new (older) car, but not a new member

[jroc]

Originally Posted by elegal

Just from a practical standpoint, if you DO go with paint, you might want to stick close to the underlying color so that if (when) it chips, it will be less obvious!

whos practical these days? haha if/when it does chip, i can always respray it. i like hobbies.

well, painted the hood and trunk last night. not too shabby:






then, this happened this morning:









Word through the grapevine is theres another miata thats getting forced induction today.

i may soon follow

[jroc]

Originally Posted by DWNSHFT

Spec Miata mandates a 13 pound minimum wheel weight so there are many options in that weight range for low dollars. I ran Kosei K1s at ~13.8 pounds and Race Engineering at 13.4 pounds at $125 each for 15X7.

Beauty of the rattle can is cheap and easy touch-ups. But it all depends on how shiny you need your track car to be. Mine wasn't perfect but it won me two championships. So maybe it >was< perfect...

In Spec Miata we set timing to 14 degrees, IIRC, to get a little more top end power. Rev them hard, they like it. Alignment was simple: max caster and camber up front, about 2.0 camber rear, and zero toe all around. We couldn't modify brakes so many guys used different brake pads front and rear to tune brake bias (harder in front, softer in rear to get better rear bite). Spec Miata springs are too hard, in my opinion, but relative spring rates front-to-rear were good. Exhaust helps make more power up top but decide if you want to stay legal at AMP.

Feel free to ask any questions. Miatas have a soft spot in my heart and I love to help them do well.


David

what would you recommend for a street driven miata, currently being used as a DD/will eventually be a full race car--as far as alignment goes?

also, i have the h&r springs, and will be getting my hands on a slightly used set of bilsteins. im guessing that would be a decent combo? what do you think of the 1.8 brake "upgrade"?

Not necessarily going for spec miata, more of TT/maybe race group at the moment is my more foreseeable future goal.

[EVSS]

Sweet, another Miata!

Originally Posted by jroc

all 6UL's are backordered until late april


i saw a post that goodwin had some in stock, but this was a few weeks ago, and it was only 15x9s


there were some 15x8s on tirerack that caught my eye.

15x9s are where it's at anyway. Check Phil's Tire Service also. He's the other distributor for 6ULs, and when I bought mine, he was the only one with any in stock.

Originally Posted by jroc

what would you recommend for a street driven miata, currently being used as a DD/will eventually be a full race car--as far as alignment goes?

also, i have the h&r springs, and will be getting my hands on a slightly used set of bilsteins. im guessing that would be a decent combo? what do you think of the 1.8 brake "upgrade"?

Not necessarily going for spec miata, more of TT/maybe race group at the moment is my more foreseeable future goal.

I'll throw in my two cents here, even though Dave definitely knows his stuff (more so than I, probably). What are the rates on the H&Rs? I would definitely go max camber in front, as I've been wearing the outsides of all of my tires too heavily, and this with ~2 degrees all around (I think). If you still have PS, go for max caster (~5°), but consider backing it off maybe a degree if you have a depowered or manual rack.

I wouldn't think you'd need 1.8 brakes as long as you're near stock power... just good pads. If you go FI you'll want at least 1.8 brakes, possibly something bigger (Corrado rotors, or one of the BBKs) depending on how much power you add.

EDIT: forgot to ask, which part of Tucson are you in? That looks like my old neighborhood...

[jroc]

looks like the h&r's are progressive springs, with the fronts being 240-270, rears 220-260. http://www.puppetmaster-robotics.com...ta_springs.htm

definitely no power steering, but i dont notice it until i get over 3 mph...i do plan on adding power within the year.

i love how inexpensive tires are for these 15's

[Zefiris]

With those springs rates that car should be pretty tail happy. If you plan to run in TT/Race then watch for the points when you are upgrading stuff. Like the 1.8 brakes mentioned above, you take +2 points for changing calipers. If you are going to take the points, might as well get the best you can for those points (provided you have the $$$).

1.8 brakes have been working fine for me so far. Fronts are getting real hot but just added some brake ducts.

I've been using the 949racing website's recommended alignment, seems to work. Also, the 15x9 is a little faster on course than the 15x8 when running 225 r-comps, according to multiple people on the forums. Only downside of running the 15x9 is you have to run a 225 or wider, except for the Hoosiers where you can use a 205 because they run wide.

[Robert]

Miatas are so taking over, go Mazda anyhow!

Everyone's got some good input. Main thing is stick to your budget, make the car reliable and it'll make sure you have fun! If you do plan on going to TT/Race definitely be mindful of what your classing could be.

[EVSS]

Originally Posted by jroc

looks like the h&r's are progressive springs, with the fronts being 240-270, rears 220-260. http://www.puppetmaster-robotics.com...ta_springs.htm

definitely no power steering, but i dont notice it until i get over 3 mph...i do plan on adding power within the year.

i love how inexpensive tires are for these 15's

I agree with Robert, the front spring rates could be higher in relation to the rears (will make the car less loose). Those rates are a pretty mild setup... mine are 396/330 and are still street driveable. Check out the suspension calculator on Fat Cat Motorsports' website. It will give you a pretty good idea of where the car will be balance-wise.

[jroc]

well, i was going to get rid of the enkei 92's --15x8 +25 15.6lbs---and was going to go a bit lighter, but no point really when theres other places i can take weight off the car (and myself!) and save some money in the long run.

also glad to see that i can stuff 225-45-15s on this size/offset (this is with an added 5mm spacer f/r)




might be picking up a set of rs3's in 225's for cheap.

[trd88noz]

why you have a pic of my JDM miata??

[jroc]

because ra...


wait..

because after hours of searching for that specific wheel tire setup, i found what seems to be the only pic of a 15x8 +25 w/ 225-45-15 wheels, and NOT a 6ul.