The Ohio Random Thread... aka We Should Probably Be Working

[jri4]

Nice! Thanks for the photos, they help me a lot! I love PF01's, would be sporting new 18s in black if I could afford it! Here is what I learned, with questions that still need answered also:

1. 245s look great, and I'm sure they will help keep 400hp to the ground.
2. At +38 they stick out really far. I am at +48 and will probably need a small spacer (3 or 5mm) to clear the strut.
3. You have 17s, I am going to try and cram 18s.....uhoh !major fender work required!
4. You are running -.5 camber in order to not rub. Is that possible/safe for my stock suspension (or eventual coilovers)? I'm not sure what the range is on that...
**I love the look, and don't mind a little elbow grease to make it work--but if 245s are just plain silly, then 235s seem to be the better choice for me. Thanks for those pictures, they really help and I will definitely reference them again in teh Spring when I go to purchase rubber!

 

[squirrelmincer]

1. I hope!
2. with a 245 Tire, 38mm offset, on a 8.5 inch rim, there is maybe 3mm of clearance from the coil over. I am using a set of KW's. The spring perch is much, much smaller then the stock strut.
3. You can go 18's, just with a smaller sidewall. My motivation for changing wheels is for performance. These were the smallest size i could fit with a set of bigger brakes. They are also lighter then 18's.
4. I run half a degree of negative camber in the rear. It is because that is what works best for me to help rotate the car. Not for rubbing. Your stock set up is one and a half degrees of negative camber. My setting will cause more rubbing then yours. The camber in the rear is not adjustable from the factory. You would want to buy adjustable upper control arms for the rear if you wish to change it.
What is the width of your wheels? This is a great tool to use to visualize your set up: http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp

 

[squirrelmincer]

Here is what I did on Friday. My friend's speed had a bit of an off. So I am going to rebuilt it for him. The radiator, AC condenser and intercooler, was smashed and pushed back touching the motor. The crash bar and radiator housing were bent and broke. It tore off the oil filter, and broke the piston on the clutch slave cylinder. The passenger side front suspension was hit hard. It pushed the coilover through the knuckle and down on to the half shaft. The Tri Point lower a arm is still straight. All things considered, it really isn't that bad. I removed everything up front to give it a good inspection. And make removal of the motor and trans a little easier. I took the trans home to tear apart and send out the internals to cryo. As well as replace the diff with a Quaife unit. So we are replacing all the broken bits and then some. It only took me 7 hours of knuckle busting. By spring it will be a full on Time Attack race car. Weeee!

 

[PrinceValorum]

What the heck, where do you guys get the money for this 400hp insanity stuff? I'd be so happy with 150whp out of a Miata with some stiff coilovers, sway bars, some chassis bracing, a cage and some sticky tires... Especially after I read about a guy talking how his turbo Miata with around 220whp does 1:21's around Mid Ohio, which he said was 1-1.5 seconds quicker than his Lotus...

 

[PrinceValorum]

LMFAO, read this thread. I've laughed for 10 mins straight, no joke
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123784729-HP-to-the-wheels

 

[fuztupnz]

Especially after I read about a guy talking how his turbo Miata with around 220whp does 1:21's around Mid Ohio, which he said was 1-1.5 seconds quicker than his Lotus...

1:21 around Mid Ohio? Absolutely no way. That's getting into the Rolex DP car territory and faster than the GT cars. The fastest GT lap this year was a 1:24.68.

Your thread is hilarious. I had to take a break before going to the next page so i could gather myself and clear the tears to read again.

 

[THE Phen]

Ok first of all... I just caught up in this thread while sitting in a nice hotel in Vietnam.

GOD DAMN I love you Ohio guys! Holy s***. Thank you for the sanity break away from all the s*** I've been dealing with here.

Secondly, the M3's are crazy good handling because they're proper wheel drive. One day all of you will understand that concept. j/k.

Thirdly... I hope everyone is doing well. I miss you guys like crazy.

 

[princess peach]

Sean, what the hell are you doing to your car??? that's a lot of power... (me might want (nailbyt))

 

[squirrelmincer]

Tear apart/build the motor and trans. Using a Rotrex C30-94 Supercharger for forced induction. Will have to custom fab brackets and plumbing and what not, as there is no "kit". The smooth power delivery of the SC will be much more manageable then a turbo. It will also run cooler. Here is a link to the Rotrex web site for more info: http://www.rotrex.com/Home.aspx
Kraftworks uses the same kind of set up on their kits: http://www.kraftwerksusa.com/products.php

 

[princess peach]

cool, are you doing this with the DP Tune guy?

