Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

Don't go to sport brakes. There is a power to weight penalty in TT5 and TT6 with nasa. You'll already be getting hammered on the double A arm penalty, it's not worth it.

flier129

iTrader: (7)

Ditch the bricks(Hawks) and get some brake ducts. Running a better pad will help with modulation, which will yield better pad life as a result of less over-braking. Cooling ducts will also help on pad life!

I got way more than 4 events in TTE trim(R7s), even while I was running DTCs(free). I remember my pad life going up quite a bit just after ditching the OEM dust shield and running a Singular duct without the hose, lol.

Quigs

iTrader: (2)

Agreed - no need for sport brakes, spend the money on ducting instead. I think my DTC-60s went from 4-5 events to easily 6-7 with ducts and I'm still working the brakes more than I need to be.

Z33Taxi

Well boys, I think I'm starting to string everything together and it showed this weekend at Lime Rock. I went for a 1 day HPDE event and I was very happy with all the modifications I made over the winter, but better yet how my driving improved. My PB after a whole weekend last year was a 1:10.008 and my average times this Saturday were all in the 1:09 and I reached a new PB of 1:08.711. There was a ton of traffic caused by people who should not have been in group 2, but I got a lot of solid laps in. I was able to chase down and get the point from some impressive cars like GT4s, 911s, a radical and some M3s. There was another Miata in my group, it was just the two of us, and we did a bunch of lead follows which resulted in both of us going faster.

What i really focused on was a lot of what you guys suggested. Keeping my hands at 9 and 3, stop shuffle steering and really nailing my heel toes.

I shared some of my videos with a spec miata guy who has been mentoring me and here's what he had to say:
" Watched a few laps. Looks solid. All I'm seeing now is you're not holding on for dear life at track out, so that basically means you just gotta be more aggressive and carry more into the corners
Basically, too much off-gas time. Carry gas deeper into corners and hit it sooner "

I agree with his observations. There are time I'm entering a corner and I know I could go faster and right when I'm about to commit I give the brakes a "confidence tap," when I should be lifting or backing off the throttle slightly.

Another thing I want to work on is researching making adjustments on my xidas. When I had the car balanced the shop set up the Xidas fairly neutral, 5 clicks front/10 in the rear. I didn't mess with any off the suspension because I wanted to focus on my lines and driving.

Fastest laps starts @ 2:40.

Some other videos:

Z33Taxi

I was going over my videos and the lack of data I have because of connection issues with my obd2 scanner and I have to think there is a better way. I'm already planning on getting an AIM 2, but idk if the 2DL will work with the miata. I was talking to some of the guys at the track and they were saying that the Miata's OBD2 port is too "slow" to keep up with the Aim 2 DL. What other avenues are there? AIM dash?

Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

Just get the Solo 2 DL and you will grow into it eventually. You're going to want a standalone at some point in time, it's like a natural progression for any track miata besides Spec, and when that time comes then you can take advantage of a CAN connection to the ECU of your choice and log all sorts of awesome stuff. Until then, even the Solo 2 DL on its own is going to provide you with a lot of valuable data and you can try it with the OBD2 port in the meantime if you'd like.

Z33Taxi

I plan on getting a MS3 as soon as I move to Virginia, a state that doesn't check emissions via OBD2 plug in.

Z33Taxi

Haven't posted in awhile, super busy with renovating the house, but today I signed up for what will be my first NASA Mid-A event, Hyperfest at VIR. Anyone else planning on going?

Quigs

iTrader: (2)

I'll be there. Hyperfest is quite chaotic; both the track and paddock will feel extremely crowded. Most NASA MA events are much more chill than Hyperfest, so don't be discouraged if you don't get much clean track. Though with this being the first year Hyperfest is in October as opposed to May it may be very different...October is usually the busiest non-Hyperfest event, so it's interesting that they decided to combine their two biggest money makers into one single event. Either way it's always a good time and VIR is so awesome.

