When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I also hate the logo, and the fact that it catches on anything I try to wipe the wing down with. Also think $200+ for a couple square feet of aluminum is a little extreme... Singular is now making endplates that fit the 9LR wing... I've got a set on order.
Ripping off other people's work and selling it for profit to undermine the person/company who originally designed it is not cool. You don't want to buy 9LR product? Buy someone else's, or design your own.
I corrected it for you.
By the way, I did design it myself and have the CAD file to prove it (and no, I have zero intentions on selling to others for reasons noted above).
^ totally agree with you. Nothing wrong with replicating a design for yourself if you have the means to do so. The problem comes when you replicate that design, then turn around and start selling it.
Now, If i see end plates pop up on Left Lane Designs' webstore... :P
Now, If i see end plates pop up on Left Lane Designs' webstore... :P
If anything, this exercise as taught me how easy it is to make money on endplates if you are in the business of it. I don't have any ambitions to offer this though with how saturated the niche market already is.
Ripping off other people's work is not cool. You don't want to buy 9LR product? Buy someone else's, or design your own.
You're kidding me right? Their entire wing mount system is a ripoff of the Singular wing mount kit. And the wings are from Elan! The original kit that launched 9lr into popularity doesn't have anything in it that was "designed" in house so maybe take a chill pill.
Was on the fence on if I wanted to go obnoxious or subdued for endplate color.. I had just enough orange vinyl leftover to do them on both sides, so obnoxious it is!
Their entire wing mount system is a ripoff of the Singular wing mount kit. And the wings are from Elan! The original kit that launched 9lr into popularity doesn't have anything in it that was "designed" in house so maybe take a chill pill.
Continuing the de-rail!
The mounting setup for the pylons on Singular and 9LR is similar for the fact they both mount on the trunk rails. However, they are different in all other parameters. The Singular kit has wedges that sit the pylons vertically, one could argue this is the better method! The profile of the pylon itself is slightly different. You could chalk this one up to "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".
9LR's foil is originally designed within Elan, but the lead engineering consultant(Morlind Engineering) with 9LR was the lead aerodynamicist while that foil was being developed. 9LR also purchased and maintains all rights to the foil now as well as Elan dispursed awhile back.
Back to the thread!
I dunno why the logo is cut-OUT on the end-plates. I had a few end-plates with the logo itched into them instead and it's much cleaner look. I also 100% without a doubt made an add-on for every product "Remove logo +$50" . Sometimes the logo/advertisement is worth more to the business owner than a sale.
I dunno why the logo is cut-OUT on the end-plates.
I'm guessing cost. The 9LR end plates are probably made with a CNC laser cutter and adding additional cuts to that job is likely much cheaper than using some other process to add a logo.
I'm guessing cost. The 9LR end plates are probably made with a CNC laser cutter and adding additional cuts to that job is likely much cheaper than using some other process to add a logo.
--Ian
Nah he uses a CNC router for them. The bit itches it onto the material by doing the same route, just not as deep for the cut-out. So it's actually less expensive to do the itching instead of cut-out. It's even less expensive to do no logo at all! But then again... advertisement and all that jazz.
Back to the thread!
I dunno why the logo is cut-OUT on the end-plates. I had a few end-plates with the logo itched into them instead and it's much cleaner look. I also 100% without a doubt made an add-on for every product "Remove logo +$50" . Sometimes the logo/advertisement is worth more to the business owner than a sale.
I would just like to point out, that this level of logo nonsense should be a war crime. Its one thing to put your logo on it in a concealed area, but to spend all the extra machining time (money) to have an engraved stick figure take up the ENTIRE rad duct is a enough for me to completely lose my mind.
Might as well start selling the all ***** and sturdi bois with required window banners. I've got an idea that 9LR management may like...
I would just like to point out, that this level of logo nonsense should be a war crime. Its one thing to put your logo on it in a concealed area, but to spend all the extra machining time (money) to have an engraved stick figure take up the ENTIRE rad duct is a enough for me to completely lose my mind.
Might as well start selling the all ***** and sturdi bois with required window banners. I've got an idea that 9LR management may like...
/rant
Well, to be fair (LetterKenny* to be ffaaaiirrr). That bigass logo is on the first prototype on my car just before a GLTC race. So Jhony wanted a bigass logo for that new product to be seen. BUT I get your point about logos plastered all over the stuff. Removable stickers would be a lot cooler as well.
Not Miata related, but news nonetheless. Been hammering out the miles on Carol to hopefully get through most of the teething issues associated with buying a 22 year old RV... would rather get them out of the way on a normal camping weekend vs learning them on a track weekend when you are also worrying about your car reliability.
Another 5 hour round trip in the bag. The whole family appreciates the space of the Class A life. Noted a small water leak on one of the faucet inlet lines that I need to fix (had a wet floor one morning), and the rubber hose that attaches the fuel neck to the tank developed a small leak that only shows itself when filling the tank, so I've gotta get those two items nailed down. Other than that, smooth sailing thus far on the rig as long as my wallet can support the ever increasing gas bill. Heading on another 6hr round trip adventure this memorial day weekend to celebrate the last week of my 20's!
The homeowner gods are against me this year... First a required window replacement in April and now you can say hello to my latest "investment" preventing me from being able to afford to race events. This nonsense is discouraging to happen on an already pricey wedding year, but I'm hell bent on making it to MATG in 2 short months no matter what!
