oramac37

Hello everyone, I'm Ace. I'm currently doing research on the NB chassis in preparation to buy one this winter. My current vehicles are a nitrous-breathing street/strip 1973 Camaro and a 350Z with drift mods that I daily. I'm a member here and on the My350Z forum. After drifting my 350Z and getting used to it, I realized that a lighter car with smaller (cheaper) tires and more low end power would work better with my style. This spring I test drove numerous cars including the BRZ, 370Z, FRS, and NB Miata. Within minutes I fell in love with the way the Miata drove, and I decided to focus my efforts there. I'm finishing my Mechanical Engineering degree in September and I'll sell my other cars to fund a tow rig, then pick up an NB2. The car will undergo a serious drift build while keeping it street drivable. The following will be altered/replaced/added: differential, suspension, clutch, steering knuckles, brakes, interior, hydro e-brake, etc. The driveline will be mostly untouched while I drift the car and get accustomed to it. Once I've had a few seasons to get comfortable, I'll swap in an LS engine and the necessary parts to go along with it. This is my current plan and it will likely change as the Miata gets further along in the build.

oramac37

Here's a few photos of my Camaro at various points in time:






Here's a few videos of the car:

oramac37

Here's a few photos of my 350Z as it progressed:






Here's a video of the Z, right after I installed the welded diff:

If you're interested I can list the mods for each car but both have more done to them than pictures make it seem.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

Welcome to mt.net. Drifters are generally looked down upon on here so you better have some thick skin if you are planning on sticking around. Otherwise we are full of information on how to properly boost your miata.

miata2fast

iTrader: (2)

That Camaro is pretty cool.

y8s

iTrader: (8)

camaro is cool. too bad the transformers movie franchies is trying to ruin awesome for you.

and chevron stripes are out (shift boot). it's time to proactively move on from them.

oramac37

Thanks for the welcome. After looking around the site, I'd gathered that drifters weren't well-received. I promise that I'm not a mangled car/ignorant/flat brim hat/stance drifter, despite how many of us fit that description. A friend suggested your site as being a good place for detailed technical information and now that I've confirmed it myself, I joined the forum. I respect that most of you like grip driving, and I hope I'm treated nicely in return.

I see you're in Charleston, SC. As part of my college, I worked for 30 months as a co-op engineer in the Bosch plant there. I lived right by CSU in North Charleston. Where around Charleston do you live?

oramac37

Thanks for the nice words guys. On the spray, my yellow car has run a best of a 7.03 at 98 in the eighth mile, which is equivalent to a 10.90 or 11.00 in the quarter. I feel like that's not bad for something that sees 10k street miles a year.

Also I'm replacing the shift boot and converting a few things back to stock on the Z before I sell it. I got an incredible deal on that car so after repairing a few minor issues, I should be able to come out ahead money-wise.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

I am glad you are not a mad tyte jdm stance drifter. We have a few serious drifters on here, as long as you are serious about what you do to your miata you can be alright.

I currently reside in Goose Creek, but have family in West Ashley. I am familiar with the Bosch plant, as I have several friends who work with first robotics there. Before I moved down to Charleston I was up in NoVA. Where did you go to college?

Monk

iTrader: (3)

You don't type like a moron, so that alone overcomes a bit of the stigma. ctdrftna is the only out of the closet drifter on here that I can think of that is well liked and I hear he really likes guys with mustaches.
Just kidding*, but you should look at some of his posts if you want to see a good drift setup (except for being completely wrong).
Good luck finding a car, if you are patient, something good will pop up in the classifieds eventually.





*No I'm not.

Braineack

iTrader: (62)

Welcome to the site oramac37, thanks for joining up!

oramac37

Shuiend, I'm currently completing my last school term at Kettering University in Flint, MI. It was formerly GM Institute, and has recently been renamed. My hometown is right beside Virginia Beach, VA. Do you know Michael Hoatson with the red late-model GTO? I understand he works with one of the mentorship programs in Bosch.

Monk, I like moustaches too. Thanks for the suggestion. I'll get in touch with that member and see what he's been successful with. Right now I'm leaning towards getting an NB2 with a 5 speed manual trans. Since I'll be fabricating a sheet metal interior for my car and gutting most of the vehicle, I'm not too picky on what options the car has.

Braineack, thanks for having me.

18psi

iTrader: (76)

why not destroy an older, cheaper miata?

Monk

iTrader: (3)

^
NA's are quite a bit lighter if you're going to gut it and aren't worried about the interior.

Nagase

iTrader: (6)

Would you post up what alignment settings you're using for the driftmobiles?

oramac37

Monk and 18psi, good point, but I like the NB styling so much more than the NA that it overrides my engineering sensibilities. And I will admit I plan on entirely destroying it. Since I'll have a reliable daily to trailer the car to events, that will open me up to tandem drifting and wall taps. I won't have to hold back when I drift. My plan is to drive it until the car is too rough to repair, then swap the remaining good parts to a new shell and keep drifting. It will accumulate dents and dings over time, but I'll repair them and keep it as presentable as possible. I refuse to own a ragged, multicolored missile car.

Nagase, are you interested in the alignment specs on the Z, or what I wind up running on the NB? Both cars have different toe curves/camber curves/spring rates, so the static alignment will very likely be different between the cars. I'm designing and fabricating custom tubular control arms for a class at my college now, and I plan to make my own with custom geometry for drifting. I would have done that for my Z, but I've decided to change to a lighter chassis first. I can PM you more details if you'd like.

acedeuce802

iTrader: (1)

Whaddup, Ace. Nice to see you joined!

Nagase

iTrader: (6)

Both of them actually, and I'd be interested in all the theory/data you used to come to those conclusions, if you would.

oramac37

Hello Adam. Once your car is all sorted, I'd like to see it ride along in it.

Nagase, I'll send you a PM tonight. It'll be nice to compare notes with someone who is more familiar with this chassis.

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

I do know Mike.