Heh, I think he may have been referring more to the adjustment nuts on it and how much of a PITA it was to adjust. He was banging on it for quite some time
I'll check it myself for play, he didn't make a big deal about it so I'm sure it's not that bad. Jeff is pretty straight up with me, I told him to tell me if anything looked even marginal...and he did
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Murlo26
I need to listen to Scheides more often i think :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by turbotalon1g
...I realized that I can't keep up my shit talking without anything to back it up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JV
S2000: For those of us that know the Miata is the best car on the planet, but also want extra power and to not have to turn in our man cards.
Heh, I think he may have been referring more to the adjustment nuts on it and how much of a PITA it was to adjust. He was banging on it for quite some time
I'll check it myself for play, he didn't make a big deal about it so I'm sure it's not that bad. Jeff is pretty straight up with me, I told him to tell me if anything looked even marginal...and he did
I've always heard good things about him, so thats why I was a little confused. If it has a tiny bit of play in it, thats not all that bad.
Just remember to look at your tires once in a while. We both don't want a replay of what happened a couple of years ago.
__________________
Speaking about wanting kids...
turbotalon1g: 3 max, she wants one of each.
A////guy: "we are shooting for a transgender child this time"
Heh, I like how you guys act like I'm not going to take care of this, you are all pretty silly
Reminder: I have had this car in my posession for literally 5 weeks (April 15th IIRC) and the entire project started only two months before that. In case you didn't notice, I'm busting ass on this thing and safety is my #1 priority (that and actually being able to show up/drive).
Give me a little credit, and DSM9.0? Meh. Sure. Not sure why that is a fun name for this, plenty of other evos on jackstands out there collecting dust and not getting anywhere near this level of attention. I knew this thign was going to require plenty of TLC when I got it.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Murlo26
I need to listen to Scheides more often i think :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by turbotalon1g
...I realized that I can't keep up my shit talking without anything to back it up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JV
S2000: For those of us that know the Miata is the best car on the planet, but also want extra power and to not have to turn in our man cards.
Haha you are nuts! But yea you are trucking along on this thing as other evos cry on jackstands while the birds sing. Good job dude! You have more patience than I do lol.
I didn't say anything about you not taking care of the car. Hell, its got 130k miles on it? I've seen MUCH worse things on cars that have less than half that mileage.
__________________
Speaking about wanting kids...
turbotalon1g: 3 max, she wants one of each.
A////guy: "we are shooting for a transgender child this time"
So, I attended two more track days at DCTC in the last two weeks...one on May 23, one this past Friday June 6th. I have changed nothing with the car for these two events, just working on myself/driver mod and I am having an absolute BLAST doing it!
All loaded up for track day:
Pics from parade lap:
Unedited, spectator-view cameraphone vid from the May 23 event:
Went home for memorial day, and my parents dropped this off on me for an early b-day present. Small tear came to my eye, it's so awesome! I've been wanting a garage clock for a looooong time and now I have one I wanna keep forever!
After that first event, I drove the car a few times, checked for leaks, checked the tie rods...I can make long lists of thigns to do to this thing but the budget just isn't there! So nice and slow with safety being my #1 concern. Turbo drain line is still leaking and cannot tell if the rear yolk on the xfer case is too or if its just oil from the turbo drain spraying back. Keeping a close eye on fluid levels and all is good so I ordered a few gaskets/seals just in case and will be putting them on shortly.
3rd event was last friday and I am really getting a good feel for the car. Starting to get a little aggressive and more confident but trying really hard to not push too far/take it easy. My #1 priority with these events is to have fun...going fast / faster is part of that but I have been focusing more and more on just enjoying myself, using this as a time to getaway from work and other things in life...absolutely love it.
Check out my sawwwwheeeeat gopro mount:
I ordered an extension to lower it down about 8" to improve the view out the front of the car. I love the view of driver input and I can pick up on the conversation in the cabin....keeping all of these videos and reviewing them for my own personal notes on improvement.
