Robert Gilchrist Huenemann March 15, 2023
Over the years, I have participated in various kinds of motor sports. You can find more on my Flash.net site, which is archived on the Wayback Machine (Internet Archive). You can find a link on my home page.
I have owned three interesting automobiles. The first was the VW Bug, which is discussed on my Flash.net site referenced above.
The second was a 1970 Dodge Demon. Small block v8, optional suspension including Wide Oval tires and disc brakes up front. Nose heavy, but still fun.
The third was a 2010 Mazda Miata, in which I competed in a few autocrosses. The car is described on an attached page. The drive train was totally stock. I had $10,000 invested in parts and labor for the suspension, as described there.
The suspension existed to support the nine inch wide wheels carrying Hoosier R6 or Yokohama AO48 tires. I got about 3500 miles out of a set of Yokohamas. Dead soft, with an F1 intermediate rain tire type of tread. Minimum street legal tread, in other words. The GTech performance meter showed that I could pull 1.25 G in corners and stop in less than 100 feet from 60 MPH.
I had an incredible amount of fun on the back roads near Hollister. I only wish I had found the Miata brand many years earlier. I cannot understand anyone who would put hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars into a car and then buy tires based on mileage. Eye candy and bragging rights, I guess.