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I have no idea what the alignment specs are because I haven't had the car aligned yet, but I could make a pretty good guess for alignment parameters: front camber max'd out, rear is half a degree less. 5° of caster, zero toe front, 1/10" total toe-in rear.
No big updates. I've done a couple more track days in the car. Still trying to get a handle for lines on track, and I still can't consistently heel toe, which at this point is beginning to hold me back. I need to play around with the pedal positioning.
Again, lines are a bit conservative for some of the faster corners.
I'm starting to think about suspension upgrades. I know Xidas are the crowning achievement of humanity to this forum, but I don't think I have Xida money, so the Goodwin Feal 441s are the current frontrunner. Probably won't do anything for a few months.
I recently ran into an issue with the front latches on my hardtop. I ran out of adjustment to move the latch further back and my windshield strikers are a bit worn out, so the drivers side latch in particular would undo itself constantly as I couldn't get any tension on it. I had spaced out the striker with some duct tape, but this was only a temporary solution. Funny enough, I did a couple track sessions with the duct tape latch and it held up just fine, but as soon as I hit I70 for the drive back, the garbage pavement quality and constant bumps kept causing the latch to undo. Nothing like steering with your knees while using both hands to latch a hardtop at 80mph.
I went to a friends garage to fab up some super simple brackets to hard mount the roof as none of the preexisting options will fit this top.
After 4 hours, we came up with two of these.
Yes, it looks like the workmanship of a blind infant. Turns out it's hard to cut a slot in steel with any of the available tools. There was a lot of test fitting followed by more drilling/grinding/cutting.
They work for now. I plan to model the part in Solidworks and use my university's mill and press brake to make a prettier version out of a thicker steel with the correct zig-zag bend.
Was busy with school, then the whole global pandemic thing started and kept me off track for a bit. Didn't want to create any car issues since my prospects of employment were dwindling.
Then a few weeks ago I got a job! Same day I got the job, I was at a friends house, him and I did a full 2-stage paint correction on the car and then ceramic coated the entire car, including the wheels, headlights, tails, glass, etc. It looked really pretty for a day before it got covered in pollen and then rained on a bunch.
I put new suspension on the car a few days ago. I am really digging how much more livable it is on the street. Will see how it handles on track, but it can't be worse than the old setup for sure. I didn't put on Fox or MCS or Xida (sorry turbofan) or anything fancy. I am not going to even say what it is since I will be shamed. But I am happy with it right now. Leaves me more money for seat time. I plan on getting the car aligned this week with something like the 949 Dual Duty specs. I'm also getting a new set of tires, 225/45R15 Hankook RS4. The price was too good to pass up since they are on sale, and I think I have earned myself some not flat-spotted rubber.
I also decided that I wanted to start putting some gauges in the car. I know it didn't run hot before, but now that I am going to be lapping in 85°F+ weather, I wanted to be sure it was doing okay. A friend of mine has had a Glowshift digital dual temperature gauge in his car for a couple years, it has mostly treated him well, certainly for the sub $100 it costs.
I installed one sensor in the front reroute block off plate for water temperature. As for oil temp, I decided to stick it in the remote oil filter kit I have. It's very accessible and the kit has an unused 1/8NPT port right on the side. I just had to remove the plug that was in there. Easier said than done.
First thing I did was stick the (mostly) correct sized metric hex key in and turn it. Immediately, something felt off. I grabbed the roughly equivalent sized imperial hex key. It also felt like it was rounding out the hole. Decided to give up on it for the night.
Next day, I fully removed the filter housing and inspected the plug. It was notably round at this point, but I had hope. It appears it was a very soft aluminum plug, which makes sense because the housing is aluminum. I grabbed the next size up hex key, hammered it into place. No dice. Still rounding. I did some googling, grabbed a T30 torx bit and hammered that into the port. For a second, I thought it might work. It started to slip. I grabbed a nitrile glove, stuck it over the torx bit and tried again. Nope, the head was now nearly perfectly circular. Last ditch attempt was an even larger torx bit hammered in with a dead blow. This did not work.
Starting to panic, I went with my associate to a hardware store and grabbed a screw removal kit for $10. Upon getting back to the workshop, my associate attempted to drill into the plug, but ended up going clean through because it was so small.
