I am lower than you though. So hopefully the camber I gain will be enough to tuck in the tire.

So far I have about 700 miles on the setup since the tear down. Took the car to its first event and was letting a friend of mine co-drive with me.

A few takeaways:
1. This parking lot sucked. just recently paved and had very little grip on paint lines. R-comp guys were tearing out tar strips, then with recent heavy rains, the low spot in the lot developed a wet spot where the tar got torn out.
2. Had the RS4's at 26psi hot with decent luck given the track surface issues. Still need to drop them down more for future note. Having one hell of a time getting heat in them in such a short time which was a concern at this stage in the build, but it is what it is.
3. Car overall handles good. Havent touched sway bar or damping settings yet as I want to figure out one variable at a time. Was flat foot in slaloms (prior to water being there) which was a first for any of my miata builds.
4. I ran heats 2 and 4. Tar/water issues started sometime in heat 3, which basically meant my heat 4 runs were all trash. That said, my fastest time with tire pressures that were still a little high and a 170 lb passenger in the car got me 11th out of 71 cars raw time overall. If i improved that time by 0.6 seconds, which i knew the car had in it, I would've been sitting pretty in 2nd place overall. A FM2 turbo NB2 on 15x9 225 rival's edged me out of 10th by .011 seconds, so yeah. Given its the cars maiden voyage cone dodging, I'm pretty happy! I got a lot of driver mod to do

The brakes work... (darn newb driver on paint lines and cold tires on turn 1)
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...14c1c26fe9.jpg

Nothing rubs! Quite happy with how flat it corners.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...317938b717.jpg

I have another event coming up this sunday. Conditions should be much better, but the competition will be much stronger with the Milwaukee SCCA chapter. Kinda screwed myself on SCCA classing with build direction, but should be a good reference point to see overall raw times with them.

Droppped pressure down to 24psi hot and had a faster course on rougher pavement which finally got some heat in the tires. Man, what a difference that made! Still haven't touched the damper settings (8 up from soft F, 6 up from soft R).

The T Index here in Milwaukee is fun as there is a lot of competition but with being in the rough CSP multiplier its hard to win. I still managed 3rd, had a lot of time left on the course. Still calibrating driver mod into the fact I can go flat foot in many corners and slaloms and brake much later. Put the hurt on 2 other good friends in their CSP miatas, so there's that. Not to shabby for second time out. Still awaiting raw time listings to be released to see where I fell overall in the 151 cars that ran. Will post up results when they become available.

Weekend spent out at Road America for CAT Nationals. Worked pit crew for a close friend who races spec miata, which was a nice change of pace. They were pretty consistently running 2:44's out there which is quick given the cars.
https://scontent-ort2-2.xx.fbcdn.net...c8&oe=5A35A98A


Got a lot of mixed reviews on my car over the weekend ranging from "man, this car looks to have a serious handling set up on it. You probably have a blast in it" to "oh, you've only autocrossed it so far AND its only stock powertrain. mehh. let me know when you really want to race it". Cant wait to get the car out there, but it likely won't be until next year as that car isn't big track ready yet. I'm getting a rotational clicking noise from the rear of the car under high load cornering. Not sure if that's a sign of diff or CV's or hubs going, but I need to research more. Its fine during typical street driving. Once I figure that out, I need proper seats, harnesses, brake pads, and brake/clutch fluids swapped over before big track day happens. The car is slowly but surely progressing properly though!

well, as many of you who went to MATG know.. there's been a new addition to the family..

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f17708369e.jpg


Playing Mr. Responsible last year selling off my old V to pay off student loans has paid off big time. Have been keeping my eye out for a nice sedan to drive around when I found a raging deal on this thing in Orlando on Wednesday. I couldn't say no... I made the flight from WI down to FL, then drove it up to MATG to hang out with everyone. Sort of sucked not having the Miata there, but overall the car was well received by the community.

