MS-P handling / autoX / tire eater :-/

[86_911_4sale]

Here are a few comments from a post I put up on www.sccaforums.com (the stock class section):

the lack of camber available on the Protege will be its downfall. It will get EATEN ALIVE by the ITR in any sort of sweeper. That's my 2 cents at least.

And

I ran the MP3 in GS at nationals. The lack of camber in the Proteges is numbing. I did well locally, but at big events I was just easy cannon fodder. Even with the Kuhmos there wasn't enough grip in the corners, and they get shredded if you barely exceed the slip angles.
I love the car, but hope, for the MSP owners sake, they add some camber adjustment. Otherwise, you'll have a 170hp, LSD tire-shredder.
The suspension kicks butt though!

I hope they are wrong about the MS-P eating tires since 17 R- compound tires are pretty pricey! I know my 99 Civic Si wasnt too friendly on front tires either so I can see being competitive by keeping fresh rubber on the car could be expensive.

Does anyone know if they might have added camber adjustement to the MS-P? Any other thoughts?

-T

 

[JonnyMiata]

I am not sure of camber adjustment on the Protege. I know my Miata has it. If the Protege doesn't have a camber adjustment, can't you just buy a camber kit? I did a quick search on the Net an found this http://www.k-mac.com.au/makes/mazda.htm

I know they make a bunch of them for the Civics and I know they do not have a camber adjustment.

Jonny

 

[Jim Frye]

Well...

I don't know about the camberadjustment part, but when I was racing, I always ran shaved tires. Full depth treaded tires just will not stand up to the loads. The extra flex in the full depth tread just added extra heat and caused all kinds of problems with tread block chunking and premature wear. Do the tire companies still provide some sponsership for weekend warrior racers?

I agree that you will need a lot more negitive camber than what the current Protege chassis provides. I'd be surprised if someone doesn't have, or isn't working on, a set of camber adjustment plates for Proteges.

Since when hasn't racing been expensive? Jim

 

[JasonH]

Q: How do you make a small fortune in racing?

A: Start with a large fortune.

Camber plates are illegal for stock classes. Mazda would either need to ship the MSP stock with some kind of camber adjuster built-in, or issue a service bulletin to allow the use of special bolts or something to allow camber adjustments.

Full depth tires really aren't an option in stock classes. You need DOT race rubber (Kumhos, Hoosiers, etc.) to be competitive.

They also said that on a tight course it would be hard to beat, and that the relatively high-speed sweepers would be its downfall. I guess we all just have to wait and see.