Roda

I thought I had things pretty well dialed in on my VVT swapped NA. Tony found about 18hp that I didn't.

I consider myself a pretty good DIYer, and I got the car running and mostly tuned on MS3 on my own. But the guy that does it every day for money was better. Big surprise...

electroCrunch

The fine folks at Elevated Trackside photography provided pics free of charge from the UMS Tuning TA Dyno Day event. Sharing a few images he got of the miata...

Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

Great updates and pictures man. I really wanted to make it out to that track day to hang out but had a bit of an emergency out of town trip, and then also wanted to go to the dyno day but tested positive for you-know-what when I got back into town and am just now getting over it.

Awesome that you're doing the time attack stuff and shaving off a bunch of time, car is looking excellent as well.


As far as tuning goes, you probably have a decent amount left on the table. I made that same amount of whp with a lot less torque on my NA8, but that is on e85 and dyno tuned. Stock original engine other than the exhintake cam mod, the rest is all bolt ons. I would consider grabbing a square top and having it tuned if I were in your shoes. UMS is one of the best when it comes to that around here but they're definitely in high demand. They're the only ones that I'll trust with my car though but it doesn't hurt to shop around or maybe try to refine it yourself first.

EDIT: Also, just notice the pulls stopped a little short. You can run a hard rev limit of 7200 and shift at 7000 in these cars. The stock tach reads a bit high. That's what mine was set to and that engine was still healthy when I took it out and had hundreds of race hours.

electroCrunch

@Arca_ex Ah, bummer you didn't make it out, but glad you're feeling better.

I appreciate the props, man! I'm still watching your progress closely too in your build thread. Keep it up!

I did some asking around and calling and have an appointment setup next week with XactDyno in Tempe who uses a Dynapack also. They have experience with Miatas and my MegaSquirt I learned through some research and also chatting with the owner a bit. I agree UMS is probably the best in the valley at least as far as reputation and sheer ability goes, but they were a couple of months out and wanted almost twice as much as XactDyno. Anyways, I'm thinking with 117 tq currently untuned, there's got to be more power to be had up top hopefully and I'm out of my abilities to tune for that last few horsepower to reach MBT. That, or something else is up with the engine. I'll find out next week and report back. I'll also keep my eye out for a square top deal. It's been on the list regardless.

Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

Right on, plenty of them to be had in the classifieds it seems like. Just try to get it on the car before it gets tuned so that money doesn't go to waste.

Roda

Check this thread out for flat tops: https://www.miataturbo.net/miata-par...ifolds-106179/

I've bought a 6 speed trans and a diff from these folks, and both transactions have been great.

Arca_ex

iTrader: (2)

Yep that's exactly the one I was thinking of. I've bought two 6 speed transmissions from them no problem.

electroCrunch

Found some in the classifieds. Trying to get one installed now to make the most of the money is a good call.

Thank you

Edit to your edit: Yeah, I set soft limit at 6800 for the first track event and figured I'd keep it there since it's original engine. I'll bump that up for my dyno day though to see what that gets me. Good call out.

electroCrunch

That's what I found too and they already responded to a PM. Appreciate that both you and @Arca_ex have had positive experiences with them. I'll proceed with confidence in buying from them, sirs.

electroCrunch

Minor update which is really more a shoutout..... amazing deal in the classifieds from PrestigeSparesUK. I went in on the group-buy offer with 2 friends and got these for an excellent price. (NB2 fuel rails/injectors/harnesses/FPRs are for sale if anyone is interested as I don't think we'll be needing them )

electroCrunch

I got the NLR wing installed a couple of weeks ago. Here are some pics and notes from the project. I do want to note that I took advantage of their BF deal and basically got some money off the total order, a free t shirt, and some righteous upgraded CFD-V2 endplates.

Initial test fitment.


Okay, this was really throwing me off. It's likely me being a noob, but it wasn't obvious to me how this angle was proper and I was concerned that somehow both sides of my trunk were misaligned. I contacted NLR and they said to just loosely assemble everything and it will all come together. in other words, this means the uprights flex to position once everything is bolted and tight.


Wing installed, next is to move onto the trunk.




There's a few video on YT for trimming/cutting the trunk lid. I'd say just go for it after measuring things like 4 times, and don't forget to account for the gap between panels/lid. Mine turned out OK enough, but some paint chipped off on the edges.




All done


I made it out to Cars and Coffee last weekend and was able to fully flex and parking accordingly hard with my new wing.


