I was going on the experience of the Wootton's STR autocross car, which has this setup and 225's on 9's. Slight rub on shock tower, but nothing spectacular.

I just went out in the garage, lowered the perches to bottom the suspension, mounted the 225's/9's and it appears that I get some rub on the spring from the backside of the tire towards the firewall. But just a little up off the bumpstops and it goes away. At that point, it's up into the fender liner/top anyway, so might just need a little bit more bumpstop.

I have not yet made a choice on tire/wheel size for One Lap. Might just play it conservative and run 205's on 8's like I did last year (worked out pretty well). Doing some wet tire testing tomorrow at the track using the Mazda 2 as a mule (safer that way). Curious to see how some of the new crop of UHP street tires does in various water depths (we have t-storms forecast).

I ran those new RS-3s in pouring rain at TWS last weekend. Really nice.

The most compression on the tour is probably the entry of MSR-C's toilet bowl. Hard right + braking + bottoming. Unwound some fender rolling last time I ran it (the day we met there). That would be a great test for bumpstop length.

Last night and this morning's work...diff swap. Out goes the 4.3 open and in goes the 3.9 Torsen. Together with the 6-spd, this gives almost exactly the same ratios as the CRX has. Feels very familiar now. Also installed ES diff mounts. Much more connected...easier to put power down and modulate.

Attachment 184185

Final intake manifold setup going in now. Lots of ancillary fab work to facilitate.

Pretty proud of myself for this one. Pondered for hours on how best to do this with what I had laying around. That's one single cut of a fresh 180 U-bend, and some couplers I made from an old silicone 45. Eyeball measured and hacksawed...no fancy bandsaws or whatnot.

I guess even the blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes....

Attachment 184180

Spent the better part of the day building this seemingly simply little box/spacer/bracket to relocate the cruise control actuator down onto the frame rail. The OE setup mounts in three separate planes on the inner fender where the air filter is now located. Cut/welded the brackets on the cruise itself to make it a single plane and built this guy.

Attachment 184176

Attachment 184177

Attachment 184178

Attachment 184179

Nicely done, blind squirrel!

What a small world. If you're talking about the TireRack One Lap of America, my old friend and neighbor Solomon does all of the media and organization for the event. I've met Brock Yates Jr. on a handful of occasions, and even Autocrossed with them both one day. He's also introduced me to Billy Johnson of Roush, and I think I remember meeting Leh Keen one time as well.

Car looks great. I've been telling Solomon that I want to do the One Lap one year as well, but my car was undergoing a long build as well. Maybe next year when I have everything ironed out and am 100% confident the car will not break on the lap.

90-00 rear caliper fits the rear Sport carrier and lines up with the 10.9" Sport rear rotor. Front Sport bracket only fits the Sport caliper.

11.75 fronts want 10.9" Sport rears. No or little aero = 94-00 calipers. Big rear aero = Sport calipers (bigger piston, more brake torque).

/drift

9 days until we leave for South Bend!

Spent yesterday making the car more livable and weather proof (and a little heavier). Carpet is back in for sound and heat, along with the heater/defroster. Also rerouted/secured the dash wiring and sealed it all. Lots of bracket-fab cleverness went into mounting that NB climate control into the NA dash. Pulling that dash apart with the roll cage is a PITA, though.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429550642

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429550642

Yup, I know all those guys. It's a great group. Everybody who is a gearhead should do this event at least once (fair warning...it's habit-forming)...even if only in a rental car.

Damn, nice progress, man! I didn't expect you to retain cruise control, heater/defroster, and carpet.

Necessary evils. My CRX has all of that. Next year, we'll have a/c.

Have you checked out the highway miles required to successfully run One-Lap? Cruise and decent HVAC required.

Few years back one of my teams drivers drove our 95R to Hallet for their annual fest. Met me on the way back from NASA nats at Mid O. No A/C in 95R. Solution for the 95R? Cool suit!

One week until we leave for South Bend!!!

