Well that's a no brainer then.

SadFab front lower offsets to achieve the same as ELBJ with no points, then you can do sways and brakes. Have your cake and eat it too. Would likely win at regional level but not nationals depending on who shows up.

Championship motor came out on Sunday. Was then promptly swapped right into Emilio's temporary SPM S2 car today.
Attachment 182216

Attachment 182217

My old dyno reclass motor is 'prepped' for reinstall. I wiped parts of it down with a dirty shop rag. That'll do.
Attachment 182218

List of near-future mods/cleanup:
Proportioning valve
More cage padding
Delete blower motor and heater core
Delete OEM dash bar, mount steering column with fancy roll cage clampy thing
Finish Singular louvers
Install handmedown airdam
Build(trace/copy) undertray
Buy/build rear spoiler


Longshot:
Delete OEM ignition switch/wiper stalk thing, install Longacre starter panel
Paint interior
Prep/build spare motor for something cool


First 2017 event is Jan 28-29 at Buttonwillow. Depending on my LSD legality, I may run SPM S2, or just load a high power map, drop the ballast and terrorize the DE.

Welp, I got the motor swap completed and hauled it to the dyno. Had some trouble with fueling and decided to bail on the Supermiata race this weekend.

It is hitting 100%DC at ~6400rpm and spiking lean immediately. I am going to send the injectors off for cleaning (124K OEM) and throw another filter at it for good measure. It has a gauge on the fuel rail, and holds 59psi through to 7krpm on a fresh Walbro and clean sock, all new in October before WSC.
Makes ~141whp at 6400 on the map from the WSC zero point longblock. Should be pretty healthy when it gets enough fuel and a proper tune.

I also got 3 of the 5 piece Singular hood louvers in.
Attachment 182075

Even with narrowing the NB layout, I was able to keep some of the "A frame" bracing. So hopefully, it won't be too flappy.

Attachment 182076

Attachment 182077

Hey Dan - Can you show a picture of how you mounted your spot mirror? I am trying to figure out how to mount one before I buy it. As you know Mark didn't give us very much room to attach to the A pillar (a blessing and curse).

It is currently bolted onto the remnants of the forward A window frame. The A window itself, and the vertical pillar have been removed.
When I cut off the rest of the A window frame off for safety/convenience and egress, it'll get bolted to the similar pinch weld of the windshield.

(Car is in the trailer right now. no special pic, sorry.)

Best view of it is actually in my video: /shamelessplug

Thanks for explaining it. That video was actually the still shot I was looking at before posting. That's where I am planning to mount it too.

Appreciate the help.

Yep, folks pay a lot of money for $45 a piece cage mounted mirrors when <$10 options bolt to A-pillars.

https://www.amazon.com/CIPA-48500-Round-Convex-Black/dp/B00029WSZE/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1485829884&sr=8-6&keywords=cipa+convex+mirror
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a8867add01.jpgCipa 5"

Gotta spend that Winding Road money on something... :p

I didn't even have the WR money, I just blindly bought two $45 mirrors. Don't get me started on the Advanced Autosports Allview clone rearview mirrors that we blew another $160 for a pair. One born every day.

Same boat I am in!

4.3 Torsen acquired and installed, 4.77 Giken sold.
Prop valve installed.
brakes bled.
Sonny helped me get the car set up for SPM S2 and TT/PT double dipping with a more general (and symmetrical) alignment and corner weight. We removed a 3% wedge and .6* camber stagger from the Western States Championship effort.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...16494f0ef7.jpg


Took it to the dyno Wednesday last week in effort to run Supermiata @ Chuckwalla. Lack-of-fueling problems persisted. We're all kind of stumped.
Freshly rebuilt injectors were still not enough fuel, so I am weighing my options and second guessing entire racecar motivations, NASA vs SPM, cost vs reward, #allofit.