Still trying to not go nuts with mods on this car, budget is too tight right now after paying for the motor/trans/clutch etc from the get go, but the most obvious thing right now is TIRES...I'm pushing (and loving) everything else....new brake pads are doing AWESOME, suspension is so-so but definitely works.
I realized friday night that the 3 weeks I thought I had to get ready for proving grounds was actually only TWO WEEKS! So, I"m in semi-mild freak-out mode, going to do my best to button up a few loose ends before heading up there:
-b̶u̶y̶ ̶n̶e̶w̶ ̶t̶i̶r̶e̶s̶ ̶+̶ ̶m̶o̶u̶n̶t̶/̶b̶a̶l̶a̶n̶c̶e̶
-rotate existing, just fine fuzion ZRi tires
-remove front bumper, install brake duct air scoops
-drain oil, replace turbo drain gasket with nice new one
-oil change
-purchase more fuel containers (no e85 near the track anymore)
-fix gopro mount
-track insurance
Whimsical purchase of the week:
-SpoolinUp COP - still only running 25psi, ready for more! I'm getting misfires here and there at 25psi and I'll get some drag runs in TTS so I splurged and bought the DIY kit since I still have a set of coils that I used to test on beaterX a few years back. In the name of reliability....I can turn the boost down if its too much.
Other than that, I freaking LOVE driving this car, even on the street! The race brake pads are SQUEEKY but goddamn STS is SO MUCH FUN! The track time is fun and riding with more experienced drivers/instructors after they have rode with me is generally a very wide-eyed experience...makes me realize that I need a few more suspension mods but at the same time tires and experience are my #1 goals right now. Proving Grounds will mark event #4 of the summer, starting to look forward to what's next.
Last but not least, in the back of my mind I have wish list growing...depending on budget, I'd love to:
-tires--probably BFG Rivals--best price and great dry handling, game on.
-rear sway bar (need to decide on whiteline 22mm or 24mm)
-front sway bar endlink mod while I...
-replace front tie rods, inner and outer
-whiteline FLCA rear bushing/same as Perrin PSRS
-whiteline bumpsteer kit
-whiteline FLCA front bushing
-new alignment
Hoping to do this stuff sometime this summer but I won't push it. Note that a turbo is not on this list yet...I'll do an ef3 & tubular manifold when the time comes but not yet.
See you honkeys at Proving Grounds!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Murlo26
I need to listen to Scheides more often i think :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by turbotalon1g
...I realized that I can't keep up my shit talking without anything to back it up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JV
S2000: For those of us that know the Miata is the best car on the planet, but also want extra power and to not have to turn in our man cards.
SpoolinUP COP is probably one of the greatest 8/9 mods.
Fairly inexpensive and all that 95% of people will need for an ignition.
I was still running that on my car with the high boost E98 setup without issue.
Hah yup! I had one on my 8 and has always been one of my favorite all-around mods. So much so that I tried to put the coils on my X and later found out it was pointless...so I'll use them on the 9 now instead
Quote:
Originally Posted by A//// Guy
That clock is awesome! Even has lil turbo in it, aww. Good stuff race car man!
Heh yup! Pretty tough to get more perfect...I love it.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Murlo26
I need to listen to Scheides more often i think :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by turbotalon1g
...I realized that I can't keep up my shit talking without anything to back it up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JV
S2000: For those of us that know the Miata is the best car on the planet, but also want extra power and to not have to turn in our man cards.
Few more little parts trickled in. Nothing major but I broke out the murlostands and did the old 20-minute-at-a-time maintenance package. 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there, and a week later my list is done.
During the 3rd DCTC day last Friday the motor clicked over 1000 miles and with the motor finally broken in and lots of revs to redline I decided to drain the oil out. Looked just dandy!
With it empty cleaned up the oil drain line from the turbo...it's still been slowly leaking...and installed one of the newer yellow crush-style gaskets, fresh bolts, and fresh little o-ring gaskets for the bolts. Also a new oil drain bolt w/ fresh washer, a fresh oem filter and 4.5 quarts of 10w40...ready to rock!