Yesterday was spent mostly researching and ordering parts. We also made a couple trips to the parts store to get heater hoses sorted and found a pair that bolt right on. Put the seats back in and worked on the passenger quick release a bit to make it easier in/out.

Attachment 184161



And here's one of the main coolant hose routing...just simple 90's connected by aluminum tube...inspired by early water-cooled Porsches.

Attachment 184162

One day. If you see Solomon and remember this, tell him Alex "pee" civic said hello. It's a long story haha

Another piece of the puzzle...and yes, we'll be upsizing the wheels and installing good bearings.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429741864

Safety measures for those coolant tubes...

Attachment 184159

Oh my, I must get me one of those bead rollers.

-Ryan

Final engine bay for this year's event. Car is running again. Lots of little fab jobs completed to get all the lines plumbed and sensors wired up for the GE Manifold and Skunk2 throttle body. I'll make one more pass with the zip ties before we leave. Needs some tuning with the higher flow intake setup.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1429917362

Props. Looks great. Good luck with the One Lap. Can't wait to read about the hurt you're going to put on the big $ cars.

Bad news...Miata is all dressed and ready for the big dance but not going.

A month ago, Ann re-injured her neck (she had cervical fusion surgery two years ago) and has been doing PT and meds to try and get it back in shape for this year's event. Final test ride the other day in the Miata did not go well at all, and she tweaked it yet again. So we are parking the Miata and taking the Cayenne S (her daily) instead to run in the SUV class. We'll focus on having fun running back in the pack.

The competitor in me is bummed at the missed opportunity, but years have taught me you take what life gives you. After all, this is a hobby. Plus I can focus more as being a journalist for GRM.

The upside is that the Miata will be fully developed for the 2016 One Lap, as we will be running it at various other events this summer. GRM's Ultimate Track Car Challenge and a couple of the USCA (Optima) events.

Sorry to hear. No reason to risk further injury or discomfort though.

:(

That's what you get for using those remote-reservoir electronically-controlled damping shocks. It's just too much lateral Gs for safety :party:

Godspeed to Ann. I've got a couple of bad disks in my neck from an ejection but haven't had them operated on. My lower back has had an operation (at a VA hospital no less). I find that wearing a HANS is extemely beneficial for limiting head movement and preventing injury/aggravation of my neck discs. I expect Ann wears a HANS, but just thought I mention it in case.

Sorry to hear that.

I saw Ann's post on facebook about the ride quality with the electronic damping control. At some point, when things are less hectic. Could you share your thoughts and some more detailed information on how the electronics are being used? Is it doing something other than full soft on the street?

Sorry to hear that sir, what a bummer. Sounds like you guys will still have a great time though, and hopefully less stress.



Best reason ever.

"How'd you hurt your back?"

"I fired the ejector seat last time I was flying a fighter plane. Hurts like the dickens."

"why'd you fire the ejector seat?"

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you. In fact, I might have already said too much...."

As it turns out, the ride quality with the shocks turnd down is phenomenal over bumps and such. Instead, it was when I did a slow speed u-turn after being stopped at a traffic light that did the job. Some combination of letting the clutch out and moderate lateral g-loading.

The way I have it set right now for street is full soft on the DDA (overall damping rate), with both of the accelerometer-based multipliers up near max. That way, you get the Buick ride over bumps, but not the typical massive nosedive when you hit the brakes and excessive body roll when you corner on the street.

Of course I'm bummed to not have a K Miata competing, but you made the right call.

I hope she is feeling better soon. Next year I want a ride with that suspension too.

sucks man. i tweaked my back and need to sit out hyperfest. i feel your pain. hope you get better soon!

Ok, back to the Miata...got some work done today on parts that had come in weeks ago, but installation halted with the change of plans.

First up, steering wheel and quick release. Love me some suede, so Momo MOD 78 in 350mm gets the call, along with an NRG slim QR mated to a Works Bell slim hub. Big thanks to Bill Wilner at MiataRoadster for rounding up the hub and QR on short notice. This combo moves the wheel only about .5" closer to the driver; very much a stockish setup.

