rodan

Long overdue update... As much as we really enjoyed this car, it was ridiculous on the street, and very expensive to track. We decdided to concentrate our track efforts on our Miata, and we sold the ZL1 in January. We also sold our '92 Bronco backcountry rig, which we towed behind our camper, and bought a much more modern rig that could serve as my wife's DD, get us in the back country and still be towed behind the camper.... Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. The Camaro was an incredibly capable car, and I'm glad to have had the experience of owning one. That said, 4 months down the road, I don't really miss it all that much, and we've already had some great adventures with the Jeep.

First week in May, we had the car out for it's first, and last run of the Spring... it's just too hot to have any fun at trackdays in Phoenix during the summer... On old tires, and in hot temps, we didn't set any records. Also had more trouble with traffic and dumb drivers than usual, but it was a good shakedown run with all the changes in the car. Learning a whole new entry/exit routine was necessary to avoid the need for a chiropractor by the end of the day. The car feels really good, and now that the chassis is much stiffer, the suspension is working really well. The car is much more predictable over bumps, though a little loose in the rear. I'm waiting for a bushing set, which will be the final piece of the suspension. I'm also waiting on more aero parts. Hopefully those can be ready for the fall. Also collecting parts for the eventual addition of a turbo. Finally, here's one clean lap from our May track day. I was also testing a new camera setup... my GoPro and GoPro clone was really pissing me off, so this is the first time in a while I've had video.

Building the cage was around 2 months of every hour I could squeeze in when I wasn't working. It was a LOT of work. Now that construction was done, it was time for details like door pulls, tidying up some wiring, paint, and a few other things. Then it was just a matter of installing the window in the new top, and we'd be ready to race.

I designed the cage with a combination of features from the available spec Miata kits, and newer FIA W2W designs. I researched several rulesets when building it, but it is not built to a particular ruleset. It is NASA legal, as well as several other orgs I plan to run with. The cage is built from 1.5" .095 wall DOM, and MIG welded. It was entirely built from straight tube in my garage using a JD2 bender. Photo dump:

The next project was a major one: upgrading the bolt-in rollbar to a full rollcage. The first step was replacing the street top with a race top. This would offset the weight of the cage by removing ~30lbs up high, but also provide slightly more room for the cage. Next up was stripping out the roll bar. Both the street top and roll bar were easy to sell, and offset most of the cost of building the cage.

I realized today that I've been remiss in updating this thread. Since I kind of 'inherited' it from Chris, I feel like it should be kept going. In January, the car got a Supermiata radiator, Miatahub front hubs, SadFab modified MR-s rear hubs, and Blackbird Fabworx competition motor mounts. Miata hubs are known for failing when exposed to track use with wide, sticky tires. The upgraded hubs should permanently address that issue. Motor mounts improved shifting, though I wouldn't recommend them for a street car! The radiator is mostly future proofing, as I never had any temperature issues with the stock radiator. Also picked this up, for the future where the bigger radiator is a necessity... Some other small changes were made with the splitter/ducting for long term durability.

You really think voting still matters? Or that Democrats give a shit about what the people want? We're long past 'call your congressman' campaigns, and trying to reason with the left.

Basically, it's an issue of wear... steel is harder than brass, so it's harder on the parts in the gun (extractor, ejector, etc.). Moreso when the parts aren't designed for steel case ammo. Steel case is more common in the former East Bloc nations, so guns that originate there often deal with it better.

.22 seems to be the only ammo I can get right now that isn't ~$1/round, so that's mostly what I'm shooting, in addition to some revolver calibers that I load for. I'm not going to dig into my 9mm, 45 or 5.56 supply, at least not for recreational shooting, until things have calmed down.

Frangible rounds are not reliable in penetration, so not really what you want in a defensive round. Just go with a good quality defensive ammo that meets the FBI criteria, and train.

Picked up this little gem the other day... it's a hoot to shoot, and about the only caliber I can afford to shoot right now, LOL.

The Stinger is probably the closest thing to a modern reincarnation of the '05 Legacy.

