Mazdaspeed Miata Downhill

KZbin user & spot veteran VagaXT at the wheel of the Miata.
Mazdaspeed Turbo Miata & E36 M3, street tires on both. (Hankook RS-2 & BF Goodrich KDW)
Cold night, 38F temperature. Car heading uphill is part of our group - No other traffic on this road.
Run downhill or go home!

[@michelinov]

There are no bad lines. Every driver uses different ones.Watching a video is one thing , feeling a car at the limit is something else. Both cars deserve applause for keeping up with each other.

[@gyrenejoe]

3AM, weekday, in early winter. This road goes from nowhere to nowhere through a wilderness area in the mountains, there are no driveways, houses or any local traffic at all for miles. There's nobody else up there except us and the forest critters. Some of you viewers make it seems like we're blasting through a school zone in the afternoon. Lighten up.

[@gyrenejoe]

The Miata looked like it handled fine from my viewpoint. It seemed like it had awesome turn in and just a hint of oversteer to get you around the tighter stuff. Great mix of low weight, great handling and good power in that car. I had to work to keep up in quite a few spots!

[@VagaXt]

No harm done. I'll say that I've been driving since 2000, when I drove my former Miata, a standard 1990 model. I wanted that car to be entry to Spec Miata and I wanted to learn basic car control with the car before competing, but then I had the opportunity to buy my current Miata in 2004. I don't know when the cartoon became popular, but I guess it would be a coincidence that I bought my current Miata either before or after it surfaced, regardless of when it came out.

[@VagaXt]

The heaters on those cars are awesome. You'd be surprised to see how warm you get with it on and with the top down.

[@magixz]

For those who dun know, please dun speak as if you know a lot. FF, FR, MR and AWD cars handle differently. Miata is a FR car, drive it like a FF and you are asking for trouble. VegaXT did an excellent drive, he scrubs off sufficient speed just before entering the corners and keeps his pressure on the throttle through the corner. Thats the correct way to handle an FR. Good job...

[@VagaXt]

I do whenever I can, but there aren't track events every week when I'm free unfortunately. If anything, I learned from and love the track and that's where I got fast. :)

[@calpolyjustinv1]

I love this road. I live a couple miles from the start of the road and go up it ever few nights to blow off some steam. I'm not going to say where it is because everyone from everywhere will start showing up. And if you know the road, you're much better off going in the night. Very few cars. No bikes. And you're able cross over the center line comfortably. You're able to see on coming headlights way before passing them. Even blind corners are fully illuminated by on coming traffic.

[@VagaXt]

Like your name, yes, I am honest to say I've never crashed and that I'm also confident enough to say that I'm a good enough driver to never crash. It's good to hear from a plucky Briton who has the courage to say such a discerning comment about someone he doesn't know from across the pond. Thanks, I appreciate for your input. ;)

[@JgHaverty]

he puts down 260 whp right now. On a car that light, thats good for 12's. He has a fully built block, that easily withstand 4-500 hp, but he's currently limited by his differential and turbo size. glad you know what you are talking about.

[@gyrenejoe]

My M3 is a US spec model. 240 hp, 3350lbs. That Miata had some work done to it and made then about as much power as the M3 did, but weighed 700lbs less or more. VagaXT is a very good driver with a lot of experience in this run when we taped this. He's in my top 10 list of best drivers for this run. I just got tired of the MSM/Miata fanboyism in these comments. lol

[@driftproject240]

nice driving.. ive been running the same canyons for about 6 years now.. Ive got a miata myself, but m3s are also one of my favorite cars. and for the record, a miata and an m3 are a great match for corners like that.. too bad you don't drive anymore..

[@jeeps005]

That looked fun, the M3's front bumper looks like it was taking a beating.

[@shereefc]

looks a like a great road. agreed about the rocks tho noticed that. dust rocks and leaves are always a factor to take in to consideration, but you werent breaking (for the most part) during mid turn so it looked as tho you were mindful of it.

[@kuladeeluxe]

I've got a 98 M3 with fresh PS2's and Konis and low mileage. It doesn't corner as neatly as my Brother's stock Miata. Nice knowing the streets are still safe in your locale.

[@gyrenejoe]

This is in Southern California. This road has seen it's share of accidents over the years, but thankfully the vast majority of them involved only the drivers junking their car and nothing else serious happening. Most of these crashes involve newbies getting in way over their heads and the collision speeds are actually fairly low, although some cars do take a very scary trip over the edge and down the hillside from time to time.

[@MarsupialQuadron]

@jhaqastar It sounds like the M3 was an E36 too. Which means its one of the best (and I mean top three) car's of the 90's. Considering it's weight, you're right, it corners incredibly well.

[@VagaXt]

Supension: Flyin' Miata springs with KYB AGX 4-way adjustable shocks. And about my rear: it does like to step out since I've adapted to throttle-steering the car at track events. Still a bit wobbly though IMO; needs more work.