Some basic specs:
2009 Cadillac CTS-V
Thunder Gray Chromaflair Paint
Black Recaro Interior
Panoramic Roof
6 speed TR6060 Manual trans

Basic mod list rundown:
Upper/Lower Pulleys
Ported Blower/Snout
ZL1 Lid with reinforced brick
CNC Ported Heads
Custom Grind Cam with Springs/Retainers/Pushrods/Trunions all upgraded
TSP Longtubes, MBRP resonators, 2015 ZL1 mufflers, Akrapovic CF tips
Vadder Dual HX and D3 Ice Box with upgraded HX pump
Flex Fuel Capable (pumps/injectors/sensors all upgraded)
Monster LT1-SC Triple Disk Clutch
Billet Shift Box with Core Short Throw Shifter
Slotted rotors and EBC red pads
...misc cosmetic things like custom grill and aftermarket wheels/tires

Car ran 10.8 @ 136 with a 2.8 second 60' in shitty DA in FL on the 20" wheels/tires and 12% E with previous owner, so its healthy.. power estimate on 93 is ~750whp, on e85 she should be clapping on low 800's.. was surprisingly nimble and controllable to bring up and down the tail as well for what its worth as a 4500lb tank.. Only went WOT in it once so far as I didn't want to break down 1000+ miles from home, and its a down right monster as could be expected. Going through the standard new car inspection now that its home. Plugs, wires, oil change, etc... Yay more projects!

Saw the car but didn't know it was you. You should have posted up in the thread about the event and you could have met up with the rest of us from Miataturbo.net.

title update

but seriously: I love those things. 'grats

I had met a few of the MT guys throughout the day. Was talking with Ben when he was bitchin about his wheel fitment and brake pad selection lol. There's always next year for the rest of you!

Lol I was gonna say someone needs to update the title, congrats on the new V!

Great meeting you this weekend buddy. Congrats on the new ride, next time it will be nice to see the Miata in person.

Thanks David! Great finally getting to pick your brain in person! I think I left my cheap mixing booze in your cooler too, so you're welcome :friday:.:giggle:


Also, a MT member snapped a shot of the V when i was letting it cool down after the tail... figured I'd post a pic of the business end of the car as long as I'm on the topic. just your standard luxury car...
http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t...psguftulho.jpg


The miata has been doing great. I've just been enjoying it now that it's all together, then mentally and financially preparing for what will likely be a winter teardown of some sorts.

That thing sounded awesome. Glad I got to see it at the gap.

Full weekend of racecar things

Took the Caddy to its first drag event on Friday. Less than ideal results as the car was misfiring and just overall very unhappy with life.. I think I may have fouled out plugs or a burnt wire from the drive up from Orlando/MATG.. I made it 3 pitiful passes in and decided to drive it home. Wideband, Plugs, and Wires ordered to begin the (re)tuning process.

Took the Miata to its 3rd AutoX event yesterday. Still learning on the car, haven't touched any of my settings from the first time it got set of the ground since the overhaul, and still finished .490 seconds off the leader (pro driver) on index. Very happy with how this car is performing. I know I have a first place car in this Tire Limited Index once I calibrate the nutcase behind the wheel.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...63c0a3e959.jpg

nice meeting you at the gap!

[QUOTE=Padlock;1428311]https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...14c1c26fe9.jpg


You should show this to someone and convince them the miata if front wheel drive :rofl:

it would be easier to convince the general population that its burning oil... lol

a few pics from this last weekend.. picked up new magnetic numbers.. no more tape! it truly is the little things in life. Also, as can be seen in the pics I can confirm that the RS4's aren't the greatest mud tire

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...be5f21a3db.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...57dc0fc9ac.jpg

How is the car with only rear downforce? Actually curious, not tryin to be a dink

Being honest, I've never driven a car comparable to this so take that for what its worth before taking my opinion as gospel.

