NC 20BPP Time Attack / Track Car - Build Thread
Posted: Fri Apr 25, 2008 4:32 pm
Having tracked both ORX-626 & OMX-596 for a number of years it was time to build myself a pure track car!
Both cars have their pros & cons and as they are quite tidy (many, many hours spent on them) registered cars, the last thing I'd want to do is have a red mist moment and damage them
. Neither of them have a roll cage/bar or harnesses so that also held me back from getting the most out of them when on the track. They are two completely different vehicles, with the 626 having ample straight line speed and braking capacity, the MX-5 having fantastic balance and handling. The brakes on the 5 are perfectly OK as the car doesn't have a particulary high top speed that may require larger items.
So the recipe for the track car was quite simple, take all the good points of both cars and put them into one vehicle. So the chassis choice was quite simple....MX-5....but which series..NA, NB or NC
As most of you would have gathered by now, I'm quite partial to the rotary engine, so which chassis would accept a 13B the easiest? Having done plenty of research, it was obvious that the NC was the best solution. As you may have read in other threads (other forums included) regarding \"rotarising\" MX-5's/Miata's, the main issue with installing a rotary in either an NA or NB is the lack of room available for positioning the engine and gearbox where it really should be without substantial modifications. This is primarily due to the high centreline of the rotary's eccentric shaft (crankshaft) when compared to a piston engine. The other reason for going NC is that it is soooo new. 
Anyhow, having now decided on the chassis and engine combination I'd better start acquiring the necessary items.
So in August '06 a suitable engine became available....'03 model RX-8 13B MSP with 6-speed and engine loom and under 15,000km on it.
Both cars have their pros & cons and as they are quite tidy (many, many hours spent on them) registered cars, the last thing I'd want to do is have a red mist moment and damage them
. Neither of them have a roll cage/bar or harnesses so that also held me back from getting the most out of them when on the track. They are two completely different vehicles, with the 626 having ample straight line speed and braking capacity, the MX-5 having fantastic balance and handling. The brakes on the 5 are perfectly OK as the car doesn't have a particulary high top speed that may require larger items.So the recipe for the track car was quite simple, take all the good points of both cars and put them into one vehicle. So the chassis choice was quite simple....MX-5....but which series..NA, NB or NC
As most of you would have gathered by now, I'm quite partial to the rotary engine, so which chassis would accept a 13B the easiest? Having done plenty of research, it was obvious that the NC was the best solution. As you may have read in other threads (other forums included) regarding \"rotarising\" MX-5's/Miata's, the main issue with installing a rotary in either an NA or NB is the lack of room available for positioning the engine and gearbox where it really should be without substantial modifications. This is primarily due to the high centreline of the rotary's eccentric shaft (crankshaft) when compared to a piston engine. The other reason for going NC is that it is soooo new. Anyhow, having now decided on the chassis and engine combination I'd better start acquiring the necessary items.
So in August '06 a suitable engine became available....'03 model RX-8 13B MSP with 6-speed and engine loom and under 15,000km on it.
. It was the base model fitted with 16\" wheels and 5-speed...however it did have the Bose audio option. After a few anxious e-mails I'd secured it! 
This thing called 'work' keeps getting in the way!
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