Assuming all your ammo is loaded from boxes it looks like it would work well.

I always wanted a P7, but never wanted to spend the $$$$. And now they're really expensive... p: The GB was a cool gun in the 80's... kind of clunky by modern standards. Like a VP70Z...

Right handed... That target was shot before making any sight adjustments... gun was just how I got it. I was mostly making sure it was in working order, and testing a few different powder charges. Now that I've settled that, I'll load up some ammo for it and take it out and dial it in.

Just added a nice 14-2 S&W to the family... this one dates to 1965. First range trip went well...

Spec Miata? No, the car is built beyond the rules of Spec in several respects. NASA is bigger than SCCA out here in the Southwest, but the only competetive stuff I'm doing is Time Trial with one of the trackday organizations here in AZ. I'm considering running some of the NASA Time Trial events, but it's a question of fitting the car I want to build into their ruleset and have it be competitive. The events I currently run are based purely on power/weight with a tire modifier...

Great weekend with the Porsche Club at INDE Motorsports Ranch in southern AZ last weekend... windy!! and a little rain on Saturday. 4+ second improvement in the Miata over last year. I'm still looking at data, so no empirical evaluation of the new aero, though my subjective opinion is that it helped. Especially considering the 20+mph headwinds on the main straight. No video of the Miata, but here's a few pics:

Long time since an update... haven't really done anything to the ZL1, 'cause it doesn't really need anything. Just enjoying it. Finally got back out on track at INDE Motorsports Ranch in Willcox, AZ over the weekend with the Porsche club. Great weekend, though very windy, and a little rain on Saturday. Definitely faster than last year in the ZL1, but still have room for improvement. The sensations in the car are very different from our Miata, so I'm not as consistent as I would like. This car has the power to produce extreme pucker factor...

I really wanted to love the ZRX when they came out... much nostalgia for the GPzs I learned to ride on, and the ELRs of that era. They're great bikes, I just wish they weren't so damn heavy. The only other problem is the lack of wind protection for highway speeds. At the time, I was on a ZX-9R that had more horsepower, a better fairing and weighed over 100 lbs less...

Finished the ducting for the radiator and brake cooling. All ready for our next event.

I actually bought some, because I didn't want to advertise for anything...

Yup, ducting is the next step. I have a stack of 5mm corrugated plastic sheets waiting in the garage.

Couple of reasons: The bottom of the radiator is well above the splitter, and there is also a lower support for the airdam that would be in the way if the opening went all the way to the splitter. The entire front of the airdam is a high pressure area, so the particulars of the grille opening are not critical to the overall drag. Here's a CFD that someone did comparing the various front end configurations:

Time for a long overdue thread bump... 2020 has been, well y'all know how this year has gone. We did get one more track day in early March with the Porsche club, and had a very nice day, but nothing to report on, really. We were scheduled to go to Willow Springs in September, but that event was cancelled. We probably only going to make one more event this year, so I've been spending some time been working on several projects on our NA track car, mostly centered around aero improvements. I went with the proven Supermiata S2 formula, birch ply splitter and plastic airdam up front. Bumper trim and BlakbirdFabworx spoiler out back. I went pretty aggressive with the bumper trim, and moved the exhaust to a center exit to facilitate construction of a diffuser in the future. These mods are really more about drag reduction, but they do have a slight downforce benefit as well. Bumper cover and bumper removed, front support cut out and replaced by fabricated bumper cover support. Trimmed bumper cover back on with splitter brackets and splitter. Airdam rough fit. Grille opening cut w/ 1/2" mesh to keep track debris out. Rear bumper trimmed. Jack recess was cut out and filled with a flat plate. Fabricated rear bumper cover support. Exhaust modified for center exit to facilitate construction of a diffuser. BBFW spoiler installed. I also installed fender vents from Left Lane Designs which should help evacuate the high pressure area inside the front fender. All done... I still need to install the ducting for the radiator and brake cooling, but all the heavy lifting is done.