[@shereefc]

also, i would consider taking the apex while staying in your lane. obviously if there is a chicane that is open until the exit point youd want to cut in. but in general it will train you to better control your car if you learn to work with a shorter width. it will teach you breaking and balance techniques that will help you both on and off the track. and in the process keep you from on coming traffic. making everyone happy.

[@Rfsancho]

Well said. But sometimes a drift doesn't hinder you but only helps take a corner. Racing like this is about picking the best lines and making the right choices at each corner, how you can take it the fastest, either by drift, by minimal slip, or by fully harassing tire traction.

[@jrodnj]

Doing this on public roads is AWESOME! KEEP DOING IT! When you wreck that Miata let me know so I can Salvage parts off it for my track toy.

[@k0reanrice]

pretty coo to see another miata really smash on the touge. a lot of ppl either hate or totally underestimate a miata tougeing. i just got hankook rs2s on my NB. they grip like crazy. do u come up to norcal sometimes?? there are some nice roads from castrovalley to oakland and berkeley area. we could have a fun run sometime.

[@trirachel86]

reminds me of when i was in hs and trying to get home by curfew....i

[@VagaXt]

I'll continue the chase when get my car back. Almost a month ago, my engine unfortunately died and is currently going through a full rebuild. Expect at least a two to four month wait. Hehe, Chris, is that you? ;)

[@gyrenejoe]

@NoobProjectCar The traction control was 100% off. The ASC+T in the US Spec E36 is very primitive, all it does is cut the throttle and makes you slower. Kept up with no problem.

[@siamiam]

great video and very nice road. i would love to come there and drive on it some time

[@mexecuter]

This Miata driver earned my respect. Miata drivers usually don't.

[@Gman-hg4yg]

I don't feel like reading through all 400+ comments to see if someone has already said it, but it is typically easier to follow behind a car than to be the lead car; even more so when driving at night with no street lights around.

[@corytomo]

Dang, I miss GMR and Azusa canyon road... perfect place to test my MSM too! Nice vid, you guys are nuts, I'd only do that on my bike... in the day!

[@gyrenejoe]

I know that leading is a lot harder than following - By the time I shot this video I had already led hundreds of up/downhill runs and at the time there simply was nobody on this run that could pull away from me or that I couldn't pull away from. That's why I started doing videos, so I could follow others and still have fun. I'm not talking from pure ego here, it's just the way it was 3 years ago. I'm retired and the next gen guys I saw growing up in the mountain are all faster than me now.

[@gyrenejoe]

VagaXT (The Miata driver) is a championship winning endurance racer, he's the real thing. He's a much better driver than I am.

[@gyrenejoe]

Take this however you want, but back in those days there really wasn't anyone around that could keep my car on camera long enough on a all-out run before I pulled away. This is why I started taking videos of other drivers, because whenever we lined up for a run everyone always wanted me up front and I got bored of being out by myself 1-2 minutes into the run. There are several drivers today that could keep up easily, but that wasn't the case back then.

[@KaHOnas]

What kind of camera did you use? I'm curious because I've been wanting to make a video for the W road here in Chattanooga, or Deals Gap.

[@VagaXt]

FYI, I drive at least six, 400-mi. cross-CA trips every year since 2003 and I stop by at those destinations and places in-between to track at three CA tracks every year, aside from the karting and auto-x's I do in between the times I'm not at school. Six years of driving and zero accidents can't prove my focus on the road wrong. The only I worry about are idiots who'll run into me. BTW, where are your track vids? I'd like to see them. RA videos are always fun to watch.

[@gyrenejoe]

I'll be doing some track events soon and VagaXT, the Miata driver hits track days and autocross quite a lot, but I still don't think we could get the canyons out of our system. :( Unless we had the Nurburgring in out backyard, that is.

[@hkrider]

nice vid! I also have a NB MX-5. what's your suspension setup?

[@PanditaP]

You seem so proud that you're keeping up to a Miata in a power house of a bmw.

[@VagaXt]

I've been going to NorCal roads for quite sometime now for school. And yeah, I'd like to join you sometime, but my car is currently under engine/turbo rebuild status and will be for quite some time (possibly all the way until October, soonest would be August).

[@shereefc]

p.s. what mountain is this on. no roads, just the mountain. or the town. i dont want to blow up your spot. but this looks like a gem

[@thesamuraix]

FM, always good stuff! bit on the expensive side though. i'm planning to grab a miata too... but the first gen. good stuff, now i know how a miata handles on the GMR ;]

[@xjustintimex]

the bends he is braking in are mostly the apex...and he is still accelrating which makes me think he is leftfoot braking... his line isnt bad

[@jhaqastar]

@MarsupialQuadron That is true! I was just introduced to the world of Euro recently and those Bimmers can corner! Specially considering the weight they're hauling. I retract my statement of if the Miata was the superior duo thing! I'm a big M fan now too :D.

