Yep. All those are things I check, every time. I don't seem to have the exhaust/subframe issues that some have had... lots of room there. I do keep a close eye on the steering rack/ oil pan, becuase it's super tight. If it starts rubbing on the pan, I want to catch that right away. I also keep a close eye on the motor mounts. Since most everything on my car is basically solid mounted, I expect those to be regular consumables.

 

Not much going on here with the NA lately... have an event at the beginning of November. Ordered a new set of 225 Toyo RRs for it. Still waiting on 15x9.5 6ULs (got bumped back another month), and waiting for Nankang CR-S V2s (in 245) to come back in stock for those. I'm hoping the combo will allow me to go to 245s without flares...

My NC has been getting all the love lately... Xidas, Goodwin exhaust and FM wheels. Waiting for FM's NC turbo kit to drop...

 

Fingers crossed you get all the goodies for the NA on time for the next event. I was in the same boat with my NA. Got the 15x9s so I wouldn’t have to put flares on it, then regretted that decision when the 9.5 6ULs became available for preorder. That setup with 225 RRs should be a neck-snapper!

NC’s looking really good too! Did you go with the touring rates on the Xidas? My car with the 16/9k rates is properly stiff, but has become less jarring on the street this week as everything’s started to settle in.

What GWR exhaust setup did you go with as well? Damn, NC talk has me hyped haha.

 

I've been running 225s on 9s on the NA for quite a while now, just needed fresh rubber. I jumped on the 15x9.5 pre-order to try 245s, but they're a few months behind now.

The NC has the GT rate (5/4k) Xidas... it's strictly a street car, so I wanted to keep it comfy. Even with twice the stock spring rate, the damping on the Xidas is so much better than stock that it's noticeably smoother even in normal street driving.

I went with the GWR helmholtz midpipe and 'Super Q' muffler. It's about perfect for my goals with the car, and from what the FM guys told me, will be compatible with their turbo kit. Which is also behind... looks like Q1 2025 now.

 

Solid day at the track yesterday. Although I didn't get my lap times quite where I was hoping, I did set a personal best by 3.7 seconds over pre-K swap. Also won my TT class again, though this time there were only three of us.





The weather was just about perfect, though it was cold in the morning and everyone was having trouble finding grip in the first session. I ended up going 4 off at the end of the main straight, and that cut my session short. I was having some difficulty finding new braking points, and just couldn't get the car stopped and didn't want to take a chance at going off sideways once I got in the marbles. Eventually I figured it out, and my times started dropping. I set my best lap in the first TT session, which was a pretty good time to do it. My closest competition was an S550 Mustang on slicks (I'm still trying to figure out how he got in my class... should have been the next class up), but I had a second on him after the first TT session. He went out in the next HPDE group and fragged his clutch so he didn't make it back for the second TT session.

I was on a run to better my lap time in the second TT session, but had another 'newb' that jumped the line in grid ruin my lap. I thought I gave him plenty of room, but caught him on the third lap (where my tires usually give me the best lap) and he decided to come to a near stop and then point me by mid corner after I already had to slow. I caught him after the session and we talked a bit about TT etiquette... it was his first time, and he thought they were just 'extra laps', not realizing it was a competition session. Later, I talked with the organizers about having a quick TT meeting after the driver's meeting since we're starting to get more new people that don't know what to do. Hopefully that will happen...

His car was pretty cool though, a JDM Toyota Chaser, and he was classed in my class, though a few seconds slower. I did think the giant fireballs on shifts were a little much...



Anyway, I was frustrated, and I knew I had the class win in-hand, so I pulled off early and called it a day.

 

PB lap video... AiM data had the lap at 1:51.22, transponder at 1:51.10

 

Your car looks so good. And nice clean lap, car looks like a hoot, congrats!

I feel your frustration, luckily weve got a consistent "fast crew" now so they never send out the newcomers in the fast run groups. Sometimes I watch videos of the traffic folks have to deal with and it makes me grateful for a proper time attack format and dialed run groups.

 

Yeah man that sucks about the traffic but congrats on the result! PB lap looked clean in the video.

 

Nice driving! Car is incredibly clean and impressive! I love how you wired that brake pressure sensor in for the AIM. Definitely nothing else quite like it for datalogging and objectively analyzing data.

 

Thanks, guys!

Working through the data now... at first glance I was under driving a couple of corners, but the data comparison isn't 100% apples to apples: cell phone app (RaceChrono) vs. AiM. The data corresponds to how I felt about a couple of corners, so I believe it. Car definitely had 1:50s in it.

Brake pressure is a really useful data point if you are able to log it.

Temps and pressures were good throughout the day, though with ambient temps in the mid-high 70s that's expected.

Yesterday, I put the car up on the lift and gave it a good going over. It seems that everything has taken a 'set' at this point, and I didn't find any loose nuts/bolts. I did discover it was weeping from the upper radiator hose at the radiator. Hose clamp looked dodgy so I replaced it with a new one. Something to keep an eye on.



Overall, I'm super pleased with how the car is working, now that the teething issues seem to have been sorted. It's fast, and fun to drive.... ~200 hp really makes a Miata what it should have been.

