I am not going to debate the merits of the different calipers, but Wilwood is also not marketing and sponsoring Miatas and writing ad copy for promotion.

 

OK cool. Still doesn't answer what the non upgraded stoptechs pistons are made of.

 

All StopTech pistons are made of aluminum so they expand at the same rate as the caliper body with heat cycles.

The stainless piston noses are attached floating.

jpres- the noses are an add on only because of the high power levels of Morpheus, although a fringe benefit is the nose also shields the seal. There are no dust boots and the noses may be a little more noisy; something most track guys don't mind, but this is something StopTech suggests when thermal control is a concern.

StopTech will sell new seals and pistons with noses attached for a caliper rebuild/upgrade but they come as a piston/nose assembly. Noses can't be added to normal pistons.

 

Cool info. Thanks.

I was browsing and saw titanium piston noses. Can you do those for an ST42?

 

So far no... it took Morpheus to drive the first SS noses on a 42 series caliper.

 

Thanks Brad! Good info.

 

Ran a poll on FB and such as the the correct label for the DRS on the steering wheel.
"Go to Plaid" was the winner by a huge margin, so thanks to all those who participated!




Also finally got around to building the 2 piece long tail trunk lid I've been meaning to build from day 1..
The tape is only there until the hinges arrive.
The rear section is fixed to the body and the front section is getting hinged backwards to allow access for shock adjustments -

 

 

What does Morpheus weigh?

What a build! That hard top/windshield quick change blew my mind!
Props!

Jamie

 

Thanks!
I have no idea what's the weight, haven't had a chance to weigh it and even if I did the numbers keep changing because stuff keeps getting removed while other pieces are being added

 

Got a chance to roll Morpheus out and take a better pic of the new long tail -



Also finished most of the work on one of our customer's bad a** NA (minus the long tail trunk which will be going on soon).
This car has a stroker in it and makes a glorious rumble as it thunders away with 400+ HP to the wheels -







Of course we had to take this video

 

Moti,

The black Ford V8 347 Miata is lovely.
Can you post a few more images, and tell us more about its setup/spec please?

I've seen it at MRLS and really enjoyed looking at it, but it was in a far more simple configuration at the time.
Seems to have evolved with your help.

Thanks

 

This car has never been to M@MRLS
You're most likely confusing it with another V8 swapped Black NA that was at the event (belongs to a norcal guy, IIRC LS6 powered?).

The Black NA started it's life as an original Monster Miata built Mega-Monster chassis #005.
For those who aren't as well versed in mid 90's Miata history, there was company called Monster Motorsports based in San Diego that came up with the ambitious plan to get brand new Miatas from the dealer, swap the engine to a 302 Ford V8 and get the convertion to be approved by CARB so they can sell them as brand new 5.0L Miatas with MM being the dealer.
This plan didn't quite work out since CARB never approved it, but of the few cars that got built this was the highest spec model, the Mega Monster, which was supercharged and made 400 HP.
Remember that this was before GM LS engines were around, IIRC the first LS1 was sold in 97 and this car was built in 94.

I'm not entirely positive, but I do believe this was the car that was used for a lot of the MM photography back in the days.

Fast forward to 2012, I met the owner at the local Supercar Sunday meet, chatted a bit we started talking about the possibility of doing a proper roll bar in the car since the one that MM put in it was garbage.
We ended up doing one of our NB SD bar in a 6 point config for extra chassis stiffness, and the owner really liked it so we kept going, adding a pair of Cobra seats and Schroth harnesses, our fire extinguisher kit, our tow hook and couple other custom touches.

Then we started talking about going fast by fixing all the dynamic issues that the hodge-podge of parts that MM bolted to the car caused.
The brakes were replaced with a TSE BBK, front knuckles were replaced with a set of Keisler drop units and we built a new front subframe with improved steering geometry.
Car drove MUCH better after all that.

The owner also got tired of the 302 w/ SC and decided to go with an NA build, so now the car has a 347 stroker that makes the same 400 HP to the wheels but lighter and don't have nearly as many heat related issues.

And then we tackled the shocks, putting our proprietary design Penske doubles on it and sending the owner back out to lap his favorite track (WSIR).
3.5 seconds improvement right there! Huge difference from the previous overweight feline that we replaced.

Then recently it came back for aero.
It had one of our spoilers before this round -


We went with everything that you see in the post above.
The setup should be quick.
We'll find out shortly how it works and I'll post more pics after we're back from the track.

 

Thanks for the break-down of how you fixed that NA up!

I want one your 6-point GT3's for my NB so badly. Too bad I live in NM.

 

You do realize they ship them. I just bought a GT3 NB bar and live in Ohio.

 

​​​​​​they don't ship 6-pts.

 

We don't even make the 6 points anymore.
Our 4 pointers ship all the time though, and we will be offering door bars to go with them soon enough, but it'll be as a separate unit though, not as the original 6 point bars were.

 

Door bars yay!!! Please say there will be an NB version that works with the factory door panels. Been meaning to order a GT3 from you guys for some time and that would be the icing on the cake.

Morpheus is a very impressive build by the way. Thanks for sharing it on here!!

 

Sweet, door bars. I will be waiting to hear news on those to go with my GT3. Also wiating on news of street mounts for the 1.6.

 

Finished the lower section of the long tail and headed out to the track today.




Great day at Willow Springs!
We had both cars running at the JDRF fundraiser today at the big track, took a bunch of folks for fun rides, and finally had a chance to try out the DRS setup.
And boy was it working like a champ!
In Morpheus, the activation was worth a good 5-6 MPH going down the straight, and the transitions on-off felt fantastic.
Could really tell from the driver's seat how the wing was coming back on heading into braking zones and when it was in the low drag position shifting point moved hundreds of feet earlier.
Felt like having the cake and eating it too!
Can't wait for the next outing



Also got to drive a McLaren 650S Can-Am for a session, taking it very easy with the owner in the right seat.
That driver seat is not a bad place to be.