You know? I don't think the starter is the problem. Check this out from back in 2017

Emphasis added by me. This explains why I never got around to installing the starter. Looks like I got 6 years out of the red top.

Funny enough, that red top that wasn't cutting it in the NB back in 2017 ended up in my 04 WRX. It was being daily driven, which means daily charged, and it did OK as long as you didn't let it sit for too long. Then I pulled it out of the Subaru because I didn't want to strand the new owner so the WRX got a much newer batter and the red top continues to live on in my terrible black NA8 project. It'll go from full charge to just barely able to start the car after 48hrs of sitting disconnected from the car. :giggle: Maybe this stupid yellow top can go live in the NA and I can finally put the red top for bench top 12v duty. Or 11.5v duty, as the case may be.

I'm open to recommendations for a battery, though not looking for excessively tiny, expensive racecar battery. Odyssey PC925 is about as small as I'm comfortable with at the moment.

Hey Gordon, If you ever decide to sell one of those downpipes, I'd be very interested. I picked up a header when I ordered an engine from UK spares a while back. It would be a great replacement for the cast iron boat anchor in the daily.

I don't actually have either of those downpipes, I stole that pic off the interwebs. Maybe @HarryB can hook us both up? I'm still willing to try it.

Honestly, the 01-05 BP6D USDM manifold is a huge improvement over either of the NB1 iron giants and much, much easier to find. They bolt right up to the NB1 downpipe and can be had for well under $100 shipped with the EGR tube and heat shields if you keep your eyes open for dealz. The oddball split J/EUDM downpipe to match the oddball J/EUDM manifold is going to run you around pretty close to that money anyway after Yahoo! Japan auction fees, middle man shenanigans and shipping. This is the primary reason I haven't done it. Would I like to try it out just to see? Of course I would. Do I think its going to be dramatically better than a BP6D manifold in the context of a street car? Probably not.

Our very own @scenturion has done the legwork on this and has dyno numbers: https://www.miataturbo.net/engine-pe...1/#post1569678

It might be fun to log a baseline run with the Megasquirt and the 6D manifold, swap to the J/EUMD y0 manifold and downpipe, then do another run and see if the AFRs change at all. Virtual dyno notwithstanding, that would at least tell you if there is a change, and in which direction.

FWIW I snagged a used Racing Beat NB2 header for ~$150 a while back. Its been wrapped and its ugly, but it still flows exhaust just find. If I wasn't "equipment restricted" I'd run it on the car permanently.

I could possibly source a couple here. The issue is that stock EUDM NB2 downpipes had the cat integrated on them, so it will either be awfully expensive or with the cat chopped off. Will see what I can find.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...fd1351cae9.jpg

​​​​​

ahh, it's natural habitat :laugh:

Some darn fools ( @gesso & @afm ) convinced me to do a trackday, so back to circle-of-life spec:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0e348ee2de.jpg
Disregard pile of broken F-350 in the background, it belongs to a friend.

Goals for today are:

• Racing Beat 4-1 NB1 Header
• Racing Beat Race Connecting Pipe (midpipe)
• V8R Modular B I L L E T Motor Mounts w/62A "Cadillac" poly bushings
• Suspension, brake and chassis bolt check

This was a race to see if I could get this done before heat stroke kicked in.

With the boat anchor iron manifold out, it was the obvious time to install the drivers side mount.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ce754bc396.jpg

With the correct combination of extensions, you can get to the bolts from the wheel well
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d3dd45ad4c.jpg

But it's much easier to come in from the top. You can even get a torque wrench in there. Fasteners were of course installed with blue Loctite.
​​​​​​
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...722f7af175.jpg

Passenger side can slip in from the wheel well between the subframe and frame rail, or you can sneak it in from the front. Again, installed with blue Loctite and torqued to spec when possible.