Z33Taxi

I figured it would be packed. 2 years ago I hosted a friend's bachelour party at Hyperfest, we rented 2 floors of the Villas on South Bend. Sitting there watching everyone all weekend pretty much sealed the deal for me and I told myself I would buy a car and start taking it to the track, so this is the fulfilment of that. I'm hoping I can get in a weekend a Summit Point too and start to meet a lot of the Mid-A people.

Z33Taxi

Treated myself to a set of Konigs in 15x9. Now I need a set of tires. I love the RT660s, but I can't get them shipped in time for Hyperfest. So now I'm looking for something in 200 or 100 treadwear. i've never driven on slicks and kind of want to stay away from them right now. Does anyone have opinions or experience on R1Rs, R888Rs, or will RS-4s? It's jsut for HPDE so I'm not looking to break any records, just looking for something that will allow me to learn VIR and stay consistent all weekend.

Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

RS4 out of those choices. Or just grab some NT01's they have good life for HPDE as well and are nice to drive on.

Quigs

iTrader: (2)

I've been running 225/45 R888Rs for three years on my 15x9s. I've gotten over 50 heat cycles on each set and they seem to take the abuse way better than street tires from what I've seen. While some of the super-200s may be faster for a lap or two, the consistency across the life of the tire makes it great for HPDE in my opinion. Plus, at only $150 a piece, they certainly don't break the bank for the amount of life. Last event on this sets 48th heat cycle I was still setting PBs on a weekend with almost 100* ambient temp.

Z33Taxi

I ended up getting a set of RS4-s, The R888s would have arrived too close for comfort anyway. This will most likely be my last event of 2021 and it'll be nice to have a set of tires I can use for daily driving. I'll get another set of 15x9s in the off season and those will turn into a dedicated track set and then I'll run R888s because I'm sure Hoosiers will just mask my bad driving habits.

Z33Taxi

Last weekend was Hyperfest and I had a great time. First off congrats to @Quigs on setting the TT6 record and taking home some 1st place hardware. Quigs is super nice and his car is definitely the direction I want to go in and hopefully I'll be joining him in ST/TT6.

Here is my fastest lap of the weekend a 2:33.9. I managed to get it during my last session on the first day and couldn't manage to beat it on the 2nd day due to a mixture of not feeling great and not being able to link sectors successfully. With that being said I loved VIR. I loved hopping curbs, going over the curbs to find more smooth track and the elevation changes. I cannot wait to go back.


I think my main 3 trouble areas on the track are:

• T1 Horseshoe:
  • I could definitely brake later here. I tried experimenting with trail braking and apexing later, but I think ultimately braking at the 2 or 1.5 would be more beneficial, especially since I was turning in at the arrow and felt over slowed.
• T10- T12 Southbend: -I absouletly love from T2 to 6A, I think it is a fun set of turns and I had a lot of fun going through it. I got comfortable jumping 5A and tracking all the way out and my friends that came to watch said it made for a fun spectacle.
  • The uphill esses were also a lot of fun and I even starting getting enough confidence to grab 5th, however it my fastest lap I held it at 100.
  • That brings me to T10. I wanted to like T10, but it made me nervous. It my fastest lap I over slowed even though I know the car can make the turn and slow down it time seeing the drop off got me every single time. When I managed to not over slow I got as far right as I could and it felt great.
  • Whenever I messed up T10 it made T11 and T12 difficult to navigate. When I managed to not slow I would enter T11 in 4th, down shift and make it on to the curbing and enter the straight. However, when I over slowed into T10 I would have to go from 4th to 3rd to 2nd which was not an ideal and would mess up T11 and T12.
• 14-14a
  • I'm pretty sure if I carried more speed and broke later on the straight and entering the turn that would be all I need to carry the speed down the roller coaster. This series of turns was also a lot of fun and felt really good when getting it right.
    