Summing up:

The install was overall straightforward and relatively easy. Easier than my singular hood vent install by a lot, for some context. I was a little bit surprised on some of the finish work of the kit. Some of the cuts still had sharp edges and needed to be deburred (sp?). However for a value minded wing, it's fine as-is and nothing I'll worry about. I did ask NLR about NOT cutting their logo in my endplates, but that's not an option. Am I off in thinking those logos have an impact on aero at any measurable amount?

Regardless of any finishing gripes, overall the product is excellent and it seems very sturdy. I think it's an excellent solution, especially considering the value.

The team at NLR was quick to respond to my few question I sent their way during the install. I would definitely do business with them again. Even their fabrication process provided email update for the status of my order as it moved through the stages. The whole buying experience was great, and so was the support.

The AOA is at ~2 degrees, with 1/4" gurney, for initial install and soon-to-be testing (hoping to make March track days).

I have been having issues with my front splitter order (not going to name the vendor as they've been helpful and supportive to this point overall). Hoping to have an update on that soon.

Bonus:

I found some new-to-me Advanti S1 Storms in gray, same size as my current S1's (15x9 +35), which will act as my new dedicated track wheel setup. A really close match to the wing color too!

VertBert

If you have a 3D printer or a friend with one, somebody on Thingiverse made shims for the 9 Lives wing mounts that might make you feel better if you're at all worried about the mount points.
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5110517

Roda

I ended up using the shims reversed from the instructions and it aligned a lot better. My issue was the longitudinal aligment, though... not the spread at the top. I tried to call NLR about the problem, but got no response. Glad they answered for you.

electroCrunch

I have an uncle who's printed me a part in the past, I'll see if he's open to tackling another project (the last project took him many attempts). Thanks a ton for the link and information, this is massively helpful. Kind of relieved I'm not the only one who came across this "issue". They link out NA instructions and that's all you really get for the install which only confused matters worse. Cat for you!

I had good luck with contacting them over email, they were responsive and informative each time I emailed thankfully. I thought their customer service was some of the best I've experienced in the industry.

Oh, that is interesting about your alignment issue. I think the shims in the "normal" position worked pretty well for me. The truth is I actually had to redrill out the passenger side (first side I attempted) as I followed the NA instructions and it put the upright too far back . Regardless, with the flex in the uprights, I'm thinking it's OK because it puts tension on the entire setup which I think helps with rigidity. Hopefully the flex isn't detrimental for the long run in any way.

electroCrunch

UPDATE 1 of 2: The prep

First, I went to Xact Dyno to get tuned. Unfortunately I made no more horsepower (126whp, still with VICS intake), but did make a couple more pounds of torque across most of the range compared to the last time I was on a dyno in January. I noticed I was getting some consistent smoke out the tail pipe on each pull though. It's enough that it was clearly noticeable and wouldn't want to stand behind it, but not quite enough that I can detect while driving the car. Combine that with burning through oil more than I have in the past, I'm pretty sure my engine needs a rebuild. I've started to gather parts for a rebuild project and asking around for machine shop recommendations. Finding parts right now is a challenge. Regardless, the tuner helped me get my tables in order, a firmware update, and answered a few question I had about the MS3pro. Overall it was money wasted, but now I have a better understanding of what's needed to progress.



In preparation for the next track day (a couple of weekends ago) I did some work to make life a little easier. Not pictured, I hardwired in a female USB-A converter to the back of the car near the roll bar, where my goPro is mounted. No more worrying about batteries, the GoPro gets charged straight from a switched circuit.

The bigger upgrade I made was hardwiring in an AIM Solo 2. I simply just cut the cigarette adapter it came with and wired it to a switched circuit. Mounted via RAM 1" ball mounting setup.





I also got some new Nanakang AR-1s mounted on my new-to-me Advanti S1's (225/45r15, 15x9 +35) to try out.



Aside from that, I did my normal pre-track activities.... check torque on suspension bits, torque the **** out of alignment bolts, check and top off fluids, etc. I also switched from Mobil1 5W-30 to Mobil1 10W-40 to see if it would help with oil consumption (spoiler, it did help, I did not burn as much oil as my previous weekend).

electroCrunch

UPDATE 2 OF 2: The Track Days

I had another successful weekend at WHP - East track. Day 1 was spent burning through my my six year old NT01s. I was able to find about a second that day with (maybe the wing helped?).



Day 2 was a lot more exciting. I hit my personal best at East track with the Nankang's, 1:07.8. I also was bumped from DE3 to DE4 first thing Sunday morning, so I spent the whole day in DE4. I love this group much better, it flows much quicker and nicer with everyone being on the same page and comfortable with passing.











