Really? Another Miata thread....

[rherold9]

Productive night for a change of events... I'll hold my breath until it's done though. Big thanks to Cabell. I thought he was leaving for the weekend, but he decided to relax for once

New bearing and previously new flange was pressed in used hub I bought today at the local shop. Owner of the shop has a CTS-V coupe. Making 657whp.. full bolt on and tune lol. I assume National Speed probably has done some work to that car since they recommended the shop. Super cool owner. Price was right, done in an hour, and staff were cool

Also, this used hub a bought is in such good condition for the price.... I was surprised why it was so cheap. Probably not many people are swapping whole knuckles lol.

Was able to get the spindle in, new arm in, etc without a fight. Doing it a couple times probably has helped lol. Both sides are all torqued down. Bolts are marked. The car can finally be on all 4's



While I was working in the rear Cabell figured out just a simple way to bolt up fog light covers that are easily removable. Just a metal bracket with a bolt/nut. We both finished stuff off and moved to window brackets



Few measurements, test fit, several re-measure, different holes drilled, etc. we finally got a decently working prototype.



We'll finish the windows tomorrow and move on to hood vents. Praying [emoji120] to the car God's for some easier times and finishing touches for tomorrow

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[rherold9]

Shit is done yo. Scary cutting into my only hood, but we got it done. Weather stripping made it look a lot nicer than what it is. Cabell's side came out better than mine, of course. First time cutting shit with an angle grinder, but I got better as the time went on.



They look sick. Shitty picture will have to do for now...

Window brackets are done. Plast-dipped black.

Went for a drive. Everything seemed fine except rear caliper. I noticed some aggressive slowing of the car when not even hitting the brakes so I headed back quickly. Just need to push in caliper one side in the rear so it isn't so close to the rotor. After I got out I could smell brakes and it was very hot passenger side rear.

Once I got that fixed I'll go for another drive.

Thinking of using left over plastic to put a roof over the ECU as it's completely exposed when sitting on grid or red flag in the rain. Will figure that out sometime



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[ScottyB]

They look sick.

you're not kidding, that's awesome and adds about 120% more "i'm not f'ing around" factor to the car

[rherold9]

TL;DR Overall the car felt amazing this weekend and I beat my personal best by 1.8 seconds. The 140 pounds shaved felt great. The hood vents were definitely doing their job. The alignment was on point. I'm officially an instructor and instructing was a blast!

I loaded up the car Wednesday without knowing if I had a bad ABS sensor or if the ECU was still resetting as it takes some drive cycles to relearn when the battery has been unplugged. The car was sent for alignment at @deltav
Thursday and we were off to the track for the instructor clinic on Friday

Alignment specs -

Front
-3.3 front camber
-1/16" total toe out

Rear
-2.9 camber
+3/32" total toe in

After some class time and some fun drills (blind driver test) I was good to go to be an instructor. The rest of the weekend I was able to instruct a student in HPDE1. He came in from the autox world and had a little red mist. We managed to smooth out his inputs, pick up speed, get him to look up ahead by calling out flag stations, and more. It was so awesome to see the transition in such little time!

On Friday during a practice it became apparent I indeed would not have ABS the weekend as I slid off in T1 brake zone on initial braking ?... Hawk DTC-60's are just too aggressive initial bite for this car/tire without ABS

We shook the huge cobwebs off for the Friday practice sessions and I was ready to try to at least beat my pb on Saturday. Saturday came and even with another lock up on T1 we beat our PB by 0.7 seconds. On Sunday I pushed some more while still definitely leaving time in corners and being careful in braking zones. I managed to hit another personal best of 2:15.1 which is 1.8 seconds faster... After seeing a 2:14.8 the next lap and dropping after T6 I of course slid off in oak tree brake zone. Decided to call it quits that session.
With one session to go I was going to try to ease into it and hit 2:14s, but after lap 3 when I started to push, a fellow competitor met some tires.

I went well above my goal even with the reduced confidence and multiple lock ups..

2:14s are obviously achievable and I believe the car with ABS will have 2:13s in it as it sits with these 30 heat cycled 235 sized RC-1's and that will be my next stretch goal! That 155whp of furry is doing work!

