Really? Another Miata thread....

[ScottyB]

that looks freaking gorgeous. you really don't need to change anything else at this point to make it look better.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Gorgeous. I love it.

[rherold9]

that looks freaking gorgeous. you really don't need to change anything else at this point to make it look better.

Hard top. These cars look great with hard tops

[Senor_Taylor]

I agree. Saw an NC Hardtop at Summit the other weekend and was thoroughly impre$$ed.

[ScottyB]

true. at least with the RPF1's you're halfway there.

[Beej]

Shit I've always loved RPF01's. That looks dope.

[Sully]

But if it under $10 they will likely just tell you to keep it and send another one.

this is true...just found out with a nerf gun from my son's arsenal. they'll probably take care of you.

How I got two free "blemished" growlers (automation fail)

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[rherold9]

TL;DR: I'm slow but had a blast in auto-x. This car is great and feels good.

I have put about 400 miles on my car since transforming it to a lightly prepped STR car. I decided to run an auto-x this past weekend even without an alignment. The car still felt fine and ran great. These dampers are very very good and worth the struggle I went through. I run them daily at 3 from soft front and 4 from soft in the rear. I turned them up to 8 from soft front at front and kept the 4 from in the rear for auto-x. Nothing would upset the car at all. Bumps in turns at redline? No big deal.

I placed 5th out of 10 in STR against guys with more experience and more modifications done to their car. This was my 5th auto-x overall with the car. The previous 4 were a stock car on the stock size all-seasons. I ran without getting an alignment since the install (~380 miles). I removed 7 seconds off my time over 5 runs. I was .6 seconds away from 3rd place. I ran 32psi in the tires and left them as is. I did not make any adjustments at all to the car. The only thing I did was turn off stability/traction for the last 2 runs as I felt more comfortable with how fast I was going. I easily left 1-2 seconds with in my limits of the basically new to me car which would've put me in 2nd. The 1st place guy had a fully prepped e36 M3 for STR (seats, harnesses, etc...) along with more driver mod. He was 2.9 seconds faster than me. I would not be surprised if I could beat his time or come close in the future as I learn the car, get a proper alignment, and actually get the car dialed in. This car is plenty capable with this suspension and grip level... I'm very happy with the results all things considered. I'm very much looking forward to more events in this thing. It's so much better than stock and I couldn't be happier at the moment.

[youtube]Bj0ji2h762U[/youtube]

Car is at an alignment shop getting a custom alignment of:

Front -

Caster: Max Positive
Camber: -2.5
Toe: -0.05

Rear -

Camber: -2.0
Toe: 0

Next autox event is Friday. So, really looking forward to that for more seat time and fun.

[rherold9]

More seat time with the car from last Friday's 'Friday Night Drift and Grip #1' at Dominion. I'm hoping Felton opens up the course a little more next time but overall seat time is seat time. I may need a bit less understeer but I'm starting to get a hang of the car a bit more.

[youtube]c36n7WccakY[/youtube]

[ScottyB]

STR is a tough class in any popular region like yours, you have your work cut out for you so 5th is a great placement!

I was .6 seconds away from 3rd place.

this is telling, along with pulling so much time off between your first and last runs. once you start finding the sweet spot with your tuning you're going to be battling top 3 in no time.

makes me really want one of these.

[rherold9]

this is telling, along with pulling so much time off between your first and last runs. once you start finding the sweet spot with your tuning you're going to be battling top 3 in no time.

makes me really want one of these.

You can just put down so much grip under this car, carry a lot of speed because of the weight, and mash throttle more because of the grip and lack of power. Probably big reasons it can do so well. The ND will start to take the reigns shortly once better drivers get in the seat along with working out what is fast with the car. Used to be S2K and NC top dog's in STR. Less weight, more torque, same power, better gearing, and better suspension/chassis gives the ND huge advantages.

Anyways, I did not choose the car to be winning Nats nor is it the right trim level, year, correct power mods, and won't be fully modded for STR. So, as the way it sits I'm really happy I will be able to easily compete top 2-3 locally with my little skill and experience I have with autocross, the car, and driving. I can't wait to see what a tune (raising limiter so no 3rd gear), more seat time, and playing with settings will do.

This car feels better than the Mazda3 all around but almost drives similarly. It's like a RWD Mazda3. Just mash the gas and go. Inputs are forgiving. Car is easy to drive.

TL;DR Track Day Bro Future

On a side note (this will rile some people up), this thing will probably stay a DD and auto-x but gain some track time in the future but remain primarily a street car. This is why I have a street exhaust, stiff rates but not overly stiff rates, and bought nice dampers. Since I have decided on what I'm doing the Mazda3 will be sold once it's ABS is fixed and inspected.... This money will go towards mildly track prepping the Miata. This is a cheap, fun, reliable car.