Finally, we stuck in the left handed bit and began to turn. It was not biting, and at this point I was pretty worried. I told my friend to hit it with a blowtorch for about a minute. Finally, through the power of heat and the might of a cheap extractor set, the plug was free!
It seems that there are arguments going both ways for where to mount an oil temperature sensor. I figure that at most, the delta across the entire system may only be a few degrees, and at the location of the sensor, the oil is coming out of the pump, so it should read higher than the sump. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong. I would think because the housing is away from the block, that could also help it stay cooler, maybe avoid heatsoaking the sensor?
Blue for water temp, red for oil.
Anyway, after that, I grabbed one of the sheets of DEI formable heat shield I bought off eBay a few weeks ago for 20-something dollars. This stuff is basically 2 layers of thin aluminum sandwiched around some high temperature foam. I wanted to put some between the header and the brake parts. I bought two 12x12" sheets. In about 30 minutes, I was able to come up with this:
I had to adjust some bends and kinda force stuff into place, so it doesn't look super pretty. I have another sheet of the stuff, so I may try again. It's affixed using two already threaded M8x1.25 holes in the engine bay. I wanted to nut-and-bolt it through some holes below the heater tubes, but it looks like the only access is through the fenders? I didn't care enough to remove the fender liners, so I just affixed it to the cables for the cruise control module with a small bracket, should keep it in place, but I will keep my eye on it. I believe I bent away all of the sharp edges from cutting/shaping the aluminum.
Planning on doing some more open lapping days soon. My goal this year is to get down into the 2:15s, which would be about 3 seconds faster than my current best. Just need more seat time now.
It's amazing how much better already nice paint can look when it's polished and coated. That heat shield looks super cheap and easy and I've been meaning to make one for my brake master, too, so I'll steal your idea. Beautiful car, man!
Thank you! I need to get it cleaned up and take some nice photos on the 6ULs now that the paint is all deep and shiny. I’ve been admiring your car for a few years, you’ve had quite a journey with it!
Thank you! I need to get it cleaned up and take some nice photos on the 6ULs now that the paint is all deep and shiny. I’ve been admiring your car for a few years, you’ve had quite a journey with it!
Yeah it's been a crazy ride but I think it's better now than it's ever been. I just wish I was better at updating my build thread..
Also I know you talked about this almost a year ago but I think if you rolled your fenders and got some 10 or 15mm spacers it would look awesome. I know worrying about #hellaflush fitment is silly but it looks so good
I think turbofan would hurt me if I increased the rotational and unsprung mass on my car in the name of looks. I also run it on the stock wheels most of the year anyway. Might pick up some used 15x7 6ULs from a friend as a new daily wheel.
So I've run 2 track days on the refreshed car, and wow, it is much better to drive now. With the new suspension and a proper alignment, I increased all of my apex speeds, with one high speed corner going from 65 to 75mph! It's a lot more forgiving at the limit, easier to catch slides, and way more confidence inspiring. I also put new 225 RS4s on it, which may be part of it, but the grip from the tires alone doesn't feel too much different from my heat cycled Rivals.
Here's me totally not about to get passed by a random 911 in the final corner.
On my first day out in the new setup just feeling it out and shaking it down, I was able to go 0.2s faster than my old PB. 6 days later, I went back on a particularly hot afternoon (high 80s ambient) and threw down a lap that was another second faster! Getting closer and closer to my goal time of being in the 2:15s this year. I think I should be able to get that pretty quickly at the rate I'm doing track days
And here's my car looking all pretty in the sunset next to one of the haulers for a local ND Global Cup Car team.
I've now done 6 track days on this set of pads (I think they're carbotechs?) and I still haven't noticed any serious wear. I am getting ready to order a set of G-Loc R10/R8 to replace them, and I have new centric rotors on standby.
One thing I did notice though is that on hotter days, my oil temps are getting up there. I let the car cool down for an hour or so, and I was able to do around 4 or 5 full beans laps before the oil temp hit 240°F and I backed off. After that, I would drive it for a few laps and then let it sit for maybe half an hour tops. Each time, my oil temp would get back up to 240 within 2 hot laps. I don't know what is considered "safe" oil temps for a naturally aspirated stock motor car with T6, but once it hit 240 it was pretty slow climbing above that. Coolant temps stay around 205°F the entire time. I am looking into oil coolers but would like to avoid spending the money if I am not in panic territory yet.
