Product Testing via Racing

Racing is in our blood and it's in the DNA of every product we make. While we race because we love to race and it's been a part of our lives since birth (mine at least), it also marries perfectly to our business model, which is to: design, create, test, and prove our products on the racetrack before we sell them to you. It's a perfect "wash cycle" so to speak, as while actively racing, it leads us to product development, which then leads to product creation, circling back to our customers in the form of a "clean" race proven product. So it goes without saying that it's important to us that these products are properly tested in a race/track environment to ensure they are ready for your cars. Whether it's on the street or racetrack, by track testing in the harsh environment of Spec Miata racing in Florida, we can feel comfortable that the products we sell are strong and durable.

Our path to "race proven" is the Spec Miata racing class, as that's what led us to where we are today and in our opinion, the best amateur racing class in the world. We don't want to divert your interest and lead you down a rabbit-hole of Spec Miata racing videos on Youtube, but if you're not familiar with Spec Miata racing and how demanding it is on the cars and equipment, take a look at how intense it can be in this video produced by Florida racer Preston Pardus. It is his in-car video from a race we competed in a couple of weeks ago at Daytona with the SCCA, and while not our car, it is a perfect representation of how Spec Miata is a great test-bed for "torture" testing a potential product due to the extreme nature of the racing and demands of the car, including: car-to-car contact, bump-drafting, off-track-excursions, and extreme pressure loading of the suspension on banked turns. If you want to see all of these aspects bundled into one lap, browse to about the 15-minute mark to just before the start of the last lap (and note the title of the video, as it is truly EPIC!). We beg though, please return and read the rest of our article!

 

With the rules of Spec Miata being very specific in which parts you can use, it's impossible to test all of our products in the Spec Miata environment (we have a shop/project car for the products we cannot test on our SM's), but we do in fact test everything the rules allows us to use on the car, and also some of the other products we sell from trusted industry brands. This extreme use testing gives us so much valuable knowledge to pass along to our customers in the form of accurate feedback on how well a product works, how well it is built, how well it fits, how well it performs, and how well it might work for you if you decide to buy it from us. We proudly wear the badge of real-world testing pride as we believe it validates us as not only a manufacturer of Miata racing products, but also as Miata racing parts experts. While we respect the enormity of the "big box" automotive retail outlets and how they grew to what they are today (ie: Summit, Jegs, etc...), they are "too big" in our opinion and lose touch with any one specific market, as their catalog offerings span thousands of products for hundreds of different types of vehicles. With that big of a catalog and range of vehicles, it's impossible to have an expert in each vehicle to offer sound advice. Sure, you might get a better price there or Free Shipping on a huge package, but when it comes time to ask them something about that product, you'll most likely not get an answer from someone who has used it or "has had hands on it before". That's where we can speak with confidence and pride, as when we offer advice or answer questions about one of our products, you are hearing it from someone who's "been there, done that" (or should it be: "been there, used it"?). We're also never afraid to say "We don't know" if we don't know the answer to your question or have not used the product yet, which I've always felt is a sign of an honest person as they won't tell you something they cannot be certain of (because it's almost impossible or unnecessary to have used EVERY Miata product out there!). Instead, if we cannot answer the question or offer accurate advice, we will try to do the research necessary to answer the question, or ultimately take the "high road" and refer you to one of our industry partners who does have appropriate experience with the product, even if it costs us the sale. That's how we'd want to be treated as a customer, so that's how we treat our customers. 

So if you didn't know how deep our race proven commitment went, how strongly we believe in race proving our products, or how important we feel accurate product advice is, hopefully you now know! To us, there's no better way to present our products to customers, to validate our place as a Miata parts manufacturer, and to offer accurate and sound knowledgeable advice on what we sell than to be "race proven". It's a simple term we've seen used before, but it simply works. If our products are good enough for our racecars, they're good enough for yours. 

Thanks for reading, and remember "don't trust a shop that sells Miata parts, but doesn't have a Miata" (whether it's us or one of our competitors) just the same as the old adage goes "don't trust a skinny chef"!

John