...and it's done.



Lots of hours, lots of creativity. Apex Auto Works really knocked it out of the park.

Those are 255/40-17 Dunlops on 10" wide XXR's. We'll be doing the five-lug conversion next week so we can mount the 255/35-18 RE71's on 18x10.5 ET15 RPF1's...and later the 285/30-18 when available in March.

I'm at Daytona for the Rolex 24 where we are displaying the car at the GRM tent.

You can see more pics by going to the One Lap Miata FB page and also Apex Auto Works. I'll post under the cover shots as I get bandwidth.

 

Next thing you know everyone is going to say XXR's are the fast thing around the parking lot.

 

Reminds me of:

 

Any plans to change the diff ratio in order to make up for the taller tire? Or is the answer just more power...

 

Its a track car...you just shift in different places.

 

I didn't realize this was done in Houston. Holy crap I want to see this!

 

I think it looks really intense

and with how clean everything is, you automatically start suspecting that the car is fast, and not just some rtard stancebro

 

Were the shock mounts moved?

 

No.

 

Here's the front inner tubbing from the top. OE metal was pie-cut, pushed up and in on either side of the shock, about which the tire rotates, and then new fill metal welded in. Good luck finding the seams.

 

Love the cruise control.
Beautiful build.

 

Man, the work those guys did on those tubbed fenders is beyond belief. I'm not sure I've ever seen that done that well before. The wheel choice 100% makes sense for your use of the car. When I first saw that you were doing it, I kinda thought the car would look silly, but honestly it looks really good.

Can't wait to see you take on the OLOA group with this thing.

 

Agreed. I got to see the car in person at the 24 this past weekend and I was blown away. If it was your first time seeing the engine bay of an NB, you wouldn't even be able to tell the inner fenders had been modified.

 

Those of you following on FB have seen a hint of this, but I'm finally pulling the motor to investigate.

This is my "good" motor. A pro-built sleeved shortblock, with CNC-ported head...and my usual cams and such. Manley rods with ARP bolts. Made about 300hp to the wheels in my CRX. Low hours, never money-shifted. Happened at COTA in T7 after a 4-3 downshift ending up at about 7000rpm. Rev limiter had been reduced from the usual 8500 to 8200 for the day to reduce stress on the motor. Fresh oil change with Redline 30w Racing. Datalogs look normal, save the knock sensor spikes when the things came apart.

I de-clutched immediately when I felt it go, and it appears to have stopped rotations quickly. Fingers crossed that the head is undamaged.

Pulling the motor now...here's the first pics...

 

As you can see, the rod bolts are broken. First time I've seen that in any of my K builds/failures.

At this point, I am putting the original spare stock TSX motor back in until I get to the bottom of the issue at hand.

I've also spent some time over the last two weeks setting up Plan B...killer deal on something special fell into my lap. Something VERY special.

PS: I have a complete spare pro-built sleeved shortblock, and another CNC'd head on the shelf. But none of that is going in the car until I am confident that I have identified the weak point and fixed it.

 

Bad rod bolts? Doesn't sound like anything you did.

 

Assuming those are Carrillo H's with ARP bolts, possible but not very likely. If they were CARR bolts, impossibru

 

Assembly error?

 

As stated in my post with the pics => Manley H-beams, which come standard with 3/8" ARP 2000 bolts.

Shortblock assembly done by 4 Piston Racing.

Once I get it out and apart, I'll have a look at the bearings and try to get a closer look at the bolt fracture surface.

 

Reading, meh. 4 Piston Racing is not a likely source of an assembly error. Spun to 8200, I would think the 3/*'s bolts would survive, particularly as it sounds like a combo you have previous experience with. Too bad the logging wasn't up and running yet, damn.