As I got these second hand there were no instructions, so I just snugged up the crossbolt until the poly just started to deform. The nuts look like they might maybe be elliptical offset distorted thread lock nuts? I'll have to keep an eye on them to make sure my paint shaker doesn't knock them loose.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c4e1685cec.jpg

Header dropped in with only a minimal amount of profanity.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8ea6d01513.jpg

As did the midpipe. Lisle 38350 Exhaust Hangar Removal Tool is still one of my favorites.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7d40cc327e.jpg

Only the one hangar today but still totally worth it.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...70805f6b3b.jpg

Racing Beat Power Pulse Single lives under the car year round so no need to wrestle with it this time. Gotta love that "all stainless steel construction" :giggle:

​​​​​​Front O² sensor is in, but I'm waiting for parts so in an reinstall the rear one. Good thing this is an off highway vehicle that will never be operating on public roads. (¡Hola EPA!)

And as always, I'm waiting for gaskets for the Racing Beat header to midpipe and midpipe to muffler joints. I think I'm going to put some concerted effort into finding an interchange part number for these damn things, buying them from Racing Beat every time I swap exhaust is tiresome. There HAS TO BE a FelPro part that'll fit, I just need to find it.

As my previous one was a M2005, I figured it was time to splash out and buy a new brain bucket. Quick trip to Sonoma and I scored this:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d55df8b570.jpg

I did not intend to buy an "aero" helmet, but this was the best fit for my oddly mishaped head, so I went with it. SA2020 should be good for a while. I'd like to pick up a basic HNRS like a Necksgen Rev but it's not in the cards right now. If someone out there had a used one they want to part with please shoot me a PM. Expired is fine too, as long as it can be recertified.

100°F in the shade so I said fuckit, packed it in. Good progress so far.

Gordon,

which track day are ya going to? I’ll be at Thunder Hill on the 17th with Golden Gate Lotus.

WOOOO! Get ready to be sweaty! I'm signed up with GGLC as well so I'll see you there! :bigtu: No more spots in Intermediate so I signed up in Novice. It's been a LOOOOONG time so I figured that would be safe.

Ugh, Thunderhill in July. I'll be at Sonoma on Thursday, supposed to be 94 there, that's plenty hot enough. :)

--Ian

Racing Beat was kind enough to list an interchange on their product page for the Racing Beat 56301 header to midpipe gasket: Mazda PN LF45-40-305. Dimensions are listed as 74mm OD x 62mm ID x 5mm thick. I actually have a used one of these and the dimensions match up to the listed pretty well. Source vehicle is a 2006-2014 Miata so FEL-PRO 61593 should work great. I can get one for $4.39 from RockAuto at the moment.

The Racing Beat 56302 mufler gasket gets a little weird. They don't list an interchange, and in fact, the website says
but they do have dimensions: 70mm OD x 55mm ID x 5mm Thicc. That's about 2.75" OD and about 2" ID? The midpipe is supposed to be 2.375"/60mm OD so 55mm just does not seem right. Also, that's 0.375" wall on that gasket. I don't remember the RB gasket being so beefy. I smell bullshit.

Horror of horrors I actually measured the midpipe outlet and thanks to the little step in the bore, the minimum ID limit is 60.5mm, maximum allowable OD is 77mm. Exactly the same dimensions I got off the header outlet flange. In fact, both the header outlet flange and the midpipe outlet flange carry the same component PN:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...77fb171c90.jpg
Header outlet flange

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1bc6ccccc6.jpg
Midpipe outlet flange

LOOOOOOOOOL. No wonder the dimensions are identical. Bullshit confirmed.

I chucked my used 56301 between the midpipe and muffler and it seems like it'll be fine. I'm guessing the 56302 Muffler Gasket is designed to work with the stock midpipe? Meh. Rock Auto seems to think its going to cost $10 to ship me a pair of gaskets and hopefully they land some time next week. Yeah, nah. I ordered a pair of the FEL-PRO 61593 from the local Napa $5.99 ea. They should arrive at the store on Wednesday, which would be the day after tomorrow. Lol. Rock Auto be slippin' I guess we'll see on Wednesday if I got this wrong or not.