I can tell you that as long as you are smooth with your pedal/steering inputs the car is very well balanced right now given current setup (8 clicks up from soft in front and 6 clicks up in rear on the Xidas, 800/500 spring rates, 949 Sway Package with rear bar on softest setting and front bar on stiffer setting, 24psi hot pressure all around in the RS4's). I can make the car rotate however I want by simply modulating the gas pedal through the corner. It just sticks to put simply. My driver mod is playing a huge game of catch up with how capable this car is seeing as I've now only been to 3 events with it as-is. If I had to be critical on the car, I'd say it lacks some initial bite on turn-in unless you transfer the weight forward to "plant" the front end prior to a corner (especially earlier in the run while the tires are a bit cooler). I have plans to make a splitter for it this winter to see how that affects this tendency. I'm expecting a positive impact, but I wont really know the differences until I get there. This is the first car I've owned that I'm messing with aero as well, so there will be a lot to learn in the next year on how it affects balance of the car. Been reading heavily in the aero thread for design ideas and where I want to take the car.

Just got done doing plugs and wires on the V as I was chasing some random misfires... went to start the Miata afterwards and the CEL was flashing.. time for plugs and wires on that as well (maybe coils?).. Yay for project cars

Got plugs/wires done, cleared the CEL. It was a random misfire CEL. Nothing pointed to it being a coil or o2 sensor. Hopefully it doesn't come back, but regardless I'm running the car at another AutoX on sunday.

Currently working on a lip/splitter project for the car and while doing this it had me thinking about rad/brake ducting. Has anyone seen ducts like this put on an NB? I don't have fog light holes in my bumper and am between this and a feed directly from the rad ducting. There seems to be plenty of space in the bumper to run something like this.
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...a3082-orig.jpg

Those look quite nice. I'm into it.

I believe those are custom made by hf-mx5t. That looks like his car.

This is how mud flaps are supposed to be installed right?

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...706ae834b1.jpg

​​​​​​

covered up most of the frontal area of the tires. Used 0.100" black HPDE sheet found at menards. Luckily I just had some laying around. Waiting on lip to come in the mail before finalizing it all
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e2bc090a61.jpg

Just realized that due to my tow strap, the passenger side inlet would be quite difficult to fit properly. Might scratch the idea and go with a rad duct brake inlet concept, which would be nice as then the brake ducts aren't connected to the bumper in any way.

Shooting to be able to remove the bumper/lip and splitter in under 2 minutes once this project is complete. Lots of overthinking (not many pictures) going on right now to make that happen.

I have a spare pair of NB1 fog light bezels.... my ducts are not attached to the bumper. They just sit behind the bumper pretty closely (i need to add some foam to seal it up) using the oem fog light brackets as attachment points, which would be easy/cheap to make copies of, or just source them from someone removing foglights. (Almost everyone, since NB1 foglights are doodoobutts.)

Would be more than happy to drop the bezels in the mail for you for the price of a 6 pack.

Lip came in the mail. Underestimated how low this eBay special brings the edge of the bumper. Currently sitting 2.5" off the ground which is going to be a bit obnoxiously low by time I toss the splitter on it too. still gonna send it!
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a10fe5d2ad.jpg

I like it. I have the same one on my NB1 and have logged plenty of street miles with it way back when.

It's hard to tell on my phone but that looks like the na GV lip.

It's sold as a NB1 GV lip. whether or not its actually any different from an eBay NA one? I have not a clue, nor do I care much. I'm making it work regardless. Splurged and bought all stainless hardware last night. Added corrosion resistance and its stronger than zinc plated, so win-win. Started mounting the cable points to the body and that's about as far as I got. Cutting out the plywood and painting tonight is the plan.

