Padlock

yes, these are just parts from TRS from my headlight build earlier in this thread.

Padlock

I met a few local miata guys since my job switch in September. Ended up catching up with them and went to a little cruise-in meet. A decent array of build goals between all of us. Pretty awesome that I found a group of guys thats all about function over form while having clean cars. Clean rust free miatas are a tough commodity to find here in WI.

Their cars were as follows:
NA8 with an ITB build in progress. Budget Koni/FM suspension setup. Porsche slate gray paint job


NA8 with budget turbo build in progress. OEM+ sort of build. Simple and clean


NA8 with a 30R on 22psi, E85. Obvious custom paint. There's always that one high hp guy in the group....



Got talking to a guy I see at the track often. Long story short he let me take his 2014 S4 for a rip. Was not expecting him to toss me the keys at random. Nice car, he does insanely well in it locally at events. Reminded me of the Cadillac in some ways but only much more nimble at low speeds. The torque vectoring AWD really is an impressive system during corning, however even for as modified as his is at 400awhp, it is still a pooch in a straight line compared to the Cadillac was bone stock. The motor simply runs out of breath. I'd still likely get another CTS-V before one of these, but i gotta respect them for what they are.


Last but not least. Finally got a decent shot of my car. Its slowly but surely coming together. Proper suspension, wheels, and tires will really bring this car together. I've got everything picked out, its just a matter of saving for it at this point



And the pile of parts to install has officially begun. SadFab Delrin NASA Bushing Package! Very happy with initial quality appearance and packaging. Long lead time to receive parts, but Sean did good work it looks like. Cant wait to replace the OEM junk I have on the car. Thanks for the recommendation guys or I would've made a mistake with a standard energy poly kit

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

really nice collection of cars.

icantlearn

No pics, no care.

Padlock

Installed the Sparco EVO2 with Garagestar rails.

Pros:
Lots of adjustability. Ability to adjust seat distance to pedals with use of 10mm and 12mm ratchet wrench and about 5 mins total.
Delrin spacers are nice to keep your seat from getting scrached up
General construction out of stainless is top notch.
Ratchet wrench makes for easy rail to car tightening.
I now pass the broomstick test with a helmet on

Cons:
Still requires beating the **** out of the trans tunnel to get the seat far enough over to close the door
The shoulder bolster still hits the door panel. Requires a decent slam of the door, but the door will close snug
The laser cut edges (basically every edge on the Garagestar bracket) will cut the **** out of your hands during install if you dont have a pair of gloves on
I found it surprising that I require the seat to be mounted all the way forward. Usually i find myself in the middle of the adjustment range. I'm 5'9"

Anyways

icantlearn

I also have mine all the way forward with my PCI mount and its still slightly too far back. The door should close easier after you "break it in" to the seat. I actually ended up taking the door panel off and sanding the wood structure from the vinyl with a dremel. Helps a lot and it doesn't look like complete crap.

Chilicharger665

iTrader: (2)

How tall are you? I am slightly taller than Padlock at 5'10", but I have very short arms and short legs, so I have to sit pretty close, so these would probably be on the edge of acceptable to me, at best.

Padlock

went for a quick spin with the new seat this afternoon. I'm definitely going to be putting the seat back a few hole locations. hard to get a good feel for seat location until your actually driving. I think you'd be fine with these brackets depending on the seat

Padlock

No new miata updates.. just saving money for the big purchases required on it..

In the meantime, been completing my budget friendly build on my fast vehicle if you remember me starting this 2015 Toyota Corolla LED projector retrofit in my 2004 CBR600RR a few pages back. Used a hard drying and sandable construction adhesive, some cut down PVC adapter joints, and some .100" thick HPDE to seal off the back of the bike headlights.





Hit it all with some semi-gloss paint to blend it all in with the housing



Looking mean was the plan. I think i succeeded!


Bought some 100mm rubber caps to seal everything off, 3M taped the LED drivers to the inside edges of the headlight housings, and did some quick wiring work (dont worry it got zip-tied up a bit better looking than what you see here!)



and the money shots!




Absolutely love how they look. Safe to say this is the only successfully sealed corolla/cbr retrofit in existence. Yay for uniqueness! Cant wait for riding season this year!

Padlock

Still no new Miata updates, which is really pulling at my heart strings as all my friends are out racing and I literally cant because my tires are so dry rotted I deem them unsafe for competitive driving. I have a plan put in place to get out there by mid-summer though, so stay tuned!


...and in other news


The whole reason I sold my Cadillac, got into something cheap again, and started this thread was to be able to say I'm debt free again.. As of today, 2 years after graduation, I'm finally there. 24 years old. Engineering degree paid for by myself. Everything I have is paid off, and my future from a financial perspective is looking friggen fantastic even while playing with cars. To say I'm stoked is an understatement

KMiata

Congrats buddy, well done!

icantlearn

Congrats! Now just don't kill yourself on the bike and you should be good.

turbofan

iTrader: (1)

nice work man. I should have sucked it up and gone that route haha

Padlock

Thanks guys. I've heard a lot of friends with the general statement looking back saying "yeah I wish I would've done that". The interest saved alone on these loans will pay for a set of Miata tires every season

The goal is to not go down, but I know first hand that it can happen. I've already been down once (2 years ago on my first bike), I'll try my darndest not to do that again... public service notice: wear all the gear all the time. I wasn't when I hit some sand in a corner during early riding season while only 2 miles from home, that was a painful and expensive lesson learned after 14 stitches to the forehead. good thing women love scars

I like riding too much to give it up though, there's nothing like the feeling you get riding on something that literally tries to kill you if you overstep your limits. It's made me a better car driver as well.

icantlearn

Its funny (kinda). If you actually think about it....everything that us car people find fun, is fun because the consequence of screwing up is really bad. Its just how we are wired. We like fast cars because the feeling of being on the limit is addicting. Same with bikes.

I used to have a yz125 2 stroke that I used to ride. It was fun, but I do think street riding is more my thing. Il probably get a street bike as an occasional toy eventually.

__clu

Just installed a Sparco Evo in my 99 and have fitment issues myself. I'm afraid I'll smash the window slamming the door so often. It get closed but the door doesn't line up with the body and it pops open when I open the door lol

Padlock

I can agree to that statement. Since my accident, I'm much more aware of risk on my bike. My head is on a constant swivel looking for traffic or road hazards that could spell disaster. I enjoy it as more of a fair weather cruiser than anything most times but don't get me wrong. I still have enough fun to float the front wheel on a 1st gear pull or get rid of the chicken strips on the tires on twisty roads I know that are clear. That said, there is a reason I don't have any intentions on racing my bike and am building this miata instead. The miata is far safer and much more forgiving to drive at its limits.

You probably need to hammer the trans tunnel in more is my guess. Mine contacts but its not as bad as yours sounds like. I'm honestly tempted to get rid of the seat to compromise to something a bit better for DD use like a pair of lotus seats. My shoulders are a bit wide for the sparco i feel like, and the sparco definitely isnt the easiest for access/egress as a DD. that decision is still TBD.

icantlearn

The one thing my bike has taught me well is awareness. And it translates to car driving as well. Which is helpful.

I've also been thinking of putting the stock seat back in my car for DD. But cold leather in the mornings and hot leather in the afternoon is kinda turning me off...

ridethecliche

iTrader: (2)

Well done!

I'm super jealous. I won't have undergrad/grad school loans paid back till I'm 40. YAY DEBT!

__clu

Installing it was a pain, but I think i'll give it a shot when I take the seats out to install a rollbar