Yeah, but that's a wet heat. :giggle:

Enh, damp maybe. I used to live in Maryland, THAT's a wet heat. :)

--Ian

I can SMELL coolant under the hood of the NB, but I can't tell where it's coming from >:(

Even with the enormous TSE radiator the cooling system capacity is still under 2 gallons. When I do a coolant swap, I usually do a full gallon of distilled water, half a bottle of Redline Water Wetter and then top off with plain green 50/50 premix, which usually comes out to around 1/4 of the gallon jug. Its just enough antifreeze to keep the corrosion down but still give you the olfactory warning should you have a leak, and won't ruin everyone's day at the track if you puke your cooling system. (I learned this one from the folks at 949/Supermiata) The system is not loosing coolant and it's holding pressure for DAYS after shutdown, so I'm not entirely sure why I'm smelling coolant. I'll probably pressure wash everything under the hood and maybe throw some tracer dye in there and see what develops.

Thunderhill in July is going to be quite the test on the cooling system in the car and I want to make sure it's bulletproof. I've got a couple small modifications I want to do to the ductwork, but other than the smell I think it's ready to go.
​​​​​
Bolt check went fine, they tend not to back out if you don't drive your car ever. Lol. I need to make a decision on the battery and maybe get the car aligned as it's been, quite literally, years since it was last done.

I'm only a little excited. :D

There is this HANS2 for sale

FWIW, we usually stock all the RB gaskets. But $6 at Napa is better lol

track day sounds like fun. I oughta do one of those sometime.

Yeps! I've definitely purchased them from you guys in the past and I really appreciate that you usually keep them in stock. If I was buying other stuff from you guys I'd definitely add 2-3 to my order, because I'm incalculably lazy, but its not really worth making a stand alone order for gaskets.

Ooo! Have you guys played with the Racing Beat 56463 "Race Muffler" for the 99-05? I've not seen it talked about much as yet.

I think MRLS 2018 was my last one? Its embarrassing. But yes, go drive something in anger, it's therapeutic :D
Well, in as much anger as one can reasonably generate from a stock NB at an HPDE anyway :p

Yeah, we did play with that muffler. Dan also put one on Button, I think he's still running it.

In fact, You commented on the videos I posted on my youtube channel haha





If I was smart I'd take your advice and post them as one video :party:

Well, dam sun! If there was any sort of description I'd have know that, and probably have purchased one by now. I'm glad I asked!
I think it's one of the few mufflers that RB still has in stock, damn near everything else is sold out.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6fdf9a278a.jpg

One man brake bleed: complete
I always feel like one bottle of RBF600 isn't enough, but 2 bottle is a waste. Its been how many years and I'm STILL getting SuperBlue dye out of the system, lol

Fel-Pro gasket came in, as expected.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ec7bc910cb.jpg

Fits gr8m8 also as expected
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1f0fdb858e.jpg

PO of the header had a think for orange RTV, I'm not nearly that hacky but I'm also too lazy to clean it.

Protec yo shaft befo yo rek yo shaft:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c0e8d04aca.jpg
Swaggu level: over 9000, to be sure.

Will probably throw some Rotella T6 15w-50 in it along with a new filter, because FSM knows when the last time it was changed. Better safe than sorry.

Maintenance nearly complete, and a whole almost 10 days before trackday! A terrible omen, to be sure.

This time next year: Gordon spends a month wondering if these shock covers will cause overheating :party:

[/size]

It hangs out in the bottom of the Wilwoods. People say you don't need to open the bottom bleeders to flush it, but you do. Back when I was trying to figure out a soft pedal after doing the ABS swap on my car I'd put a couple of gallons of brake fluid through the system and afterwards in desperation I bled the bottom bleeders on the Dynapros. Blue fluid came out, when it wasn't visible anywhere else in the system. (it didn't fix the pedal -- that required a 1" master).

