berkeleyed the thread title up. Was supposed to have (EP5 of The Slip Angle ft. yours truly)
Congrats!
This car makes me want to put a Rotrex on my Accord. Between that and the purple roll bar the car is full of win.
So, for those wondering how the performance stacks up, I looked up the results from the four other Miatas tested.
Stock NA (1.8L, ton of miles, blown front shock, General tires): 40.79 seconds, 53.28mph max, 1.023g
Turbo NA (220whp FMII 1.8L, Xidas coilovers, Falken tires): 38.80s, 62mph max, 1.11g
ITB NB1 (185whp high-compression BP-4W, super dialed-in chassis) 38.02s, 63.2mph max, 1.19g
Rotrex (245whp, FM VMaxx Classics, BFG Rival 1.5S) 37.51s, 63.28mph max, 1.19G
Tommyfyeah's K24 (~220whp K24, BMW 6-speed, Ohlins coilovers) 37.40s, 62mph, 1.15g
So, my car had 2nd-fastest lap times, highest miles per hour, and tied Quinn's NB for most lateral gs (And that surface is not the most grippy, so this thing is easily 1.2-1.3g elsewhere). Not bad for a car built with hand tools in a garage without a lift. And there is no real fabrication to it either.
That being said, while on paper, my car and Tommy's were close, in a lap battle, his destroyed mine, due to a much more sorted chassis. As Ryan said during his test, the car is a little unpredictable at the limits. So while it blasted a hail Mary lap within a tenth of Tommy's car, it couldn't do it consistently, whereas his would click off 37.40-37.60s all day. Still, considering I have about half the money invested in my car, and my car held together mechanically much better, I'm pretty proud to be in the same league
Also, these were what my rear tires looked like after they were done. Every time Quinn went by drifting it I was internally going "Ohh, that's murdering my tires, but it'll looks so cool, but it's murdering my tires, but it'll look so cool..."
And for those wondering why I'm saying again, we did a street review after Lime Rock finally booted my car for being excessively loud, in which I get a bit more technically in-depth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8xDc2JL3JY
Every time I watch this video I have an "Ugh, do I sound like that?" moment.
Nice car, cool video. It must be tough watching someone else hoon in your car, especially if they aren't paying for the tires.
Sounds like a great car - everyone had a huge grin while driving it! You've built a car you should be very proud of!
I cringed and thought of the tire cost as the smoke was billowing from the rear wheels! Wish you'd get a certain amount of $$$ per view to offset the cost of your new tires!
Thanks for letting us show the world how kick ass your car is! It was a fun day, and it was great to meet you! I lost many tires to the show this year, I feel your pain and appreciate the sacrifice.
AnthonyGS said:I find myself wondering how your car would’ve done on Feals, Ohlins, Fox or Xidas. With top coilovers and time to dial in an alignment and adjustable sways....
I'm probably going to go the Fox route this winter, as well as maybe put the stock rear sway bar on. The alignment is pretty well dialed-in at this point, with -3.5 degrees of camber in the front, -2.5 degrees of camber in the rear, a skosh of toe out in the front and zero toe in the rear. It's also going from 15x8s with 225 Rival S 1.5s to 15x9s with 245 Rival S 1.5s, getting some aero work in the form of hood and front fender vents and a Blackbird Fabworx rear spoiler, and going from stock 1.8L brakes with ugraded pads and rotors to some sort of Wilwood or Stoptech setup
In reply to imgon and dj06482 :
In their defense, the rear tires were pretty wasted by the time I went up there, after a season of autocrossing and a good bit of street driving, plus one of them had a nasty flat spot that was serious 2/32" deep.
NickD said:AnthonyGS said:I find myself wondering how your car would’ve done on Feals, Ohlins, Fox or Xidas. With top coilovers and time to dial in an alignment and adjustable sways....
I'm probably going to go the Fox route this winter, as well as maybe put the stock rear sway bar on. The alignment is pretty well dialed-in at this point, with -3.5 degrees of camber in the front, -2.5 degrees of camber in the rear, a skosh of toe out in the front and zero toe in the rear. It's also going from 15x8s with 225 Rival S 1.5s to 15x9s with 245 Rival S 1.5s, getting some aero work in the form of hood and front fender vents and a Blackbird Fabworx rear spoiler, and going from stock 1.8L brakes with ugraded pads and rotors to some sort of Wilwood or Stoptech setup
Watching the video I was thinking it wanted more spring, more front sway bar, and probably a 3.9 diff.
Definitely the rear aero work and seats (NA seats are garbage for driving hard).
You'll have to do some pretty hard work to the fenders to fit the bigger tires but it'll be worth it, 275 Hoosiers would really be the business on that glorified autocross track. Even take off R7s would blow away the 200TW street tires.
Are the brakes running into fade? I never had a problem out of my 1.8 brakes even in hard use track sessions.
It really is a sweet car and the development is coming along beautifully, you make me miss mine.
KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:NickD said:AnthonyGS said:I find myself wondering how your car would’ve done on Feals, Ohlins, Fox or Xidas. With top coilovers and time to dial in an alignment and adjustable sways....
I'm probably going to go the Fox route this winter, as well as maybe put the stock rear sway bar on. The alignment is pretty well dialed-in at this point, with -3.5 degrees of camber in the front, -2.5 degrees of camber in the rear, a skosh of toe out in the front and zero toe in the rear. It's also going from 15x8s with 225 Rival S 1.5s to 15x9s with 245 Rival S 1.5s, getting some aero work in the form of hood and front fender vents and a Blackbird Fabworx rear spoiler, and going from stock 1.8L brakes with ugraded pads and rotors to some sort of Wilwood or Stoptech setup
Watching the video I was thinking it wanted more spring, more front sway bar, and probably a 3.9 diff.