    
    
    

Z33Taxi

The RS4s held up pretty well and I can see why people would choose them for Enduro or DD. I found that I enjoyed them most and they were most alive around 28-30 psi hot.

One thing I 100% will be buying is an Aim Solo2. I had some great laps that I don't have any date for because my stupid phone would shift slightly in the ram mount and another program would come up.

Schroedinger

In spring I moved to a fully prepped race car that came with an Aim MXL data system. I used to think that such tools were excessive from a cost/complication standpoint... I don't think that any more. Proper data, video and coaching will give you a huge advantage. My last race weekend I picked up three whole seconds on my lap times, and I was pretty fast to begin with. If I were to do it over again I wouldn't spend a nickel on car upgrades (other than safety and reliability) until I had a good platform for data and video.

Quigs

iTrader: (2)

It was awesome to meet you and I'm glad you had fun! The more and more you go to VIR I think you'll continue to love it even more.

A Solo is a great idea as I've found it to be a great entry piece to data collection. Like Schroedinger said above, good data and coaching has definitely helped with faster learning.

I'm looking forward to seeing you out there again!

Quigs

iTrader: (2)

To piggyback on some of your thoughts as we get ready for 2022:

Turn 1 - definitely tons of room for braking later here. I usually brake at the 3 and I think I can even push a little past that. There are quite a few different lines through 1 and I have found I prefer the later turn in either just past the arrow or where the track kind of juts out to the left. This allows for slightly later braking and trailbraking will help rotate toward the inside curbing. I like the car to be somewhat neutral while skipping over the back half of the inside curbing and then straight to WOT for tracking out. Sometimes this still causes a bit of understeer for me so I'll start turning in earlier (like right at the arrow), but ultimately the later turn in always seems to be faster for me. The later turn in also allows for slightly less room needed to track out so it cuts a tiny bit of the corner in "turn 2."

Turn 3 - as you get faster exiting turn 1 you'll start shifting into 4th through "2" and will then have to add a downshift into 3. I'm still working on this myself as I think I can carry a few more MPH into the entry there. For now just try to stay as far track right as you can coming up to the outside curbing so that you have the widest arc possible going through. It's a very fast corner and with talking with people it sounds like many still underestimate how fast you can go through there. The extra track outside the exit curbing is very useful there.

Turns 4-6 looked pretty good, you'll pick up speed through there as you get faster coming out of 3.

Uphill Esses - don't be scared, you can go flat out all the way through! It will take some time to build up confidence to do so, but once you do it once and know that the car will hold it makes the whole complex so much more fun. I like going up in 5th just so the car isn't screaming or bouncing off limiter the whole ride. Once you get confident in taking it flat out you can start jumping the entire inside curb in 8.

Turn 10 - turn 10 is scary for sure. I've shot straight off through the grass there more times than I care to admit. But when you get it right it's a hell of a ride. I think turn 10 is the biggest area where track knowledge and muscle memory come into play. I begin my turn almost before there's any visual reference point. It's almost like if you wait to see the apex curbing it's too late. Once you start carrying more speed up the esses and use less brake at the top going into 10 it will push you all the way out to the exit curbing and you'll know you hit it right. I currently stay in 5th through 10 but next year I think I'm going to focus on less brake at the top of the esses and add in a quick downshift to get the extra torque down the hill towards 11.

Turns 11 and 12 - with practice you can start cutting the apex curbing in 11 instead of going all the way out wide. Your line in the video looks like what I was taught as the "school line" and it's also kind of the "momentum line" to keep the most speed up in a wide arc around 11 and 12. However, I've found it to be faster and more comfortable to clip the apex curbing in 11 and then finish my braking for 12 kind of across the track toward the outside tire wall between 11 and 12. This is a very fun overtaking spot as well as coming out of 10 you can stay track right and win the brake battle into 11. Just have to watch for the undercut going into 12. Once you get comfortable with a higher commitment line you'll start using all the extra track outside the exit curbing in 12. Leaves very little room for error though, so it'll take a lot of practice. The dirt/grass to the outside of the extra pavement is full of ruts and bumps from people going two off and I can say from experience it's a very rough ride haha. Also, try to stay off the apex curbing in 12 and try to get your front left tire to just touch the concrete but not the painted curb. As in your video you can see that particular curb is very aggressively angled and will upset the car. Add another 10 MPH going through there and it really gets the inside of the car airborne.