--Ian

That would be T6 15w-40. I had Amsoil on my brain when I typed that out, but with current supply chain fuckery I'm not convinced they can get me 4-5q of 15w50 before the 17th.
Well NOW I'm thinking about it. Hah! I've had these sitting on my desk for probably a year just haven't had an opportunity to install them. Seemed like as good a time as any! If this keeps the fancy Torrington bearings alive a little longer then I'll be happy. How do I know when these need a rebuild anyway? I know you put a billion track hours on them :giggle:

Humm... I've always wondered about this but everyone just keeps preaching "don't touch the lower bleeders" so I've stuck with the conventional wisdom here. It makes sense that if all you want to do is get the air out of the things all you would need to do is open the uppers, but for full fluid flush it feels like you would want to do the lowers as well. I'm out of the fancy Motul fluid at the moment but I might give this a try the next time I've got some on hand. What's the worse that could happen, bleeders start leaking? :hahano:

1) you don't want squish on the poly engine mount bushing, you want to contact the clevis with the sleeve, squishing the poly is where the NVH starts getting not fun
2) Check any silicone hoses for the coolant leak. They *will* start to seep over time, Ben found that out on Eiffel.

Yeah thanks for reminding me. I need to order oem heater hoses and throw that trash in the trash.

There is a sleeve in the V8R bushing? If that's the case then its reaaaaaal short. If I can squish the poly then I'm guessing there is no sleeve, or the sleeve is too short. I have room to keep cranking on these things.
Interesting, good to know. I've got a positively ancient Gates Racing blue silicone hose on the pump inlet, and some Crapimoto hoses on the heater. The other stuff is new Vibrant silicone that I bought to go with the reroute install.
What's in there now? Curious how long they lasted for you.

Of course if its anything like you and clutch slave cylinders, I expect you change your hoses every time you change your oil. :giggle:

Yah, am definitely going to be bringing the sun block and ice water! I wear a karting suit when I track the Exocet. Plenty cool on the track unless I’m stuck on the grid but man it gets toasty when I’m in the pits!

So, are you going to give me a ride along so you can do a spin out to show me what you have learned since that time I gave you a ride years ago?😄

Your welcome to go on a ride with me. Don’t have the turbo installed yet so won’t feel as aggressive as Geoff’s ride. Here’s a video from last week at LS playing around with the Garmin Catalyst

I fought a similar fight last year with my V8R motor mounts. The problem was that the sleeve was too thin for the bushing and the clevis would clamp on the bushing effectively negating the usefulness of the bushings.

https://www.miataturbo.net/engine-pe...-fixed-104358/

https://www.clubroadster.net/cdn-cgi...17-png.150491/

Biggest challenge is that since the screws are upside down you have to remember to flip which way is loosening/tightening. Don't strip them!

--Ian

HAH! Thanks for the link to the thread, thats outrageous!

I really didn't want to but in the ended I zipped up my jorts, putting on my safely flops, and ripped the driver side mount out in order to check. As far as I can tell, mine are also too short by what I perceive as exactly 3mm. How much you want to be the steel "ears" on the clevis are exactly 3mm thick? lol. I'll measure it tomorrow to find out.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a8038d7957.jpg

That would have crushed the hell out of the "lips" on the edges of the bushings causing the NVH nightmare that you and @boileralum was referring to. So I guess I need to make a set.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...45ab39219e.jpg

Steel sleeve as provided by V8R is a nominal 7/8" OD tube

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b84f654591.jpg

With a 1/2" nominal ID. I don't have any steel but I do have some 0.875" aluminum bar stock, which for this application should be fine. Plus aluminum is lighter than steel. Gram strategy bro. #becauseracecar

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a597f2fb93.jpg

Inside of the "clevis" is 60mm. I love mixing imperial and metric :giggle:

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5551880a04.jpg

Width on the bushing is close enough that it shouldn't matter.

