Miata LFX Swap (Singular Motorsports & Good-Win Racing)
10-25-2017, 02:54 PM
#727
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Aluminum is lighter than titanium and is a popular material for those things at way less cost. If you're going to jump to that kind of cost level for those items, then you're roughly on par with composites and composites will be way lighter.
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11-07-2017, 06:37 PM
#728
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Superlap Battle is two days away! Since MRLS, there have been many updates. Since I'm currently running around like crazy getting the finishing touches done on both my car and the shop's ND before the event, I'll have to keep the update brief for now.
CCP Fab composite doors with my special request for a kevlar inner layer to help with debris protection. Very light, 5.55 lbs per door without hardware/latches. The aluminum rod was added to help with flex:
Beginning to add more of the aero package I have planned for this car, new side skirts/barge boards and rear tire spats fabbed up to control the air down the side of the car:
The apparent simplicity of these when you look at them really belies the complexity of making them. There are several pieces that go into the full thing, not to mention a full array of brackets for mounting and completely re-engineering the way you put the car on a lift or jack stands. The jack stand points are now these little removable units that have threaded tops that screw up through the barge boards in to receivers welded to the car so that when you remove them there's only a nice flat surface left:
Also needed a jack point to lift the car from when at the track. The barge boards are too low/stick out too far to put a jack under the car. Moti recently solved this same thing elegantly on Creampuff with a receiver welded to the cage and a removable lift arm and I mimicked that design, but with mine located on a more rearward cage point since my doors have to swing open:
The receiver sits flush with the outer door face when the door is closed. Don't have a pic of the removable lift arm but it slides into the receiver:
Further cutting weight, Buttonwillow has no sound limits. No need for extra weight in the exhaust for this event. Going full race car, no cat and minimal muffler. Dropped 10.5 lbs in total from the car. I will be packing ear plugs for this one.
Small titanium heat shield on the barge board:
Side of the car in the new SLB config:
Finally, adding all the downforce possible was high on the must-do list for SLB. Two weeks ago Moti and I spent 60+ hours over a weekend working on our evil world domination plans to build new next-level splitters for both Creampuff and this car. Design and mold construction took a massive amount of time, and there was only enough time to (barely) finish one splitter before SLB so we made the call that Creampuff should get that splitter.
I CAN'T WAIT for you guys to see what we have been cooking up on the new splitters, that will debut on Creampuff in a couple days. BUT that also means I'm still on my old generation splitter for this event. In an effort to maximize downforce production with what I have, with the little time I had left I put together add-on splitter extensions. Nothing advanced but it will be effective. These increase splitter total width by 10".
To help balance the front additions, the rear wing gets some "go big or go home" endplates.
Car is on deck at the alignment shop, sans splitter:
CCP Fab composite doors with my special request for a kevlar inner layer to help with debris protection. Very light, 5.55 lbs per door without hardware/latches. The aluminum rod was added to help with flex:
Beginning to add more of the aero package I have planned for this car, new side skirts/barge boards and rear tire spats fabbed up to control the air down the side of the car:
The apparent simplicity of these when you look at them really belies the complexity of making them. There are several pieces that go into the full thing, not to mention a full array of brackets for mounting and completely re-engineering the way you put the car on a lift or jack stands. The jack stand points are now these little removable units that have threaded tops that screw up through the barge boards in to receivers welded to the car so that when you remove them there's only a nice flat surface left:
Also needed a jack point to lift the car from when at the track. The barge boards are too low/stick out too far to put a jack under the car. Moti recently solved this same thing elegantly on Creampuff with a receiver welded to the cage and a removable lift arm and I mimicked that design, but with mine located on a more rearward cage point since my doors have to swing open:
The receiver sits flush with the outer door face when the door is closed. Don't have a pic of the removable lift arm but it slides into the receiver:
Further cutting weight, Buttonwillow has no sound limits. No need for extra weight in the exhaust for this event. Going full race car, no cat and minimal muffler. Dropped 10.5 lbs in total from the car. I will be packing ear plugs for this one.
Small titanium heat shield on the barge board:
Side of the car in the new SLB config:
Finally, adding all the downforce possible was high on the must-do list for SLB. Two weeks ago Moti and I spent 60+ hours over a weekend working on our evil world domination plans to build new next-level splitters for both Creampuff and this car. Design and mold construction took a massive amount of time, and there was only enough time to (barely) finish one splitter before SLB so we made the call that Creampuff should get that splitter.
I CAN'T WAIT for you guys to see what we have been cooking up on the new splitters, that will debut on Creampuff in a couple days. BUT that also means I'm still on my old generation splitter for this event. In an effort to maximize downforce production with what I have, with the little time I had left I put together add-on splitter extensions. Nothing advanced but it will be effective. These increase splitter total width by 10".
To help balance the front additions, the rear wing gets some "go big or go home" endplates.
Car is on deck at the alignment shop, sans splitter:
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11-08-2017, 11:09 AM
#730
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Love it! Huge kudos to your profound attention to detail. Best of luck with the rest of your season as well, looking forward to future updates and wins.
