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Those headlights look amazing. Interested in doing a set for our demo car? Serious question.
I'd be more than willing to make you a set for a very fair price. I've been doing projector retrofits for people for over 4 years now, actually working on a facebook page to organize all of the projects together for people to reference. Might turn into a decent side gig now that I live closer to a big city. You should have a PM shortly.
Been spending my free time shoveling snow in <10 degree weather, so thats neat (screw this new house with longer driveway). Not much for progress besides sealing the lights back up. They are about as close to factory appearing as you can get from the back. Will do final install when the garage becomes tolerably warm to do some electrical work to get the switchbacks wired in.
In the meantime, trying to nail down a plan of attack for Gridlife seeing as all my fun money was tied up in holiday gifts this month. Got this list of HPDE+ class legal mods with a few questions a few of you may know...
Suspension:
Xidas 800/500
15x10 +25 6UL's
245/40 Maxxis VR1's
Poly Bushings
From what I've read, those the coils/wheels/tires will work together on a NB with a flat fender roll.. anyone experience anything different?
Safety:
HDHCDD
HD Harness Bar
Anyone have nice budget friendly harness recommendations?
Debating running the ultrashield spec miata seats with padding.. the concern there is I fully intend on dailying the car in the summer so it may not be great to entry/exit, comfort is also up for debate given i know the spring rates I'm running won't be soft.. the benefit is they are light, and cheap.. I could use them for track only, but my stock seats are pretty well shot so I'd like to get something nice I can just leave in the car full time
Exterior:
Singular Motorsports NC Hood Vents to help the stock radiator out at the track. I know they work on an NB, just a matter of figuring out the locating dimension.
Rear bumper cut (still need to verify legality)
Good luck being compitive. Miata really doesn't have a chance with the gridlife rule set unless it has a kseries or turbo. Just not enough power.
Hpde+ 1-3rd was in the 1:42-1:43 at gman.
My former 99 car was fairly well developed and did 1:46-1:47. Na maybe 145-150hp. I think it had 1:45 with some newer nt01 or rc01.
Yeah, exactly. But you'll still have a blast so don't worry about it. The Gridlife rule book is pretty open to provide a low barrier to entry to anyone who wants to get on track and compete. If you're looking for more structure, of course there are other organizations like NASA that are better for that environment.
__________________ KPower Industries
Home of the original KMiata Swap
For as much as I'll completely agree with you on the times that the fast HPDE+ guys are running AND that the miata is underpowered compared to some of the competition.. Here's the kicker.. Look at last year's winners
1st place - Volkswagen Jetta
2nd place - 5.0 Mustang
3rd place - Nissan 370Z
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that if you can finish mid-pack or better AND you make it to all the events that you MAY have a chance of doing well. This is all speculation though. If this coming year follows any of the traits that last year did, many competitors in this class did not go to all the events so there were a lot of points left on the table. There are 5 events this year instead of 3, which can only help me IF i make it to all of them.
Regardless of standings, I'm doing Gridlife for fun while hopefully being somewhat competitive during a build process, which can be really hard to fit into. The HPDE+ class fits my end build goals perfectly for what I can afford this coming year. On the flip side, there arent any SCCA classes that I'll be competitive in at all this year so those will just be for fun with friends. The end goal is having this car in TT2 from what I'm working on figuring out now.
No input on wheel/tire fitment, but I'd suggest doing something more than just poly bushings. Either a delrin kit, or a SADFab bronze bearing kit in the poly bushings. The poly is just so damned sticky. No bueno.
I had 30k on my NA6 control arms with the poly and no sticking or binding issues, but i tossed grease in them every oil change as routine maintenance. I installed the zerks in the control arms to make it easy. Mental note for the SadFab kit though. Delrin is a better material for the application, but the price of $610 for the whole package makes me question how much I need it now.. I know I have a clunk going on in the rear of the car at the moment, but havent been able to find the culprit.
Also, I've got a set of 2022 dated Schroth harnesses in the classifieds. Very high quality harnesses. Honestly the only real difference in my experience with the various harness budget levels is comfort and ease of use. The Schroths are remarkably easy to adjust. Not trying to sell you on my harnesses, just giving my honest experience with the Schroth belts.
