rodan

Today I was continuing to work on getting the Camaro ready for it's first track day... First was the diff oil, which Chevy recommends changing sometime after break-in, but before the first track use. That was nice and easy, thanks to the drain and fill locations being easily accessible.

 

 

Next was flushing the factory fill DOT3 brake fluid for Castrol SRF DOT4. Another recommendation in the track prep guide, which I just discovered last week. Why in the ever-lovin' F*** GM would use DOT3 on a car like this is beyond me...

 

I splurged on a Motive Power Bleeder, which I had read lots about, but never tried. I used it dry, just to provide some pressure for an accelerated 'drool' style bleeding and it worked great. Not fast, but nice and clean, and much easier than the 'phone a friend/pump and hold' method.

 

 

Got the track tires swapped onto some new wheels, and the stock GY summer tires swapped onto the HREs I bought last winter. So the all seasons are stored and it's on the summer tires... The HREs really show off the brakes...

 

 

Brake pedal felt great, tires felt great, all was going well...

 

Now to try and get the city to approve 300blk ammo for road use...

 

Good luck with that...

NA steering is de-powered, the quick and dirty way...

 

 

I'll do it properly when I swap an NB subframe and rack into the car down the road.

 

 

The NA was surrounded by a pile of Camaro wheels/tires overnight in the garage.

 

Installed a rear-cradle bushing lockout kit in the ZL1 today. It would give a little wiggle in the rear when changing directions and getting hard on the throttle (like a pass on a two-lane road). Minor, but a bit disconcerting... The kit, from BMR, was a lot less hassle than installing the solid bushings from the 1LE, and provides 90% of the benefit. The rear is now much more locked down in quick transitions, and when getting on the throttle when changing directions.

 

Looking forward to finally getting this thing on track next month... still a couple of minor things to do.

Getting older has its drawbacks

 

Tell me about it...

 

Took the NA for a quick test drive this morning to try out the shifter, which works great. Honestly, the eBay shifter it replaced was 85% as good for 30% of the price, though it was finally starting to show some wear after 6 years. I was also running with the power steering belt off, just to see how it felt. I've been having issues with the power steering fluid boiling on track, and I was planning to de-power when I installed an NB subframe and rack down the road a bit. Looks like I'm going to do it a little sooner...

Thanks!

 

Now, if I can just remember where I put the center caps...

Bolted the new 'summer' setup on the NB... ECS 205/50s on S1 in bronze...

 

Installed a Miata Roadster shifter today.

 

 

It replaces an eBay shifter I had in the car for several years. The MR shifter has an extended shaft, and angles towards the driver to reduce the distance between the wheel and shifter.

 

Test drive tomorrow.

Power mods on a Miata have a pretty low ROI until you get a standalone, so I would save them until later.

 

Start with baselining the maintenance (timing belt/water pump, brakes, hoses, fluids, etc.). The newest NB is approaching 15 years old, so there will be some things that need replacing, whether due to age, mileage or deferred maintenance.

 

My first upgrade (assuming the tires are good) would be the brakes. I did pads/rotors/ss lines/new MC and fluid on my NA for $400. Just get NAPA or centric rotors (plain), a set of SS lines, pads of your choice and good fluid. New MC if you need it. Stock Miata brakes are pretty good with the right pads for anything short of R comps on a road course.

 

Next would be suspension/wheels/tires. If the car already has 15s, a good 195/50 tire is a great choice. If you're going to buy wheels, I'd go to 15x8s and 205/50s. Lots of tire choice in that size, and lots of decent 15x8 wheels for Miatas. Wheel weight is important... don't buy cheap 15lb wheels. Goodwin Racing is about the best combo of selection and price for Miata wheels.

 

Suspension is next... don't cheap out. First, get a good alignment on the stock parts and see how you like it. If you decide to upgrade, I'd go with a good shock/spring set (Flyin Miata) before cheap coilovers.

 

Frame rails are a good idea, and seam welding around the door openings will make a noticeable improvement in rigidity.

Pulled the NA out of the trailer and did a 'between trackdays' inspection and oil change.