[@x808drifter]

How'd you mount the camera? and do you have a wind sock for the mic?

[@zYzmrZIzYz]

@iamtheg1111 It's much harder to lead than follow as gyrenejoe stated. A little check on the brake is not a bad idea at night. They are going pretty fast.

[@G.I.10]

Everyone knows that its MUCH easier to follow at night. The reason the M3 can see is because the Miata is lighting the way.

[@importxpresions]

One reason the m3 is keeping up is because the miata is having to brake more than it needs too. It should have used it brakes less and used the cars weight to push itself through the corners. Then again it is a canyon run. That and the fact that the m3 is using the miata as a "when to brake" reference so it can brake later

[@meanelvis]

Did you guys have the road blocked to do this? Otherwise how were you sure there was no traffic?

[@littlesammy78]

What road is this? I'll bet it's out west... We have good mountain roads like this in the east but there a good many more trees.

[@gyrenejoe]

@kuladeeluxe E36 M3's need two things replaced to handle well: The rear trailing arm bushings (RTAB) need to be replaced with a solid set or kept in place with a limiter kit and the front lower control arm bushings (LCA) also need to be replaced with a soild set. It wouldn't surprise me if your car's are shot need to be swapped out.

[@aaronwowzree]

Wow wheat a road! Great drivers too! Where is that?

[@d15bvtec98]

is that alot of dust or snow? I mean you did say it was a cold night just wondering

[@MarsupialQuadron]

@jhaqastar Actually, that MSM is driven by a track instructor. And as far as M3's being faster than MX-5's, that sort of comes with the costing-more-than-twice-as-much sort of thing.

[@gillzisrockin]

nice video man, makes me feel just a bit better i drive a miata. Wish they closed roads like that near my area just to drive it for shits and giggles.

[@gyrenejoe]

@Magneto007 If you are talking about Ortega, this road is much steeper and tighter than that.

[@Driversanonymously]

when is the next time your going to do some of this? i would really like to chase some down hill for fun. lightly modded ek 4 door :) not trying to race. just have a good time. P.S. i know exactly how this is. OG spunky canyon was my playground at 2 A.M. good times when it was covered in snow.

[@hondafreakec]

The Miata put up a fight, any one can see that... but an M3 is just a peace of great engeniring :D it doesn't matter if its an E36, it's still bad ass car... even if they would swap possitions the Miata would just eat dust from the Bmw :D they can't be eaquals and they never will be... but the M3 shows that eaven the evo7 and the Impreza could't spread the lead in the uphill movies:D So once again... Bmw M3 amaizing car :D Nice driveing:D

[@thesamuraix]

damn dude, your rear keeps slipping out! what kind of suspension are you riding on?

[@kuladeeluxe]

I will say your car handles very nicely under stress. My Rtabs are stock and have about 30,000 miles on them. I will be rebuilding the front end over the winter if I keep my E36. It has about 67,000 miles on it now. Don't get me wrong, the E36 is a great handling car, but I think the Miata is easier to drive. I think if you were in the Miata and your M3 was in front, driving abilities would have been the biggest determining factor.

[@JoyRiders_Babylon]

the Miata can make make those corners even faster believe me ;)

[@mariovr4]

damn where were you guy's when i went up there i went up there to pick up some auto parts for a friend and i asked if the was a good togue road little did i know azusa highway was right there but noone to drive with:(

[@ethownzbh]

Is that the US spec engined s50 m3? If so I recon, at that altitude, its making around the same hp as the mazdaspeed miata which is a testament to how good the e36 chassis is.

[@gyrenejoe]

US Spec S52 with mild mods. Making maybe 250HP at the crank. The Mazdaspeed had some engine tweaks also.

[@urmatoru]

are u guys in CA? NICE video! love the handeling on the little miata and the M3 isss... no word here :) awesome. - is the mazdaspeed miata RWD by any chance (i think it's front)? I'm in the market for an autocross "toy" and the miata is one of the options... any thoughts anyone? - sold my evo 9 :(

[@fl5paul]

I doubt there have been spotters cause I saw a car comming uphill and they were still running

[@EeekiE]

If you want an even BIGGER challenge, go down that same road in a 19th century horse drawn carriage.

[@davidsmith121994]

what a great video. is this in america? what a fantastic road.. im jealous c:

[@IShYzI]

is that GMR/Azusa canyon?? haha my buddy crashed up there...but its a fun place to go mess around

[@KaHOnas]

Sounds good to me. Thanks for the info.