Knock out some slugs on the Porta-Bandsaw
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8868672886.jpg

Overlength slugs I might add.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...f9c76dde31.jpg

With beer #3 in hand its off to the mini lathe where they are faced, as is tradition.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...92537c2a2a.jpg

Then flipped the cut to length. P R E C I S I O N. Almost makes it look like I know WTF I'm doing.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9cb7a3fc7b.jpg

Center drilled, then through drilled with whatever random drill bit was on the bench (15/64" maybe?)

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...01c56e83f1.jpg

Then blast her through with the "big" 1/2" drill. Note to self: mini-lathe does not like 1/2" drill

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...82828c2eec.jpg

A little debur and ready to rock.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a5bce18d3e.jpg

Fits gr8 m8. They came out just long enough to push into the clevis and hold themselves in place between the "ears"

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...43d4f74901.jpg

Then make another one just like it!

Hopefully V8R made these things consistently enough that I can chuck this one back in tomorrow morning, retorque everything, then pull the passenger side one and do the swap on that side. Bleh. I appriciate the heads up there @andym

I'm thread-dyslexic anyway, so 50/50/80 rule applies (if given a 50/50 chance, 80% of the time I'll pick the wrong one) kind like USB-A plug.

Life can be so good with a lathe on hand :cool: nice work!

Gordon, do you know the OD of the bushing itself, just out of interest

Whatever 949 sells (Mishimoto? Which would probably explain my experience). They started seeping coolant after about... 50 miles? Not enough to be visible, but it reeks and coolant level very slowly goes down.

All silicone hoses I have tried over the years do the same; slowly "sweat" coolant, they are all a bit permeable. This (and the shiny finishing) is why I hate them. On the other hand, I love OEM-style spring clamps, so I am not exactly sane...

I agree with everything you said here.

Interesting find this morning while doing sleeve R&R on pax side:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c6160ef12a.jpg

That looks an awful lot like contact.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d833068c6d.jpg

Looking at the clearances when assembled, the only way to fix that would be to take a slice out of the aluminum bushing eye with something like a mill. Contact would completely negate any function of the bushing and I'm pretty sure Cadillacs aren't designed with metal-to-metal contact in the engine mounts. Sent her all the way anyway, we'll see if it's an actual problem.

Another interesting find:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...96fdd1fd8b.jpg
Please forgive the samsquanch legs and jorts, it's already 85° out here this morning. :giggle:

The poly bushing isn't completely supported by the ears of the clevis. I don't know if it actually matters, it just seems like an odd design choice. Or hacky oversight. Either way I don't really like it.
​​​​​​

First two pics are why i hate everything right now, got it.

Last picture doesn't matter.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7068aae20c.gif

*Last pic doesn't matter now that you have a proper length sleeve so that the bushing isn't getting squooshed.

Bushing outside the cradle isn't really an issue. The support is on the center tube. It'll just move fore-aft a little more.

@der_vierte Sure, here you go!https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c1f1251fdb.jpg

​​​​​​I get all of that, it just seems like an extra 1/4" of material would not be out of place here. Of course, maybe having this part unsupported helps cut down on NVH though surely that doesn't matter if the aluminum eye is making contact with the inside of the clevis/cradle. If I pull the passenger side one to modify it I might as well just do both. Lots of extra wall thicknesses there to work with, this isn't exactly a high stres application.

Does the passenger side mount end up in compression under acceleration or deceleration loads?

It’s probably more a case of not accounting for the length of the bends, and then also getting caught by having the holes ending up too low also.

Oh for sure. I can totally see the cascade of failures that would lead to something like this, but that's ostensibly what QC is for :giggle:

I found oil dripping out of my fancy ass K&N intake, which is annoying. Pulled it apart and drivers side valve cover vent has been blubbering oil into the intake for probably quite a while. Mopped it up, cleaned out the crossover tube, throttle body, MAF and couplers, cleaned, dried and re-oiled the K&N, then reassembled.