Regardless, that meant I missed the race action. We threw together a last minute plan for me to show up in the ND and at least give DE ridealongs on Saturday in the 949Racing//Supermiata ND. So at 3:30am saturday morning I went in to the shop, pushed 3 cars in and out to make room to change wheels. Then made the 3 hour drive out to Chuckwalla on RC1s and roofless. #OnlyInSocal

I had a blast following the SPM S2 drivers around in the early sessions while trying to learn the track. Following Emilio, Sonny and Adam was highly beneficial. Chuckwalla is freaking awesome. The dropzone into the banked bowl complex of T11/12/13 is SO much fun.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...cd826a1e40.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...b87fbaa78d.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ec0cffdd3f.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c5972e944d.jpg



In other news, and also complicating the the "what to do with Button" debate is this:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...322048a450.jpg

We bought this 2004 Land Cruiser as a multi purpose Wife daily/National Park exploring/camping/racecar tow rig. I bought enough trailer to be right on the tow capacity, but the '04 refresh adds a 5spd to the already overbuilt, large trans cooler, rig. It's done a couple test tows, the longest one up and over the toll road to the dyno, and did very well on temperatures. Brakes are awesome, suspension sag isn't absurd. Working well so far.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a42414d5b0.jpg


I won't see a track until April 8th with RoadsterCup. Hopefully in my own damn car this time...

What size is that enclosed trailer?

I realize it can be discouraging when the car doesn't come together correctly before an event, been there, got the t-shirt. But what else would you do with the car besides S2 and potentially dip in NASA PT/TT?

Dan is continually torn between the, still new to him, excitement of participating in a national series with coastal championships, free tires and lap records (NASA) vs better quality racing, lower overall costs, more camaraderie but no national or coastal championships, fewer free tires (Supermiata).
Only really has time and budget for one and just barely at that. So trying to plan a build to switch back and forth is untenable in my view.

Most of us in Socal that ran with NASA PT in Miatas in recent years kind of got burned out by the politics and expense. Dan hasn't reached that point yet. Sonny and I are patiently waiting for him to concede the decision :)

Exactly.

"With all due respect" ;) , NASA SoCal has pretty minimal competition and small fields. I raced against them all at WSC. My home region, Great Lakes, had 13 cars in PTE and the top ~6 all went under my '16 track record last weekend. I won't find that here, so the NASA motivation is purely to snag a lap record or two before the class goes away in 2018. 2017 WSC at Thunderhill sounds fun, but isn't in ink on my schedule. I'm doing a GL PTE race in our new Midwest Miata Parts NB1 in August for my birthday, and will only need 2 additional events out here to qualify for WSC. One trip to T-Hill to scout and one local trip to buttonwillow or somewhere sounds plausible.

Supermiata is a fun, wonderful, fantastic destination series, but I feel like i'm ending up there by default. That's an interesting motivational/emotional hurdle combined with the move/homesickness/nostalgia.

18'

+ spares/fuel/2100lb miata.

Weight seems to be a non-issue. The big penalty is the aero drag, so California's 55mph towing law ends up being a benefit. :p

howIknowyou'refromOhio.txt

Welp, I guess having a hard time deciding where to devote your time between multiple fun things to do is better than having no choices! I guess it depends on where you want to end up as a driver. All signs are pointing to SPM if you're wanting to grow the most as driver.

This might be an atypical response on this thread, but if you're interested in tight competition there's always auto-x! I'm sure you're familiar with this, but some classes(SSR, CSP, etc) are stacked with talent. That's auto-x's biggest allure, IMO.

I used to autox a good amount. After doing track day's I can't go back. At least not unless it is within 30 minutes of my house and I just want fun runs. The cost of using a whole Saturday or Sunday to drive for 5 minutes just does not work for me any more.

The car is still having trouble in the power development department, but it's starting to look like a Supermiata!


Blackbird Fabworx Black Edition spoiler.
Cool new finish option for the same ultra effective, bolt on and go spoiler that we all should know and love. I could have fabbed a DiY version like some other SPMers have, but my free time is limited and valuable. I have much higher priorities when I can carve out garage time. (I owe Moti some fancy shots once I get the car Button'd up and cleaned, so I am leaving the protective plastic on as long as possible.) #doyouseewhatididthere
Attachment 181206

Singular Motorsports NA/NB louvers + Universal louvers. AKA their Maximum Attack package, or the 5 Piece Bro-nugget meal.
Honestly, these are just cool looking. We sell the middle three piece kit, but I love the look the 5pc kit on Sean's car. I've wanted to put it on my last 3 track cars. Now I have it. Install is a PITA, but I have documented most of it already, so there's no "in progress" pics.
Attachment 181207

