Maff's STS2 Build

[aMaff]

Well, it was definately a heater hose. It was so strange. The hose apparently got pretty weak and streched out at that spot. The rubber actually feels spongy there. Freakin wierd.

It split right behind the hose clamp:

Anyway, hopefully fixed now. I made double sure everything was hooked back up right w/ hose clamps properly seated so I don't have to work back there again. There's about 4" of clearance between the back of the engine and the firewall (where I was working).

I'll take her for a drive tomorrow to get the thermostat opened up and then top it off if need be.


EDIT: *arnold* It's not a toomaaaa!

 

[aMaff]

Ok, weaksauce update cuz I forgot my camera on Saturday. Got the suspension on! w00t! And it is a BLAST! Feels so much better, like a car should feel! On that note, I'm glad the P5's not that stiff lol.

If you look @ the pics, the rear is almost tucked while the front is at almost stock ride height. I need to bring the rear up to match the front so I can have my weights at least somewhat correct. I'll probably do that when I go to get it aligned on Thursday. The reason being the shocks have 3r/4f adjustments for the spring perch. There's a snap ring that goes in a groove on the shock body that the spring perch sits on top of. I left them where they were when they came from Koni. It won't be ideal, but I'm planning a suspension 'rebuild' (pull everything off, adjust, put it back on) for about 1/2 way through the season, so that will be rectified to a more ideal setup.

random brake shot:

I need to get up off my lazy ass and slap all my decals on at some point. I've got my class letters cut in vinyl by Spazchicken (Rick gave me a good deal on them, and even threw in a couple of extras for me! He was very easy to deal with, and I'd recomed him to anyone ), along with my Mazda Motorsports Development decals. ATM I'm working on cutting some magnetic numers that will be sprayed silver to match everything else.

If y'all behave, I'll take my camera on Thursday so I can get some suspension pics when the wheels are off.

EDIT: Reverse rake ftl lol

EDIT EDIT: These are for the occasional blind corner worker:

I think they came out about the way I wanted. Now to find some rattle can silver paint...

 

[Prodigy]

Just curious, where did you get the magnetic sheets from?

 

[aMaff]

Lowes. Home Despot didn't have them. They're in the air conditioner ducting aisle as "Magnetic Vent covers." They're 8 x 15" sheets, 3 to a pack, like $4 or so per pack. I got 2 packs. 2 sheets for 4 x "1," and 2 sheets for 2 x "4."

 

[melicha8]

Just did the "Renewed my SCCA Membership" mod

Did that mod myself(first)

 

[Prodigy]

Lowes. Home Despot didn't have them. They're in the air conditioner ducting aisle as "Magnetic Vent covers." They're 8 x 15" sheets, 3 to a pack, like $4 or so per pack. I got 2 packs. 2 sheets for 4 x "1," and 2 sheets for 2 x "4."

Cool, thanks!
I guess I'll have to swing by there before the season starts up.

 

[aMaff]

Suspension pics! Got the ride heights set even and alignment done. It's nothing 'serious' yet, but it's gonna be way better than stock. I'm at 1.5* camber all around, at 0 toe. After I get the suspension completely sorted, I'll be getting it corner balanced, then re-aligned.

Hooray even ride heights! Before bringing the rear up, I was basically riding on the bump stops in the rear...

Hotness. In this pic you can see the grooves cut in to the shocks that would allow me to drop the front more or less an inch more, and I have about a half inch in the rear. This is probably lower than I would want to go, but I can bring them up to where I want with the adjustable coils:

Sorry for the blurryness, but this shows everything I've swapped out. Shocks, springs, brake lines, and if you look close, brake pads . The hawk HP+, btw, does not squeal NEARLY as bad as everyone says. I probably wouldn't want it for my daily, but for the occasionally driven car, it's alright. It's funny tho, they're totally quiet when cold (ie when they don't work...), but when they warm up, they start to squeal. I guess it's how you konw they're working, and man do they work...

 

[aMaff]

Well, another good news bad news. Bad news: Right now in the front, my bumpstops are useless because it'll hit the sleeves before it gets near the bumpstop. Zero fun sir. Didn't even go to the race today (it wasn't in my region, but still...). I THINK I have the fix, but I won't be sure until I can completely tear it down and take a look at it. Anyone want to donate a garage?

Good news: Vinyl gives me mad horsepower, y0!
Threw the numbers on for fun:

Pretty straight for eyeballin it:

wooz-wooz? No.

 

[iLisa]

nice Zoom Zoom..

 

[Kansei]

+20hp

 

[aMaff]

+20hp

no, 30. 5 per sticker mang!

 

[kcbhiw]

God, you're such a ricer, Muff.

 

[dmitrik4]

Maff, check out Andy Hollis' GMRM blog...he recommends some ride height measurements that should get you close.

what Koni valving are you running--Sport or Race?

Zero fun sir.

+1 for Scrubs reference.

 

[aMaff]

I'm running race in the front and sport in the rear. The sports would be stretched a little thin with the 550# springs. The problem isn't the ride height right now (they're higher than ideal, but I need to get this problem fixed before I can set the heights properly), the problem is how the sleeve is set on the shock. The sleeve itself is too high. If I push the bump stop down to the shock body, the bump stop is actually BELOW the threaded sleeve, which means I effectively have metal bumpstops up front. The rear is better, but not much.




And it was a remember the titans reference

 

[apexlater]

You need the front chick spoiler.

 

[moxnix]

Are you sure those are installed correctly?

I thought the miata ground controls did not use the koni lower spring perch instead the sleeve had a aluminum collar inside that actually rests on the circlip that holds the perch right now.

 

[aMaff]

Ya, I'm pretty sure 1 of 2 things happened:

1: I'm retarded and installed it wrong. The instructions in the kit were for the old design GC sleeves, and so weren't relevant. Now I know know how they're supposed to be installed, but I don't rememeber seeing a ring in the sleeves. Then again, I wasn't looking for one.

2: I got the wrong kit, or they changed the design.

I'm betting on 1....

 

[dmitrik4]

And it was a remember the titans reference

d'oh! same actor; different role.

keep us posted...hopefully if you make mistakes and post 'em, i can avoid those mistakes later.

 

[aMaff]

Hey, that works for me. If I can help someone else out, so be it! If everyone can get a good laugh at my mistakes, then hell, so be it too! lol.

 

[aMaff]

Picked up a set of used Racing Beat adjustable endlinks from the GRM forums classifieds Those should go well w/ the monster front bar