From Momentum Car to Turbo Rocket: David's '95 Mazda Miata M Edition

Photo credit: Ryan Bula/Sharplite Media

Considering how far it’s come, it’s wild to learn this Miata started its partnership with David Fitz-Randolph as his daily driver. Perhaps even stranger was how this car wasn’t what he had started his trackday obsession with. When he’d finish his commute with this Mazda, he’d set aside an hour or so most nights to tinker on his track car: a 2002 WRX sedan. The four-door his track car of choice. It didn’t take too long before he recognized that the car which he valued for its fuel economy was actually the better handler and, with a realistic budget, likely the quicker car around a track, so he swapped their roles. 

And for two years he enjoyed this Miata with the mildest modifications: decent brake pads, a set of sticky tires, and budget coilovers. Straightforward and honest, the car was more than enough for his tracking experience, and its lack of grunt helped him reinforce good habits.

But the anemic engine became a nuisance. “When I went to Laguna, the drive from Turn 6 to Rainey Curve was agonizing; I was a sitting duck.” So he sought out more power in a cost-effective way. Rather than swap the motor or try forced induction, he built a higher compression engine using an NB1 head, an NB2 block, and a Megasquirt ECU. This package was enough for a peppy 130 horsepower—an amount which kept him mostly satisfied for the next two years. 

The car in it first iteration with aero.

With his need for moderate power satisfied, he sought out ways to improve the car’s cornering speeds. Bigger Wilwood brakes, an APR rear wing, a splitter, and a diffuser helped him some. Eventually, he swapped the APR item for a Nine Lives Racing wing with swan neck mounts. The benefits in both downforce and efficiency were obvious. However, it’s still far from being fully utilized—David runs the rear wing at 0° and the car still exhibits a little understeer!

After time passed with the aero-clad iteration of the car, he felt like he’d seen what the car was capable of. In Nik Romano’s hands, the car did a 1:41 around Laguna Seca. Then COVID hit. David lost his job and suddenly had free time to tinker. So, like any sensible track rat, he ordered a turbo. 

With the Kraken manifold and downpipe, a BorgWarner EFR 6258 turbocharger, Supertech pistons, Manley rods, an E85 system, and a Link G4 controlling the whole package, he now had a motor which gave him 300 horsepower at the wheels. Best of all, it didn’t turn every prod of the throttle into some smokeshow, either. That power moves through a six-speed NB2 gearbox, made to shift more crisply thanks to Miataroadster.com’s shifter kit, to an OS Giken 1.5-way LSD with a 3.9 final drive.

To get the most from the bump in power, some supporting mods were in order. Big Stoptech ST42 brakes with 11” floating rotors, a wider 245s at all corners, a pair of splitter ramps adorning the new air dam, and a full cage.

With this setup, David went on to set personal bests at all his local tracks, which probably comes as no surprise. However, the more convincing indication of this car’s capability is the way he was able to snag the Speed SF Challenge S3 record at Buttonwillow on his first attempt there with the new setup. 

Fortunately, work has since picked up. With a new A90 Supra added to his track-car collection and the occasional night spent sleeping under his desk, it’s easy to see why his tinkering time is at a premium these days. Nevertheless, he found a weekend to rebuild the head and crank up the boost. On 16 pounds, the motor now makes a stout 335 horsepower at the rear wheels. That ought to keep most muscle cars, and even a few exotics, fairly honest—even at power tracks like Laguna and Willow Springs. This Miata is stripped and weighs in at just 2,100 pounds, after all. 

Now, he’s satisfied with most aspects of the car. It’s semi-approachable with a little experience, very quick down straights, manageable in slower sections, and stable the faster ones. Still, David feels limited by the front axle and is devising a new collection of aero bits to minimize the understeer. With a little time and very little luck, he’ll have himself a monster that ought to take a few more Challenge titles without much effort.