New-to-me PCI seat mount replaced my Memoryfab UltraLow locking sliders. Stiffer, lower, more leg and elbow room. I can also add the butt pad back in without hitting my head on the cage. Win/win/win.
My Sparco Evo is narrower than the Sparco Sprint this bracket was designed for, so it needed 5mm spacers on the front holes and 10mm spacers on the rear holes. The Evo bottom is flat/square so cutting the cross bar out would not gain any room to lower the seat. As it is, the seat nearly rests on the bolt heads on the rear mounting humps. Nothing to be gained without going 100% custom. This is a very legit bolt in combination.
Attachment 181208
Attachment 181209


DIY plywood undertray and a spare NA airdam to mock up with. (Airdam doesn't fit perfectly, as seen in above photo)
Plywood because this large undertray actually produces downforce and needs to withstand that. This is also a car that goes farming quite often and needs to stand up to that. I can hang from it @ 190lbs. Schwing.
Attachment 181210
Attachment 181211

Attachment 181212


Removed the OEM dash bar, blower motor, etc.
This was a huge job. My cage is welded in/around/behind the OEM dash bar because I opted to keep it SpecMiata legal for resale potential. I have moved past that consideration and now value the cleanliness and light weight of a cage-only dash bar. So I had to cut my oem dash bar into three pieces to remove it from around the cage's dash bar. Excuse the wiring mess for now.
Attachment 181213

Attachment 181214

I'll be using this Sweet MFG circle track steering column clamp to attach the OEM column to the dash bar. This will require deleting the combo switch and ignition cyl, which will require a super cool new racecar starter panel. Yay, more parts shopping!
Attachment 181215


I also cut the A pillar death spikes off the doors, and remounted the driver's side spot mirror directly to the windshield frame.
Pros:
Less chance of stabbing us when working on car with door open, dyno, loading enclosed trailer, etc..
Easier egress whether the door is open or closed, safer.
Lighter.
Con:
Can't bolt the window guide back in for weatherproof storage, but this is SoCal...
Attachment 181216

This aero package can still fit into PT.
If I run in E, I will have to run a dyno reclass because of the cylinder head. That gives me the option of using an asterisk to pay for the 3pt airdam and 4pt spoiler (asterisks are 7pts).
If I run in D, I have the option of a few different reclass setups or a straight points build.

Bauce. Need more details on that steering column mount once install is finished. I think I want.

Same, looks very cool.

"Problems in the power production department" discovered.

All symptoms pointed to a transmission issue. The car was losing 2-3whp on a couple dyno pulls while we were working the middle of the timing curve. We weren't touching peak areas, but it was losing power. Then it started to smoke on downrev from under the car. No leaks underneath, nothing obvious on the dyno so we called it quits.

I though I might have forgotten to refill the gearbox fluid during my swap, so I shopped around and finally picked up a used NB 5spd from a local RoadsterCup competitor. During the swap, I discovered the gearbox was in fact full. The fluid was a little milkshakey, but was all there. Next problem was discovered when I then attempted to remove the driveshaft to R&R the trans. The yoke was seized into the tailshaft housing. I had to remove it with our 5lb deadblow.

No idea what happened when, but the yoke is trashed, tailshaft housing is cracked in two places and has a pretty serious gouge on the interior.

Attachment 180871

Attachment 180872

Attachment 180873

"fresh" 120k mile second hand trans going in:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...psyksfnlnu.jpg

I snapped a pic of my trans tunnel heat shield while I was under there. Not as good as the Koolmat setup in Bullet, but cheap/easy/quick.
Attachment 180874



Next project is finishing the interior crap; Sweet MFG column clamp, ignition switch delete, Longacre starter panel install. Someday i'll even get around to the SadFab bronze retrofit install...

What material is that?

Thermo-Tec 13575 12" X 24" Adhesive Backed Heat Barrier

Old motor back in, new transmission and diff installed with fresh Amsoil fluids.
Singular hood vents finished
Blackbird Fabworx Black Edition spoiler installed.
Fixed position PCI seat bracket installed to replace the MemoryFab slider. Seat is now lower and farther back. Win-win.
Harnesses re-adjusted, center net re-wrapped.
OEM dash bar deleted, SweetMFG column clamp installed.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e03c2e5d96.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6ee2867e91.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...dcbef7758c.jpg


SHAKEDOWN TIME!

