PCA Autocross 3/17/2013.

All pictures clickable for high-res glory.










Not quite the fastest run, but the most entertaining. Goes with pic#4 above.

 

You don't even remotely pass a "broomstick" test. Do tracks not hassle you about it? I know this is an autocross and they tend to be less serious about that.

 

Correction - this is autocross, and I don't even need the rollbar to begin with.

On track days I run with the hardtop and my seat is adjusted a little differently to get me lower. With the hardtop, basically if you can fit into the car you pass tech with the groups I run with.

All that being said, it is a problem that I am looking to address. I don't do W2W or anything "serious" in this car like NASA enduros or TT's but a rollover is a rollover, regardless of circumstances or intent, and I will be addressing this issue with a real seat in the future. The problem has not been lack of or willingness to spend funds, it's just that I want to spend those moneys on what I know will fix the problem, and I keep hoping I can find a solution that works with sliders and harnesses and the stock belt so I don't have to swap seats every track day. I may have to give up that dream though.

 

I ordered one of the Marrad seats from Goodwin that is supposed to solve all those problems you mentioned. It is supposed to be here this week. I will keep you posted. Be warned its $900 and I feel like a sucker, I sure hope it will be worth it.

 

Awesome. Get some shots please of before and after head height. I have been interested in those seats since they came but haven't been able to convince myself to take a $900 shot in the dark.

 

I'd also like to see how this Marrad seat works, but Mobius, I don't think you're needs are that much of a stretch, depending - how tall are you? I took my car to a shop that does SM (and other cars) cages/seats all day long and my only limitation was really my budget.

Miatas of course are a PITA for seat installs, but with custom mounts and floorpan "mods" I bet you could get something to work with a seat that is a little less $.

Moti @ Blackbird seems to have developed some special secret sauce using these Cobra seats:

Aftermarket Seat Tips - 1997 Mazda MX-5 Miata Long-Term Road Test

 

I hope the Marrad seat is worth it, but if it sucks, I'll be contacting Moti about those!

 

Also what the hell? I thought insideline closed down? I followed that link and theyre still updating all their old stuff! I am confused now.

 

In a shocking display of suck they quit using InsideLine as a separate entity, but they're still doing the long term tests. Its just a wee little link off of the edmunds.com site

 

I am 6'2. Inseam is 34.

The issue isn't really finding any seat that will work. I can go to my local speed shops and get an aluminum seat and bolt it to the floor, do what I need to do, solve the problem. That's not the issue.

The issue is I want it all. I want a seat that can be adjusted, so I don't have to take it out for Ms Mobius to drive. I want the stock seatbelt to be functional, so I don't have to harness up on the street. I'd prefer for there to be no permanent changes to the car, so I can put the stock seats back in it for the winter, if the race seats aren't super comfortable.

And the final issue is, seats are like shoes are like hats, you want to wear it yourself before buying, to be sure it fits and is comfortable.

I have an opportunity this weekend to sit in a few miatas with seats. I can live with swapping seats in/out for track days if I have to. But any seat bolted to the floor without sliders will render the car unusable by Ms Mobius (5'7 to my 6'2).

 

I'm like you. I've owned two sets of seats in the past two years. I never got around to install either because I need them to be street legal, work with a harness and the factory belts, and without bolting directly to the floor.

The video was fun. What was the weather like that day?

 

High 30's in the morning. It was maybe 50 at time of video, and dry that day.

 

First run with the wing.

 

The AR boys were quick to point out the upside down end plates. I failed to see why it mattered.

 

"The boys" need to tell me how to put the endplates on, then. They are keyed and will not go on in an orientation upside down from the current one. If mine are wrong, then so are Keith Tanner's, Mr. Hyde's, and Nascar's. Tell me again about my upside down end plates.

 

Nice Tacoma

 

They couldn't explain why, it's how it came from the box. "well it's wrong".

 

Miata tech day at my house. People showed up, drank my beer, and dribbled their fluids all over the driveway. Would do again. A+ fun. Note the miata owner is in the bent over position.




The bill of work, referencing cars in order as seen in the picture:

car #1 clutch/PP (unknown or stock) <--> car #2 clutch/PP (FM happy meal)
car #2 suspension (Tein basics) <--> car #3 (stock, possibly original)

So yes, car #2 was raided of its good parts, with more raiding to be done in its future, as it happens to have a 3.9 Torsen rear end that Curly desperately needs.

 

Track day 3/15 at Portland International Raceway. Glorious day, lots of fun. C- for the group running the track day (Alfa Club , but this was not unexpected) but an A overall for the day. These shots are from Doppelganger - thanks Mike!

Potential overtakes all lined up for me:


Good shots entering, then exiting T12 (third gear corner):



MT.net veterans will note that the Smurf Blue 49 car is Curly's car. Curly pulls away from me on the straights quite handily thanks to his trubo boostages, but my superior rubber and suspension (thanks Emilio!) allow me faster overall lap times of about 2 seconds at PIR. His power-to-weight advantage is significant; given equal rubber, I think his car might be faster than mine despite my superior suspension. Significant weight reduction isn't really in the future for this car which means only one thing will do ... MOAR POWAH!

 

Dat body roll...

I'm surprised the 949 BGK rolls that much.

Maybe it's the picture, maybe it's the 700/400 springs, maybe it's your fat car?