Well, you managed to tell a story and still not answer where you actually are. You are indeed in Memphis now?
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Originally Posted by Chilicharger665
(Post 1276821)
Well, you managed to tell a story and still not answer where you actually are. You are indeed in Memphis now?
Memphis TN is where I live currently, yes. |
Well crap! I would have gone up to ABQ just to see it.
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Originally Posted by Chilicharger665
(Post 1276694)
Do you like the FM Stage 2 suspension? I have FM's Stage 2 on my NB and I think it oversteers waay too much.
Running bone stock (this car has the suspension package, which is Bilsteins and a clutched LSD) the car was prone to understeer unless you really cooked it into a corner. Unfortunately, the tires are old enough that they are kinda hard and crap now, which is likely the root cause. Getting on throttle to make the ass-end come out typically resulted in snap-oversteer once traction broke. Either you were understeering slightly or you were going ape-shit sideways at best or over-rotated at worst. With all the braces installed, the balance immediately changed. The car almost always defaults to oversteer, but not in the psychopathic way as before. Rather, it was imminently controllable with throttle and just letting the LSD pull you back into the line. With the FM2 suspension, the oversteer seemed a bit more pronounced to me. I played with the adjustment points on the sway bars and actually was able to dial the car into some understeer again -- which I didn't prefer. Ultimately, the car is back to roughly neutral now (IMO) but is sorely limited by the old, hard tires. Also keep in mind that the NC doesn't ride around on the bumpstops like the NA and NB chassis seem to. Mazda gave quite a bit more room for suspension travel on the 3rd gen, so the Tokicos and springs have more room to maneuver without hitting the hard stop. I also started with the Tokico's at the adjustment point recommended by FM, but ended up going two turns softer which significantly helped with street manners. |
Minor update: ordered a fat stack of parts yesterday from Fab9. Koyo radiator, Setrab oil cooler (the 25-row "big one"), Competition Clutch stage 3 (sprung segmented ceramic) and matched flywheel, along with DW340lph pump and 1000cc ID injectors.
Also ordered a new CNC-milled stainless oil filter plate to replace the stocker cast aluminum unit that is prone to crack and break at the worst times. |
4 Attachment(s)
Pictures of the brakes, installed on thanksgiving and then properly bedded in about a week later. Contrary to some of the complaints on the NA/NB platform, the FM kit uses Wilwood Dynapro calibers instead of the dynalights that get all the complaints... https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1450719220
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1450719220 Also for completeness sake, stock dyno numbers are in: 141hp and 128tq. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1450719220 And if you want to see the boring video of the second pull... ;) This was more power than I expected, honestly. I was hoping for 135hp at best, obviously each dyno is tweaked a bit different. I have to assume this one reads just a touch high, but whatever. This is the same set of rollers I'll be using for the final numbers too, so the actually interesting part will be delta between the runs. |
How does the ebrake work now? I know FM had some problems in the past with cables snapping or something.
Has your turbo kit still not shown up? |
Originally Posted by Chilicharger665
(Post 1293972)
How does the ebrake work now? I know FM had some problems in the past with cables snapping or something.
Contrary to what they have said, I find the eBrake to be as useful as it has ever been. I haven't tried yanking it at a 40mph clip to see if I can lock the tires, but it holds just fine when parking on various grades. The total "throw" of the brake is shorter now, but when fully applied, I can't push the car by hand while on smooth, level pavement.
Originally Posted by Chilicharger665
(Post 1293972)
Has your turbo kit still not shown up?
I'm in communication with the first 2.0L tester in Texas, it seems to be going quite well. There are some minor hiccups to be expected with the very first of any turbo kit, and Fab9 and Dynotronics are both right on top of it. I'll be in here later to post the results of a completely stock NC with nothing but an ECU reflash. Sounds like you can get pretty close to 160whp with nothing but some computer fiddling, and I wanted to see it for myself. |
Originally Posted by albuquerquefx
(Post 1293988)
FM still warns buyers that your eBrake isn't going to be "as effective" compared to stock. They even go so far as to warn you about it slipping on mild to moderate grades... I assumed the worst!
Contrary to what they have said, I find the eBrake to be as useful as it has ever been. I haven't tried yanking it at a 40mph clip to see if I can lock the tires, but it holds just fine when parking on various grades. The total "throw" of the brake is shorter now, but when fully applied, I can't push the car by hand while on smooth, level pavement. But yes, the parking brake is definitely not as effective as stock, because there is less leverage in the system. I can't push it on flat ground, but it won't reliably hold the car on my driveway with just the parking brake. --Ian |
It seriously can't hold your car from rolling down the driveway??
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Originally Posted by Chilicharger665
(Post 1294185)
It seriously can't hold your car from rolling down the driveway??
This is not a stock-like parking brake. It's good enough for most things, but it's not for handbrake turns and it's not for living in San Francisco. --Ian |
It's a "be road legal" parking brake. Not a drift hand brake.
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Originally Posted by aidandj
(Post 1294243)
It's a "be road legal" parking brake. Not a drift hand brake.
So, either mine is just working a tad better than the others, or it's just not as terrible as I had convinced myself it was going to be. Seriously, I assumed it was going to be the equivalent of my four year old's bicycle brake or something :D |
Originally Posted by albuquerquefx
(Post 1294270)
So, either mine is just working a tad better than the others, or it's just not as terrible as I had convinced myself it was going to be. Seriously, I assumed it was going to be the equivalent of my four year old's bicycle brake or something :D
It also depends somewhat on what kind of rear pads you have installed. --Ian |
Both are good points.
My brake handle is freshly adjusted; six clicks to full lock. I also went for the "standard" BP10 compound, since the supermajority of it's life is to be spent on the street rather than strip. |
Looks like a great start to the build, can't wait to see it come together.
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Originally Posted by aidandj
(Post 1294243)
It's a "be road legal" parking brake. Not a drift hand brake.
I have always left my cars in neutral and used the parking brake to keep it in place, incline or not. Apparently, it isn't that big of a deal from the two user's experiences in here, but I would be very cautious if I had it on my own car, due to my usual parking methodology. |
Yes, you'd have to change your parking methodology.
In fact, I'd really suggest you change your parking methodology regardless. Leave your vehicle in gear when parked, silly. |
Originally Posted by turbofan
(Post 1294411)
Yes, you'd have to change your parking methodology.
In fact, I'd really suggest you change your parking methodology regardless. Leave your vehicle in gear when parked, silly. |
There's absolutely no reason to leave the car parked in neutral unless it's idling to cool down at the track.
--Ian |
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