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Originally Posted by hornetball
(Post 1113761)
??? Is there some kind of event going on?
Free Registration until full. |
Hmmm . . . . Sounds like fun.
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Looking good Rick!
And the answer to "will I want more than 150 hp" is ... yes :D 200 in that thing once you've added lightness will be smokin. |
I hear you. But I really want a "drive and forget" car to work on the nut behind the wheel (at least to the extent that this is possible in road racing with 30 minute long sessions).
I toasted cylinder #2 on track yesterday in the Silver car (while setting a personal best, mind you :D). Cage weekend. Stay tuned for pix. |
Caged!!!
34 Attachment(s)
Got the cage installed this weekend.
First order of business was to pull the existing roll bar (HD Sport SD) and all carpeting. Then it was time for a Jeffbucc style scrubbing. With body plugs pulled, Used engine degreaser, a brush and a hose in the trunk and interior of the car. These are some shots post-cleaning: Swiss cheese car. PO's skill with a hammer is only exceeded by his skill with a power drill. I guess you could call it lightening. LOL. Spent a bunch of time with a hammer and dolly straightening out the floor pan where it had been crushed by the PO's seat/harness install. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 Shelf area cleaned up nicely. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 As did the trunk. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 One area of concern is the ECU location behind the passenger seat. You can see that the ECU harness goes through the area that the cage will occupy. Plus, without carpeting, it's not well protected. I'm thinking about shortening the harness and locating the MSPNP in the 1.6 location. I've got a spare kick panel and all the studs are in place on the body to support it. Open to suggestions though. I did notice some of the ECU wires were worn through where the PO had pinched them with his harness installation -- so maybe shortening and cutting out that bad section is the way to go (although I'm definitely not looking forward to it). https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 I knew I had some holes to fill, so I bought this kit for cheap off e-bay. The 1" size rubber plug was the perfect size for the antenna hole. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 Hard Dog Roll Cage. I can tell you that unpacking this takes 3X as long as unpacking a roll bar. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 I had hoped that since I pulled out a Hard Dog Sport that I would be able to re-use the holes. Alas, no such luck. Also, whoever installed the previous roll bar neglected to install these bolts into the OEM seat belt structure. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 "Roll bar" part of the cage installed. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 Hard Dog definitely has their roll cage jig figured out. Fit was tight! https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 I used a clamp to hold the roll cage foot as far over as possible while securing: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 Tada!!! https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1395619447 |
Awe man that looks sexy. The install looked pretty easy overall.
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Well.. this is awesome. Nice man.
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The install was really straightforward. Hat's off to Hard Dog for parts that fit really well.
This cage is also reversible. Custom weld-in cages are where it's at if you're doing real W2W. But I'm just doing HPDE and TT. Wasn't ready to do something as permanent as a weld-in cage. |
Damn, good job on the cage and cleaning the interior. I think you had less rust than I did I the floor pans.
Also, I wish I would have used a giant clamp to pull the door bars as far to the side as you did. Probably would have given me another 1/4"-1/2" of space for the seat bolsters. Nice! |
That cage is awesome! I've been wondering if one was to swap to a different hard dog roll bar, if it would fit in the same mounting holes... I've been thinking about swapping in a double diagonal one in place of my current one with no diagonals.
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Originally Posted by Jeffbucc
(Post 1114325)
Damn, good job on cleaning the interior.
Originally Posted by Yezzir
(Post 1114351)
I've been wondering if one was to swap to a different hard dog roll bar, if it would fit in the same mounting holes...
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Will you be doing a half dash?
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Not at the moment. Trying to keep everything reversible. I did pull the P-side airbag though. That sucker was heavy!
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Originally Posted by hornetball
(Post 1114448)
Not at the moment. Trying to keep everything reversible. I did pull the P-side airbag though. That sucker was heavy!
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What are these airbags you speak of....