In mostly unrelated news, I've had this stupid metal Mazdaspeed oil cap on my car since I bought it. Yeah, it looks pretty, but it remains ripping hot for literal hours after I have driven the car, and it's impossible to grip. Apparently they're worth around at least $100 it seems, so I might sell it for a shitty stock plastic one. Reduce my cars weight by a pound and get myself a free track day with the profits.
I also sanded and clear coated the headlights a few days ago. I don't think I went deep enough on my sanding on the passenger headlight to fully remove the yellowing, but I didn't realize until I sprayed the clear on. Whoops. They're definitely improved at least, they just need a wet sand to get the orange peel out of the clear.
Here's an unfair before/after because the headlights are kinda dirty in the before pic.
Anyway, anyone here know anything about helmets? I've had an HJC for almost 2 years and the liner is tearing open, which in my opinion is kinda pathetic for a helmet I have used for 6 track days and a dozen autocross events. I could probably sew it together but I kinda wanna bling out for a fancy new helmet that will last me a few years and have this one as a backup. Looking at Arai or Roux since my head doesn't really fit in a Bell. Contemplating balling out for a Stilo even though they're very pricey for me. They also make one with a blue liner that would match my gloves/paint well. Oh right, I have to pretend I don't intentionally match my racewear to my car.
I don't have first hand experience, but a lot of people down here swear by black armor helmets. pretty good value if you ask me. tyhe're running pre-orders for the new Snell SA2020 cert helmets (release date in october). If they were doing a normal composite pre-order in addition to the baller carbon fiber gig they're currently offering they would have my money right now. https://blackarmorhelmets.com/products/circuit-pro-2020
You definitely should try on a helmet because every brand has a different shape. I've owned a few HJC that weren't bad. Zamp makes a good helmet for not a lot of money, if that's a concern. I've also got a newer Bell that's good.
I have a few friends with the Black Armor helmets and they seem to like them, but nobody sells them locally and I don’t want to buy anything without trying it on. I also am skeptical of a CF helmet that is so cheap. I don’t think I want to hold out for an SA2020 helmet since the 2015s are starting to go on sale and the safety standards are a pretty small incremental update for 2020.
I actually bought my HJC over a Zamp because the liner felt like a higher quality. The Zamps seem to be a chinese ripoff of Bell in terms of the construction and sizing.
I got rid of the Mazdaspeed oil cap because it was always getting way to tight and way to hot to remove without a strap wrench. Plus its heavy compared to the stock plastic ones.
Did another track day yesterday. Started off pretty hot in the late afternoon, and it was very windy and very dusty. The wind was nice as it bumped me up quite a bit in top speed, so I was finally able to hit 100 on the back straight with some different lines and the wind, but it made me lose time everywhere else. The combination of wind plus dust made the track fall off a bit in grip, so I spent a few laps just sliding the back end, working on my car control. I actually had to make myself stop because I was worried about getting black flagged.
Here's a blurry photo of me having a nice little slide through T1 at around 65mph.
I went out about half an hour later when the wind died down and the track felt prime again. I did a bunch of 2:17-2:19 laps, really hammering on the car. I did about 8 hot laps in a row and the car didn't hiccup once, really happy with how I can just hammer on it. Oil temps never indicated above 245, so I think I might be fine with no oil cooler for now. One funky thing I noticed is that the coolant temp reported by the ECU and the gauge I put in are vastly different, at least when sitting stationary. When the car wasn't running, I saw 199 off the ECU and 185 on the gauge. I would assume this is because I checked it when the car wasn't running and hadn't been for a few minutes.
Finally, as the sun was setting, I went out once more when the track was basically dead, put down a nice warm up lap, and then a hot lap that put me down into the 2:16s! I don't have it on video, but I cleaned up some corners from my last time and it felt pretty natural. I also know this time is more accurate because I am borrowing a 10hz/2.5m GPS from a friend.