I just picked up my first dedicated track car (evo 8) earlier this year and am hoping to get my feet wet in GTA's limited class next year. If you find yourself competing out in the midwest anytime let me know, I'd love to see the car in person.
I just picked up my first dedicated track car (evo 8) earlier this year and am hoping to get my feet wet in GTA's limited class next year. If you find yourself competing out in the midwest anytime let me know, I'd love to see the car in person.
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11-08-2017, 03:48 PM
#732
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Don't have pics unfortunately, but I made a rear block off panel that closed the gap from the spat to the factory fender, riveted to the spat and bolts to the lip inside the front of the rear fender via rivet nuts in the factory body.
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11-12-2017, 06:25 AM
#738
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Superlap Battle 2017; the year-end finale of North American time attack.
aka "Miatas aren't good time attack cars"
With just an initial shakedown at ACS and a demo weekend at Laguna Seca to get the car roughly sorted out and work through initial teething, it was a race against time in the final weeks before Superlap Battle to finish and dial in as much as there was time for. I have huge faith in the recipe being built here, but always the realist, I kept expectations light because I haven't yet had time to optimize so many areas of the car the way I have envisioned. To be in contention for a podium spot at the car's first SLB would be superb. Also hovering in the shadows of this event was the chance to do something no Miata has done before; go sub-1:50 at Buttonwillow CW13. I know the car will be able to do it, but on the street tires we'll be running for Limited RWD? That is a tall order. The long-standing Miata lap record has been a 1:52.2 - that from a 400whp car on 275 Hoosiers.
We had our share of snags to work through. Spent three full days on aero improvements that we ended up unable to finish in time, and then spent another day making "plan B" aero additions. With just days to go we discovered a critical issue with the spherical bearings in the rear suspension and had to swap to factory arms with factory rubber bushings. Then, a day before the event we were swapping clutch master cylinders still chasing clutch engagement issues. BUT we got things done and and showed up to SLB with a solid running car.
This year's Limited Rear Wheel Drive lineup was stacked. SIXTEEN competitors - the most of any class this year. Porsche GT3s (yes, plural), Viper ACR, boosted S2000s, LS swapped M3s, great drivers, the list went on. This is the arena we built the HyperMiata for.
Day 1 was on old tires. With practically no prior setup time and running more aero additions here that we hadn't had at the initial shakedowns, the race for us was to get setup dialed in quickly. It was game on during the open practice session - every time in off the track we did a full setup sheet on the car. Prior to the event I had also written up a download sheet for me as the driver to fill out after every session - this worked great, my girlfriend would hand me the clipboard while I was still in the car and I would take a minute to go over the previous session while it was vivid in my head and note the changes I needed both with the car and with how I was driving. As an amateur driver, this proved a really valuable tool.
I had early thoughts of perhaps sandbagging if it looked like we were in the hunt for a podium spot since the turbo guys could turn up the power if they were feeling pressure early. But first, I felt it would be wise to just go out there and get a good solid time on the board during the first session that counts, because you never know what might happen and what challenges you may face later on.
First time attack session, 1:50.9. Already broke the Miata lap record. OOPS, so much for sandbagging. Even better, we were sitting in first! Change of tactics then, let's give it everything and let them chase us if they can. By the end of day 1 the sub-1:50 was in the bag with a 1:49.9!
Unofficial results at the end of day 1 had us in P1 with 2nd through 6th all scrambling for position in the 1:51-1:52 range. No point holding back now, for day 2 we swapped to fresh tires for the cool morning session, but I made the error of getting to grid late and had to go out in the back of the pack. I spent four laps carving through the field, and finally by lap 5 had clean track ahead but the tires were over temp.
Track temp was up substantially by session 2 but with good data from day 1 at these temps we dialed in what should work well and went out. I was still adjusting to what the car is capable of doing and beginning to feel comfortable with it. 1:48.7! Session 3, hottest and thus slowest of the day. Still found a cleaner line and another two tenths of a second. 1:48.5!
Session 4, the Superlap session. First flyer was feeling amazing - first time flat on the throttle from the exit of cotton corners through the right/left kink all the way to braking for bus stop. Nearly flat through the entire high-speed section of Riverside at 110+ mph. The car was magic. Then an Evo caught fire and the track was red flagged. That gave the tires some time to cool at least. We did a lap under yellow and then it was back to green. Another lap feeling better than ever, just flying - right until I caught up to another car at the worst time - in the middle of Sweeper where it's nearly impossible to pass until after the esses. Another throw-away lap. I slowed to let that car go and went for it again. Tires were getting hot now and it didn't feel as quick. Still set a 1:48.483!!!
Final results -
No other car in Limited RWD went under 1:51, my final time took the win by nearly 3 full seconds. Further, we were only hundredths of a second off from the fastest overall Limited class time. And the previous Miata lap record? Nearly 3 seconds below that, on the street tires.