This hub is plug n' play...usually. It comes with the resistor that plugs into the big yellow airbag plug to defeat the dash light, but the NRG slim hub sticks down into the recess too far for the plug to remain. I suspect it works fine with Works Bell's QR, but for our purposes, the plug had to go. We could have cut the plug off and spliced the resistor in, but since we don't have the SRS control module anymore, we get a light anyway. So we simply cut the wires right at the clockspring.

The kit comes with a horn wire that plugs right into the clockspring. The wheel is temporarily installed to the hub directly so we can torque the center nut properly (don't just gun it on with an impact!).

Attachment 184105

The next step is finding a ground for the quick release to use for the horn. The Momo ring with a tab won't fit into the NRG hub, so that's out. We came up with two possibilities. The first, and easiest if you do it before the hub goes on, is to install a ring connector to the backside of the hub in the hole that is exposed in the recess. Once the hub is installed, there is no room to get it on there. The hub is exteremely hard to get back off, so what we did instead was to move one of the connectors inside the part of the QR that mates to the steering wheel to the back of an existing screw that was grounded. That wire was then connected directly to the horn button. The other wire passes through the QR to the spade lug on the underside which attaches to the wire that goes to the clockspring.

Attachment 184106

Next, we put the cover around the hub and install the QR to the hub face via the included cap screws.

Attachment 184107

Here's the aforementioned horn button wiring, using the female-to-female wire adaptor that came with the Momo button. It's a little clunky with all that wire spooled up in there, but this way it is reversible. A cleaner setup would be to cut and splice a female connector directly to the one spade lug on the QR.

Attachment 184108

And here's the finished product.

Attachment 184109

Today's project: Deatschwerks DW200 255lph fuel pump. E85 compatible and enough flow to satisfy the 300hp race motor's alcohol habit. Mostly plug n' play but did have to splice some wires. Slightly louder than OE, but much quieter than the Walbro in the CRX.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1431729048

Upgraded the injectors in advance of the installation of the race motor. We had maxxed out the 310's even on the stock motor. These are FIC 900's, same as we have on the CRX. Plenty big enough for 300hp on E85, yet idle like stock. Love that they come with individual test data on each set, along with specific dead times. Makes a huge difference in tuning. Wish they were plug and play, but wiring the pigtails is a small price to pay.

Attachment 184086

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And here's the reason for the E85...13:1 compression race motor is now in.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433212680

The shortblock and CNC head porting were done by 4 Piston Racing, sleeved by ERL. 89.5mm Wiseco pistons on Manley rods. Fresh Honda valves opened by Kelford 179-B2 cams and beehives. Motor will rev to 9000, but we limit to 8500, typically shifting at 8200. This combo made 300hp to the wheels in our CRX breathing through an RRC intake and Hytech header. Will be curious to see the numbers with the GE intake and Lovefab bundle of snakes pushed through a RWD diff. Fuel curves are suggesting more upper mid range (5000-6000) and less up top (8000+).

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433212680

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433212680

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433212680

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433212680

Alcoholic bellies up to the bar:

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433212758

Got our toes lines up today. 3 degrees camber all around, 6 degrees caster, zero toe front, .25 degrees (approx 1/8") rear toe in.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1433212758

What are your plans for this beast while waiting for next year's one lap?

:drool:

Interested to see how those alignement numbers turn out. From what I've run into you're going to be getting the inside of the tires too hot, that much front camber would be faster than something that kept the temps even at an auto-x but man braking ability really nose dives at camber numbers like that so I wonder if it'll make road course times slower. And thats a lot of rear camber too. Be interesting to see if you have a different experience.

Assuming all goes well we'll be taking it to the Optima event at NCM this weekend. And if that's enjoyable, we'll do some more of those. Charlotte, Pikes Peak and Fontana all work with our schedule. Street tires, no aero. More details: USCA ? Ultimate Street Car Association

And we've been accepted again for the GRM UTCC @ VIR in July. Slicks and aero for that. Much work to do before then.

