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I am taking the our STR project ND "Beaker" down to SanDiego for an BMW club autocross to hang/race with my dude Sean(Lincoln Logs) in his new STX/86 CUP project 2017 Toyota GT86, "Shaggy".
Side note: SCCA is toying with a 100 octane ban for ST classes. For many of the same reasons; cost and logistics, we've gone back to CA91 pump gas for the local fun/testing events.
I remember there being a huge debate on what is "pump" gas years ago when E85 was starting to make a big push into the ST and SP classes. Many was that a rough discussion on forums.
I am glad I am the notorious car swapper... I will seriously consider swapping both of my current cars in for one, if it looks good.
I got the ACE's on my 124 (400/200 springs) and drove it from NM to The Dragon and back. I loved them during the actual Dragon, but not anywhere else. They ride like ****. If these are the best riding XIDA variant, since the ACE can go super soft or whatever, then count me out of ever driving a version with 600/300 springs. They bounce me all over the place, even on the softest settings possible. I am on stock 205/45/17 Bridgestone S001's too, not some super stiff RE71 or something like that. They also make a lot of noise in the rear. I can hear everything the rear springs are doing.
I also installed an intercooler kit, intake, full exhaust, and a Openflash tune. I think I expected too much. It is not as fast as I was expecting it to be. It does sound awesome, though.
I am glad I am the notorious car swapper... I will seriously consider swapping both of my current cars in for one, if it looks good.
I got the ACE's on my 124 (400/200 springs) and drove it from NM to The Dragon and back. I loved them during the actual Dragon, but not anywhere else. They ride like ****. If these are the best riding XIDA variant, since the ACE can go super soft or whatever, then count me out of ever driving a version with 600/300 springs. They bounce me all over the place, even on the softest settings possible. I am on stock 205/45/17 Bridgestone S001's too, not some super stiff RE71 or something like that. They also make a lot of noise in the rear. I can hear everything the rear springs are doing.
I also installed an intercooler kit, intake, full exhaust, and a Openflash tune. I think I expected too much. It is not as fast as I was expecting it to be. It does sound awesome, though.
Something doesn't sound right. We tested your exact hardware before shipping. Plush on our car at full soft, too soft on that setting actually. Almost sounds like the controller is not sending voltage to the shocks. Default damping is full stiff until they receive voltage. That would certainly rattle your teeth out.
Dan & John will reach out to make sure everything is set up properly.
Yes, I know the difference between the full-stiff mode and all that. My initial test drive left out the fuse on the positive battery cable wire. It was hilariously stiff. This also led to my controller having no lights, which was expected. After I confirmed everything was torqued right and I set my ride-heights, I put the fuse back in and let it do the calibration.
I have no real frame of reference for how "soft" the ride is supposed to be, as I haven't driven any other ND or 124's. Is it supposed to be softer than stock? My wheels and tires were unchanged.
The very first ACE set was installed on a 124, which we drove on our test circuit in full OEM spec first. The ACE set up matched the 124 for ride quality on softest settings. The ND we drove the same day was much softer in comparison, particularly in roll. Dan and I both thought
the OEM 124 suspension calibration was a better compromise for a daily than the OEM ND. Not harsh like an MSM but taught and controlled. Only floating or wallowing when you asked for race quick weight transfer.
Your kit has a softer overall shock valving and controller with higher voltage ranges. So two changes to make it even softer than the OEM 124 cal. Same valving on ND singles with 300/150 springs is pure marshmallow on full soft. No harshness over anything at any speed.
Dan and I were literally laughing and how much crap it would just soak up without a peep. Full rally car. So yeah, if your car rides as harsh as you indicate, either you have an exceptionally low tolerance to NVH or there is a hardware defect or an installation/setup error. I doubt that the average NA/NB/ND owner would characterize our 400/200 ACE setup as harsh on the softest settings.
Better for us to wait for your call to dive into it rather than speculating here.
Yes, I'm going to go drive one when they hit the lots.
If we can make the numbers work, I'll probably ditch the 135 for one. Having an all surface street commute you only do a few times per week is frustrating in a car that wants to beat on all the time........but breaks any speed limit in a couple of seconds.
Both Goodwin Racing and 949 have broken additional transmissions in their respective ND's now. Both were one of the newer versions.
On another note, the 2019's are (un)officially in the US now and the car mags should be releasing their reviews in the next week or so.
I read that somewhere else as well. Interesting that Mazda has them on the way to the dealerships, but doesn't have the configuration tool up on the website yet.
Seems like they made a lot of small improvements and the power bump translated quite well to real world performance. They did a 0-100km/hr pull in each car and the 2019 was just over a second faster. I will be interested to see what magazines are able to get out of them since they launch the cars way harder.
Car magazines will complain that the ergonomics of the cup holder are not ideal or that the keyless entry system is not as good as Another brand, or infotaiment system has a glitch and will miss the important issues. Hard to find real enthusiast reviewing cars.
How is the gearbox going to hold up? Any news on that front?
perhaps a dual mass flywheel is the answer to transmission faliures from Mazda, if so it will be a bad thing for us since dual mass flywheels are tuned to the engine output and torque, fail quickly when the engine output is changed and are $$$
Car magazines will complain that the ergonomics of the cup holder are not ideal or that the keyless entry system is not as good as Another brand, or infotaiment system has a glitch and will miss the important issues. Hard to find real enthusiast reviewing cars.
This is exactly why I cancelled my Car & Driver subscription a couple years ago. You can find a million free reviews online that focus on minor creature comforts in a car, why pay some guy to tell you the same uninteresting BS?
Beaker will be available to ship by the beginning of August. We'll include the OEM sway bars, shocks, wheels, tires, exhaust and battery mount.
2016 GT, Ceramic
Wrapped in Avery SW900 Gloss Orange
8766 miles
$23,500
Current spec, set up for STR
Reflash, 159whp on 91 octane, 7700rpm rev limit
17x9 6UL black
New Gen 4 trans just installed
FM LBK front, 2 piece rotors
FM LBK rear
Xida triple adjustable 700/350
Karcepts thick wall front bar
Karcepts rear bar
Karcepts offset front lower control arm bushings
ARP extended wheel studs
OS Giken diff
Goodwin Long Tube header
Goodwin catted mid pipe
Goodwin Super Q muffler or Race muffler (your choice)
Vinyl wrap
2" steering column spacer (retains all OEM functions)
AVO intake elbow
LifePo4 battery 1.9 lbs
CSF radiator
G-Loc GS-1 pads
Spare engine with 5k on it
Spare Gen 1 trans with 1k on it
Spare diff, open
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