@der_vierte Sure, here you go!https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c1f1251fdb.jpg

​​​​​​I get all of that, it just seems like an extra 1/4" of material would not be out of place here. Of course, maybe having this part unsupported helps cut down on NVH though surely that doesn't matter if the aluminum eye is making contact with the inside of the clevis/cradle. If I pull the passenger side one to modify it I might as well just do both. Lots of extra wall thicknesses there to work with, this isn't exactly a high stres application.

Does the passenger side mount end up in compression under acceleration or deceleration loads?

It’s probably more a case of not accounting for the length of the bends, and then also getting caught by having the holes ending up too low also.

Oh for sure. I can totally see the cascade of failures that would lead to something like this, but that's ostensibly what QC is for :giggle:

I found oil dripping out of my fancy ass K&N intake, which is annoying. Pulled it apart and drivers side valve cover vent has been blubbering oil into the intake for probably quite a while. Mopped it up, cleaned out the crossover tube, throttle body, MAF and couplers, cleaned, dried and re-oiled the K&N, then reassembled.

This time, with my little Moroso catch can:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...386cba9582.jpg

The lines are a bit small, but it's all downhill to the can and then all uphill back to the nipple on the intake so I'm hoping it'll be fine. I was REALLY spoiled by the IJ Teflon Crank Scraper in the forged boost motor, that thing made so little oil vapor that I didn't need a can at all. Someday after I get off my ass and sell my turbo stuff and I have money to spend on Miata things, the Radium Dual Catch Can Kit for the 90-05 Miata is going to be on the short list of things I'd like to add to the car.

Also spent some time today working on ducting.

​​​​​​I've been using a factory undertray on this car since day one. Even when I had the big intercooler in there, I was using a cut up factory unit. On the NB1 A/C condenser, there is a little lip and a foam seal that closes up the space between the undertray and the bottom of said condenser. Remove the condenser and you end up with an enormous gap below the radiator:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4b4de51f12.jpg

It's a large enough gap that you can actually see from the mouth, under the radiator and out the back of the undertray underneath the car.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c6e80a4e37.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...548b713cec.jpg

YUGE gap. It wasn't a big deal when I had an intercooler shoved in there blocking the hole but now it's more of a problem. So, I decided to address it.

I had some ABS sheet leftover from another project, seemed to be as good as anything else for this task.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ba2bebb322.jpg

I started by making a CAD template that I could shove in there and cut to fit.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...386f574a1b.jpg

Then transferred the measurements to the ABS and started by scoring it.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c5b3e6169c.jpg

WHAT DID THE FIVE FINGERS SAY TO THE FACE?!



And that's how you get super clean edges while working with ABS.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d2f004856e.jpg

I used a piece of 1/16" aluminum 90° on the backside to give it some rigidity.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...29a9fa04d9.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...8c0dccaa5f.jpg

And used way too many fasteners, as is my way. I wanted this bolted to the factory air guide bit didn't want it to deflect a whole bunch, so a section of steel sheet metal 90° was added to back it up on the underside.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...17cbf7467d.jpg

That makes the whole assembly noticeably more rigid and adds almost no weight.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ea4f1bdadc.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4c7dc84a9c.jpg

And now, the enormous gap is closed. Also added some bulb seal to keep the ABS off the aluminum radiator. w00t!

There's still gaps at the left and right sides allowing some air around the radiator, but it's a hell of a lot better than it was. When I rip this all out and redo it, I'll probably attach my filler panel to the lower radiator support rather than the undertray or air guide. It's a much better mounting location, I just didn't want to it today because I really didn't feel like removing the whole nose and air guide. 80/20 after all. This is a significant improvement and should get me through the trackday on the 17th.

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Hm, crank scraper, or just the fact that it was a new-built, low-milage, nicely-toleranced motor?

No scraper in mine and it also makes very little oil vapor. Not even when it's running. :)

--Ian

I'm not sure if I'd go as far as to call that motor "nicely-toleranced" :giggle:
I believe this motor is pretty fresh, but it's got a weird history. It's a Haag SM motor that landed in someone's NB1 street car after a Mazda dealership botched an oil change and needed a fresh motor fast. Dudebro wrecked the car, friend bought it, and I got the motor from him. I believe there's something like 30k on it.

Lol. Always nice when they aren't emitting oil while sitting in the garage :rolleyes:
Semi-related, how's your RX7 doing? :p

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Gets driven more often and has fewer oil leaks than my Miata. :) Also has a current smog cert!