Emilio disagrees with you: Miata Race alignment

We shall see. Gotta start somewhere. My garage alignment targeting 3 ended up being at 3.4 once it went on a real rack. And braking was not a major issue in the little bit of track work I've already done with the car at 3.4. I suspect the final answer will be somewhere between 2.5 and 3 for street tires (224 Rival-S). But I won't really know until the ABS goes on the car.

I'll be racing ChumpCar at NCM this weekend, hope to see you and the car there!

It has been my experience that amount of camber, that much castor will be hard on ball joints. I think you are non power steering, so with a little less castor it will be easier to turn the wheel, less castor can up the bump steer a little tho.

You guys do realize that you're giving alignment advice to Andy Hollis right...?

;)

-Ryan

Yea...but all he knows is silly FWD Honduhs!

Yes, and thats why I didnt tell him he was wrong, just that I was concerned.

Funny. I saw those camber numbers and thought "Not enough front". :party:

You guys really run that much front on the road race cars? Much over 2.8 seems to street tires into heating up the inner shoulder when you're mowing down cones, and I've noticed that anything over 2.5 and the braking performance starts to drop off dramatically. Though on an auto-x car if I could get 5° I'd take it, I've yet to see any rwd auto-x car that didnt go faster with more front camber, even to the point where the brakes hardly work and you're actually getting inside shoulder wear.

Running SM6s in 2013, I was running ~3.7* front camber with ISC bushings. Rear camber hovered in the 2.8-3.0* range.

If you're having issues with too much heat on the inside corners, you need to drive harder. I was just told this twice at my recent track day, ~3.5* up front on Star Specs.

Not to derail the thread, but I'm running:
-3.2 front
-2.7 rear
5.0 caster
0 toe front
1/16" in rear

4.5" ride height. Its perfect. No issues braking hard with -3.2 degrees up front.

^ Pretty much the same for me, but I zero the rear toe because I like to live dangerously like that.

-Ryan

nope.

yep.

yep

yep.

I'm running -3.2 F and -2.6 rear on 205/50 on x8 with rivals. Pyrometer readings will show not enough front camber if i'm not driving hard enough. Hot days and hard driving will net 160-180 on inside shoulders with typical 15-20 degree splits to outside. Oddly enough, my shoulder wear is still iffy leading me to believe i could use even more front camber.

Back to the thread... I freekin love seeing when there are updates to this thread. Thanks a ton for keeping it updated :party:

...and Miatas vvv

Ultimately, static camber settings are highly dependent on total roll angle of the car at max load. But the latter depends on vehicle weight, roll stiffness, cg height, track width, tire grip, surface grip, suspension geometry (camber gain), etc. So there is no "one size fits all".

I wont comment on your camber settings because that is something you will have to read temperatures for and is based on other factors such as what tires and spring rates etc. depending on the track and conditions I usually near -3.8F -3.2R but I am on R7's and and effective aero.

I will say that you will likely get a massive shoulder workout running that much caster. I have found the sweet spot on my car to be in the 4.7 range. Any more than 5 and the steering gets really heavy.

Edit: I failed to read the rest of the thread after you posted that you where running 6 degrees of caster and changed some other settings. oops
you obviously know what you are doing and should be close to start

Slammed NA with ITBs, clubroaster detected :giggle:

That car was built before clubroadster was even a thing. Was one of the fastest CSP autocross cars in the nation.

This is a build thread...let's try and stay on topic, k?

My friend Neal is the current owner of that white car. The ITBs are no longer there, but it is otherwise one heck of a lightweight beast and really well put together. It's an inspiration, much like this build.

The ITB's went away when the car was converted "down" from CSP to STS trim. I sold off about $10K worth of parts, including a VVT motor, TEC3, the TWM ITBs, clutch diff, and a couple sets of Panasport 3-pieces.

The suspension stayed much the same. It just worked. (Koni 2812's, Eibachs, custom offset Delrin bushings and the same bars I'm running now.)