Browse by Tags
Posted
Nov 06 2009, 03:19 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 30 comment(s)
I was browsing one of my favorite forums, ClubRoadster.net the other day when I found a thread about an LS1-powered Mazda Miata drag car out of Mississippi. Now any time you combine a light weight rear-drive car with a powerful V8 the potential for awesomeness arises, but I noticed something about this car that I don't think the builder intended - it's likeliness to sports car-based drag cars of the '60s....
More >>>
Posted
Aug 26 2009, 04:49 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 25 comment(s)
As I was walking back to my car last Thursday at FD Sonoma, I caught this crazy looking NA Miata sitting the parking lot. As a fellow Roadster owner, I couldn't help feeling that the 7.5 inch wide wheels on my own car are pretty whimpy compared to these. As you can see, this NA has had some heavy fender work to fit these wheels (Centerlines by the looks of them) and the finished product is pretty tough looking.
I also LOL'd at the sticker on the windshield.
-Mike Garrett...
More >>>
Posted
May 27 2009, 03:06 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 6 comment(s)
Perhaps I'm a bit biased as an MX-5 owner myself, but I thought this was pretty cool. As part of the car's 20th anniversary, Mazda is hosting a birthday gathering for European MX-5 owners next month at the 24 Hours of LeMans. 200 owners and enthusiasts from around Europe will be invited to a special gathering and car show alongside the famous racing circuit. Most of all, I really liked the press photo that Mazda has supplied for the event, showing a new NC model sitting on the track alongside an original NA with a Mazda prototype racer lurking in the background.
Now if I could just find a way to get my little Roadster across the atlantic for this......
More >>>
Posted
Apr 03 2009, 01:01 PM
by
Carl Jarrett
with 19 comment(s)
Inspired by recent posts, and since Mike is building up his Miata, I'm posting on of the raddest Miata's I've seen. I've never been a huge fan of them, probably because I'm 6'4" and would look silly driving one.. but this one really tightens my screws.. I think the only thing that could make this Miata look even meaner, is bigger wheels with a more aggresive offset, but I doubt it'd make a positive difference in lap time, which this car was built for. Love the hardtop...
More >>>
Posted
Mar 13 2009, 09:12 PM
by
Mike Garrett
with 21 comment(s)
I'm home.
Our flight from Japan arrived yesterday at San Francisco and after getting to my family's house here in Fresno, I promptly hit the sack to get some MUCH needed sleep. After getting rested up, I spent most of today was spent running around taking care of bank accounts and other things to get reestablished here in the USA. If you can believe it, I've actually been enjoying checking out cars on the road around here and seeing all the new models that hit the market since I left for Japan. Hmmm...USDM car sightings anyone?
Since I knew would be returning to the United States this month, I had spent the past couple months checking out all the online classified ads for car projects. I ended up finding this '97 Miata for sale locally and my dad was nice enough to check out the car, purchase it, and store it for me until I got home (and paid for it of course!). If you look in the background of this shot, you will see his '69 GTO convertible restoration project sitting there. I took the new Roadster out for a spin this afternoon, and I can't even describe how nice it felt to get behind the wheel of my own "sports car" after so long. I only drove down the wrong side of the road a few times!
Well, I have a lot of work to catch up on so I should end this here. It feels great to be back and I'm looking forward to another great year of Speedhunting, USA style.
-Mike Garrett
...
More >>>
Posted
Mar 11 2009, 01:05 PM
by
Linhbergh Nguyen
with 8 comment(s)
Amazing dogfights are hard to come by these days in any of the big league racing franchises... from US Touring Cars to F1. But, it is still very alive and well in the grassroots world. Here is a snap three Spec Miatas (these three are the front pack racers) from this weekend at the Main Track of Willow Springs International Raceway. The race was short, but the racing itself was furious. Musical chairs was the name of the game that afternoon. So, if you ever get a chance, check out a Spec Miata race...
More >>>
Posted
Feb 02 2009, 03:24 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 8 comment(s)
I know we are wrapping up Mazda month right now, but I have a few more photos I wanted to post before moving on. Last weekend at HKS Premium Day and the JCCA New Year Meeting, I spotted a number of Roadsters in and around the events, and I thought posting some of the photos would be a good way to close out the month. While these cars aren't the "best" examples out there, I think they do a nice job showing some of the typical Roadsters you'll see on the streets of Japan....
More >>>
Posted
Jan 31 2009, 04:22 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 26 comment(s)
The first time I spotted this car, I was out at Willow Springs with the yellow Nissan 370Z that I was test driving for my driving impression story on Speedhunters. There were a lot of Miatas at the track that day (obviously, because there was a Miata Challenge event happening at Streets), but in the sea of Miatas parked in the Streets of Willow pit area, I thought this black Miata stood out most. This Miata is owned by Tony Pham, a super nice guy from the San Fernando Valley who bought his Miata...
More >>>
Posted
Jan 31 2009, 04:19 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 1 comment(s)
Step right up and get it! By request from Murs (you have to fulfill requests when members of Living Legends are requesting them), Turbo Tony Pham's good offset, fire breathing Miata is now available on the Speedhunters Desktops section for download! Handle it. -Antonio Alvendia
More >>>
Posted
Jan 28 2009, 11:25 PM
by
Rod Chong
with 60 comment(s)
Earlier this month, there was a discussion about the roadster community amongst a few of us Speedhunter folks and the subject of the Kinod Photography group came up. I hadn't heard of them previously, so had a look at their site and was rather impressed with what I saw.... One photographer particularly stood out: a young chap named Linhbergh Nguyen. I don't know where he learned to shoot photos but think he has an incredible eye for composition, light and colour.... things that you can't...