I also competed in my second Time Attack of the season. I scored podium again, 3rd (but out of 4 entries). I'm proud of it.

Here's the video I posted of my 3rd place 1:08.3 lap (sorry, couldn't figure out how to embed an IG video):
End of a great weekend, totally exhausted in the best way.





I'm all registered for the April 2nd event with NASA, it's a Saturday only event at WHP - Radford Racing Track with Looper (formerly Bondurant). This is my first time on this track, I'm really looking forward to it. I'm also registered for UMS Tuning Time Attack.

electroCrunch

I had another successful weekend with the Miata in DE4 and TA. NASAAZ hosted a Saturday-only event at Radford Racing School track. Configuration was CCW, KB, SP, which was the first time this particular configuration was ran by NASAAZ I believe. Oh, and I got to meet @Arca_ex in person. He was working grid that day and came over to say hi before I ran out for a session.

This was my first time at this track and I absolutely loved it. I hope I get to drive there again before WHP closes down next year. I'm still confused if the entire motorsports park is being closed, or just sections of it like the drag strip and boat water course.

I competed in UMS Tuning Time Attack, placed 2nd in my class TA-A. My fastest TA lap was 1:19.998, which was also my PB for the day. I was also looking at Time Trial results out of curiosity and it looks like with my times I would stand a chance (as my experience and skills continue to grow) in potentially doing TT5. But apparently I'm not smart enough to figure out the new mod factor calculator thingey, I'm still working on trying to wrap my head around where my car would actually be classed given mods and power:weight. A fellow driver told me that 225 tire automatically puts me in TT4?

There was no major damage to report, but did have a couple of issues. First issue was I dropped a tire off the track in a section with a drop-off and was able to somehow hit the front fender lip with my wheel when it rebounded. I need to roll the fenders obviously. The other issue was that on the way home from the track, about a mile from my house, thick white smoke started pouring out from hood vents at an intersection. Fearing the worst (fire!) I pull over immediately and open the hood. My damn oil filler cap somehow came loose and decided to exit the engine bay, causing oil to spew over the engine and header. It sucks that I have a mess to clean now, but I guess I'm glad a fire didn't start. The best part, I had a spare oil filler cap (OEM original) in my spares bag so I was able to make it home still after wiping up the obvious oil spills on the engine. Could have been a lot worse.

I didn't get any pics myself from the event, but here's a couple.

From one of my TA hot laps


My 2nd place trophy (which is also my first racing trophy yay)


There are no TA events until after the summer break, but there is an early morning half-day event in June I might attend. Regardless, the next plan for the Miata is to get it on stands and get some front-end work done such as radiator ducting, oil cooler, and a few other goodies while the bumper is off.

I'm also in the process of assembling parts for a long block build. Stay tuned.

Roda

ProAuto is running 4/23-24 at East if you want to get one more in before it gets (really) hot. We should be there on Saturday; if I can swing the time I might try to do Sunday as well.

electroCrunch

Thank you for the invite. Awfully tempting.

electroCrunch

I think I have the NASA ST/TT classing system figured out now. If my work is correct, I'm placed squarely at TT5 with my current mods (splitter has yet to be installed, but it's coming), but also currently very underpowered for TT5. I'm hoping a rebuild will get me closer to the power cap (~172.5 Max Avg HP). That's going to be tough to hit that power level, even after a rebuild plus some other goodies that'll go into the engine build. 160 whp seems more realistic (https://supermiata.com/power-levels-for-bp-engines.aspx). Regardless, here's what I penciled...

2415 lbs 225 RR (currently on AR-1's) on 15x9
ratio: 14.0:1
max avg HP: 172.5
-0.7 A-arm
+0.2 mech TB
-0.2 non-OEM brakes
-0.4 comp weight
+1.6 tire mod
-0.5 splitter

Open to feedback if I'm doing this wrong.

For any other noobs, this was pretty helpful in breaking down how it works https://yousuckatracing.com/2021/12/...ials-nonsense/. I didn't understand that the mod factor points (+ or -) were added/subtracted to the W:P ratio. Makes complete sense now. And WTF is up with that -0.7 a-arm penalty? That's steep.

I printed up the tire template, and it's close but I'm pretty sure my current AR-1's on 15x9 wheel is compliant and so would RR's based on some searching I've done.

NASA tire template: https://nasa-assets.s3.amazonaws.com...2017_REV1_.pdf
2022 ST5-ST6 rules (TT also applies): https://nasa-assets.s3.amazonaws.com..._5-6_Rules.pdf

I'm not saying I am definitely going to do time trials, but it's good to know where my modifications put me now, and in the future.