Next up I yanked off the front bumper and fitted the 3" ducts I have been meaning to install. There's some mismatch of I.D. vs O.D. and the 2.75" silicone tubing I had didn't fit very well, so I just did what I could to make it work. The setup is far from perfect but I think it'll do good on the track. I want to do some airflow testing to make sure air is pushed in properly but it should be good to go.
Yip, that's ducting/foil tape. It'll be at the front of the car, so should be fine.
Once that was all buttoned up, I decided to take a break and setup my new iRacing setup to practice for BIR next weekend:
Seriously though I put some NES & SNES ROMs on a raspberry pi with a $9 usb controller from amazon have been just having an absolute blast!
Minorist of minor splurges, I talked to my buddy Matt Szabaga down in VA and he sent me some pins, plugs, wires, and a cute little breadboard mount for some old toyota parts I had sitting around.
An hour with the soldering gun and crimpers and not too shabby:
Slapped it on the car:
And promptly hid it away:
Bled brakes, rotated tires, upped the rev limit (just in case), turned up the boost a little more, and I'm pretty much all set for BIR next weekend
Still shopping for track insurance, not having much luck yet...yes places offer it but it has to be organized/signed off/form filled out by the organizers so we'll see. Oh, and anyone want some beagles? Looking for a sitter for that weekend.
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Murlo26
I need to listen to Scheides more often i think :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by turbotalon1g
...I realized that I can't keep up my shit talking without anything to back it up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JV
S2000: For those of us that know the Miata is the best car on the planet, but also want extra power and to not have to turn in our man cards.
Attended MAP PG2014.1 this weekend and holy hell what a fresh experience! I entered in the TTS class where you compete Drag, AutoX, and High-Speed AutoX on the 2.5 mile short track...basically tour of the track and go fast nonstop all weekend!
All I can say is that all of the practice I had at DCTC and all of the videos I watched didn't prepare me for the reality of full throttle 5th gear 100mph+ turns and 125mph pinning the throttle until the last last last moment for a turn...misjudge and you either waste a bunch of time OR overshoot and barrel off into a grove of trees! Then do that again and again, each time daring yourself to stop a little bit later than the time before. This isht is nuts!
One other thing--if you don't think road course/road racing is tough on your car...wow. I again...knew it was coming but the reality is summed up in one simple piece of data: in less than one hour of driving I went from a tip-top full tank of fuel to literally the gas light on. Seriously. So much nonstop WOT it is just crazy/awesome/amazing. Cars break when doing this, period. And the higher the level of competition? The more breakage--these guys going faster than me are ripping off numbers that frankly are just staggering. I am beyond humbled and impressed!
So, on with the car pics!
First off, I needed it! E85 tanker all loaded up for the long haul!
On the way to PG it's tradition for me to stop by DB on the way...I got worried I would need to bleed the brakes at some point so I picked up some StopTech STR600. I didn't end up using it, afterall but I think I'll swap it in for the next event (unless I hear otherwise):
Some um...interesting weather on the way up to Brainerd
While hanging out waiting for the ugly clouds to pass I noticed this, blah!!! Fixed with superglue.....held together just fine all weekend
All set for tech!
I am a lazy fat SOB at ~225 so the car is about 3220 with 3/4 tank of gas. Lots of work to do here...
Drag racing with this car is SUCH a dream compared to the EF4/6-puck on the X. The car is just crazy consistent...stock turbo torque, Exedy Twin...wow. My mom could launch this thing compared to the X!
First launch on the 2-step at 5800rpm (?) I burned all the way through first gear just wheelspin the entire way. Still ran a 12.3@112.9mph. 2.0 60' time.
Second launch I free-revved at about 4500rpm and ran 12.1@113mph. 1.9 60' time.
With a 1.6 or 1.7' 60' time, this car has a 11.9 in it no problemo! Still, I'm happy!
