What have you done to your Miata today?



Cannot WAIT to get it on good tires next week. MAN it's fun :D

nice run andrew! car looks and sounds awesome!! oh to have a second gear like that! still don't understand how i finish ahead of you at F1?????(naughty)
 
nice run andrew! car looks and sounds awesome!! oh to have a second gear like that! still don't understand how i finish ahead of you at F1?????(naughty)

I blame inconsistent karts and my fatter-ass. Mostly that second one probably, because those karts were gutless, and you are...well... not a large man (rlaugh)


What exactly do you mean about the second gear? It's 5 speed with a 4.1 torsen diff on 23" OD tires and a 7200 RPM rev limit. Nothing special. IIRC it tops out right at 65.
 
The reason for my swap to the 5 speed and sending me to ssm![emoji12] I can't keep hitting the rev limiter with the 6 speed, drive me nuts!
 
Ah, yeah, there's that. Could go to a 3.9 diff instead, but those are about as rare as hen's teeth.
 
The reason for my swap to the 5 speed and sending me to ssm![emoji12] I can't keep hitting the rev limiter with the 6 speed, drive me nuts!

Some of us have to deal with SSM regardless. Of course I haven't had to deal with it for a couple of years due to work etc, but still. I used to only have to handle the occasional ricer, but since the local chapter lost some venues I was going up against well-prepared 'Vettes and the like.
 
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Used race rubber means a little time spent figuring out which tire goes where. I probably should get a dedicated depth gauge, but with the rarity that I do this, it probably won't happen any time soon.

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Putting together a fix for my cracked bumper. The *cough* patch is just on top for mockup & to drill holes in the bumper for rivets, will go under the panel once that's all done. That way the head of the rivet goes against the plastic, and the rivet itself is going into the *cough* patch, and not the plastic bumper (where they'll just tear out).

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I didn't realize Mazda made police cruisers.

I found a few extra MAZDA and MAZDASPEED stickers in a drawer in the workshop and gave them one of each, each to put on their pedal cars. Absolutely made their day :D
 
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Finished the bumper fix. It's SO much stronger.

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And stopped the anti-submarine strap from falling to the floorboard under the seat every time someone gets out of the car:

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Autocross today. Would have been 3rd raw if not for a clipped cone on a serious horsepower course. We were DEEP into 3rd gear. The car is a whole different animal with the new tires (R25b vs R35b Hoosiers). The 35s are a medium road race compound. Or a "super hard" autocross compound. They're fun, but I spent a lot of time chasing the car around, especially the rear end. With the 25s, it turned in wherever and whenever I wanted, and I could use SO much more throttle and it would just stick. It was just fantastic. I giggled like a kid locked in a toy-store.
 
swapped exhaust with a buddy and got the FM Big spark (LS3 coils) installed on the car.

BYE BYE loud "custom" 3" with fart cannon.... HEEELLLOO 3" FM exhaust
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Got a couple super-neato knick knacks from McMaster Racing Supply, for the slowly coming together aero build.

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I had to drill the brackets out from ~3/16" to 1/4" so that it would fit around the threaded rod on the spoiler struts. Now they'll work great :)
 
New toy arrived yesterday. 14" chop saw :D

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Spent a little time on the spoiler brackets. Today I'll get the bases drilled out for the dzus fasteners they'll use. The holes are all counter-sunk on the back side so that once the rivets go through, I can grind them near-flat to clean them up, and they'll still have area to grab on to.

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Once I get these roughed out, I really need to have a think about executing the front spoiler mounts, which will be a little more complex.
 
Made more aluminum chips.

I'm kinda proud of these. They *almost* look like I know what I'm doing. Fortunately though, I know better. The only thing I farmed out is bending them at a consistent 25 degree angle, as I have a buddy with access to a proper metal brake.

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Front splitter rear mounts. These will allow the splitter to basically slide under the car, and then fall onto a pair of pegs (again: quick release everything) that will locate the splitter both laterally and fore & aft. The front mounts (not sure if I want to use struts or cables yet, both have their pros and cons) will set the angle of the splitter which, by rule, must be just about zero.

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All that's left is to figure out placement for the front mounts at the bumper bar.
And to fab up the splitter and spoiler.
And to build an air dam.
And to assemble everything.

And drink beer.
 
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