This time, with my little Moroso catch can:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...386cba9582.jpg

The lines are a bit small, but it's all downhill to the can and then all uphill back to the nipple on the intake so I'm hoping it'll be fine. I was REALLY spoiled by the IJ Teflon Crank Scraper in the forged boost motor, that thing made so little oil vapor that I didn't need a can at all. Someday after I get off my ass and sell my turbo stuff and I have money to spend on Miata things, the Radium Dual Catch Can Kit for the 90-05 Miata is going to be on the short list of things I'd like to add to the car.

Also spent some time today working on ducting.

​​​​​​I've been using a factory undertray on this car since day one. Even when I had the big intercooler in there, I was using a cut up factory unit. On the NB1 A/C condenser, there is a little lip and a foam seal that closes up the space between the undertray and the bottom of said condenser. Remove the condenser and you end up with an enormous gap below the radiator:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4b4de51f12.jpg

It's a large enough gap that you can actually see from the mouth, under the radiator and out the back of the undertray underneath the car.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c6e80a4e37.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...548b713cec.jpg

YUGE gap. It wasn't a big deal when I had an intercooler shoved in there blocking the hole but now it's more of a problem. So, I decided to address it.

I had some ABS sheet leftover from another project, seemed to be as good as anything else for this task.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ba2bebb322.jpg

I started by making a CAD template that I could shove in there and cut to fit.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...386f574a1b.jpg

Then transferred the measurements to the ABS and started by scoring it.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c5b3e6169c.jpg

WHAT DID THE FIVE FINGERS SAY TO THE FACE?!



And that's how you get super clean edges while working with ABS.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d2f004856e.jpg

I used a piece of 1/16" aluminum 90° on the backside to give it some rigidity.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...29a9fa04d9.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8c0dccaa5f.jpg

And used way too many fasteners, as is my way. I wanted this bolted to the factory air guide bit didn't want it to deflect a whole bunch, so a section of steel sheet metal 90° was added to back it up on the underside.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...17cbf7467d.jpg

That makes the whole assembly noticeably more rigid and adds almost no weight.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ea4f1bdadc.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4c7dc84a9c.jpg

And now, the enormous gap is closed. Also added some bulb seal to keep the ABS off the aluminum radiator. w00t!

There's still gaps at the left and right sides allowing some air around the radiator, but it's a hell of a lot better than it was. When I rip this all out and redo it, I'll probably attach my filler panel to the lower radiator support rather than the undertray or air guide. It's a much better mounting location, I just didn't want to it today because I really didn't feel like removing the whole nose and air guide. 80/20 after all. This is a significant improvement and should get me through the trackday on the 17th.

​​​​​

Hm, crank scraper, or just the fact that it was a new-built, low-milage, nicely-toleranced motor?

No scraper in mine and it also makes very little oil vapor. Not even when it's running. :)

--Ian

I'm not sure if I'd go as far as to call that motor "nicely-toleranced" :giggle:
I believe this motor is pretty fresh, but it's got a weird history. It's a Haag SM motor that landed in someone's NB1 street car after a Mazda dealership botched an oil change and needed a fresh motor fast. Dudebro wrecked the car, friend bought it, and I got the motor from him. I believe there's something like 30k on it.

Lol. Always nice when they aren't emitting oil while sitting in the garage :rolleyes:
Semi-related, how's your RX7 doing? :p

​​​​​

Gets driven more often and has fewer oil leaks than my Miata. :) Also has a current smog cert!

--Ian

Maybe, but probably not. Ducting is really a case of do it well, or don't bother. Because air flows so easily, it will always take the path of least resistance. You need to look closely at where the air paths are - around, above and below the radiator, as well as forward out through the bumper skin.

That is a decent start, and will probably be sufficient for an atmo car, but I am not sure how it will handle a track day if your hot weather continues. Suck it and see I guess, but keep a good eye on the coolant temperature...

I find your lack of aerodynamic friendly hardware appalling.

BRB parting out car :giggle:
That's all it was ever intended to be ;)
It was fine for turbo car at 300hp :dunno:
I've previously done a trackday at Thunderhill in August so NBD, but thanks for the concern. I plan on keeping an eye on it :bigtu:
Yeah, but now it's kinda like the ghetto automotive version of a grill!