Definitely the rear aero work and seats (NA seats are garbage for driving hard).
You'll have to do some pretty hard work to the fenders to fit the bigger tires but it'll be worth it, 275 Hoosiers would really be the business on that glorified autocross track. Even take off R7s would blow away the 200TW street tires.
Are the brakes running into fade? I never had a problem out of my 1.8 brakes even in hard use track sessions.
It really is a sweet car and the development is coming along beautifully, you make me miss mine.
I've considered the 3.9 diff, but also the engine acts a lot like a stock NB motor down low, so I don't want to make it take longer to get into the powerband. I've also considered the 6-speed/3.63 setup, simply because my NA6 5-speed has some crunchy synchros and is likely living on borrowed time at this power level. That would also give me a better cruising RPM.
I rolled the fenders and pulled them, so the 245s should fit pretty well. I know that the class allows slicks, but I just don't want that hassle. All my autocrosses are an hour away, minimum, so then I have to either trailer the car (I don't have a truck or trailer), or tow a tire trailer and swap tires, and I'm tech inspector, so I usually don't have a lot of time to dick around when I arrive. I usually am one of the first to arrive and by the time I unload stuff from my car, air down the tires and put on my numbers I can maybe squeeze in a course walk before starting tech. And then afterwards when I finish cleaning up, I would still have to jack up the car and swap wheels and tires. And also, I don't feel like spending Hoosier money
Seats: Not sure what to do there. Are the NB2 seats drastically better? Being pretty tall, I know there is an issue where some brand seats end up higher than stock due to the Miata's tight confines and the resulting brackets, which just won't work. Also, once again this is primarily a street car and my autocrosses are an hour plus away and I go on long roadtrips with it, I don't want to get into UltraShields or other bare aluminum back destroyers. I know there are the Lotus Probax seats, although they are ~$1200 for secondhand seats.
Fair enough. Try some other seats and see what fits for you. I had a MOMO Corsa in my car and it made a huge difference in my ability to control the car without hanging on to the wheel. It dropped the seating position a couple of inches and was tolerable on the highway. A buddy of mine has Sparco somethings in his STS car and drives it seriously long distances.
The 6 speed swap gives the same final gear ratio but really hoses your second gear speed (the magic spot for most autocrossing).
In the video it was clear that they were enjoying a good hoon, but also the car was having trouble keeping the tail planted for a really fast lap. The rear aero, wider tires, and fatter front bar should all help tame that. For that track anyway the 3.9 diff would likely help soften the tendency to overpower the drive wheels and keep it out of that useless 2-3 shift they kept doing.
https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pts/d/sparco-r100-reclinable-seat/6730971312.html
These should fit and be a huge improvement over factory.
KyAllroad (Jeremy) said:https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/pts/d/sparco-r100-reclinable-seat/6730971312.html
These should fit and be a huge improvement over factory.
Nope. Looked it up, they sit higher than stock when installed in a Miata.
Hey, I know that track!
On the R100's - yes, you will sit higher. I put a set in my Datsun and even after building my own rails as low as I could go, I'm still approx. an inch higher than stock. You also sit "on" these more than "in" them. The bolstering is fantastic though and they are actually really nice for the price.
In reply to mikeatrpi :
Yeah, then those aren't really an option. As you can see in the opening with me standing in front of the car, I'm quite tall. With a stock seat with a foamectomy, I barely fit, and with a helmet on and the top up, my head has to rest between the bows in the tops. An inch higher, would be no bueno.
I'm investigating Car Make Corn's seats. Kinda look like the Lotus seats, reasonable priced, they make a version for bigger guys and I guess they sit looooow.
I looked up the seats that Tommyfyeah's K24 car used, because they looked super comfy and he said they fit the car great. Apparently they were exclusively made for the RX-7 Spirit R, and when you can find them, they go for $9000 a pair. That'll be a hard nope
I forget - are you still running a stock steering wheel? If so, budget a few hundred more if you go full race seats for a quick release and quality wheel.
Having been through a bunch of iterations of this problem, my thoughts are below:
Stock NA seats - suck. Better with a foamectomy.
NB1 seats - worse than NA seats.
NB2 seats - more bolstering, higher headrests, seated height is about the same.
Race seats (old ass Momo starts) - bottom mounts are not worth the hassle, seating position wasn't a huge improvement thanks to retaining sliders, lateral support of the seats was massively improved.
Race seats v2 (Corbeau LE Pro) - big improvement in seating position, but lost the sliders and mounting is a pain. Good balance of usability and lateral support thanks to the low thigh bolsters, but they're pretty narrow and the headrests are too short for me. Expensive (ish).
Lotus Elise seats - mounting and seating position is the same as the Corbeaus, since I'm using the same mounts. Thighs are a tiny bit wider, so they work better for me - and I was able to find a cloth probax set, which has grippy sections that work pretty well. Headrests are much higher than the Corbeaus. Expensive and hard to find, no (factory) grommets for harnesses although you can cut holes. This is probably my final setup. Im also using a fairly dished 350mm wheel with a Momo hub and nrg thin quick release (hub is fine, don't get the qr). You could run the Corbeaus or lotus seats with the stock wheel reasonably well.
The cmc seats look nice if you fit and are ok with running a race seat in the street. It's definitely less convenient to do so - I found myself avoiding quick trips when I had mine, just because getting in and out is a much bigger hassle.
In reply to cmcgregor :
I already have a 330mm Nardi steering wheel, I could swap in a quick-release if need be.
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