When I removed the stock steering wheel in my Jetta and put the Euro Golf R steering wheel in, I was terrified of the airbag blowing up in my face. I literally disconnected the battery, waited an hour for any charge to dissipate, pumped the brakes, and used a grounding strap. Had a friend have one blow up in his face when he removed it and he had 2nd/3rd degree burns from his neck up, also a very bad case of whiplash. There is a video of people putting them under couch cushions and igniting them when a friend sits down and I watch them and go, "well that is a good way to break someones back". Explosives are no joke. |
I followed the FSM recommended procedure, namely:
1. Battery disconnect. 2. Disconnect connectors in proper order. 3. Discharge static from body and remove bag. The FSM also shows a cool SST for setting off the bag prior to disposal. I used to fly while sitting on explosives (and while delivering explosives to intended recipients, LOL). |
Originally Posted by hornetball
(Post 1114375)
I think the issue I had is that the original bar was pretty old, 2001 vintage. In that time, Hard Dog's jigs have probably changed. Also, stepping from a Sport Bar to a Roll Cage is a pretty big step. In your case, the holes might match.
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When I removed mine I kept my face outside of the car. lol I disconnected the battery pumped the brakes etc etc. while either being under the dash or outside the car snaking my arms around the a pillar. Im only 5ft 9 and my arms arent exactly long. My biggest fear was it hitting my face. I did the same thing with the steering wheel. Until the bag was out I never sat in front of it.
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You should add the 99-05 subframes will you have it all torn apart, keeping carpet is nice as dust collects in your garage and on your first out lap blows all in your face, pull the bumpers and remove those big hunks of crash support metal, order a different rear bar.
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I can't get over how clean that chassis is.
Now is a good time to take a heat gun and remove the tar at the floor drains in the passenger compartment, and in the trunk floor. |
After using a heat gun to do mine I would recommend freezing with dry ice and shattering it with a hammer. Using a dry chisel and wire brush with the heat method is a pain in the ass.
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Lots of great comments in here recently.
Originally Posted by jacob300zx
(Post 1115025)
You should add the 99-05 subframes will you have it all torn apart, keeping carpet is nice as dust collects in your garage and on your first out lap blows all in your face, pull the bumpers and remove those big hunks of crash support metal, order a different rear bar.
Consider the crash support metal gone. Thanks. On the rear bar, car currently has RB front and rear bars (I have the OEM bars as well). On the other car, I run an RB front and OEM rear and have been pretty happy with the balance. I've noticed other track-types run the RB front and either OEM rear or no rear. What's the recommendation for 150RWHP? Guess I'll go review Emilio's 95R build thread.
Originally Posted by miata2fast
(Post 1115043)
I can't get over how clean that chassis is.
Now is a good time to take a heat gun and remove the tar at the floor drains in the passenger compartment, and in the trunk floor.
Originally Posted by Jeffbucc
(Post 1115047)
After using a heat gun to do mine I would recommend freezing with dry ice and shattering it with a hammer. Using a dry chisel and wire brush with the heat method is a pain in the ass.
Is removing the tar really worth it? How much weight are we talking about? Looks like a huge PITA to me. |
IMO my buddy ran with out a rear sway and we didnt like it at all. The rear end felt like swinging a pick up truck around corners. It had slightly better traction as weight would transfer to each wheel more but the rear roll was annoying and sloppy. I use to run an FM rear and took it off and put the stocker back on. The FM was too stiff and gave me a lot of oversteer.
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It really isn't a lot of weight, if memory serves me right it's at most a couple lbs.
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Originally Posted by ScottyP3821
(Post 1115183)
IMO my buddy ran with out a rear sway and we didnt like it at all. The rear end felt like swinging a pick up truck around corners.
Originally Posted by Jeffbucc
(Post 1115187)
It really isn't a lot of weight, if memory serves me right it's at most a couple lbs.
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True, but I mostly removed it since it was ugly, I don't have any carpet or anything in the trunk so I wanted to clean it up a bit. Plus it was sticky so anything you put in there got covered with grime,
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Fm Springs on KYBs
Front springs: 318 lb/in Rear springs: 233 lb/in |
My Silver car has 550/325 FCM Bilsteins. This car is getting 700/400 Xida CS.