Another minor gripe about AiM: a camera as expensive as a SmartyCam GP should have better video quality. Also, fiddling with all the camera settings shouldn't require both a computer and the on-screen menus. Everything should be configurable when a computer is connected. Finally, it seems that the camera requires the on-board battery to be charged for stable recording. This battery should charge automatically when the power supply is energized, a 110V wall wart charger shouldn't be the only way to charge it. Overall the AiM stuff is really good... there's just a few things that make you think WTF were the engineers thinking??!

 

Damn, yeah I could see logging brake pressure as being a massive help in analyzing your driving. I have a gut feeling that strong and consistent brake pressure is probably one of my biggest inconsistencies as a driver on track, even though I have ABS now and can feel it activating regularly.

I was going to say, if nothing else, they could've given the camera a wider angle lens. Narrow field of view really kills the sensation of speed on video. The hyper-wide angle lens on the GoPro and Insta360 is the only reason my footage ever looks like it has any pace

 

Ya I've heard that's a common complaint (video quality). For the camera you have to use batteries? My buddies car has his all wired up and I'd swear he said the only issue with the AIM camera was if the memory card got full you obviously wouldn't have footage, but he has his powered off the car so he never worries about batteries..? After messing w/ a gopro, racechronopro on my phone, and an external gps.. the AIM is starting to look pretty darn good. The programmatic automatic triggers for starting recording and logging are slick.

 

Sorry, forgot to reply to this...

The Smarty Cam GP has an internal battery that's designed to provide power when the car power to it is shut off. I've found that if that battery gets low, the camera will randomly shut off, even if it's still got power from the car. It's just annoying that it wasn't designed to charge from vehicle power when connected... then it would never be an issue, but it can ONLY be charged with a wall wart charger that connects in place of the CAN connection from the PDM.

Don't get me wrong, the AiM camera is the best all around solution I've tried yet... but it's a ways from perfect.

 

So, @Fireindc motivated me to do something I've been ignoring for a long time... aero in front of the rear tires. After seeing them in his thread, I bought some cheap eBay spats and installed them today. I used rivets instead of the body tape. Not pretty, but should be good for a minor reduction in drag around the rear tires. Probably good for .003 seconds a lap, LOL.





Also had a pro alignment done last week. Camber was way off, so I'm not sure what I screwed up... Got everything dialed in where is should be now.

Other than that, just going over the car for event prep. Headed for Podium Club in Casa Grande, AZ next Friday. 3 day event, but I'm only able to make Friday unfortunately. It's a track I've yet to drive, though it's been open in AZ for about 3 years... the available dates just never jived with our schedule. Fortunately, the track is available on Assetto Corsa, so I've been hitting the SIM for practice. Hopefully that will shorten the learning curve...

 

Good stuff, man! Love the rear spats on an NA. The concrete effect with that aero is irrelevant as long as it makes you think the car is faster, lol.

What alignment specs are you running? Good luck at the upcoming event!

 

Normally I run -3.2 front/ ~2.8 rear with zero toe up front and a small amount of toe in the rear. Pretty much the SPM race specs.

 

Car is looking good Roda. I was thinking of different aero options for my car but I think I'm going to punt on the decision and just do something like a 9LR street **** for next year. Is that the 9LR air dam you're running or a custom piece? Looks like the opening is larger than the standard 9LR air dam. Your aero looks well thought out.

 

Thanks.

Rear is 9LR **** with Singular endplates. Front is the old school "Supermiata" formula airdam/ply splitter. I got a set of brackets from Trackspeed way back when, the splitter is Home Depot Racing Birch ply, and the airdam is plastic roll from Speedway, cut to fit. The brackets just hang from the frame rails and would be pretty easy to duplicate.

Old pics from building the front:

 

Those rear corner flares look great on your car Chris!! Nice work!

 

Thanks!Good day (mostly) at the track yesterday.

First time at Podium Club at Attessa, which is a newer country club track between Phoenix and Tucson in AZ. I've been trying to get to this track for a couple of years, but the dates have never worked out, until now. Our primary track group (ProAutosports) has been doing a 3 day event there over Thanksgiving weekend the last couple of years. This year I was able to make it, though only the Friday practice day, so I missed out on the TT competition.

The track has some slight elevation change, a number of good technical corners and a long front straight... Saw the highest speeds yet in the Miata, and it was a real brake tester in the CCW direction we ran yesterday.

Track map:





For a new facility in the middle of nowhere, the paddock was very cramped. The actual pit spots were roomy, but the aisles were narrow making maneuvering a trailer in/out a little sketchy. I'm glad I was just in the truck/trailer and not the motorhome. Arriving when the gates opened on Friday, it was already packed by the folks that had arrived Thursday night. I felt bad for the folks showing up on Saturday!



Being a country club track, a few racers arrived in style... Not one, not two, but three private helicopters flew in for the day!



My wife is out of state visiting family for the Holiday, so it was just me and my track buddy for the day.





Once I finish my coffee, I'll get the car unloaded and download data and video... more to come.