--Ian

Maybe, but probably not. Ducting is really a case of do it well, or don't bother. Because air flows so easily, it will always take the path of least resistance. You need to look closely at where the air paths are - around, above and below the radiator, as well as forward out through the bumper skin.

That is a decent start, and will probably be sufficient for an atmo car, but I am not sure how it will handle a track day if your hot weather continues. Suck it and see I guess, but keep a good eye on the coolant temperature...

I find your lack of aerodynamic friendly hardware appalling.

BRB parting out car :giggle:
That's all it was ever intended to be ;)
It was fine for turbo car at 300hp :dunno:
I've previously done a trackday at Thunderhill in August so NBD, but thanks for the concern. I plan on keeping an eye on it :bigtu:
Yeah, but now it's kinda like the ghetto automotive version of a grill!

​​​​​​https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...-Paul_Wall.jpg

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The NB does have a bit of a "bachelor lean" at the moment

I removed my driver motor mount over the weekend and came to the same conclusion that that bushing looks pushed in and metal-to-metal contact must have been happening. I am not sure what the fix is though.

pics or it didn't happen :giggle:
But seriously, go put this in your engine mount thread. Nobody is going to find that information buried in this thread along with a with a billion posts of me whinging about my car. ;)

Engine filled with fresh Rotella T6 15w40, 6 speed full of Amsoil MTG 75w90.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...438d6ce7e5.jpg

Fuck these Capri-sun bags. GABAGE!
No seriously, you can't even recycle these things. Bag seems to be fine for diff, trash for transmission. Bigly hate.
I've got the SVG 75-90 for the diff so I'll get that done this morning too.

Pulled that "full contact" passenger side engine mount last night and replaced it with a Mazdacomp. Interior resonance is MUCH better, which is pretty damning. I've got a couple ideas to fix this, will work on this later.

I loved it for the diff :) gearbox IDK, I have a 10€ china syphon pump, best thing EVER to fill gear boxes! ->

Just fill the transmission through the turret?

True dat, but 5 speeds from the side ands lots of other cars aswell. It's just so fast and easy

The car did surprising ok for trackday! I however, did not. I missed the first session of the day due to being poorly prepared and the 4th session right before lunch due to feeling generally horrible and sick, but it all worked out in the end.

The borrowed, chunky RS4s on chonky gold RPF1 "reps" make for a weighty and visually memorable combination :giggle:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cc609ae15f.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2c7cd79f44.jpg

But beggars can't be choosers and I do greatly appreciate the loan on the rim n tire combo! This has pushed me to commit to wearing out a set of RS4s or VR1s in 2022 :bigtu:

Part of that lack of preparation means I forgot the GoPro so no videos for the "Bad track driving" thread. End of my first full lap of my first session I did a most spectacular full loop and 4 off into the infield between 1 and 2 at Thunderhill West, which would have made for some excellent commentary. Remember boys and girls, both feet in! I spent the entire rest of that lap trying to pull my seat out of my ass and waiting for the black flag I knew was coming. Good thing such actions are fairly forgivable in Novice run groups.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, basically me relearning how to drive while fighting exhaustion, sleep deprivation and dehydration. Lunch helped A LOT and I felt much more comfortable on track by the end of the day.

I am very glad that at the last minute I threw the catch can in the car because it was putting in work:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...79b02e08cc.jpg

I brimmed the poor thing during each 20min session. My oil was a touch overfilled at the beginning of the day, but it wasn't MASSIVELY overfilled.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bfe93504e5.jpg

I collected the contents of the catch can throughout the day and it came out to about 1/3 or maybe 1/2 of a Gatorade bottle. I can't imagine all of this oil would have been good for the engine to ingest via the intake tract and then deposited into the exhaust. If I'm going to keep using this engine for trackday things, I'm going to need to look into better baffling in the valve cover and a much better catch can setup.

The drive home from the track is about 45 miles, and I managed to collect another 3/8" of oil in the bottom of the catch can:

​​​​​​
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cd25fbfdb8.jpg

The little gold flecks in there are interesting, but I suspect that's coming off the scrubber material in the catch can rather than anything nefarious emanating forth from the engine. I'll probably drain the oil pan into a clear container so I can check it for garbage, cut open the filter, go nuts and send a sample to Blackstone... lots of options here to suit my OCD.

The car held up better than I did in the obnoxiously high ambient temps.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2884085f8c.png

80/20 ducting, bigly TSE radiator and 949Racing Supermiata Reroute FTW. Lots of people struggling with the heat packed it in and skipped the last session at this particular Lotus Club event, but I had no such problems. It's just great when things work as expected.

I had a lot of fun and I'd love to do more, definitely looking forward to the next one.
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