Jek

Ok, so I have a crazy idea that I've been toying with. Maybe it'll drum up some activity on this board too!

Ever since my first track school at VIR, I've been dieing to get back on a track. When I bought my S2000, I had done seen the ELDA Bar and figured that I could get a roll bar tall enough for me to track the car eventually. I didn't do enough research at the time to see that the ELDA bar was out of production. Of course, I don't think that would have stopped me at the time anyways since the S2000 has always been and always will be my dream car (Even now that I own it ). I love my S2000, it is my most important possession, and I will probably never sell it. But, on to the facts.

1) I'm 6'2" tall, and there is no viable aftermarket solution for the S2000 rollbar right now short of custom fabrication and heavy interior modification.

2) The S2000 is really too expensive of a car for me to track anyways. My instructor at the HPDE I went to had what I thought was some great advice: "Only track a car if you can smash it into a guard rail at over 75mph, shed a few tears for nostalgia, smile, and walk away to buy another one."

Given these facts, plus miscellaneous others, the S2000 is not a good car for me to track. So the question enters my mind: "I love my S2000, what is the closest I can come to the way it feels with a cheap, trackable car?" The answer that pops into my head is an early 90's Miata. It's an FR roadster, it's Japanese and reliable, it's small and nimble. Of course, it will feel seriously lacking on the power side of things compared to the S at first, but that can be remedied in the long run with an FMII turbo kit later on. Not to mention, learning to drive the car in stock form will probably make me a faster driver in the long run. The slowest part of my S is definitely the driver, lol.

The curb weight on these things is beautiful too. A '91 is just under 2200 pounds. With removal of parts of the interior, the AC, and alloy wheels I could get that even lower.

And finally, the aftermarket for this car is massive. There are so many of these things out there that it just kills the S in the aftermarket, especially when it comes to track related items like rollbars. The Flyin' Miata site has about TWENTY of them to choose from!

So, here's the initial budget guess:
1990-1993 Miata: ~$3000 (Possibly cheaper if I can find one with interior or cosmetic damage)
M1 Hard Dog Hard Core (SCCA legal) rollbar: $385
Misc. (Tires, pads, harnesses, etc): $1000

So, what do you guys think?

cmn1882

Buy it and put in an S2000 motor. I saw it done in a magazine. Small, light, and S2000 power!!!

Jek

Come on guys, only 1 opinion on a crazy idea? I expected some flames here or something

Kaolinte

Here is my opinion. I like it! I actually thought about building a track car as well. However, I was going to use a 1999 model miata or an 89 Civic Si. The problem is that I do not have anywhere to keep it. The S gets the garage, and our two other cars take up the driveway. I ended up just putting all that money back into the S.

I hope your build goes well. If you need any help let me know.

Jek

One nice thing about my apartment complex...I have nowhere indoors to keep cars, which sucks, but there is tons of unused parking at my part of the complex. I asked the owners about it and they said it was no problem. One guy apparently had 5 vehicles. I'll eventually have 4: Civic (Possibly to be replaced by Toyota Tacoma), S2000, Miata, motorcycle

jonam

That's really a good idea..
but you will probably have to replace the suspension parts (e.g. bushings/shocks)due to the wear if they has been used for more than 10 years..

As to the roll bar for s2k, call Kirk racing in Birmingham(spell?) Alabama...they should be able to get you a roll bar..They are well known cage/rollbar builder for the racers in SCCA, NASA, BMWCCA and so on...and the price should be better than Eldar. ($350ish).
Hope this helps.

Jek

Good point about the suspension parts, it's a cost I haven't thought about. Probably something I'd upgrade eventually anyways though.

I like the look of Kirk racing, anyone know if they've done any S2000's? It's not listed on their website. They look quite professional though, I wonder if they could figure out a way to get one in while retaining most of the interior like the Elba. Their prices look really good. I'd like to have a taller rollbar in the S2000 even off the track, looking at my head and the rollbar in pictures makes me really nervous:





As for the Miata rollbar, I'm looking at the "M1 Hard Dog Hard Core Hardtop". It's $385 with a single diagonal, and is built to SCCA Solo I specs. Check it out:


The details for the bar are here.

Everyone keep an eye out for cheap Miatas ($3000 or less). Interior damage is a plus

So another question: should I paint it Silverstone Metallic and call it my "Mini-S2k" and tick off all the Mazda fanatics? Heheheh.

jonam

as far as I know, they haven't made a roll bar/cage for s2k yet...
In this case, someone need to drive down there and let Mark build one. Unfortunately my S is in Seattle, so I can't do that After that, he will be able to duplicate them as many as he needs. Group buy would motivate him better..
Call and talk to Julie or Mark..They are really good people.
The cage in my M is from them.

Jek

Hmm, I'll give them a call. Might be worth a trip down there. I bet they could make a lot off a bar if they designed a good one for the S and told S2ki about it. Hey Charles, feel like a road trip to 'Bama? I forget, isn't Birmingham where you're moving to in May?

Hmm, random thought. I heard that Elda sold the plans and rights for the bar to S2ki. I wonder if there would be any way to get S2ki to allow someone(i.e. Kirk) the plans to build an Elda bar for me. Haven't they been looking for someone to mass produce the thing? Anyone know who I should contact with a question like that?

Jonam, if you don't mind me asking, what in the world is your S2000 doing in Seattle? That's an awfully cold place for a convertible this time of year, poor thing

jonam

Mark at Kirk has tons of, lots of experience in the cage/bar building in almost every car that runs on the track. He should be able to figure out something like Elda or better when he has an actual car in front of him.
If you get him the pics of Elda installed, that should help him to understand what you want. Elda looked good, but I would get Kirk at better price. If the bar is intalled there, intallation charge will be added, I believe. If group buy, the price was lower by $30-$50 (e36M3) depending on the # of pariticipants.
I am leaving U.S. for good some time this spring...and want to have a track worthy car at my sister's place when I visit her.