From then on the track got sticker and I tried adjusting launch RPM a few times. I *should* have just 2-stepped it and just slipped slipped slipped more but TTS only got 5 passes in before it was off to the autoX course...
Best drag pass.
Nice little camping spot!
AutoX went WAY better than I expected. I think all of the DCTC events are helping a lot here because I basically was lining up for my first run and thinking, 'gah, we ONLY get 6 tries at this?!?' and basically decided to just go balls to the wall on run #1, don't look back. My dad was in the car with me for the first two runs so that helped...I wanted to give him a fun ride
I ended up running a best of 29.7 and got veto'd my 6th run for some reason, Paul did too, probably because our cars are twins!
Anyways I was a little over a second off of some guys that I'd consider 'fast' and I'm still on a very stock-ish suspension and cheap-ass Fuzion ZRi tires. Ricer math says I can go way faster! Either way as it was I finished 12th of 34 in TTS (for autoX) and 15th of 115 AutoX entrants...if I had entered the 'regular' autoX I think if I looked correctly I would have been classed with Ryan in his Z06 vette and gotten second place right behind him
In the grid for AutoX
End of Saturday, successful and happy!
Sunday was again...a pants changer! I blabbed about it up top but it is just way over the top crazy what these guys do and what you can do yourself...I put this on par with some of the extreme skiing I've done...one small slip up and you are gonna get majorly hurt or maybe die.
When registering for TTS it said you got one 20-minute practice HPDE session before the standing-start competition. When we arrived, they told us we would get TWO practice sessions. I was pumped and a little nervous as I had signed up for the 'super size' package...for $50 you get two more 20-minute HPDE sessions...um yes, I had to. SO glad I did, you should see first lap compared to last lap, LOL! Its hilarious!
First run I think I did about a 118, bogged launch and timing equipment went dark.
Second run I did a 115
Third run I did a 113 (I think)
Fourth and Fifth, 112 I think?
Sixth run 110
Seventh and Eighth runs I did 110 and finally a 109.5--last car on the track I guess, they were going to shut it down since everyone was pu$$ying out and leaving...I wasn't ready to leave! I had just finished my 4,5,6th runs about 10 minutes prior and was still cooling off...screw it
How did the car do though? Well shyte I haven't even mentioned it yet in all my yammering but I literally FORGOT I put the COP in (that's how perfectly it worked!)...I had been concerned about a few of the connectors and my weak-ass wiring skillz but they ended up working awesome! I ran the car at 30psi all weekend, there were a few hiccups here and there but no knock AT ALL.
The car did NOT burn any oil.
The car did NOT lose any coolant.
The car did NOT leak from the freaking turbo oil drain anymore
The car did not break at all.
The brakes held up fantastic! Zero brake fade--I will watch for it but I'm very very happy with the Hawk HP Plus pads and Binary brake ducts...so simple, just works works works.
Quite simply the car did not skip a beat. The motor/trans that Ron @ RS put together is a goddamn tank. The tune is still the one Shane@DB Performance put on years ago and again it is fantastic.
**asterisk time** I plan on tearing into the car and looking things over in the next few weeks so...yea, maybe I'll be eating my words here but as far as I'm concerned, the car made it home in one piece = success!
In the paddock cooling off
Brake calipers...are a lot more brown/black now than when I arrived. Probably just some dirt/dust right? Sigh...they did their job.....
Results?
Overall, I finished 6th of 15 in my class and 10th of 34 competing in TTS. Not too bad for a newbie!
So after all this, I've been working on this project since February and I'm SO glad I did it and I'm SO thankful to everyone that's helped along the way--its hopefully all documented here and I am SO HAPPY! I had a freaking blast blast blast and can't wait to see what happens next!
Oh, and I made a video. I haven't done one with music in a LONG time but since this weekend really tops off the last 6 months or so for me, here it is. Please enjoy ( and don't laugh at me too much, I have a LOT to learn still!)
Bloody Seal Bounce Champion!
Hybrid Mode