 

[squirrelmincer]

Joe(DPTune) and I are talking about tuning solutions for this project. He is the one who is tuning it now in it's N/A form. I want to see what we can come up with together for a ECU Reflash. If not then stand alone. Piggybacks like the Standback don't work so well on the 07+ NA 3's. (Read **** YOU C-PE!)

 

[frenchy chan]

Piggybacks like the Standback don't work so well on the 07+ NA 3's. (Read **** YOU C-PE!)

hahaha

 

[PrinceValorum]

1:21 around Mid Ohio? Absolutely no way.

Ok, I must have remembered the numbers incorrectly. I'm going to assume you know a lot more about it than I do. I couldn't find the record for the track, anywhere.

Anyway, the point was that his turbo Miata was faster around the track than his Lotus, and even with the mods, it still cost like 1/2-1/3 of the price.

 

[jri4]

<a href="http://s978.photobucket.com/albums/ae262/mzspeed3/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view&current=mms_picture-32.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/ae262/mzspeed3/Mobile%20Uploads/mms_picture-32.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s978.photobucket.com/albums/ae262/mzspeed3/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view&current=mms_picture_2-5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i978.photobucket.com/albums/ae262/mzspeed3/Mobile%20Uploads/mms_picture_2-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Got my all-seasons on, ready for winter. I'm excited to get started refinishing the OZs and buying new rubber for them, but I like this look for now!

 

[PrinceValorum]

The spokes are so meaty you don't notice the calipers too much. I'm glad you didn't paint over the M on the center cap, too... It would look even better if you cleaned the tires, but they're winter beaters, so I know it's hard to care.

 

[fuztupnz]

Prince: I hope you don't think i was ragging on you. I was more of calling bulls*** on the miata guy's claims. I can believe a track prepped and boosted miata could be faster than a lotus however. I've been going to mid ohio for all sorts of racing since i was a kid. I was actually just up there to hang out with some friends running in the porsche club HPDE last weekend. It's killing me to not have the liquid cash to run my 8 this year. Here's some pretty good info on Mid Ohio if anyone is interested. No official record listed though.
http://www.trackpedia.com/wiki/Mid_Ohio#Typical_Lap_Times

I got to do a ride along for a session in a spec 944 car doing 1:47's. Did I mention that I can't wait to get to the track?

 

[fuztupnz]

I like green jri4. At least their all seasons and not full snows. How is the speed3 in the snow? I have some more reading to do on them before I get my wife one, but I figured I'd ask. Feel free to flame and say "Search Noob"

 

[jri4]

The whole car needs a wash. It's filthy! Eventually the tires will be nice and shiny. Oh, and the green is not so 'glowing' as the pictures looks. Last winter the Cooper Zeon ZPT all seasons (stock 215/45 size) had under 5,000 miles on them. This winter they have 15,000+ miles worn. The MS3 is fine in the snow as long as you go slow--even with all seasons. A lot of weight over the front and FWD help. But the next chance I get, I will be putting winter tread on the OEM and summer performance tread on the OZs. I will highly suggest winter dedicated tread on your wife's soon-to-be MS3, especially living here in Ohio. It's just plain safer. Thanks for the comments guys! They look cool, and the red calipers don't show or clash nearly as bad as I thought!

 

[fuztupnz]

Slow isn't in her nature, so I figured I'd end up with snows on it. We need to get one first and see where we stand. I run blizzacks on my 8 in the winter and the car is great. The only thing that kept me from driving was when we had more snow than I have ground clearance. I just stayed home. We don't get as much snow as you north east guys though and I don't miss it. I'm originally from the youngstown/warren area.

 

[PrinceValorum]

Prince: I hope you don't think i was ragging on you.

Nah, it's cool man. I read threads about cars for hours, so there's lots of numbers, I'm guessing I just mixed it up. It was probably 1:41's, which would still be really fast if a spec 944 does 1:47's.. I've never even been to a real track, but it's calling me. I wish Mid Ohio was on Forza so I could "practice."

I never had a problem with the 626 in the snow last year, except once when I was going up the smallest side street ever and it was uphill and I slid off and then the 6" difference sucked the car in. It took 6 or so guys to push it out. I did only have 4/32's I think on the front. It wasn't good... I need to get new snow tires for the steelies. 185/70-14's should be pretty cheap, lol.