[@JagLite]

Nice road! Driving at night has a BIG advantage over daytime as you can see the reflection of oncoming car lights long before you can see the car. The danger being animals, or possibly a car without lights. They are not going that fast anyway. The camera position makes it look faster than it was. After mounting my camera in various places I found I can make it look faster or slower. I do agree, street racing is dangerous and stupid. That is learned when one of your group kills someone.

[@Zdriver76]

At 4:09 on the far left of the screen you can see a large hole in the stone wall. The hole is covered with a K barrier. Please be careful.

[@chaoticdog85]

its good to see another miata owner tearin it up.... i dont get to azusa much but watch out for a blacked out 99....downhill FTW

[@AkinaGod]

Damn that is a long downhill. My local longest is no longer than 3 minutes. Cool vid. Wish I had a camera, I'd post my shit.

[@VagaXt]

I'll be back in Berkeley from vacation in SoCal in early July. Right now, how I'm coping with my car-lessness is joining a couple people who let me ride shotgun and then drive in exchange for tips/advice on their driving.

[@anfman1986]

Oh, I assumed (you?) meant to have them on. I just know I hate brights behind me. It's why I tail as much as I can.

[@RichardGardnerUK]

I really hope you had a look out...

[@DepakoteMeister]

Oh bollox, just realised I was watching as if you were driving on my side!

[@gyrenejoe]

VagaXT is coming back south again, maybe he can show Touge Champ just how slow he really is. ;) I'll try to get a hold of you when we go up.

[@anfman1986]

Is it just me, or did the M3 have it's brights on the whole way down? Miata dude must have been pissed.

[@can2ej6]

dam that miata is quick on the corners!

[@i2aventhegod]

haha i would seriously like to see u drive that quick with whatever u have with them on the canyons.

[@ukrarex]

Great video, I would really like to see an m3 go up against an ls1 monster miata.

[@KONTRAone]

he really shouldn't say... it'd be a shame if this spot ended up on the cops' radar. but in all honesty, i would love to know myself lol. i've driven the rockies and i've driven the appalachians, and i've inevitably come across a few spirited drivers to play with along the way, but i've never had the pleasure of truly competing on a pass... you guys got a good thing going there. don't screw it up!

[@gyrenejoe]

@NoobProjectCar The M3 is from 1997. The Mazdaspeed is from 2004. I'd give the technology edge to the Miata.

[@Trashcan-actual]

Either way, Mazdaspeed miata almost pulling away from an M3? I say pretty damn nice.

[@gyrenejoe]

The camera car was getting zero oversteer. A bit of understeer, but no oversteer at all.

[@xEmerzon]

@ChuckyDoll79 nah I drove by deal's gap and the terrain is completely different I actually found out it's in socal I think or some part of california

[@gyrenejoe]

Very late on a weeknight in a road that has no local traffic at this time of night. You're more likely to hit a deer or other animal then. You can actually see traffic from a pretty decent way off here.

[@jack-spicer1381]

haha i have a miata and your comments are spot on yes its a good car but its under powered and there's no reason the m3 should be left behind,

[@k0reanrice]

is ur top down?!?? 38 degrees top down touge hahaha im actually thinking of just removing my soft top to see how much weight i would save but i hate driving at night like this with no top.

[@AirohThird]

The video gave me the feeling that the M3 could have trampled the Miata anytime and you even got bored for not doing so Its just me or you were taking very easy on the miata for some reason? Was it for the sake of the video or the other driver safety?

[@JohnnyBouYazbek]

Beautiful roads and great driving. Just needs a better camera!

[@UnahanaRetsu]

I really like your lines :] They make me giggle like a little school girl. If you come up to norcal you should hit me up. Me and my friends drive calaveras a lot. Its a pretty small/scary road though. Anyways nice driving and peace

[@suprakilzz26]

what is the best canyon car in your opinion?

[@zahlmoleis]

and the Race, front M3 behind Miata !??!

[@wootmajor]

its all driver related, iv seen people on the track that couldnt keep up with a school bus. So its all relative, just like that german woman that owned porsches with a diesel minivan on the nurbourgh (topgear)

[@fl5paul]

Alot of people are saying there was spotters and watching that vid its not hard to see goddamn headlights going uphill. Not that I care those two drivers are putting their lives and others at risk. Cause I believe if you hit somebody its your shit and you got to take responsibility. I'm not one of those people who get pissed at themselves saying what could of happened.

[@gyrenejoe]

You need to read all the viewer comments in here to see where my comments in the annotations come from (Which were added about 1-2 years after I posted this video). Mazdaspeed Miata fans do really tend to think no car made can keep up with them and it cracked me up.

[@Augownage]

No lights illuminating the corner you are approaching.

[@howsoonisnow1985]

Sweet I want a Miataspeed!!!

[@Rogers1977]

I never realized how much crap is kicked up from the tires lol

[@dumkopf]

I'm pretty sure the reputation of the Miata in the States is the same as in Europe.