318/233 is really soft -- but probably about all the KYBs can handle. I can see how dropping the rear bar would feel lousy with those rates. |
Dude! If you are getting Xida's already just put the big grip kit on it and call it done. Emilio has done all the hard work for you already, just use the configurator and plug in your expected tires.
Everybody that rides in my car is amazed by the suspension. Everybody. |
Car already has the RB front sway and adjustable end links (unfortunately, the RBs). I have a full set of control arms with urethane bushings pre-installed sitting on the workbench (bought these from RHarris for cheap a while back). Bottom line, once I add the Xidas I'll basically have a big grip kit.
Oh, I also picked up some TSE prawns with full hose kit from a friend for $80. They will replace the OEM backing plates that suffered from PO hammering. :party: :party: :party: |
Originally Posted by hornetball
(Post 1115181)
Is removing the tar really worth it? How much weight are we talking about? Looks like a huge PITA to me. |
MSM rear bar on 949's site, or stock
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6 Attachment(s)
A little bit of piddling last night.
Started experimenting with seat bracket shapes. Wanted to see how the Ultrashields would sit with different shapes. Looking at TDR's seat mount as an example, here's one shape I cam up with: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396025477 This one doesn't give a lot of leeway to move the seat back. I'll probably end up having to remove the rear OEM seat bracket bumps. Also mounted the NACA inlet for my planned CAI. I know Emilio says not to overthink it . . . but I can't help myself. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396025477 Business end: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396025477 Won't be much progress this weekend though. Grandson's birthday party in Houston. :party::party::party: |
Love it, i need one of those NACA ducts for my intake too. Where'd you pick that one up?
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FM for $170. Not cheap, but light and functional.
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Originally Posted by hornetball
(Post 1115965)
FM for $170. Not cheap, but light and functional.
Considering I have an TSI, are they sixes? As in, either or work? |
TSIs kinda point towards the bulb part of the headlight when they're down. Amateur aerodynamics says they won't work until the headlights are up, and any benefit is most likely outweighed by the parachute effect of the barn doors. Emphasis on amateur.
The headlight lid however, empties with a direct path to an area many of us place our filters. They're also designed to more or less suck in air, it's not just that tiny 1/2"x3" hole you see. I'd consider the NACA headlight lid a bigger bang for buck over the TSIs. |
Originally Posted by curly
(Post 1116207)
TSIs kinda point towards the bulb part of the headlight when they're down. Amateur aerodynamics says they won't work until the headlights are up, and any benefit is most likely outweighed by the parachute effect of the barn doors. Emphasis on amateur.
The headlight lid however, empties with a direct path to an area many of us place our filters. They're also designed to more or less suck in air, it's not just that tiny 1/2"x3" hole you see. I'd consider the NACA headlight lid a bigger bang for buck over the TSIs. I know the positive air flow around that area isn't amazing but just a thought. |
Again, amateur aerodynamics at work, but I believe air is hitting the fairly vertical part of the bumper below the turn signals and forcing everything past the TSI, not really into. Do some yarn testing with a gopro!
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But seems to me the TSI is much closer to the high-pressure region than the headlight naca intake.
CF is sexseh though. +1 on yarn strings video on the naca duct. |
Originally Posted by curly
(Post 1116310)
Again, amateur aerodynamics at work, but I believe air is hitting the fairly vertical part of the bumper below the turn signals and forcing everything past the TSI, not really into. Do some yarn testing with a gopro!
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If you look at Keith Tanner's Targa car, you'll see the best of both worlds. NACA scoop for daytime running and a TSI for night time. This car will be a daylight-only track car, so I'm just doing a simple NACA scoop.
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I thought about getting some in plastic naca version and just riveting them in. I know its cheap but so am I.
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Nothing at all wrong with a DIY NACA scoop. I traded money for time. I must say, the FM headlight lid is a nice piece. Planning to leave as-is, good looking carbon fiber with a shiny finish.
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Originally Posted by hornetball
(Post 1116656)
Nothing at all wrong with a DIY NACA scoop. I traded money for time. I must say, the FM headlight lid is a nice piece. Planning to leave as-is, good looking carbon fiber with a shiny finish.