On the podium, collected the champagne, big fake check and plaque and then yes, I yelled “Miata is the answer” to the crowd of (mostly) non-Miata drivers
On top of all this, we had a ridiculous Miata turn-out at the event, with the largest number of one single car make represented there. While I was cleaning up in Limited, Emilio took the win in Unlimited! Moti and Aaron both set new PBs, and there were probably several more Miata achievements there that I’m not thinking of. This was one for the books.
aka "Miatas aren't good time attack cars"
With just an initial shakedown at ACS and a demo weekend at Laguna Seca to get the car roughly sorted out and work through initial teething, it was a race against time in the final weeks before Superlap Battle to finish and dial in as much as there was time for. I have huge faith in the recipe being built here, but always the realist, I kept expectations light because I haven't yet had time to optimize so many areas of the car the way I have envisioned. To be in contention for a podium spot at the car's first SLB would be superb. Also hovering in the shadows of this event was the chance to do something no Miata has done before; go sub-1:50 at Buttonwillow CW13. I know the car will be able to do it, but on the street tires we'll be running for Limited RWD? That is a tall order. The long-standing Miata lap record has been a 1:52.2 - that from a 400whp car on 275 Hoosiers.
We had our share of snags to work through. Spent three full days on aero improvements that we ended up unable to finish in time, and then spent another day making "plan B" aero additions. With just days to go we discovered a critical issue with the spherical bearings in the rear suspension and had to swap to factory arms with factory rubber bushings. Then, a day before the event we were swapping clutch master cylinders still chasing clutch engagement issues. BUT we got things done and and showed up to SLB with a solid running car.
This year's Limited Rear Wheel Drive lineup was stacked. SIXTEEN competitors - the most of any class this year. Porsche GT3s (yes, plural), Viper ACR, boosted S2000s, LS swapped M3s, great drivers, the list went on. This is the arena we built the HyperMiata for.
Day 1 was on old tires. With practically no prior setup time and running more aero additions here that we hadn't had at the initial shakedowns, the race for us was to get setup dialed in quickly. It was game on during the open practice session - every time in off the track we did a full setup sheet on the car. Prior to the event I had also written up a download sheet for me as the driver to fill out after every session - this worked great, my girlfriend would hand me the clipboard while I was still in the car and I would take a minute to go over the previous session while it was vivid in my head and note the changes I needed both with the car and with how I was driving. As an amateur driver, this proved a really valuable tool.
I had early thoughts of perhaps sandbagging if it looked like we were in the hunt for a podium spot since the turbo guys could turn up the power if they were feeling pressure early. But first, I felt it would be wise to just go out there and get a good solid time on the board during the first session that counts, because you never know what might happen and what challenges you may face later on.
First time attack session, 1:50.9. Already broke the Miata lap record. OOPS, so much for sandbagging. Even better, we were sitting in first! Change of tactics then, let's give it everything and let them chase us if they can. By the end of day 1 the sub-1:50 was in the bag with a 1:49.9!
Unofficial results at the end of day 1 had us in P1 with 2nd through 6th all scrambling for position in the 1:51-1:52 range. No point holding back now, for day 2 we swapped to fresh tires for the cool morning session, but I made the error of getting to grid late and had to go out in the back of the pack. I spent four laps carving through the field, and finally by lap 5 had clean track ahead but the tires were over temp.
Track temp was up substantially by session 2 but with good data from day 1 at these temps we dialed in what should work well and went out. I was still adjusting to what the car is capable of doing and beginning to feel comfortable with it. 1:48.7! Session 3, hottest and thus slowest of the day. Still found a cleaner line and another two tenths of a second. 1:48.5!
Session 4, the Superlap session. First flyer was feeling amazing - first time flat on the throttle from the exit of cotton corners through the right/left kink all the way to braking for bus stop. Nearly flat through the entire high-speed section of Riverside at 110+ mph. The car was magic. Then an Evo caught fire and the track was red flagged. That gave the tires some time to cool at least. We did a lap under yellow and then it was back to green. Another lap feeling better than ever, just flying - right until I caught up to another car at the worst time - in the middle of Sweeper where it's nearly impossible to pass until after the esses. Another throw-away lap. I slowed to let that car go and went for it again. Tires were getting hot now and it didn't feel as quick. Still set a 1:48.483!!!
Final results -
No other car in Limited RWD went under 1:51, my final time took the win by nearly 3 full seconds. Further, we were only hundredths of a second off from the fastest overall Limited class time. And the previous Miata lap record? Nearly 3 seconds below that, on the street tires.
On the podium, collected the champagne, big fake check and plaque and then yes, I yelled “Miata is the answer” to the crowd of (mostly) non-Miata drivers
On top of all this, we had a ridiculous Miata turn-out at the event, with the largest number of one single car make represented there. While I was cleaning up in Limited, Emilio took the win in Unlimited! Moti and Aaron both set new PBs, and there were probably several more Miata achievements there that I’m not thinking of. This was one for the books.
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