Feeling fairly content but knowing there was more time, I decided to chase down a few more tenths. I kept seeing a slightly faster 2:16 on my timer, but I would lose it in the hair pin corners. Very frustratingly, I would come out of the final corner seeing a 2:16.7xx and try to shift into 4th at redline, only to find the slop in the motor mounts would cause me to miss the gear, losing me that faster time.
This culminated in me accidentally shifting the car into 2nd instead of 4th at redline.
I was lucky to catch it and clutch in at close to 8100. Immediately I checked my oil-dummy gauge and looked in my mirror expecting to see a cloud of smoke, but nothing. I very cautiously, and with much shame, drove it back to the pits. On the in-lap, the car felt totally fine. Upon pulling back into the pits, I shut it off and checked the engine. The only damage I saw was that my stupid 2-piece oil cap I was planning on selling had vibrated so hard it shook out the middle section held in with a set screw.
It started up fine, idled fine, sounded just like the clickity old economy 4-banger it is. Drove it home very cautiously. I plan on doing a compression test to see if I adjusted my valve geometry, but from what I have heard, these motors are pretty tolerant of money shifts and most problems, like a spun bearing or a stretched rod, would make themselves apparent very quickly with either some knocking or a fresh window in the block. I consider myself lucky with this one so far, but I will await compression test results. A friend let me know he had a VVT head I can buy off him if something is indeed wrong with the valvetrain of mine.
I went and ordered the 60A Innovative motor mounts this morning, so I should have those in before the next track day, hoping that corrects my shifting issues I have been having at the track. I do hope I haven't broken anything in the head.
No big updates, got the motor mounts in the mail from Goodwin, they feel like a nice piece of equipment. Will probably put them in the car this coming weekend and then I will hopefully have the car back out at the track on July 23rd.
I took the hardtop off for a very rare roofless drive. Was nice, but only because I did it after sunset. I really don't care for the convertible aspect most of the time, but it's a fun treat. Even if it involves undoing 22 fasteners.
I've been exploring non-sprint seat options. I popped by a local MSM guys house to check out his Mirco GT seats, which are under $800 shipped for the pair, fiberglass shell, FIA approved.
Unfortunately, they're too wide at the ears to sit low in a Miata, and they're also tweaked over so they're off center and not pointing straight. I'd say I was sitting a good 1.5" higher in those seats than in my sprints, so I will have to rule them out.
Since I am gonna hold off on seats, and I'm gonna hold off on a helmet until 2020s arrive, I've been contemplating what mods to do that will give me a little bit more speed. Initially I was thinking a Blackbird spoiler, partially because of the way they look but also because of aero grip. My only gripe is that my home track doesn't have any high speed corners, the fastest one being around 75mph. Not a great track for momentum cars. The spoiler might net me a couple mph on the straights due to the drag decrease.
I've been thinking about going Megasquirt. I am only skeptical because I don't want to have to deal with tuning issues and end up making the car more unreliable, especially as a daily. Also, requiring 91 octane would be a bit of a pain. But I think that would give the biggest improvement in lap times since that is the easiest way right now to add power and I am dealing with a power heavy track. Would be nice to pick up maybe 15hp under the curve in spots and a couple at the peak. I'd imagine with the full exhaust and maybe an exhintake cam added, I could certainly make decent gains.
Hardly any harsher than the worn out mazdacomp ones, way less engine movement and notably less delay when getting on the throttle.
Only downside is that they appear to have moved my engine just enough where the midpipe is rattling on the butterfly brace. Caught me off guard the first few laps I did because I thought the rattling noise was a wheel about to pop off or a hub disassembling itself.
Putting a megasquirt in my NA6 was one of the best choices I ever made. I just set it up so I could swap the plug back and forth between the stock ECU and MS as I was learning (and switch the wideband from wide to narro band simulation). You will have some tuning fumbling to do if you tune yourself and are learning. I think I only switched back and forth for 3 days before getting the MS to where it was daily drivable though? Haven't had to switch back since. Start up and warm up are still not perfect, but I have put at least 30k miles on the car, mostly daily driving and road trips, since I popped it in.
I also ran and "tuned" on 87 until I went F/I. Picked up a gob of low end torque and a hair on the top end and way, way better throttlw response, but those are all NA6 quirks from it's archeic control systems.... (Made 100.6rwhp on the local inertia dyno on 87).
01-12-2020, 02:23 PM
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