More >>>
Posted
Jan 24 2009, 07:36 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 27 comment(s)
Pit Crew? RS Aizawa? In Atlanta Georgia?! WHAT! Okay! (you have to read that part in Lil Jon's voice) It's hard for me to imagine I shot this car way back in 2005. After stumbling into it on the internet, I immediately made contact with the car's owner, Peter Brusa, because I knew I'd be going to Formula D in Atlanta, where the car lives. (Peter lives there too.) I originally shot Peter's car for a feature in Grassroots Motorsports Magazine a few years back. However, since it's...
More >>>
Posted
Jan 23 2009, 02:57 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 7 comment(s)
I think SSR MarkII wheels are one of my favorite types of wheels ever... in the history of all wheels ever made. They certainly do a lot to make this NA6 Eunos Roadster look legit. Don't you think? Personally, I'd prefer a wider wheel up front though, for a bit more stretch and more lip. No doubt. Nicely done car. -Antonio Alvendia
More >>>
Posted
Jan 23 2009, 09:37 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
Nogami Project, or "NOPRO" as it's better known, is one of Japan's biggest Roadster specialty shops. The NOPRO catalog includes everything from hardcore chassis components to GT style wide-body conversions. For a smaller company, NOPRO is extremely active in motorsport, and its biggest achievement has to be the 13B-powered Roadster that ran during the mid '90s in the JGTC (now Super GT) GT300 class. The shop's website has a number of vintage photos of this car in action, and my favorite was this shot of the car being chased by a pair of Castrol Supras and Lamborghini Diablo....
More >>>
Posted
Jan 23 2009, 05:36 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 9 comment(s)
For Mazda Roadster enthusiasts in Japan (or J-style roadster fans from around the world), there's only magazine to know. Road&Ster. It's essentially the bible for those who live the "Roadster Life". If someone is fan of Japanese style Roadsters, chances are they have spent a lot of time hunting down R&S issues, and even more time drooling over the stuff found within its pages....
More >>>
Posted
Jan 22 2009, 10:27 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 10 comment(s)
Over the past few weeks, we've been featuring a lot of Miatas on Speedhunters... A LOT. In fact, I personally have been featuring a lot more Miatas than I originally thought I would. Since our Mazda month is approaching its end, I just wanted to put these photos up for everyone to see. These photos aren't what one might expect out of one of my normal photo shoots - I didn't shoot it them with my digital SLR, I just shot these snapshots real quick several years ago with my Canon SD800...
More >>>
Posted
Jan 22 2009, 04:34 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 11 comment(s)
Hopefully you guys have been pleased with all the Roadster/Miata content we have been posting over the past couple weeks. I know I've been enjoying it (though maybe I'm a bit worried that the prices for used Miatas and parts is going to go up!). Anyways, this time I wanted to go through my archive and post up some Roadster photos that I've taken in Japan over the past year. I've always thought the Mazda Roadster was the ideal car for driving around Japan. It's small, nimble, and incredibly fun to drive - a perfect match for Japan's narrow and winding roads. There have been countless times when I've been driving our Honda Fit here thinking to myself, "damn, if only I was in one of my old Roadsters right now"....
More >>>
Posted
Jan 21 2009, 03:52 AM
by
Mike Garrett
with 18 comment(s)
Mazda has always been a bit different from its rival Japanese automakers. Starting with their early use of the rotary engine and continuing with the "zoom zoom" spirit of recent times, the brand has been praised for its innovative ways and overall focus on the enjoyment of driving. For around 40 years now, Mazdas have been favorites everywhere from parking lot autocross courses to the 24 Hours of Le Mans....
More >>>
Posted
Jan 16 2009, 05:01 PM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 6 comment(s)
This one goes out to my boy Tuan from Aspec Products, who has a low white NA6. When he and the rest of the crew at Aspec see this roadster, I bet they're gonna click on the link and say "damn, that ish scrapes foo!" From the looks of the background, this pic appears to have been taken at Ebisu Circuit Minami Course, with the signature light blue stairs and pit garages in the background. The name of this driver's crew is apparently Tranquilizer. While I don't personally know...
More >>>
Posted
Jan 16 2009, 09:36 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 5 comment(s)
I was just looking through this set of photos that my friend Dean from Mazdaspeed sent me... and I spotted this pic from the 2008 SCCA E-prepared class, which features a crazy looking Miata leading an FC3S RX7 through a turn, but what really stood out to me in this photo was the signature silhouette of that blue RX3 in the background! For sure that Miata looks like it's pretty modified with those huge fenders, Can-Am style rollbar, and circle track looking wheels... but just take a look at that...
More >>>
Posted
Jan 16 2009, 08:30 AM
by
Antonio Alvendia
with 11 comment(s)
Just like the FD3S RX7, I feel like the OEM body shape of the NA6 Miata normally looks best with only minor changes, like a front lip spoiler and conservative rear lip wing. However, I gotta say, I'm kinda feeling the look of this yellow Miata, from Chiba Japan-based drift team Noise Maker. For those who have been jocking our features on the Magician drift gang, you might want to take notice of Noise Maker. In my opinion, Noise Maker is one of the coolest drifting teams to come out of Chiba....
More >>>