. A racing project should not only focus on going faster—but also requires an investment in stopping power.
All of this starts to approach the amount of a typical tax refund. Maybe we can stay on budget with one of these fireproof Sparco racing suits for $200. (Any remaining funds can be used to celebrate your first big win.)
A Sparco racing suit does more than make you look like Steve McQueen at LeMans—it’s fireproof.
Getting to Spec
The I.R.S.’s average refund could be seen as a competitive entry point, with the ultimate goal being Spec Miata, the most popular club-racing series in the U.S. Run by the SCCA and the National Auto Sport Association (NASA), Spec Miata operates one in six of the amateur races that take place on any weekend during the season. Racing in Spec Miata is relatively inexpensive, and it’s about talent, not horsepower since the cars are put on an equal footing by extensive regulations.
For Spec Miata, Iger says another $5,000 might make the car competitive. With the next two years’ worth of refunds, you can concentrate on attractive wheel-and-tire combinations, more safety equipment (including harnesses, further suspension, and brake upgrades) and some of the clever engine modifications that are within the rules. The Enkei RPF1 wheels are a popular lightweight choice.
Best of all, none of these things will prevent your car from being a daily driver that can commute on weekdays and race on the weekends.
For more information about racing, see our “Ultimate Guide to Taking Your Car to the Track.”