Products | Slick Auto -Zach |
Originally Posted by thasac
(Post 1116663)
Is the FM cover the same part as Slick Auto? Looks quite similar and both appear to be proper pre-preg parts unlike the d.original stuffs.
Products | Slick Auto -Zach Targa Miata -Zach |
Update
23 Attachment(s)
A bit more progress:
Tow hooks. Looking racy: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396814057 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 Bought some DEI heat shielding for the transmission tunnel. After scrubbing all the oil, grease and dirt out of the tunnel, installation was cake. I think I'll be doing this to my Silver car too. Small size was plenty (Amazon): https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 Started fabricating the seat brackets. These are loosely based on the TDR design (TDR Seat Rails 90-05). I'm constructing these from 1/8" rolled C-channel steel (Home Depot Racing). Should be really strong and I'll be able to drill a series of holes with welded nuts on the driver's side for seat adjustability. Step 1 was to use some flat stock to get angles and dimensions: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 Ended up with a 10 degree rail angle. This puts the seatback angle of the UltraShield Spec Miata Seat at 15 degrees which, I hope, will work well with my HANS: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 With pattern in hand, started working the C-channel. Cut to length (17.5" total) and then worked the ends. The front end gets a straight hacksaw cut 2.25" from the end, and a notch (where the welded bend will be) 3" from the end. Used a BFH to flatten the end where it will rest against the OEM pad: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 The back end gets a straight hacksaw cut 2" from the end. Again, flattened with the BFH: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 Rounded the edges with a grinder and this is what it looks like: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813598 Bent the ends so it matches the pattern: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813831 Test fit: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1396813831 Still some drilling and welding to come on these. This C-channel is super-easy to weld. The UltraShields sat really nicely on these brackets. Hopefully, they are low enough (I'm a 5'10" type of guy). If not, I'll need to remove the OEM rear pad as described for the TDR "low" option. |
Well , I also happen to be 5' 10", so I definitely want to see how you fit with these! I have a long torso, so I might eventually remove the rear humps. What is involved in that?
Keep up the great work! I ordered my re-route stuff based on your advice and I just might get a new seat setup out of this thread as well! |
I wish I went kirkey after this nightmare if a weekend i mounted a forza sport and I barley clear the broomstick with them mounted to the floor on side mounts.
Is the cage any taller than the hardcore ht roll bar? I'd imagine not but just wondering? |
No. Hardtop dimensions are the limiting factor. Ultra shield!!! Made in Tyler tx.
To remove the rear humps, it looks like you need to drill out some spot welds. |
20 Attachment(s)
Got the seat bases built. I sit-tested my earlier design and felt like it positioned the seat too vertically for comfort. So I redid the dimensions slightly. The design I settled on tilts the base of the seat ~17-18 degrees.
Both sides are basically custom built with surprisingly different finished dimensions. The spacing between the seat supports on the driver's side is noticeably more narrow than on the passenger's side. Kind of surprising, Mazda must have had a reason. To get accurate mounting holes: 1. Drill through the car's floor at the rear bolt holes using a 1/4" bit. 2. Drill the front of the supports and bolt them in. 3. Use a square to get the supports parallel and square to the car. 4. Get under the car with some spray paint and lightly spritz through the 1/4" holes drilled in step 1 to mark the location of the rear holes. 5. Drill the rear holes. This worked great on the driver's side. By the time I got to the passenger's side, I had started drinking beer. Accuracy suffered. I also welded all nuts to the seat bases. The idea here is that everything can be removed and installed with a ratchet or impact gun from the top -- no futzing under the car or messing with backing wrenches. Ideal for trackside work. You can see that the passenger's seat base has a single, fixed position. The driver's seat base has additional nuts welded to support 3 seat positions about an inch apart for adjustability. The cross-brace has 4 welds. The whole thing is built like a brick ****house because the cross-brace provides the mounting point for the harness sub-belt. Some pix: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 The Ultrashield sure is a great fit in the Miata. This is the 16" Spec Miata seat. Lots of room. No sheet metal bashing. And it's darn comfortable too: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 One area I'm concerned about is that when the seat is lined up with the steering wheel, the shoulder harness holes are off-center with respect to the cage's seat-back bar. This is what it looks like: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 So, what do you guys think? Is this acceptable? Or should I add a separate harness bar? Only the driver's side has this issue, passenger's side is fine. Need to get this sorted before I build the seatback braces. I'm leaning towards adding a separate harness bar. Also got the NRG Quick Release installed. It went on a full-size Momo hub (not a short hub) that the PO had installed. I was worried that this would position the wheel to close the driver, but a test sit felt OK. Guess I'll drive it and see. Can always add a short hub later. