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MISSION
MIATA
WORD AND PHOTOS BY ERIC EIKENBERRY
Jeff Abbott is the number-one
underdog of American pro
drifting, but his turbo Mazda
holds its own!
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W
hen it comes to the
sport of drifting, the old
AE86 Toyota Corolla has
earned legendary status
by carrying with its
1.6-litre engine a short
wheelbase chassis and minimal weight. Drivers rave
about its neutrally-balanced handling and chuck-able
nature. Interestingly, these same virtues are possessed
by an often overlooked front-engined, rear-wheel drive
vehicle; one which was made in numbers so great that
it became synonymous with the name “roadster”.
We’re talking about the Mazda MX-5, or Miata as it
is known in the United States. Even though the Miata
has won (and is still winning) countless autocross
championships and races around the world during the
twenty-two years it’s been in constant production, it
hasn’t been adopted by the drift clans the way the Toyota
Corolla and the Nissan S-chassis models have been.
All of that may change if up-and-coming Formula
Drift driver Jeff Abbott has his way. He’s owned this
NB MX-5 since his college days and it is the veritable
epitome of “run what you brung”. In his case, he’s
bringing boost!
Let’s work from the outside in, shall we? This won’t
take long as there’s not enough room in a Miata for
more than the basics. His wheels are both large, at
17in in diameter, and wide, a hefty 9in at the rear.
Around these they’ve stretched 215/40 Falken tires. To
give as much steering angle as possible, he’s using 7in
wide front wheels with a -5mm offset and Level 7 Tune
Super Angle front knuckles. Sounds to us like the guys
at Level 7 believe in the Miata’s drifting potential.
Buried under the chassis are the Flyin’ Miata
anti-roll bars and Energy Suspension polyurethane
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bushings. “I just put those in at the beginning of the
2010 season. That was one of the biggest changes I
noticed. I don’t notice change much, I just drive! But
I did have to get used to the car after the bushings. It
was a great addition.”
There are braided stainless steel lines hooked to
OEM brakes wearing Axxis pads.
“They’ve been on there for five years. I don’t even
notice them. I guess I need a real front brake setup
someday.” Greg Landes at Millennium Motorsports
designed a stand-alone handbrake package around a
Wilwood master cylinder by the driver’s seat and two
small two-piston Wilwood calipers in the back.
A monster piece of machined metal serves as Jeff’s
armrest and e-brake handle. Custom front control
arms were modified to increase tyre clearance.
Rounding out the chassis is the coil-over system from
STANCE and trick TC Sportline adjustable upper and
lower rear control arms.
Another bit of trick engineering is Jeff’s rear
differential, which is built with an ATS Deftforce
two-way clutch-type limited slip centre and an overdriven ring and pinion set. He’s gone the opposite way
of most of his small-displacement contemporaries,
jumping to a taller 3.636:1 gear set found in the
2001 and up Australian 6-speed Miatas and older 626
sedans. More rear wheel speed equals more smoke,
if you’ve got the power to spin the tyres that hard.
Judging from the Advanced Clutch Technologies
ProLite flywheel, six-puck sprung hub clutch disc, and
Extreme pressure plate, he thinks he’s got the ponies.
He’s also got the close-ratio ‘99 and up gearing in
the transmission so his selection of a tall final drive
means fewer shifts and drifting the banking at the
Irwindale Speedway in 4th gear.
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So what’s the hot setup for a turbo Miata? Well,
Landes at Millennium started with Mazda’s 1.8 litre
BP block and added lower compression 9:1 JE forged
pistons, Eagle rods, and a V-cut crank for longevity
under boost. The precision cuts, more like the shape of
a wood-splitting wedge, took seven pounds of rotating
mass off compared to a stock crank. They took the
head out for a mild port and polish, took the valves up
1mm oversize and reused the stock cams with some
taller and stronger Volvo valve springs.
They’ve also set up a pair of Fidanza adjustable
cam gears to reduce the overlap, which packs those
four cylinders full of boost charge from the Garrett
GT2871R turbocharger. There’s 27 pounds of pressure
being zapped by the AEM engine management system.
That’s good for 390 horsepower and 350lb.ft of torque!
A set of billet oil pump gears and Torco SR5 20w50
race oil helps fight friction. The intake manifold has
been ported, and wears four individual coil packs to
deliver a better spark under load. The front-mounted
intercooler and piping all come from Bell Engineering
Group, Inc. with a 44mm wastegate from TiAL Sport
dumping excess exhaust overboard. An AEM boost
controller and trunk-mounted water/methanol
injection system work hand-in-hand to prevent the
motor from grenading during hard runs.