Made decent progress last night on the splitter. Took longer than expected to insure fitment was tight around the subframe as my template wasn't perfect.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2c40b02212.jpg


Harbor Freight swageless fork terminals for 3mm wire are the bee's knees. Rated for 900lbs and very easy to work with. you can disassemble them if needing to vary the length of your cable (ask me how I know). Spent the premium and went with all stainless hardware so hopefully it stays looking pretty. Its stronger than the comparable size zinc plated hardware as well, so its got 2 benefits I suppose if you're willing to pony up with extra bucks.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f3854fa51d.jpg

I still need to mount the outside wire supports (they will be inside the bumper cover going to the unibody rail where the sway bar mounts), but even as it sits right now I'm able to stand on the center of the splitter without issue.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e2774a7344.jpg

Got side support cables mounted
https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...5b&oe=59C5207B

then finally got it painted with front tire spats completed. debating if i want to add a canard of sorts to help toss the air around the tire. The spats are an easy bolt-on option. This entire setup works pretty slick. I can have the bumper cover off with (4) 10mm bolts, (2) 8mm bolts, and the splitter off with 4 quick release hooks right after that.. doesnt take long at all, but i am planning on making the entire setup quick release eventually to make bumper/splitter removal a tool-free operation
https://scontent-ort2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...88&oe=59C61961

I am going to buying the quick release buttons for my front bumper. I take it off way to much to mount my splitter for track days.

Yo dawg, lemme get some detail shots of where you attached the cables car-side when you get a free few minutes.

It's pretty simple if you look at the first pic in my last post. There's an existing threaded hole in the unibody rail forward of the sway bar mount for the side supports. The front supports just use existing holes in the plastic bumper piece where plastic pushpins used to be installed from OEM.

Hrm.... wonder if i was stupid when i tried to avoid using the plastic thing.

id prefer to use a metal point myself, but its so damn convenient and I confirmed the splitter holds my body weight (175lbs) at its center with these mount points so strength isn't really a big concern. I suppose you could mount to the metal piece behind the plastic one, but I honestly didn't look into it much once I verified the plastic mount worked.

Gotcha. I'll try to remember to take pics of what i tried to mount to. Seemed solid.


..... but was absolutely mangled after a few hours of riding on the trailer. SO MANY DOWNFORCES BRO

Finished 44th out of 150 RAW time this last weekend at the Road America Motorplex course.
Final Raw Time Results

I'm 511. My co-driver is 521
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...47b0fd2cd7.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...41bc6f1088.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...63af19a19d.jpg


It was definitely a horsepower course given the elevation changes. I didn't have any power to make it up the hills relative to many of the cars in front of me. The next closest HP car that beat me was ~35hp higher. Excuses aside, I was chasing my tail with getting the suspension setup with the new splitter. Impressive to feel the difference that a chunk of plywood makes as this is my first time dealing with aero ever. Had lots of oversteer on my first run. Xidas were set up at 8 clicks up from soft in the front and 6 in the rear prior to the splitter. Had better luck with them at 12 / 6 so far. Raked the BFW wing up in an attempt to balance it out. I've kept tire pressures as-is for now in an attempt to minimize variables changed. Confident I will get it figured out with a bit more seat time.

Also, didn't have any issues putting over 500 miles on the splitter setup so far. Amazing how much more stable the car is at 65+ mph with it. Mount locations seem to be working as intended (even the plastic crash beam ones). I've bottomed the splitter out a couple times on hard dips in road surfaces and its deflecting up like it should. Didn't even plan this, but the threads for the eye-bolts are taking all the impact when bottoming out as they are the lowest part of the design which is pretty nice. The more fragile plywood has remained untouched.

Did some more engine bay cleaning/deleting

Definitely progress from where I started when I bought it
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bc68f1c7de.png
​​​​​​

Hrmmm... i see you removed the map sensor up on the highest point of that bracket near passenger shock tower. Notice anything weird from doing that? I left it on both of my cars since i couldn't find concrete answers as to what it did.

I actually didn't remove the sensor, you can still see the vac line tucked near the wiring harness from the fuse block. The sensor is still plugged in, but just tucked into the fender. It looks cleaner and that's all I was really going for.