For some mental stress relief, I took out my favorite bike in the HD fleet (the Pan America S) and pounded some merciless on and off road miles on it. Such a great "do it all, go anywhere" bike. Suspension of a super moto, top end speed of a 600cc rocket, torque of a big cube vtwin, comfort rivaling any touring bike, and features galore. There's not a whole lot to hate about it overall.
2 weeks before MATG, I wasn't really sure if I was going to make it to be honest. The car was in a pretty sorry state. With help from a few buddies, we crammed a lot of work in a short amount of time
First up was finishing the radiator. Had to mount up the new fan. Decided to use 1 of the 2 provided fans in an attempt to keep weight down and cooling performance at speed high. Cooling is always a battle of compromises and given the cars usage, I figured I'd give up some low speed fan cooling for improved cooling at speed. I made a small sub-harness for the second fan just in case I needed it in a pinch.
Next up was finishing the wrap on the hood. Car was starting to take shape.
I had a friend of mine do me a huge favor and get the wheels and tires mounted up together so I could finally mount them up to the car in the assembled state.
Had the same friend come over to help wrap the corners of the bumper (two man job) so that I could finish up the stripes (one man job). This was all about 1 week out from MATG at this point now
A lot going on in this photo, but the noteworthy items to focus on are the professional awesome splitter mounts being mounted through the front frame rail, which allows for a higher fixed location for the splitter to be mounted (more on that later). The coolant hardline got painted to blend into the bay better. Last but not least, we added the wilwood prop valve to the brake system (which we forgot to do a few weeks prior when first bleeding the brakes).
We mounted the prop valve with one of the first iterations of the Napp Motorsports prop valve bracket. Slick little piece that replaces the OE bracket to the booster. Well worth the $40.
Got the new alumalite splitter made. Same approximate dimensions as the old plywood splitter, but raised up higher thanks to the new front lip I'm using and the pro awesome brackets mentioned earlier. Cables were simply shortened to work at the new ride height. Somewhat surprisingly, the alumalite was essentially the same weight as the plywood setup (~11 lbs). Hopefully it weathers better and is more durable at the higher ride height. I was able to wrap it to match the rest of the car which looks a lot better.
At the new height, you can see the splitter approximately level with the oil pan / subframe, so I dont have to worry about scraping it nearly as much as before. You can also see the elevator bolts keeping that mounting surface as flush as possible for the swagger points.
A few days out to MATG and I finally had the rear end on the ground for the first time in 10 months...
Finished adjusting all my cables and such with the new splitter and got the headlights re-polished and installed and the front end was looking real nice again
As always, the cooling system on this car was no real pain to bleed. The car actually likes having a slight downhill gradiant during filling now with the dual pass radiator on it. This gradiant makes the pressure cap location the highest point in the system with uphill angles coming from engine and radiator, which lets air bubbles move up to where you want them to go. We got it done in 15 mins at 2am in my driveway the day we had to leave for MATG.
Took the car for a brief jog around the block at 2:30am and decided that she was ready for the ~1800mi round trip a couple hrs later. One of the many gas station photos on the way
Other than the obvious vacation joys (or lack thereof) of getting to Fontana with no electricity, the car itself handled the trip beautifully. The RT660's are no joke on the grip scale. I dont know why I waited so long to move to them. The brakes are other worldly, and I'm still admittedly dialing in the brake bias. The cooling system performs just as expected. Even without any ducting, the highest temps I saw at speed were 200F. In stopped traffic in Chicago, I saw it spike to 230F where it then plateaued off and didn't get any higher. I could add that second fan to increase the heat rejection in traffic, but I dont see it as a frequent enough issue to warrant that need given it may make my at-speed temps worse. Inlet ducting will be on the list of to-do's to help improve performance further. The new splitter height is wonderful as I didn't scrape a thing with it the entire weekend. The same could never be said with the old plywood setup (although I do question if raising it up has drastically effected front end downforce generation, more to come on that later when I get it on track). For what it's worth, I'm pretty proud of how my first vinyl wrap job turned out as well. It's not perfect, but I'd bet most people's first time jobs ever are. Got a lot of compliments on the car overall and it just feels good.
It'll be tempting to see what events I can make it to in the coming months before old man winter hits again. Stay tuned...
I always like it when racecars hit the street. Nice work getting it back on the road - it looks great!
I am always jealous when I see you guys run your race cars on the street. Here in Australia and in the state of Victoria especially, if you just change the colour of the badge on the front of a completely stock car you are likely to get pulled over and fined.. Ok so I am exaggerating to make a point, but the authorities here are incredibly negative towards modded cars. Something like the above on the roads here would get pulled over straight away.
Did you manually clearance your header like that or did you let the road do it? Mine scrapes almost everywhere because Colorado highways are not great.
Did you manually clearance your header like that or did you let the road do it? Mine scrapes almost everywhere because Colorado highways are not great.
I had an unexpected heave in the road do it for me at 80mph when I was trailing behind a large truck. To be fair though, almost every kmiata owner that I know either scrapes this section of exhaust or has completely flattened it like me. Now that the "damage" is done, there's no notable performance difference, it isn't leaking, and it doesn't scrape anymore, so I'm letting it ride.
05-18-2022, 07:17 PM
0
(and no, I have zero intentions on selling to others for reasons noted above).
. Sometimes the logo/advertisement is worth more to the business owner than a sale. 
