RIP to that BMW in the cover photo.
Also came here to say you should've gone with a Marine Outboard J series.
RIP to that BMW in the cover photo.
Also came here to say you should've gone with a Marine Outboard J series.
NickD said:sleepyhead the buffalo said:I wonder who the first person to Genesis coupe swap a Miata will be?
I wonder who the first person to LFX swap a Genesis will be? They've already been LS-swapped for Formula Drift use, but the chassis proved to be pretty unsatisfactory, as every driver who tried one dumped it in pretty short order.
Hmm, interesting. I'll have to go do some digging, find out if there's more specific feedback about issues with the chassis.
sleepyhead the buffalo said:NickD said:sleepyhead the buffalo said:I wonder who the first person to Genesis coupe swap a Miata will be?
I wonder who the first person to LFX swap a Genesis will be? They've already been LS-swapped for Formula Drift use, but the chassis proved to be pretty unsatisfactory, as every driver who tried one dumped it in pretty short order.
Hmm, interesting. I'll have to go do some digging, find out if there's more specific feedback about issues with the chassis.
Dennis Mertzanis had one that was supercharged LSX-wapped. It never seemed to work well, and he did so poorly that he lost his competition license and hasn't been seen again.
Pat Mordaunt was supposed to drive one with the the V6 with a blower. The first event it barfed the rods out on all 3 engines they had, and he rented an S-chassis the rest of the season. I don't know what happened to that car, its never resurfaced.
Odi Bakchis bought the old Mertzanis LSX car. He ran at it a limited series of events, with the plan of developing the car and then phasing out his S14 and replacing it with the Genesis. He ran it for a handful of events 1 season, never seemed to do as well, and then it vanished and he stuck with his S14. Odi is heavily involved with Feal's Suspension, so he knows suspension well.
Rhys Millen was the only one who had some semblance of success with one. Not sure if that was just because it was Rhys behind the wheel though. After all, he won a championship with an '04 GTO. He finished 3rd overall one season, then retired from drifting to go do rallycross.
Its funny, everyone expected the Genesis to be the next big platform in Formula D, and then it wasn't. Then again, for all the people driving FRS/BRZ/GT86, that car has yet to win an FD title either. The Dodge Viper, Scion Tc, Dodge Charger and Pontiac GTO all have more FD championship wins than the FRS/BRZ
FYI, a fellow named Justin Lee in Indianapolis campaigns a J swapped Miata in chumpcar endurance racing. The team name is Thing 3
AFAIK it's a pretty solid setup and quite fast.
I built this one last year and it’s really an easy swap with the V8R stuff. And with mods (cams, porting, throttlebody, E85 etc.) to the engine it really is a perfect little missile. You can see more about build on FB at Miata LFX-MX5.
I will be happy to answer any questions about build.
LFXMX5 said:
Aside from the air ducting and the carbon fiber, that looks really OE-like. Very nice. I like the little touches, like the use of the GM coolant tank and power steering reservoir. That engine scoots in a CTS, I could only imagine what it could do with about 1200lb less fat surrounding it.
In reply to Knurled. :
Thanks. I get that comment a lot. It gets a lot of attention at car shows and I didn’t even build it with intentions of showing it. I am humbled that people respond to the car the way they do.
In reply to LFXMX5 :
You're welcome! Seeing "sano" swaps like that is inspiring for all of us to do just a little bit better.
The black-painted engine bay helps a lot, too, as it mutes the Mazda portion of the car. To be frank, I had to squint and think to see just what car it was I was looking at, even though the headlight covers should have been a dead giveaway.
I don't remember now if GM was doing it on other cars, but I remember for certain that Saturn painted their engine bays black no matter what color the car was. It works.
mrhappy said:I really like this but I with it fit under the stock hood.
NA no, NB yes.
Keith Tanner said:alfadriver said:It's interesting that there isn't a Cyclone v6 swap out there being sold, too. Last I saw, it was getting 300hp w/o DI. Must be a much bigger engine....
For a different, and perhaps cheaper (but harder) option would be the Lincoln LS V6 with manual swap. It's been done before, and drives really nicely- but not 300hp...
That’s the Jaguar V6 used in the Rocketeer kit, isn’t it?
It’s a shame that GRM is doing a swap into a race car, because all the hard parts of a swap involve making it into a real street car. It’s the real way to test the R&D.
I would recommend reinforcing the steering rack mounts in the V8R subframe and putting a cross brace between the rear control arm mounting points to avoid failures - especially on a track car.