Videos and more pictures to come! Shots are from a photographer I'm friends with on Instagram (@unkletae)

[rherold9]

Only flat spotted my tires 4 times this weekend:



Fastest Lap:



Yup, plenty of time left out there. We'll get faster. Needs more driver mod.

[V1GiLaNtE]

Dannnngggggg... Having only ridden in the car at Dominion with you, it looks like you're straight flying through the turns in this thing. Also, I lol'd watching your hands on the wheel go "WTF are you doing" as you passed that white Mustang.

[Senor_Taylor]

Very smooth! Very fast! Oak tree looks really smooth for you.

[Kaan]

looking good! I thought I was the only one cooking tires out there. though mine went straight to the cord.... keep pressing on!

[*insertusernamehere*]

Man, I'm so excited its racecar season again...and i...dont even.. have..a...racecar...

[rherold9]

Thank you all! I'm starting to push the car, but still have some obvious places I can improve. I wonder how long RC-1's will last with the flat spots from this weekend? And yes that white Mustang driver is an instructor too....

Forgot to mention I got a CEL Sunday on track, but ignored it. It's a P2401 for generic evap. I check my gas cap and of course it's loose and now won't tighten. It'll click, but spin freely. I guess my cap must not like curbing or something.

The culprit for the ABS issue is officially the left rear according to my scanner. Doesn't look dirty, but has a small indent in it due to it being seized on removal. Guess we'll be ordering that and a gas cap....

[Senor_Taylor]

See if they have a better after market gas cap that's more hearty.

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[rherold9]

Hmmm, I've watched the August VIR 2018 video and this past weekend's video a few different times now to analyze. I need to lay the data back-to-back in race analysis further to back what I see data wise. I'm slower on entry on all corners except T1, T4, and T10/T11. I exited faster due to the less weight. Have higher overall speed due to hood vents, less weight, and making more power due to cooler temps I think.

A) Lowered driver confidence so I didn't push as hard due to ABS (I can agree with this)
B) I wasn't chasing so I wasn't pushing as hard (I can agree with this)
C) Tires have lost a little grip? (No way to prove it, I know I can also drive better, so I shouldn't blame the tires)

So, I'm thinking how long do I just ride these Maxxis RC-1's out? I know they have some flat spots, but otherwise they have been a decent tires. They don't have the ultimate grip, but they are easy to drive on, super predictable, and super consistent. They don't have a ton of slip, but they are easy to handle if they do break away..

Thinking I will swap over to the Conti's in June depending on how I am driving? That'll put the Maxxis in the 50 'heat cycle' (HPDE3, TT, and HPDE4 sessions) on them. They'll probably still have life left too. I should probably just run them until they are done tread wise. Just the TT5 guys are making me just want to spend and send vs driving smart like I am now. Easing my way and burning off time with smoothness and seat time.

So, besides reading my thoughts, when did everyone make the switch to the sticky icky tires from the not so sticky? When is a good time to? Am I ready?

I know the car has more in it. I know I'm starting to push the car more. I could send the car to the ragged edge over every curb, slide the car around, etc. Is that the best way to learn? That's over driving, imo, but maybe just an opinion. In my mind, I've done the opposite and been focusing on smooth, not smashing every curb, sliding around turns, etc. (ie. looks at Matthew Huffman drives and he is very fast for the cars he drives, but also looks butter smooth and under control)

[Kaan]

50 heat cycles? I'd get another set of them. especially if they were drivable after some flat spotting. I'm running RR takeoffs... flat spot them and they go in the trash.

you said there is more left... I wouldn't worry about a tire brand change. I would look at a new set of maxxis.

I know I can handle driving 11/10ths... the car is easy to catch. I'm like you, without a chase car I found it hard to stay at 10/10th... I get into this easy going 8-9/10ths pace. I am personally looking to make no changes to the car (outside of a real alignment and newer tires) and seek out the 10/10ths lap after lap.

[rherold9]

There will always be more in it, if we want to get technical. The question is how much more. Right now I think there is still a good amount left? Keyword think. Not sure exact culprit of lesser speeds on entry, but I think I'll find out another time out there. So, like I said maybe hold off until after Hyperfest if I think I can justify moving up?

I already bought the Conti's no way in hell I'm buying Maxxis. If anything I would buy 245 RE-71R since I could run them in multiple groups of classing.

Overall, I sort of can handle 11/10ths. I need some practice with correcting. I sometimes correct too fast/too early making the car either go wide off track or go early off track messing up my initial save

[Kaan]

if they don't shake your teeth when you drive on them and there is no cord showing, I'd still run the maxxis until after hyperfest like you planned.

[Senor_Taylor]

Can you get a flat spotted tired shaved?

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[rherold9]

I hope they just wear enough down they shave themselves

[Jake]

So I guess the question with TT is what you want out of it for the season. Do you want to win trophies and contingency at every event? Do you want a season-ending trophy for the TT5 championship? Is the car competitive enough to get there? I think your driving is great and with functional ABS/better tires you could easily shave more time from your laps. If you are driving on a 50 HC tire, that is 1) impressive and 2) leaving time on the table.

I would run the Maxxis through Hyperfest if that's your initial plan, and have the Contis with you so Phils can mount them if need be. Work on turning consistent lap times (I may have missed it, are you keeping it within some tenths, or at most a second?). You can be smooth and still jump curbs, use all the track, etc. and you will learn recovery from the times you push and must recover. I had to work on getting comfortable being uncomfortable, but those laps are when I go faster or have good passes, etc.

What's your plan for the second half of the season and 2020? It's early to talk about it, but worth driving toward longer-term goals too.

[rherold9]

I won't win trophies at VIR even on the Conti's. Summit could be close depending on how all these dudes drive... The car doesn't have a championship in it, unfortunately. I'm outgunned as the car isn't near the competition ratio at all. This is what happens when rules don't favor you. Always trying to play catch by having to throw more money, unfortunately...

My goals would be 2:11's with the Conti's. Achievable? I think so with some good driving. At Summit I'd hope for 1:22's. Again with good driving.

VIR I was on 30 heat cycles. If I wait they'll be in the 50s for Hyperfest, depending on weather (# of dry sessions).

I'd say my goals for this season were just seat time and shave off time each event. Getting the car prepped so I don't have to be working on the car and just drive was what I have done. I'll just doing a basic fluid change/flush all around in the summer and I'm hoping I won't have any issues. This car has treated me well so far for reliability.

I ran several 2:16's and 2:17's through the weekend without issue though which is good. Even in HPDE4 for the last session Sunday I was running 2:17-2:18 just cruising. For me in my TT sessions I usually run my fastest lap on the 2nd or 3rd hot lap and then I just drive at 85-90% pace because tires are done after that to run "peak" fastest lap, so I don't feel the need to push

Plans for the 2nd half of the season? Uhhh no idea. Just drive I guess. For 2020 get faster and add more mods.

Thinks I'd like to do in no particular order to make the car more competitive - driver mod, cage so I'm more comfortable over driving to push the car lol, fire suppression, a/c delete, thin out wiring harness, send it to Texas shop for 2.5 swap, OS Giken diff, and some other minor things.

[D_Eclipse9916]

 Even in HPDE4 for the last session Sunday I was running 2:17-2:18 just cruising. For me in my TT sessions I usually run my fastest lap on the 2nd or 3rd hot lap and then I just drive at 85-90% pace because tires are done after that to run "peak" fastest lap, so I don't feel the need to push

Can I just comment on this?

This is a mistake I see all the time.  Don't practice slow laps.  Your brain is trained on muscle memory, not ideas.  Only time you should be "slow" (in terms of lap times) is doing laps off line but still at 100% pace.  You are basically training your body to to 85-90% laps.  You will never see a Pro practice 85-90% effort laps. 

Even if the tires are off the pace, you still should be "going at it".  It will help you learn to go fast with shitty equipment.  In a race your car will almost never be at 100%; and the truly good drivers are those who can adapt.  

Don't ever make chassis setup changes on bad tires, but do absolutely continue to drive at 100% as it will continue to teach you grip limit; while 85-90% pace is teaching your body to go slow/get into a bad rythym.