Hello from Chris (Bay Area CA)
 

Hello MT.

I have been lurking for a while -- lots of great info here. Lots of it still goes over my head, but I am learning slowly. Looking forward to developing an awesome car with your help!

About me: I'm a web developer, working mostly on in-house intranet stuff. I have had 6 miatas, 3 at once at one point, but now just one white '92. Here it is:
http://71.5.55.188/mx5/071709/side.jpg
I have had the car for about a year, during which time I have installed:
-- poly bushings
-- FCM coilovers (700#/400#)
-- RB hollow front sway
-- HDHCDD roll bar

And removed a bunch of stuff:
http://71.5.55.188/mx5/071709/interior.jpg
http://71.5.55.188/mx5/071709/interior2.jpg

And replaced the popup headlights with these:
http://71.5.55.188/mx5/071709/headlight.jpg
Yes, I ground/sanded the ribs off of the OEM lenses. Yes, it was a royal PITA. No, I did not know about the euro-spec clear lenses at the time :noob:

Moving forward, my objective is to build a track car which is still sort of streetable. I am kind of obsessed with adding lightness (as you can see). But I have come to the realization that I am also going to have to add some HP to the mix! My tentative plans for the next couple years are as follows, more or less in chronological order:

-- 15x9 6UL with RA1 or NT-01 (I Have a set of black wheels in the closet waiting for tires)
-- Shorty rear bumper (Simpson Design), maybe integrated with an Elise rear diffuser.
-- front lip and splitter
-- finish gutting the interior (doors, buncha spot welded brackets)
-- fiberglass trunk lid: I am in the process of figuring out how to make this on my own. Not having too much success yet, but I will keep trying! If I can get the hang of fiberglass then I might try making a HT and doors.
-- twin-disc organic clutch (949 racing)
-- seat(s), maybe memory fab, have to sit in more seats.
-- steering wheel
-- another round of de-wiring
-- 1.8 rearend upgrade with OS gilken diff (949)
-- lighter and better looking steering column support and gague cluster (new gagues?)
-- chassis stiffening (debating having a half cage welded in)

In a year or so I will start on the fun(ner) stuff. I am planning to stick with the stock 1.6L motor.. until I blow it up, which seems to happen a lot. I am planning to upgrade the EMS first, and then maybe the cooling system, holding off on add FI as long as possible. While I am dying to have more HP, I kind of feel like I don't deserve it until I learn to drive a little better LOL!
-- Adaptronic ECU
-- COPS ignition
-- Radiator upgrade with coolant reroute
-- Turbo: My plans get sort of fuzzy (that's why I am here of course -- to figure that part out). The HP number I have in my head is 200 whp.

Thanks for reading

Chris

Sup weight savings buddy.

Sup BAMO Buddy

Holy Badass Intro Thread Batman!


Welcome!

Nice lightweight going on there. And what type of housing did you use behind the turn signal lense? Any idea what your weight is down to? How much seat of the pants difference?

EDIT: Also, what series tire are you running? Looks kinds tall.

195-60-14 Azenis rt-615. There are not a lot of options for 14in wheels anymore. I sorely miss the Bridgestone RE-71.

It's OK, my next set of tires will be 15s for the 6ULs!

I just mounted halogen bulbs in the stock housing, using off the shelf generic receptacles from the auto parts store. These lights are perfect for "be seen" headlights, but they only do a so-so job of illuminating the road. For in-city driving they are fine, but definitely not good enough for the backroads.

http://71.5.55.188/mx5/071809/tslight.jpg
http://71.5.55.188/mx5/071809/tslight2.jpg
http://71.5.55.188/mx5/071809/tslight3.jpg

Have not weighed it. It probably is not as light as I am hoping it is. YES, there is a huge SOTP difference. I have removed at least 10% of the original weight, and you definitely can feel it.

I did most of the lightening while the car was on the stock suspension. I did not think to take a photo, but the car looked comical -- you could fit your head in the fender gap :)

Damn, that looks hot.

I mean literally that looks HOT!
How do you keep the housing from melting?

This was definitely a concern at first. I have read that others have had issues. But I have used the lights for up to an hour continuously with no issues.

To the member who PM'd me about my headlight mod: I don't have enough posts to send PMs (one closer now :), so if you PM me your email addy I will reply that way.

Holy shit. What do you do with the car? Track/autocross duty? How do you like the 700/425? I am on 550/350 FCM, sorry I didn't go heavier.

I dream of doing up a track pig like this, all stripped out. I really like it. Please try to get us the weight, mmmkkkkayyy?

Welcome.

I'm getting a math Olympiad thing. That's nerdy.

Does anyone want to visualize me masturbating to the interior pics of this car tonight?

I thought so.

Not sure why I never commented on this car, but I should. Nice work.

FYI, take the e-brake looks fairly nice without it's plastic cover and a coat of black paint (very mechanical looking), along with the steering wheel, which yours also needs a coat of black paint. I think I also see the plate between the dash bar and steering wheel mount that can be removed, that's pretty heavy. WTF? Do you still have a horn? Loose that too. Me likey.

and wrong!

http://y8spec.com/bamo/bamo3.gif

I stand corrected.

I still have the pics of the interior at the ready, MF.

Welcome, give me a shout if you ever want a ride in a turbo miata.

Also check out norcalroadsters.com

Love the interior, i hope one day i can get off my lazy ass and clean the mine up as well as you have. You did away with the key?

Awesome car.

Oh, I will definitely take you up on this!
I'm there already (same name)
Yes. But 6 months later I still habitually take my keys out of my pocket when I approach the car.

It's my daily driver :)

Good idea RE the e-brake handle. I am going to replace the steering wheel, just have not found the right wheel yet. Planning to paint the entire interior, probably this summer, after I remove all the unnecessary brackets, build a new steering column support / gague pod, weld the seams, and finish lightening the doors.