​​​​​​https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...-Paul_Wall.jpg

​​​​​

The NB does have a bit of a "bachelor lean" at the moment

I removed my driver motor mount over the weekend and came to the same conclusion that that bushing looks pushed in and metal-to-metal contact must have been happening. I am not sure what the fix is though.

pics or it didn't happen :giggle:
But seriously, go put this in your engine mount thread. Nobody is going to find that information buried in this thread along with a with a billion posts of me whinging about my car. ;)

Engine filled with fresh Rotella T6 15w40, 6 speed full of Amsoil MTG 75w90.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...438d6ce7e5.jpg

Fuck these Capri-sun bags. GABAGE!
No seriously, you can't even recycle these things. Bag seems to be fine for diff, trash for transmission. Bigly hate.
I've got the SVG 75-90 for the diff so I'll get that done this morning too.

Pulled that "full contact" passenger side engine mount last night and replaced it with a Mazdacomp. Interior resonance is MUCH better, which is pretty damning. I've got a couple ideas to fix this, will work on this later.

I loved it for the diff :) gearbox IDK, I have a 10€ china syphon pump, best thing EVER to fill gear boxes! ->

Just fill the transmission through the turret?

True dat, but 5 speeds from the side ands lots of other cars aswell. It's just so fast and easy

The car did surprising ok for trackday! I however, did not. I missed the first session of the day due to being poorly prepared and the 4th session right before lunch due to feeling generally horrible and sick, but it all worked out in the end.

The borrowed, chunky RS4s on chonky gold RPF1 "reps" make for a weighty and visually memorable combination :giggle:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cc609ae15f.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2c7cd79f44.jpg

But beggars can't be choosers and I do greatly appreciate the loan on the rim n tire combo! This has pushed me to commit to wearing out a set of RS4s or VR1s in 2022 :bigtu:

Part of that lack of preparation means I forgot the GoPro so no videos for the "Bad track driving" thread. End of my first full lap of my first session I did a most spectacular full loop and 4 off into the infield between 1 and 2 at Thunderhill West, which would have made for some excellent commentary. Remember boys and girls, both feet in! I spent the entire rest of that lap trying to pull my seat out of my ass and waiting for the black flag I knew was coming. Good thing such actions are fairly forgivable in Novice run groups.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, basically me relearning how to drive while fighting exhaustion, sleep deprivation and dehydration. Lunch helped A LOT and I felt much more comfortable on track by the end of the day.

I am very glad that at the last minute I threw the catch can in the car because it was putting in work:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...79b02e08cc.jpg

I brimmed the poor thing during each 20min session. My oil was a touch overfilled at the beginning of the day, but it wasn't MASSIVELY overfilled.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bfe93504e5.jpg

I collected the contents of the catch can throughout the day and it came out to about 1/3 or maybe 1/2 of a Gatorade bottle. I can't imagine all of this oil would have been good for the engine to ingest via the intake tract and then deposited into the exhaust. If I'm going to keep using this engine for trackday things, I'm going to need to look into better baffling in the valve cover and a much better catch can setup.

The drive home from the track is about 45 miles, and I managed to collect another 3/8" of oil in the bottom of the catch can:

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https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cd25fbfdb8.jpg

The little gold flecks in there are interesting, but I suspect that's coming off the scrubber material in the catch can rather than anything nefarious emanating forth from the engine. I'll probably drain the oil pan into a clear container so I can check it for garbage, cut open the filter, go nuts and send a sample to Blackstone... lots of options here to suit my OCD.

The car held up better than I did in the obnoxiously high ambient temps.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2884085f8c.png

80/20 ducting, bigly TSE radiator and 949Racing Supermiata Reroute FTW. Lots of people struggling with the heat packed it in and skipped the last session at this particular Lotus Club event, but I had no such problems. It's just great when things work as expected.

I had a lot of fun and I'd love to do more, definitely looking forward to the next one.
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