Fan’s NC Miata: Truncating Ten Years

Pursuing a PHD prevents a serious student from doing much else, both for temporal and financial reasons. Fan You recognized the limitations he was under while going for another degree, but had already committed to finding a way realizing his newly-realized ambition of running track days. 

“I had no idea they existed before I moved to San Francisco in 2021,” he said. 

In his typical investigative fashion, he began researching what paths people took to getting acquainted with track driving techniques and how to best practice. For the amount of money he had available at the time, the simulator made the most sense. 

“I read and asked around, and realized the fidelity of modern simulator equipment is very good and would help me learn the techniques of driving.

After driving the simulator, I enjoyed it as a standalone and, even if I never actually raced on a track, I saw it as a good investment. My friends and I started a team, Drag-On Racing, and I dedicated nearly 1,000 hours to the simulator in the first 18 months of ownership.”

That analytical approach shaped his four-step process designed to sharpen his sword in the shortest time possible. 

All his sim preparation was put to the test on his first day of real-world track driving. This, the second step in his plan, depended on two changes: an acceptance of his limitations and disposable income.

A new job allowed him to buy his first track car: a Hyundai Veloster N, a “perfect beginner’s car” which he left untouched. “I was impressed with the suspension, the brakes, and the balance. The transmission was also quite responsive — some call it the ‘Korean PDK.’”

“Based on the research I did, I thought that starting track driving in an automatic front wheel-drive car would be safest to begin track driving; I was not sure I could deal with a RWD’s tendency towards oversteer.”

After a few DEs with his new acquisition, Fan started to probe. “I played with tire pressures and the rear sway bar to make the car a little more playful.”

That calculated sort of curiosity turned out to bolster his confidence in a way he hadn’t anticipated. “Turned out correcting oversteer is easier in real life. When you have the sensations from the car telling you before it begins to slide; you don’t have to rely completely on your vision.”

That was his first impression. As it happened, the tendency to oversteer caused by these setup changes, combined with his growing confidence, nearly cost him big. “It got away from me in Sonoma’s Turn 10, but I just barely saved it. Without my simulator preparation, I would’ve totaled the car,” he admitted. 

The third step in his process was again facilitated by a bump in income. As part of acquiring a rear-drive car with a manual transmission, a platform he felt comfortable with only after his front-drive introduction, he had to wait for a reasonable time to make a purchase. 

As all his prudence would’ve guaranteed, a big win in a poker game helped him secure the funds to pick up a cheap track toy. His deep-pocketed indifference even kept him from looking underneath the car before buying, but, fortunately, he found a mint example of a 2014 Mazda MX-5 Club package. As he would learn, the car was not stock. 

“It’s a shame more people don’t seriously track the NC. It is the redheaded stepchild in the Miata family but for me, it’s a cheap, reliable, and fun platform,” he said. 

Before he could have it inspected, he had to admit to his own shortcomings: he couldn’t drive a stick well enough to bring it home from the dealership. They transported it to him the next day. 

Over the following month, he found slow streets and cul de sacs to practice all he’d learned from his YouTube research. His shifting skills weren’t world class, but by the end of two weeks, he’d been able to coordinate his inputs well enough to make it from stoplight to stoplight. 

Then Gary Yeung at Elite Performance looked underneath and relayed tale of buried treasure. “It actually came with Ohlins DFVs and Whiteline Swaybars. “A nice bonus,” he said. “I’d watched Gary drive his Mango S2000 before and realized he was a very good driver as well as a very good mechanic, so I left all future work on my car in his and Melody’s hands after that. Elite Performance is a great shop and deserves more recognition.”

Following its post-purchase inspection, Fan ordered a Hard Dog rollbar and a set of Hawk DTC-60 pads, as well as a set of 225-section Nankang CR-S tires. During his first event in the Miata, a damp day at Laguna Seca, he remained cautious due to the way a shower the night before left a few rivers running across the track. 

The conditions and Fan’s unfamiliarity with an h-pattern gearbox were his greatest hindrances that day, but despite running the full track in fourth gear alone, he snagged an impressive 1:51.2. Relative to some of the full-out benchmark laps, Fan felt he wasn’t far off his potential performance. “That made me recognize the car’s potential,” he said. 

At Gary’s recommendation, he went ahead and prepped it for pushing harder with a small selection of modifications. With a better Hawk DTC 70/60 split, 17x10” Apex VS5-RS wheels wrapped in 255-section RE71RS tires, a Goodwin Racing radiator, and a camber kit, the MX-5 was ready for Fan’s second attempt at the famous Monterey circuit.

Favorable conditions and improved contact patch helped him snag a 1:48.2 at Laguna — with his AIM goading him on with an optimal time of a 1:47.0 — a time that put the S5 record in his sights. 

After an encouraging demonstration at Sonoma, he returned to Laguna Seca to log his current best of a 1:45.29, even with a silly mistake in T2 that robbed him of half a second. 

If he can find a cool morning free from traffic and commit more to Turns 6 and 8, he’s confident he’ll claim something in the high-44s. “It’s a matter of bravery; the car is more than capable at this stage.”

When he reaches the limits of current setup, he’ll start his fourth step: increasing power, improving aerodynamics, and reducing weight. “With these modifications, a sub 1:40 lap might be possible, but it’s too early to say conclusively.”

The rapid progression from novice to aspiring record-breaker can’t be attributed to anything other than two things: his two-thousand hours of sim driving accrued over the last few years and, of course, his need to realize his current setup’s potential. The main motivation behind my four-step plan was to train myself to be a well-rounded driver, capable of both manual and automatic, both FWD and RWD, with and without power, with and without aero. Actually, the reason for more power isn't to go faster, but to improve my throttle control.”

It was Fan’s analytical powers and prudent planning that helped him acquire the experience that would typically take ten years in just three. “From my research, I could tell that the important thing was seat time. If you want to be good at driving, you need to drive more than twenty events a year, which is already a lot for me — this is the main advantage of the simulator.”

If Fan’s been able to prove anything by truncating ten years, it’s the value of simulated seat time. Go get a rig – it’s one of the few ways you might make a return on your racing investment.