None. To be blunt, I can't see this as your best option. Cody's results notwithstanding, there are several reasons pro motorsports and OEM's don't use airbags. Without derailing your thread, I'd suggest reviewing what problem you perceive this system will address.
Sorry if that's a buzzkill

 

Late to the party but sub'd now. You had me at the hilighter yellow subframes.

 

It's not a performance concern, it's aesthetics with a nod to performance. I know your hard-core function over form.. i'm just building a passion project that I will enjoy driving, looks good, and can't be criticized for being all show no go.

I don't live in SoCal anymore, otherwise I could just do coilovers. But the roads here are horrible, so I need it raised up a bit for daily but would like it sitting lower at rest. And would like a suspension that if I can get out to a track event, would perform at maybe 8/10ths

 

LOL they were a sight to behold... ouch haha !

 

"performance" is a loosely used term in a world where welded differentials and quick detach upon impact body panels are common....

The goal of air bags is to get a desired stance when parking. If that's your goal, then I won't stop you, but I can't think of any reason I'd want to use them with a primary focus on performance. Air lines, tanks, compressor(s), etc all add unnecessary weight and complexity (and nasty failure modes) to what is generally a fairly simple coil over assembly... and I'll just leave my opinion at that.

 

Nice build! Some very different choices than I’d have made but nice to see a build approached so comprehensively.

It looks like those Destroy or Die knuckles have powder coating over all of the caliper mounting ears, definitely recommend removing all powder where they mount and the bolt head sits. Powdercoat can’t take the pressure and the calipers will loosen as the powder crushes and flakes away. To borrow Emilio’s logic; there’s a reason OEMs leave mounting surfaces bare steel.

 

I’ve seen some nice stuff lately with nose lifts, Porsche’s new 911s keep track of with gps/nav to remember where you use it, and auto raise next time, for speed bumps or driveways. Just a little bag that seals on the shock shaft it self. Pretty slick. Line enters the wheel well like a brake line, you can barely tell. That being said, that’s an OE implemented solution, but I’d love to see what OP can come up with after what he’s already done so far.

 

Nope, sorry. Good luck with it in any case.

 

Nope. The person I spoke with about it at length just got excuses after the first one failed. They even insinuated it may be his brake compound choice. As I mentioned before that person has since switched to a Honed Development delete kit and hasn't had an issue.

 

Thanks for the thoughts on the knuckles... yea that could very well be an issue b/c the powder coat is very thick. So I'll keep an eye out.

Out of curiosity.. .what would you do differently. I like hearing different ideas / perspectives.

 

I wonder if the reposition of the brake clevice to provide more force has something to do with it. The Chase option has (what they call) a 6:1 ratio pedal adapter to help make up for the lack of the booster and to be able to push fluid in the larger cylinder.

I've been thinking about this last night.. so now I'm considering a 2nd "rod coupling" nut to first, ensure the push rod doesn't work itself loose (because there is nothing locking it in place). But also, it would act as a strengthening piece for the push rod. I think a hex nut about 1 inch in length would help add strength.

 

Performance is not a primary focus... but I do want them performance oriented. I understand the risks of bags, and I would never have considered bags on any of my other miatas that were tracked far more often. But this is essentially a street car. Trust me, I get the criticism of bags... they are normally aligned with stanced cars with insane negative camber and just kill performance. That is not this... but I agree it's still not the optimal performance solution.

 

Oh! Oh! Pick me! There are two things that stand out to me as technical changes I'd make:

• Front upper control arm - I don't like the style of slotted and bolted upper ball joint for adjustment. I'd watch out for the same powdercoat cracking issue (and loss of bolt tension) as mentioned on the brake caliper mounts since you need to crank down on these small bolts without washers in order to hold an alignment.
• Brake lines - IMO the use of braided flex line should be kept to a minimum only for moving parts, not as a replacement for hard lines.

Otherwise, the things I'd do differently are generally related to style choices and different use cases for our cars. I'm really enjoying the build and the car is looking great!

 

LOL I don't disagree about the control arm camber adjustment mechanism. I would like to have seen beefier fasteners used with larger surface area for attachment. But we'll see how it goes.

As for the brake lines, 100% agree that hard lines have zero flex and are the optimal choice. I have 30 feet of stainless hard line in my garage, but the tools to get done right were cost prohibitive. And when I spoke to HEL, they told me that many of the race cars they support run all soft lines. So that was good enough for me.

 

Changing the push rod to use a clevis like the OE setup would be is a good option. It just requires drilling the hole in the pedal higher up to change the pedal ratio. Chase choose to make a bracket that bolts to pedal instead of drilling a new hole. The Honed kit comes with a template to drill a new hole 1-11.5" up higher. Thats what I did with my own copy cat setup.

 

Quoting this for importance...

We have a strict rule of ensuring paint is not sandwiched in any critical bolted joints. I believe it was Kpower that had red powder coated wheels on their track car, and they didn't mask the conical surface that the lug nuts interfaced with... Guess who had issues with lug nuts loosening up on track?

 

So update on the car... and this is why I'm happy I didn't try to chase the wiring down myself. The clutch safety switch wasn't' engaging b/c the clutch itself was missing the piece the depresses the plunger when it's pressed in. Something I had missed. The person who sold me these used parts really gave me some junk. Different axles and now this. So I might need a new clutch pedal assembly.
Also the crinkle coat on the valve cover was inhibiting the grounds a little, which I was concerned it might. So he fixed all that. But once he manually pushed the plunger on the clutch.. it was able to crank.

 

Personally, one of the first things I did to my car was bypass that switch so I can start the car without the clutch depressed. Flyin Miata ships their higher torque clutches with a little bracket that slips over the switch/plunger and holds it closed. I made my own with some tin snips, scrap metal, and about 20 minutes of time. You could just connect the wires and delete the switch entirely, or make it a hidden starter interlock switch. Wouldn't prevent bump starts though.

 

Emphasis mine. Not to play devils advocate, but that is often more a matter of age than deception. The bit that actually presses the plunger is just a rubber plug. They disintegrate with age and fall out. Still very annoying. I’ve used a bolt and nut through the hole the rubber plug goes through as a permanent workaround.

Option3, I did something similar but linked a relay into the neutral switch off of the transmission; starts with the clutch pedal up but not if the car is in gear, just in case!

 

Nice... thanks for that.
Well you might have missed it earlier.. but he also sold me rear axles from two different cars (one with a 29mm nut and one with 32mm). But point taken on the clutch. I'll see if I can find a replacement part for that. But the workaround to bypass the switch is an option.