Bought it Friday tracked it Sunday!! NC Miata battle video inside...

[random hero]

Were the rear lower arms necessary to get the camber and alignment back into spec after lowering the car? Great build, let us know how the brakes work out... I just picked up my BRZ Friday, will be building similar to yours.

[ultra]

I suggest you do a proper SCCA or FIA compliant cage + seats + harnesses at the same time man...for your own safety! Cusco cages are garbage. I know Autopower bolt-in cages are certified at least.

Caging a car is a bit of a serious turning point. As much as a good cage, race seats, solid mounts & 6 point harnesses will make you safer on the track (don't forget the HANS & helmet), your car becomes a potential death trap on public roads since if you were to have a crash that cage could possibly cause serious head trauma, padded or otherwise.

That's even more of a risk with bolt in cages, since no matter how good the quality is they don't tend to hug the car's frame as tightly as a welded in custom built cage, which reduces head-to-bar clearance.

In my personal opinion, when it comes to the point that you're considering a cage you ought to sit down and have the 'dedicated track car' conversation with yourself. Caged street cars have some pretty hefty safety, cost & convenience repercussions to weigh.

Been there & done that - just my 2c.

Tight build anyhow. Be safe & kick ass!

[RYU]

Any feedback on your personal impressions on the KW V3s vs. stock? Do you find you need more/less spring rate? (sorry if I missed I thread talking about this)

[track_warrior]

Originally Posted by RYU

Any feedback on your personal impressions on the KW V3s vs. stock? Do you find you need more/less spring rate? (sorry if I missed I thread talking about this)

I find the spring rate perfect i would not like to mess with it. The thing is im trying to keep my car between a track monster and a canyon carver so i cant go very stiff on the suspension since it would affect me on canyon roads since the pavement is not perfect. Kw's have a huge advantage over stock , once you put sticky tires your car will roll bad with the stock suspension. Kw's are great they are a nice balance between stiff and soft, they absorb road bumps perfectly but still manage to excel in the track. Suspension and tires dropped 4 seconds off my lap time and even though my brakes are done.

[MotivConcepts]

Let us know when you get the Motiv Concepts pipe on your car and what you think of it!

[RyanPR]

Here's a trick I learned a while ago for changing my motorcycle oil filter. It's also hard to get a strap wrench on some motorcycles. And when you're in college you don't (can't) pay the extra $10 for a K&N filter with the nice nut on the end.

If it gets stuck just take a phillips head screw driver and puncture the side of the filter (using a hammer helps). Then you've got a nice long lever to turn the filter with. Although, I'd be a little careful with this particular arrangement since the filter is vertical. The bike filters face forward so there's no chance of any metal dropping in. But in a pinch it would work.

By the way, your car looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll do next.

Originally Posted by pcasso87

Heres what i am talking about

[Chandlsd]

Careful shredding a filter doing it that way. Depending on the torque, I've seen the metal shear before releasing the gasket.

[Twin-apex]

Originally Posted by rcm47

Subscribed! Great build! Love all your high quality parts!

Stupid question here...How do you "subscribe" to a thread? I want to but i have no idea how :S

[OldSkool86]

Coming along nicely man

[CyberFormula]

check with your track day organization on the Cage, seat, harness rules.

Cause going that route may be expensive (because those equipment have "expiration" on them). If your track day organization you regularly attend may allow it....if anytime you track with another organization, they may say otherwise with something like "oh your seats are not FIA compliant because your seat brackets are not bolted in, but you have seat sliders" or because your harnesses are expired,etc.

Now if you autocross, i don't think they care.

Since you said you want to keep your car streetable, i'm assuming you're gonna do seat sliders on your buckets. I think you alread have Status seats if i'm not mistaken.



But you probably already know what i'm talking about since you seem very experienced in this type of thing.


p.s. what happened to the Exhaust ? how it get bent ? (sorry long thread , didn't catch where you post what happened)

[GingerExtract]

Originally Posted by pcasso87

Ok guys well i went to the track yesterday to try out my new setup

My stock lap time was a 1.35.9 and with the new setup and bad brakes 1.33.1

Wheels & Tires
-Hankook RS3'S 245/40/17 On 17X8 Rpf1's

-Settings-
-36 PSI HOT
-410 Pounds Average Driver + Co-Pilot

I hate to be "that guy", but it sounds like these did all the work in shaving off those 2.8 seconds. Like you said though, get some ATE Super Blue or something similar with some better pads and go for Round 3!

[86design]

nice track car build

[track_warrior]

Originally Posted by CyberFormula

p.s. what happened to the Exhaust ? how it get bent ? (sorry long thread , didn't catch where you post what happened)

Sorry for the late response, i was on vacation. I didnt tighten one of the bolts enough and it came loose around the track, i guess it banged on the floor and bent since i drove it for about a mile after it came loose to get back to the pits.

Originally Posted by GingerExtract

I hate to be "that guy", but it sounds like these did all the work in shaving off those 2.8 seconds. Like you said though, get some ATE Super Blue or something similar with some better pads and go for Round 3!

Ive got AP fluid, ferrodo ds2500 pads, and ss lines sitting at home waiting to be installed tomorrow. I think the combo of suspension and tires did all the work since the car would have had a lot of roll with the stock suspension and i would not have been able to fine tune my suspension settings without adding aftermarket suspension goodies.

[wheelhaus]

Originally Posted by Twin-apex

Stupid question here...How do you "subscribe" to a thread? I want to but i have no idea how :S

A subscription only means you will be notified of new posts (in your User CP, and/or by email).
Go into your "User CP" page. Under "Edit Options" you can select your subscription settings. If you choose to not subscribe by default, or want to subscribe without posting, you can still sub by looking for "Thread Tools" at the top right of the thread page. Click it, and select "Subscribe to this Thread".

Also subscribed... This is looking to be an awesome build!