On Tuesday afternoon last week, I checked MotorsportReg and realized that there was a Track Night in America event the very next day at Charlotte. So naturally, I signed up with 24 hours to go time.

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This is the only picture I have of my car at the event.

As one does, I talked to a few different people at the track day. I ran across the cleanest K24 swap I've ever seen.

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He even put the i-VTEC sticker in the right spot! :greddy:

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Not the best angle to show what I'm talking about, but this car had lots of little touches that took it to the next level. Turns out the owner was an engineer for Fox Suspension working in their aftermarket division. That's basically my dream job!

I asked him how the swap went, and like most of the people I've talked with lately, he said he probably would not do it again due to the high number of issues he encountered. He had to remachine the adapter plate to prevent contact with the flywheel (!!!), remachine the Kpower intake manifold because the bolt flange surfaces were not machined true to the head sealing surface and the bolts were coming loose, repin the entire harness due to intermittent contact issues, and other things he couldn't recall in the moment. It's a shame as I was really interested in doing this swap. KPower just does not seem to have sufficient QC measures in place.

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The day finished off with a nice sunset. That Cobra R replica had a 351 Windsor under the hood, of all things. I spent a while talking to that guy too.

I had no issues with the car, drove home, changed tires, and drove to work the next day. This is starting to feel a bit too routine, like I should be doing a more intensive service and inspection to the car between events. My usual prep for an event mid-season is to do a torque check on brake caliper bracket bolts, suspension bolts, and the rear axle nuts. A fluid check and general underhood ocular pat down rounds out track day car prep. Pack it full of stuff and off I go. Is it really supposed to be this drama free?

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Last weekend, I went to the junkyard to help my buddy find some OEM parts swaps for his RSX. I finally found a AC charge port cap that fits my NB2! No more foil tape!

Looking ahead, I'm seriously close to putting down the cash for a new part. The RGR spats (wickers, if you're Johnny C from 9LR) are a great value, but the aesthetic is... bleh. I liked them at first, but then novelty has worn off enough for me to see just how tacked on they look.

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A friend of mine knew I was looking to find or design something like this and forwarded an instagram post along it to me. A week later, the creator (DCBE Tech) has listed them for sale. I think they'd look pretty spiffy after some body filler and a paint match. I'm just waiting on them to share how they mount. I think these plus a spoiler would look pretty close to a factory GT4 or Club Racer special edition type of car.

MX-5 Miata Front Bumper Spats: Enhance Aerodynamics & Performance by DCBE

The RGR ones are easy enough to remove and install for a track day, but I've had them on for months now as I figured I'd get some fuel economy benefit as well.

Nice, dude! On the spot (I'd call 24 hours on the spot) track day signups don't always go off so smoothly! Stoked you got out this weekend as well. TNIA is a great organizer. They don't come around here much anymore since AAA speedway closed, but their events there were sweet. They were the only organization to run the infield only course and they'd rent out all the garages so they were free for drivers. I miss going to their events.

Knock on wood and don't tempt the racing gods :rofl: Stoked to see the car's running so well, though.

How're you doing with adapting to the pad knockback?

Yeah Track Night in America is awesome when you've got a local track! They've got like three more events at Charlotte this summer so I'm stoked to get better at this track. I wish I could swing it for a few other tracks further away.

Honestly, I haven't had an issue with knockback at any track but VIR. At both Carolina Motorsports Park and Charlotte I didn't even think about it. I think the problem areas at VIR are the uphill esses, where you have a big back and forth at high speed and high Gs, and the Pigpen corner onto the front straight where you're really loading it up with a lot of suspension compression and cornering at the same time. On more regular corners at VIR, I didn't have to tap the brakes beforehand either.