Turn 14 - again, TONS of room to brake much later here, but it does time time and confidence to build up to that. I don't remember what pads you run, but both your brake and tire compounds may be the deciding factor where you brake. I personally brake at the arrow right after a quick turn to the left to keep the car as straight as possible. Once you start braking that aggressively there it's a wild ride as the car squirms around across the track.

Turn 15 - you can really use that whole bit of apex curbing to keep speed up for the run into Hog Pen.

Turn 16 - going into 16 the school line is to brake at the outside curbing and then turn in to the left and coast through 16. Once you get more comfortable instead of braking there you'll grab 4th and keep on WOT all the way to the apex curbing of 16. I like staying neutral while jumping that curb.

Turn 17 - immediately after jumping the curb in 16 is when I'll grab a quick stab of brakes before chucking it in to the turn 17 complex. The camber and compression of the suspension through there makes for loads of grip. As soon as the car gets chucked in and the suspension compresses in the dip there it's immediate WOT for the run back to start/finish. 17 and 17a should be one steering motion to hit both apexes.

Overall looks like a great lap for your first time. It's taken me 16 full weekends there to finally feel somewhat comfortable and finally beginning to string a whole lap together. It's a challenging track for sure, and one that requires a high level of confidence to know the car will have grip. A few more times out and I think you'll be finding chunks of time!

Z33Taxi

@Quigs Thanks for the in depth analysis. I agree with everything said and there were so many time I would tell myself I'm going to brake later or take a line, but then I would back off. I plan on doing VIR at least 2x in 2022. My main goal is to make it into DE3.

I have 4 main things that I want to do in this offseason other than basic maintenance:

1) Buy an Aim Solo: I think there were definitely some laps where I went faster, but it seems like my phone would cut out, bixby would turn on and I even got a phone call from my parents. So no more using phones. I really want a Solo2 as I think the lights indicating a faster/slower lap/sector would be a great visual help to me

2) Lose weight: both for myself and the car. It's been a stressful year for me with moving and a new job, which has resulted in my packing on some pounds. I want to start getting the car closer to a TT6 weight and I want to start prepping for the roll cage. So that mean's pulling the dash and doing a preliminary tidying, which means removing anything I'm not using. I still "DD" the car, but it mainly gets pulled out on weekends, so I'll be keeping the blinkers/lights, but I plan to get rid of the heater, power mirrors, cut the doors etc...

3) Update safety equipment: I'm currently running a 5pt harness and want to step into a 6pt. I also want to look into getting a Halo seat. I'm looking at the Sparco Ergo, so I can remove the halo if I want. I might also just get the ultratech halo as I have zero issues with my current ultratechs.

4) Brake cooling: I don't need anything in terms of power, though I'll be installing my square top manifold. However, I really want to build a flat undertray and with that run a brake duct system. I don;'t know if my brakes are actually fading/overheating or if its just me chickening out. I will say getting on the brakes is my main concern when I'm out on track, which is why I brake at the 3 or 4 board instead of the 2 or why I am cautious about grabbing 5th on the fast straight. I'm running DTC 60/30s.

Mainly all my goals are to prepare me for TT/ST. Every time I attend a track weekend I feel myself becoming more and more confident.

Here is my tentative schedule for 2022:

April 15-16 (MID-A) Summit Point Raceway
May 13-15 (MID-A) HyperFest VIR Full Course
July 8-9( NE) Lime Rock
October 21-23 (MID-A)VIR Full Course OktoberFAST