The interior remains as basic as the exterior. AEM
gauges for revs, boost and AFR are mounted in a
sheet of carbon fibre in place of the OEM speedometer
cluster. Another expanse of CF, holding important
electrical switches, fills the hole left by the jettisoned
radio and air conditioning controls.
Two Sparco Sprint V seats, G-Force five-point
harnesses, and a Personal steering wheel fill the space
inside the surprisingly non-claustrophobic roll cage.
Having side impact bars which extend out into the
gutted doors makes quite a difference to driver comfort;
Jeff’s a big dude and we’re sure he appreciates the elbow
room. Aside from some dash stickers and a bolted-down
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Jeff’s MX-5
is the
veritable
epitome of
“run what
you brung”.
In his
case, he’s
bringing
boost!
www.fastfours.com.au > 91
hard top, there’s little else he needs. We do have to point
out the very cool electric power steering pump though,
which Greg had just finished installing minutes before
our photo shoot.
The OEM pump was causing trouble, spitting its belt
at inopportune moments during competition so it got
replaced. Jeff’s first comments were “Wonderful!” We’re
sure his competition weren’t as pleased as he carved
up beautiful lines through turns nine, ten, and eleven
of the Long Beach Grand Prix course.
Two years ago, this guy Jeff was still learning the
ropes in the Formula Drift Pro-AM series. In 2010 he
stepped up to the big leagues, competing but running
a limited schedule. For 2011, little has changed; there’s
no budget available to go nationwide.
The “big guy in the little green car” is doing it on
his own dime, and if we might say, doing it very well
indeed. We love to root for the underdog, and you can’t
go around underdogging any harder than running
a 1.8 litre turbo four against V8 swapped monsters.
There’s a sexy thrill in being there trackside when this
charmed ride goes screaming by with its rear tyres
tearing at the pavement.
Just in time for the first round, Jeff went and installed
a giant baller rear wing with his name cut into the
aluminium uprights and “Jeff Abbott Racing” splashed
across the doors. His battered body kit pieces, which
have seen better days, are zip-tied firmly into place,
pending the next unforeseen collision with an apex
cone. He has no umbrella girls. No air-conditioned
trailer in which he can rest. This is as raw as it gets
professionally; the ragged edge of the big show.
So why does he do it? Simply because he loves
to drift. Don’t call this Miata a “girl’s car”. With the
smallest engine and shortest wheelbase in the series,
you need balls the size of Godzilla to pilot this baby
around a concrete-lined circuit. Keep an eye on this
one, ladies and gentlemen. He’s a genuine threat to
take down the big boys later this season in Las Vegas.
Anyone want to take that bet?
1999 MAZDA MIATA MX-5
ENGINE HARDWARE
Built by Millennium Motorsports, Greg Landes, JE 9:1 Forged
Pistons, Eagle rods, V-cut crank, 1mm oversized valves, mild
head work, stock cams, Volvo valve springs, Fidanza adjustable
cam gears, billet oil pump gears, modified intake manifold,
Torco SR5 20w50 race oil, K&N oil filter, Garrett GT2871R
turbo, Millennium Motorsports 3-inch down pipe, Millennium
Motorsports custom intake, AEM filter, BEGI Intercooler, BEGI
piping, Tial Sport 44mm waste gate to atmosphere, AEM boost
controller, AEM EMS V2, AEM Water/Meth injection, Tuned by,
Road Race Engineering. Santa Fe Spring, CA
DRIVELINE
Mazda Miata 6-speed, Advanced Clutch Technology ProLite
flywheel, ACT sprung-hub 6-puck clutch disc, ACT Extreme
pressure plate, Torco RGO 85w140 gear oil, 3.636:1 ring and
pinion, ATS Deftforce 2-way differential, Torco RGO 85w90
gear oil, Torco Type F limited slip additive
BRAKES
Stock calipers, Axxis brake pads, braided stainless steel
lines, Millennium Motorsports stand-alone E-Brake, Wilwood
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2-piston calipers, Wilwood master cylinder, customized
Wilwood brake lever
SUSPENSION
STANCE coil-over system, Energy Suspension control arm
bushings, Flyin Miata sway bars, custom front control arms,
TC Sportline rear upper adjustable control arms, LEVEL 7
Tune Super Angle front knuckles
WHEELS & TYRES
Front: 17x7 spaced to -5 offset
Rear: 17x9 spaced to 0 offset, Falken Azenis 615K 215/40/17
BODYWORK
By PAC body works, Long Beach CA, all custom colours
made by Ozzie Pina, off-brand fibreglass body kit in need of
replacement; sponsors welcome!
INTERIOR
AEM Serial gauge, AEM wideband O2 sensor display, Sparco
Sprint seats, G-Force 5 point harnesses, Personal 330mm
wheel, Miatacage.com roll cage
PERFORMANCE
390whp, 27psi