Moti makes nice stuff, but there's nothing wrong with the Hard Dog bars either.
--Ian
I know I'm not the only one who has had hardtop fitment issues with the hard dog bars. I've got a solid scuff that was left on my hardtop from the constant year long rubbing from the hard dog. Lots of additional squeeking noises as well along bumps from the rubbing.
I'll give a +1 to the Blackbird roll bar over the Hard Dog, since we have both. Either one will do the job, and I've had no issues with the Hard Dog, but I really like the quality, fit, and finish of the Blackbird bar. Plus the harness bar design seems superior, and I love the look of the single diagonal. You'll be fine either way but that's what I would order if I were you.
__________________ KPower Industries
Home of the original KMiata Swap
I agree Moti makes some great stuff. Love how the GT3 bar looks and I've yet to hear a complaint about his stuff. that said, Moti's rollbars carry a bit of a premium in cost for the benefit of looking more "fly for a white guy" on a bit less weight (while potentially having maybe a few less squeaks). personally, I havent had an issue with hard dog bars.
but maybe i'm just making excuses for myself on reasons not to have #allofthecoolthings
I agree Moti makes some great stuff. Love how the GT3 bar looks and I've yet to hear a complaint about his stuff. that said, Moti's rollbars carry a bit of a premium in cost for the benefit of looking more "fly for a white guy" on a bit less weight (while potentially having maybe a few less squeaks). personally, I havent had an issue with hard dog bars.
but maybe i'm just making excuses for myself on reasons not to have #allofthecoolthings
There was a recent discussion on one of the miata facebook groups about how Zerek Fabrication's welds were nicer than Moti's. That was a hilarious thread to watch.
There was a recent discussion on one of the miata facebook groups about how Zerek Fabrication's welds were nicer than Moti's. That was a hilarious thread to watch.
Please link or screenshot said thread. Sounds fantastically comedic to read.
Would also like to see the professional internet weld inspector opinions if screenshots are available.
Postponed the seats and harnesses from the build list for now as Gridlife doesn't require it. I misread the rules, so looks like only a rollbar is necessary from a safety standpoint to pass tech beyond the standard requirements. Shipped cost breakdown for similar bars is $735 for the HD SD with bolt on harness bar vs $820 for the BF SD with welded harness bar. I've heard the BF bar is lighter as well, but don't have any actual comparisons to reference to back that up. Likely I will go with the BF bar due to marginally better fitment reviews and having a welded harness bar is worth the premium to me. Just waiting on payday at this point.
Next up is my wheel decisions... I'm between 15x10 and 15x9..
Emailed 949 and they came back saying that to make the 15x10 6UL fit you need a flat roll on the fenders, liners removed, and their "race" alignment. Those specs are as follows:
4"~ 4.7" front pinch weld height.
Zero rake (with driver and fuel)
3.2° ~ 4.2° depending on pyrometer readings-Front camber:
Caster: ~ 4.0° or max available once you reach camber targets
Front total toe: 0
Rear camber : -2.8°
Rear total toe: +1/16 for <200whp. ~1/8" for greater than 200whp
My concern with running something that aggressive on a DD is tire wear. How hard is that alignment on tires? It's hard to nail down how bad tire wear would be though as its so application specific on power levels, driving style, tire/wheel specs... Speaking of tires, its nice to hear that the Rivals are being offered in 245/40 along with the VR1 which everyone already knows about. Rumor is the ZIII and RS4 will be available in that size as well, but I wouldn't expect that until 2018. Nice to know if I do go 10" wide that there will be tire choices and I wont be abandoned if Maxxis were to stop VR1 production. Gridlife rules state I can run up to a 285mm (200tw) tire per the HPDE+ classing, so I'm speculating the fastest setup would be a 245 Rival on a 10" wide wheel.
My argument to using a 9" wheel. They are nearly plug and play in comparison to a 10" wheel on an NB, less aggressive alignment needed, fit within STR SCCA classing yet, and they are lighter and cheaper with a solid 225 width 200tw tire selection to choose from. Will I lose out on some Gridlife lap time compared to a 245 though? I think so. Will I be less cool for not running the new latest and greatest 15x10 street setup? Definitely. hmm decisions decisions..
12-06-2016, 09:49 AM
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