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 These parts came with the Quick Release. I have no idea what they're for and NRG didn't incude any instructions with the Quick Release (rice!). Anybody have an idea? https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 Also got my brake and fuel lines relocated into a protected position. As much as I like FM's frame rails, I really hate the way they put the brake and fuel lines into harm's way: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398488054 In other news, I gave up on the Jongbloed 15x9's. Ordered Advanti Storm's instead. Hard to argue with 12.2 pound 15x9's for $141 that are in stock. They're on their way. Standby for progress this coming week. Took some vacation time to get this beast on the road! |
They look like horn button grounds rings - the tab likely fits a spade connector. My steering hub came with a similar ring and the instructions indicated it was for horn functionality.
-Zach |
Originally Posted by thasac
(Post 1125822)
They look like horn button grounds rings - the tab likely fits a spade connector. My steering hub came with a similar ring and the instructions indicated it was for horn functionality.
-Zach |
Mmm, dedicated track miata ... tasty ... one day. RE harness stuff, I have no useful suggestions for your situation, will bow to those with greater experience.
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24 Attachment(s)
Busy couple of days.
Suspension work. Freshened up the control arms with poly bushings, grease fittings, new ball joint/tie rod end dust boots and the latest adjusting bolts. The original dust boots were all intact so no wear problems. They were about to go, especially the tie rod end dust boots that are most exposed to brake heat. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 Speaking of brake heat, adding some of Savington's prawns that I picked up used from a friend: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 OCD kicked in. Fixed some more PO body damage and then went to town with the Rustoleum. Couldn't help myself. Damn you JeffBucc, D A M N Y O U !!! LOL. https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 Got a package from Brian Goodwin: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 15x9, and light. Yum: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 There's been some talk of the Advanti Storm spoke design perhaps causing tire mounting issues (although none have been reported). This is how far the spokes really protrude, not much at all: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398833370 Easiest part of the project so far, evaporator delete: https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 Back to the harness, a friend of mine who's a longtime racer suggested that I could fold the shoulder harness webbing to get it centered on the seat better. He mentioned that it is common for race harnesses to get folded to fit 3" webbing into 2" fittings. I mocked up the fold. Looks like this. I dunno? https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1398832850 Going to drop the motor back in tomorrow. Standby. |
Originally Posted by hornetball
(Post 1126834)
OCD kicked in. Fixed some more PO body damage and then went to town with the Rustoleum. Couldn't help myself. Damn you JeffBucc, D A M N Y O U !!! LOL.
. . . Also, you're welcome. :dealwithit: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kUXK6azldF...y-laughter.jpg |
The seat rails look great! nice job!
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Awesome job on the build! I love the seat mounts that you made, I may have to redo mine for my ultrashield and make some new ones similar to yours. Where did you get the evap delete tube? Im in need of one and not sure the best place to find one short of a dealership.
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Rosenthal Mazda has the AC delete tube. It's cheap and way easier than fabbing your own.
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Yep, Rosenthal. They have two items, one is just the tube, the other is a "kit" that has the tube along with 3 rubber plugs to seal the holes left over from removing the evaporator.
On the rails, the key dimension for getting the angle I liked was from the front bolt holes to the bend . . . I used 6.5". You can also make this lower by removing the rear mounting pads and bolting through the floor at the rear. If you do this, you need to shorten the dimension from the front bolt holes to the bend to preserve the same tilt angle. Ran errands today gathering all the doodads for putting the engine back in. Getting to work now. |
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