Keith making a real street car with this swap is not any kind of a problem. Not sure what your reservation is?
As someone who also recently traded in a problematic 3sgte for a 2gr in my MR2, I wholeheartedly know you'll be insanely happy with the V6 powerband. More power helps, a better powerband is amazing. Less shifting, more fun.
NickD said:Too many years as a GM tech makes me nervous around LFXs.
Knowing the guy that makes V8R stuff makes me nervous about the swap.
LFXMX5 said:Keith Tanner said:alfadriver said:It's interesting that there isn't a Cyclone v6 swap out there being sold, too. Last I saw, it was getting 300hp w/o DI. Must be a much bigger engine....
For a different, and perhaps cheaper (but harder) option would be the Lincoln LS V6 with manual swap. It's been done before, and drives really nicely- but not 300hp...
That’s the Jaguar V6 used in the Rocketeer kit, isn’t it?
It’s a shame that GRM is doing a swap into a race car, because all the hard parts of a swap involve making it into a real street car. It’s the real way to test the R&D.
I would recommend reinforcing the steering rack mounts in the V8R subframe and putting a cross brace between the rear control arm mounting points to avoid failures - especially on a track car.
Keith making a real street car with this swap is not any kind of a problem. Not sure what your reservation is?
My "reservation" is that we won't get to see it. A race car build skips over the hard parts. It may be possible to build an LFX Miata that feels like it came out of the factory with all systems fully integrated, but you don't bother with the full level of finish on a track car. Like AC, or ground clearance, or PS, or NVH and interior heat control, etc. Again, it may be possible. But you don't find out on a race car.
Again I reiterate the suggestion to reinforce the V8R subframe. I've seen a number of failures of those. My own car has broken two of them, and having the steering rack come off the subframe is not good for car control. The same basic subframe is used for the Honda K, the GM LFX and the GM LSx swaps so it applies to all of those.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
I wonder how unimportant NVH isn't for an endurance racer. If you are in the car for 1-2 hour stints, excessive NVH wrecks the driver. The driver is the most important component of any racing vehicle, after all.
Sometimes the best mod is "working air conditioning" and that is for cone-killing BS.
That's the same reason I have PS on my track car. But you have to admit that most racers will take high durometer motor mounts over soft ones if it makes the shift better...
Knurled. said:In reply to Keith Tanner :
I wonder how unimportant NVH isn't for an endurance racer. If you are in the car for 1-2 hour stints, excessive NVH wrecks the driver. The driver is the most important component of any racing vehicle, after all.
Sometimes the best mod is "working air conditioning" and that is for cone-killing BS.
Focusing on driver comfort and eliminating rattles, bangs, etc has made us about 1 half a lap faster per 2 hour stint. We actually jump out of the car versus being "poured" out because of our focus on this.
Fast lap hasn't changed. Average laps are now within tenths for our drivers. It is IMPORTANT! Nice observation!
Well, I guess we'll see how much effort the guys put into making it a cushy race car. I look forward to reports of emissions, cold idle quality, cockpit heat on a hot day with the windows up and carpet fitment :)
alfadriver said:Keith Tanner said:It's a more distant relative. That's the "Taurus" engine that Alfa referred to, I believe.
Uh, the Jag and Lincoln motors are both basically the Taurus engine. The may have added a slightly different valvetrain, and did add electronic throttle. But the engine is the basic Ford unit.
Jag people will cringe and argue that all day long, but it's the same engine.
Alas, this is too much of a tangent to the GM V6 being put into a cheap endurance car by GRM...
I happen to agree. When Ford bought Jaguar the small cars were basically all Ford's with different body skin. Well not exactly but that's how I feel about them.
Yes, Ford really improved the quality of the Lyons inspired cars. But all of those were based on much earlier designs intended for far lower production volumes.
In reply to Keith Tanner : I’ve got all the amenities you mention with no problems. Like it came from the factory. So yes it is possible. Now as far as steering rack failure haven’t heard anything about that. So far so good.
You've got the same basic subframe as the LSx cars. There have been rack failures reported there. We've had two break on our own cars - I only ended up in the gravel, another ended up in the trees.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
Your talking about production run in 2012 for the subframes. Corrections were made at that time. Units were warranted and no failures have happened since. You are aware that this was remedied and yet you still want to put it out there 8 years later like it’s still going on. What is your problem Keith?
In reply to LFXMX5 :
You have a PM
In reply to SVreX :
Thanks for you compliments and interest in my car. I will keep
you in mind if I ever aim to sell it.
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