I trailered up to Autoclub Speedway to tag along with the crew at a Supermiata race weekend. My mighty Land Cruiser got a miserable ~8mpg on the round trip, but that is a different story.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...822f7ce866.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...6b35816ecb.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0e5d252e7d.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...23fba9beea.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...51b2c7a67c.jpg


I invited Sean from Goodwin Racing to come up and co-drive with me. We've been trying to trade rides for a while now, and I finally had my end of the bargain put together.
I put Sean in Green group with the rest of the SPM folks and I opted for the only other open-passing group, Red, with the Vettes and Stock Cars.

The car ran great. No issues all day. We put 20 gallons of e85 through it and only made minor setup changes. New symmetrical alignment, but still on the 1000/500, stock sways PTE setup.
My airdam is too thin and was caving in early in the day. I added an additional undertray support made of zipties to bring it up a bit higher and that stopped the total collapsing. The airdam still dimpled at speed, so a .1" or thicker one will be cut to replace it.

I was peer pressured into racing Supermiata after seeing how well the car was running. I did a 2:02.251 in Red group, but could only manage a 2:03 in qualifying. I ended up 9th on the grid of 16 cars for the race.
During the formation lap the car shut off in T6. I was unable to get it to re fire with the key or bump starting, so I pulled off into some paved runoff and watched the race from the infield. :(

Sean filmed this vlog throughout the day. We talk about the car, the Supermiata series, and how we went about shaking down a pretty fresh build.

I need a deadline for motivation. Car hasn't been touched in a while. ECU bracket got scavenged for Snoopy, life happened, business trips, moved apartments, yada yada...


Need To Do list, time and effort:
2. Relocate ECU
1. Diag/repair no-start issue
3. Dyno three maps:

• SPM 140whp map
• PTE reclass maps. +/- 129whp
• #MaxAttack map, hopefully higher than the others, best case scenario 155whp.

Want To Do list, time and $$$:
1. SADfab delrin/bronze combo retrofit.
2. Halo seat
3. Clean/paint interior
4. Replace/upgrade DiY lexan windshield


Schedule for deadlining:
Sept 23-24 Buttonwillow SupermiataNov 4-5 Auto Club Speedway Supermiata Finale

Nov. 9/10 - Hang out at Super Lap Battle

Should add that one, I'm planning on driving in unlimited just for the hell of it in PTE trim + S1-ish Aero.

Did this:
1. Diag/repair no-start issue

Nothing else.

Decided super last minute to go and try for a sub 2:00 #13CW lap. Was unsuccessful. Ran a 2:01.7 in the last session, in the heat, blah blah... With cooler weather during a morning session with clean track, I know a sub 2 is out there.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...1287f542d6.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...4c77fd1f38.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...dde1d7db6b.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c3e58b7e0c.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...46a6de9ad1.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d860d4e27f.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...c69515f353.jpg

Tires that are not rocks with 3000 heat cycles = <2:00

How does the LC do towing the Miata? I 'm about to buy a 100 series and trying to decide if I need the 5 speed, or if the 4 speed in the early model years is good enough.

Air dam is looking pretty caved in on button too!

I sought out an '04 specifically for the 5spd. Really glad I did. YMMV
I bought a ScanGaugeII to monitor trans temp and stuff while towing. The OEM coolers are doing a great job. I swapped the entire drivetrain to Amsoil synthetics for piece of mind as well.

With the 24' enclosed steel trailer it needed 4th on the freeway. Weight-wise, it was just under the tow capacity, but the 4.7l hated pulling that box through the wind. I got ~8mpg on the only tow I did, which was pretty flat to and from Autoclub Speedway in LA.
With the new open trailer, it stays in 5th easily and returned ~13.5mpg to Buttonwillow and back. The trip to Buttonwillow is up and over Grapevine each way. I was actually able to keep it in 5th on the return trip up the hill(Mountain?) with slightly better planning and pace control(Not using cruise control).

Bonus: With the open trailer, my wife is comfortable enough to drive it if needed.

IMO: Not enough truck for a steel enclosed. I considered looking for an all-aluminum slant/wedge nosed enclosed trailer, but the open was the way better deal at the time.

Good info! looks like I'm holding out for a 5 speed.

Sounds like we'll be there!
Came back from MRLS where we drove Bullet on Hoosiers and with the boost turned up a bit and Emilio immediately registered for SLB.

