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Most Extreme Lengths in Pursuing Love Of All Things Auto: The MX5 Mazda SHOULD be making!
jeff006 06/01/2012
Wow, what a task & what an ask! There's one particular activity that I have been involved with that stands out! It relates to ‘R&D’ that was critical in the development of the first Cosworth Supercharged NC MX5 in Oz (owned by, ME!). It involved my self, engineers & two continents! I really think it counts as ‘going the distance’. How much further can you go?
I wanted to make a VERY worthy "runner's-up" mention: taking my beloved Ducati Sport Classic 1000S to the historically important Lakeside International Raceway & taking a prolonged period of time to REALLY learn what the limits of that particular bike are. I am limited by space, however, so will make a separate blog for this
Now, to THE experience! As you’ve have read, I’ve been working with ChipTorque Performance for 3 years in developing a road usable, high-powered modification for the latest model MX5, the NC (first released 2005, & now in Mark II phase). Previous models (NB, & NA, dating back to 1989 - 21 years of MX5s!!) have had everything under the sun done to them. But the NC is different. It is a far more sophisticated machine, with a complex and protected ECU & an engine bay so full you could barely find space to fit a gumnut in there, let alone a FORCED AIR INDUCTION unit of some kind. But ... that’s exactly what we had in mind. TO MAKE THE MX5 THAT MAZDA SHOULD HAVE MADE! I sense hushed silence, & a sense of perceived heresy!. But it’s true, & I'm going to shout it out ... for years we have LOVED the MX5, it’s handling is sublime & it’s a real driver’s car, but owners have been saying for decades that it “just needs a little more power”. ChipTorque Performance, right here on the Gold Coast, do tuning work for Mazda Racing Australia so had a slight head-start on the ECU mapping, but most of that work was just serious geek genius (Mazda didn't give much away!). We initially intended to turbocharge this car. The part of all this that goes to the extreme is that, after measuring (to the exact millimetre) all relevant gaps, spaces, nooks and crannies in the driver’s side of the engine bay WE ACTUALLY DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED A FULL-SCALE DUMMY TURBO AND MANIFOLD to test it’s fit in the car. This was in conjunction with BEGi ‘Bell Experimental Group, Inc.’ in the United States. Final construction actually had to occur in Texas! Everything was in the way: the master cylinder, heatshields, even the steering column, and the clearance to the heat & sound baffled bonnet was nearly virtually nil. So it was an incredible feat, & the millimetres beat us. BUT WE TRIED, SO HARD! THAT's what counts, my friends. We tried.
We redirected towards the Cosworth Supercharger unit, designed specifically for the 2.0L engine, but only for the manual (that’s right, another obstacle was an AUTO box!). With superb tuning, test-driving & lots of work, the car is, truly, the MX5 Mazda SHOULD be making.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g13JCbubHV0&feature=player_embedded
Why did a purist such as me choose an auto? Because I wanted my “fun” car to also be my “daily driver”. It’s a superb auto box with six speeds in the exact same 6 ratios as the manual & the F1-style paddle shifters work extremely well (superior, in fact, to Merc’s SLK, which is a cold beast with wooden steering).
So, I ask you, who has gone to such lengths (working with the world’s top engineers in a genuine and unique R&D project) to make the car of their dreams? Thank you to everyone who was involved!