I wanted racing to be an option very badly but it isn't at the moment. So, I'm just going to have fun and track a car instead of sitting here weeping about not racing. I miss it too much to just sit there and not drive on track when I can. When it's time it's time. For now, I'll have some fun. Could I have kept the Mazda3? Yes, but I want something with more power to race and power with NASA classes = RWD. So, this Miata is a very good gateway to learning RWD.

A roll bar will go in it, track rotors and pads/fluid, seats, and probably a hard top. Still deciding on whether it's worth the money to go containment (halo) seats or not. I'm not competing but they provide extra protection. Not a crazy amount of seats fit in a Miata with full interior so I probably wouldn't find much in the used category. I will be calling OG to confirm what seats should fit in comparison to what seats I know fit that are non-containment. I'd swap seats for daily duty if I go containment. If I don't go containment I don't need to swap seats as I can retain OEM 3 points for DD duty. I'd snap in the harnesses for track duty with the eye bolts.

On the contrary, I said I'd want a cage. That's still true but it's not a race car pushed to the max and I'm on basic street tires and brakes with low power so is it necessary? Not really. Should I do it? Yeah, safety is safety and more is better. I thought about it some more and something crazy like that RTAB failing doesn't happen on this car at least to the limits of what people have done with these cars. What I will be doing instead is very good inspecting and maintenance on things.

So here we go again....

[ScottyB]

On a side note (this will rile some people up), this thing will probably stay a DD and auto-x but gain some track time in the future but remain primarily a street car.

as long as you're having fun, who cares. nobody is going to criticize you getting out on track when 90% of us are sitting here not doing it. just keep it below 9/10th bro :beer:

[navin]

Get the Sparco Ergo (i think) that has the bolt on halo 'wings'... Remove when driving to and from, install at the track. Hopefully it fits.

[Jake]

+1 to Sparco Ergo, four bolts and the halos come off. Super easy.

You cannot legally have a cage in a street car and pass VA inspection, plus it's a dumb idea in the first place with no helmet on. VA law says anything behind the front seats is fine, in front of the front seats is not. Definitely do a rollbar though. What are your options? I feel like the NC doesn't have much that let you retain the soft top, which is dumb.

[rherold9]

Nice, thank you all for the heads up on the Ergo. I'll check the dimensions now to see if it shall be close to working. As long as the rest of the seat is like the Sparco Evo it should work. I was looking at the OMP HTE-R but that Ergo is at my top now.

For roll bars I see Blackbird Fabworx as the main company I'd buy from.

NC RZ Roll Bar - Soft Top Compatible

NC GT3 Roll Bar - Hard Top Only

I'm not sure if I want to drop the soft top or not. They are basically the same price but one keeps the soft top. I'm not sure if I care to keep the soft top or not but if I ever sell it the next owner might. I tend to hold on to vehicles so it might not matter and I can always take it out. So, :dunno:

[Senor_Taylor]

You're talking like you have a hard top already. Do you?


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[rherold9]

You're talking like you have a hard top already. Do you?

No, but there are plenty of aftermarket options to buy one that are the same shape but less weight than OE and are good fitment.

[Jake]

Given you want to keep this as a hybrid street/track toy, keep the soft top. Convertibles are more fun.

Maeng runs the hardtop at the track, but still has his soft top for street use.

[Scott]

Still deciding on whether it's worth the money to go containment (halo) seats or not. I'm not competing but they provide extra protection..

Yes 1000 times over it is worth it. I don't understand the people who track without one at this point, or at least a center net.

Given you want to keep this as a hybrid street/track toy, keep the soft top. Convertibles are more fun.

Maeng runs the hardtop at the track, but still has his soft top for street use.

^this. I did the same thing for years with my red NA, race seats in, hardtop on for the track. Stock seats and top off for every other day.

[rherold9]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I found online someone who fit a large Ergo in their NC so the regular will fit just fine :thumbup:

Once I sell the Mazda3 my hopes are:

From OG Racing with discount:

2 x Sparco Ergo's (Someone let me know if you see any used)
1 x Hans-style 6 point harness (let me know if you see any used)

From GWR:

2 x PCI brackets with side mounts
Blackbird Fabworx Roll Bar for soft top

From somewhere:

Centric blank rotors, ATE fluid, and whatever semi-race/race pad. DTC-60, Carbotech XP10, G-Loc R10, etc... No PFC's available.