Horsepower is addictive, turbo noises are really fun.

Sonny and I are daydreaming about how to finish/justify Supermiata S1 conversions..
TSE DiY kit: $3100
Intercooler kit: $500
Exhaust: $500
BBK: $600
6 spd ~$750
3.9 Torsten ~$800
injectors: $500
Singular GT250 wing kit: $1600

http://theawesomedaily.com/wp-conten...meme-17-1.jpeg


Want haz S1 "conversion" myself.

Sweeeeeeeeet. It's going to be a good time. If you're interested I have info for the private test day happening the day before as well.

Thanks. You know how to reach us :)

Since when is 9ft of straight 3" stainless tube $500 :party:

How 'bout, when is the 3" TSE Race Exhaust shipping?

MKTurbo can have you a nice sounding exhaust that will meet every sound requirement at any track in CA. Won't be the lightest, but all the weight will be down low and help you hit that 2300lb weight requirement.

Really crossing my fingers for ST5 2018, but not going to hold my breath.

PTE, PTD, HC1 and HC2 all folded at ESC.
All of those classes can fit/roll into ST5.

ST4 is growing extremely quickly nation wide.
ST5 could do the same.

Combine that with a potential return to a single National Championship event and good things could happen, but thats none of my business.

I'm not holding my breath either. I moved up to PTC for ESC in an attempt to race someone because no one is showing up for PTD. I would rather the rules for ST5 be announced late this year then waiting out the entire 2018 season in hopes for the new class.

I like all of this.

Sub'd.

Fueling gremlins sorted.
Transmission gremlins sorted.

Dyno trip #3? Successful!

#Maxattack map is a little weaker than I hoped for, oh well.
However, my Supermiata S2 map kicks ass and I have 130 and 128 whp flat power curve maps for NASA E* reclasses.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0350f02815.jpg

Since PTD is the easier double dip for a Supermiata S2, and there are only about 3 PTE cars out west here, and only one is actually developed/fast, I am toying with this PTD idea as a way to go fast for cheap since I already have Hooseirs to burn.

PTE is 16.50:1 P:W
PTD is 14.25:1 P:W

All else being equal, a D car needs to make 25whp more than an E car. Since I don't make 169whp, I can reclass and drop a bunch of weight to lower my P:W ratio.

I have already gotten an approved reclass of 149@2300 from Greg.This is 110lbs lighter than a points-only E car.

I only made 143 NASApowers today, so my ideal reclass would be something like 146@2250lbs, to leave a couple horsepressures for safety margin. My car is already at 2250 without ballast, so thats awesome.

Then the points spend looks like:
205s -7
Hoosier R7 +10
Springs +3
Shocks +2
LSD +3
Airdam +3
Spoiler or Wing +4
18/19

Emilio also set up a 140whp Supermiata S2 map and 130 and 128whp PTE maps today for me. All the options.

Looking barely put together on the dyno:
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...06e1bc742c.jpg

Fixed.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...dea1c95ba.jpeg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...34240c402.jpeg
How bout now?

100% Supermiata prepped finally. Warmup sessions going good, got some good video. Sitting with a good time, feeling good. Fingers crossed for qualy and the race. Good good good good.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0cb60e026.jpeg

Which louvers are your extra, non-Singular louvers?

Those are singular.

5 piece setup.

The outer ones are Singular vents from the Subaru kit.

Supermiata season finale was awesome. I really like racing on the Roval at Autoclub, and to do it under sunset conditions was a special treat. My DiY plastic windshield made it even more fun.

Incar video is chopped, but i want to add race notes before uploading. That won't happen until next week, as we are about to roll out for Super Lap Battle.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...9ae772cd7f.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...923b3d261a.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...152497a6d6.jpg

Supermiata S1 aero is on for Chuckwallastravaganza this weekend. This is Sean's wing(GoodwinRacing) that we borrowed for Taxi/SuperLapBattle.

Here are a few photos of how I did my splitter and support cables(very similar to how John does them on Bullet):


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...35e3ae25e3.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...71eb3c7ce2.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...d853df7e67.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...a2fe79f0c5.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...2157366be3.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ed7a2e0568.jpg

Missing snail

Guess us two can go to the missing snail support group together. :ughug:

Can I come?

That would be like inviting a Crown Royal rep to an AA meeting to hand out free samples lmao.

:rofl: