Secret Ghetto Miata

[M1474]

IMG_2069.3gp

[M1474]

https://www.facebook.com/lizzie.tilson/ ... 701081827/

Trouble uploading a vid a mate sent me.

Not me driving, leant it to another competitor who's car had suffered a gearbox failure.

[beavis]

you have my attention...

[doro733]

https://vimeo.com/125456458


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[M1474]

^ Thanks Rich.

The car is completely stock apart from a pod filter and a straight through cat back.

Suspension is stock shot NA from a junker. The car sits so high with the light weight I don't think we even managed to get any neg camber in the front.

I think the thing is lifting a rear wheel around corners.

Plan to cut the springs before the sprint at the Motorplex in 3 weeks.

There are no gauges (dirtbike style), and no cooling fan. There is a wire we can use a multimeter to check fuel level but I haven't taken any readings so I don't know what the resistances mean.

I'm toying with the idea of trying firmer springs and no sway bars to reduce weight and move the weight bias further back.

Also without rad fans there is room to move the rad back about 70mm.

[M1474]

Coolant overflow relocation.



Wonder why there aren't any pics of the front?



Some doodling to guage how much to cut the springs by (measurements are hub to fender).

[M1474]

Some thoughts regarding buying springs and removing sways:

All the tracks are quite smooth (except the motorplex) so we could happily be up at about 7kg/mm in the front and 4 or 5 rear.

With standard sways and springs roll stiffness is about 1400nm per deg, with no sways about 950.

Increase to 4kg front and 2.5 rear and roll stiffness is back to stock.

Increase to 7 and 4 and roll stiffness comes up about 2100nm deg - similar to someone running big sways and king springs.

Have I lost the plot?

Edit: these figures all assume a reduction of 200kg rear and 100kg front and maintain an FRC of about 56%

[M1474]

Also here is the cars previous garage thread from a few owners back.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=47951

I wonder if MxBob would recognise it if he saw it.

[M1474]

Fule tank reads 5ohms full and 114 empty

[M1474]

https://www.hightail.com/download/bXBiR ... eE5MWE1UQw

Not my finest attempt but you get the idea.

Thanks for the Vid Nick.

[M1474]

Chopped the springs tonight, I cut them on an angle so the load is spread out as much as possible on the top hats. (The American the new shocks might look familiar)



I had to divide the loaded spring lengths by the free spring lengths to get the ratio to increase the amount of cut, then throw that out the window because they wouldn't stay captive.

I wanted 12.5/13" but ended up with 13.4/14" - still miles better than it was.



Now I can get a wheel alignment.

[Magpie]

You could have used helper/assist springs to keep the springs captive. However how often will the suspension be at full droop?

[M1474]

Good point Magpie, but helper springs cost more than actual springs.

The targa stage at the motorplex unloads the suspension enough to let the springs loose, and its a PITA checking they've seated correctly every time one end of the car is jacked up.

I'm thinking of entering the Summer Autotest Series which is on dirt so a little bit of travel and ground clearance is not a bad thing.

[manga_blue]

Stock car racers in the 50s used to use chain to stop cut springs from coming loose.

[M1474]

I've cut them just long enough that they stay captive.

I calculate that the new spring rates are 200lb front and 128lb rear (ish).

One thing I hadn't considered was that I have to drive it onto a flat bed truck with ramps, I might be pushing it even at this height.