I did some digging and the "boost" sensor (as it is labeled on the sensor) is for the EGR valve. unplugging it would toss a CEL for certain and then render your EGR inoperative, but that wouldn't really change much. I didn't want a CEL to be thrown so I just kept it plugged in for now. This motor won't be in the car forever anyways

Ah. I have EGR removed, i run dat dere jay dee EM ecu.

So really it sounds like i kept that sensor for no good reason, and i can delete everything on that side of the engine bay. Gusta.

Danke, sir!

When I unplugged all those sensors on the MSM, it wouldn't run in boost -- just cut out. Plugged them back in, they worked. EGR already removed and CEL already on.

:dunno:

Doesn't a MSM cut out in boost randomly from factory anyways? :giggle:

well uh I guess so sorta. but this straight up cut OUT. fuel cut. computer was not happy.

I bet my boost line looks like a nice sine wave though even when it's working "properly"

Page 10 is where you can see the sensor referenced. (this is for a NB1 though, so I'm not aware of any differences to a MSM electrically)
http://www.mellens.net/mazda/mazda_m...999_wiring.pdf

Not miata related, but have been working on the tune on the cadillac and driving it around the last 2 weeks as a nice change of pace from the miata

Had a wedding to stand up in a couple weeks ago, groom was a gearhead and wanted a burnout picture with the new wifey.... sooooooo my arm was twisted and I made clouds and god damn murica noises. God I love this car.

Quality burnout right there.

:eek5:

awwwwwwwwwww yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

love the caddy

Local club had an AutoX going on at USAIR Karting track in Shawano WI. Its a fun little course with a ton of elevation changes. Probably my favorite place to AutoX to be honest. Weather was looking bleak at best though, so I decided to see what the V could do and at least be comfortable on the wet, raining, quite miserable day with heated seats and a nice sealed up cabin.

It became apparent quite quickly that this is not an AutoX car.....


Shitty ride along video to get an idea of how it was to wrestle around the track with a wet track, high weight, and high hp. gosh it sounds pretty though...:drool:


videos dont really do it justice.. but in the words of a few guys i took on rides
"i felt like i was going to die 8 times in one lap"
"this is stupid"
"if i didnt know you personally, i'd have been terrified in this ride along"
"WTF do you have done to this thing?!"
"I've never been in a drifting Cadillac before"

Managed 36 out of 88 RAW, 28 out of 88 PAX, and 2nd out of 8th in class.

:laugh:

land yacht + low speed hairpins = d0r1fto

How the car handled on the slow, wet track could best be described as "watching a fat girl ice skate on rollerblades"

i still want one.

drift Caddy @1:16 followed by crashing accord from this weekend

Had my last autox events for the season with Milwaukee this weekend.

Saturday it was dry and I did more digging to figure out how to balance the car out with the splitter. Made consistent improvements throughout the day and was happy with a 3rd place finish out of 8 in the tire limited class.

Today at the event it was raining the entire day. All I have to say is the miata is ABSOLUTELY TRASH to drive in the rain. Between my alignment specs, tire size/selection, and spring rates the car is so unstable in a soaked parking lot at <50 mph speeds. I can definitely see why soft setups are favored in wet conditions after many frustration units were had. I took a fun run at the end of the day in my friends NA8 with FM street-sprung coils and 205 Re71's and ran 4 seconds faster right off the bat. Oh well. Lesson learned = take the caddy to wet events and do v8 drift car things with a warm butt

On the bright side, got some cool photos
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d3f01bca02.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c554c311af.jpg

What did you use to paint the splitter, and how did it hold up to the soaking?

I just used a cheap black Rustoleum enamel and its been holding up well. I put 3 fairly heavy brushed-on coats on it. Water is usually beaded up on top of it when it gets rained on or if I wash the car.

I just obliterated a squirrel with it the other day and to my surprise it didnt even chip the edge. its pretty solid

A few more pictures because why not. I wish there was video of it in the rain. Would be interesting to see if I could notice how the front aero (namely the wheel spats) was working by watching the water spray off the car.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cb82eb9758.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...559e2d3b9b.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ef68055d34.jpg