 

Also dropped by a local cruise night and hung out with a little different crowd...

 

Finally found a nice 4" S&W M29 today, after nearly two years of haunting the local gun shops and shows. ~1972 production, and even at a decent price... These old Smith wheelguns are getting harder to find...

 

Not my pic, but same gun, and just as nice condition:

 

http://www.fototime.com/A4B852C8EF2F328/standard.jpg

Drove the ZL1 to CA over the weekend. Happy to report it's a very nice GT car! Comfortable, and quiet. Except when you get on it. Tires are a little noisy over some surfaces, but with 295/305 widths, they're going to make some noise. The suspension dealt very well with CA concrete freeways in tour mode.

 

On the way in, I went over the mountains from Palm Springs into Anza and then Temecula and over Ortega Hwy into south OC. Overlooking Lake Elsinore, a place I hadn't been through since the late 80s...

 

 

On the way home, I hooked up with a Carrera GTS where the route looped through "Mexico" and we tooled a long at a pretty good clip for a while. 2000rpm is 88 mph in top gear! Gas mileage suffered, dropping into the high teens...

I didn't like the V720s on our NC. Good grip, but overheated easily and very noisy. They also have the delam issues. In a super 200, I'd pick Rivals... good for autoX, but can survive the track. I really liked ZIIs for a street tire, but they'd be a step back on the track.

The best values right now are NB2s (2001-2005). That's where you're going to get the most Miata for your money. Don't worry about a higher mileage car, but be prepared to catch up some maintenance. Avoid rust and cars that were obviously beat on. You should be able to get a nice example for $4500-5500.

And, what's up with the new trend of 500+ pound men killing the shocks on baggers? BIG boys out making those machines strain. Love handles past the bags and all.

 

Don't think there's anything new about grossly obese people on Hardleys...??

 

I do have a battery tender, but didn't have it hooked up since the bike was on the back porch to make room in the garage. It's hooked up now that the bike is garaged again...

 

I'm still using the stock exhaust. I guess I'm old, 'cause most bike exhausts are too loud for me these days, and I like to fly under the radar... Also, I just have issues paying $1-1.5k for an exhaust system...

Finally got to shine the fudge 9 up last night, and ride it into work today. Still pulls like crazy, I love it.

 

Took me a minute to figure that out, and I own one...

 

I had mine out a week or so ago. Embarrassed to say that I had to jump start it since it'd been sitting so long. I hope to get more miles on it this year...

That is SPECTACULAR... where's the damn drooling smiley?

 

Since the YT embed isn't working, here's a pic:

 

 

Article: https://www.holley.com/blog/post/tyler_powell_s_datsun_fairlady_240_z06/

Not my best lap, but the best lap I got on video thanks to a wonky GoPro...

 

The Exocet is Honda 'K' swapped and was insanely fast!

 

I love fairladys.

 

Me too...

 

There were three there, the blue one above, the yellow one in the pic of the pits, and another blue one with a Chevy V8 (not LS) swap.

Lots of other cool stuff there...

 

Really nice day yesterday at Arizona Motorsports Park!

 

Lots of Miatas! Probably another 8-10 Miatas in other parts of the pits.

 

 

My wife being chased by an NC...

 

 

A combination of the Toyo RRs, the new tune, and better driving netted me a 4 second improvement in my personal best. Now that's a good day at the track!

 

 

I came 2nd in my TT class again. Beat the guy who beat me last time out, but another guy got me by ~2.5 seconds. Went over and looked at his car, and it was basically a spec Miata with a supercharger... not sure how that makes the power/weight spec for our class...

Did an oil change, post/pre- trackday inspection, and washed it. Next event March 16th...

 

 

Bronze Storm compared to gray...

 

So, I think I might be a wheel whore...

 

Advanti S1 Bronze in 15x8. Brings me up to 5 wheel sets for two running cars... Plus the set the parts car is sitting on.

 

 

 

 

Ever since I installed the Wilwood brakes on the NA, my 15x8s no longer fit. Which meant the car had to be stored on one of the track wheel/tire sets. Not so good when it's in the trailer and it's 18*F outside. I think this contributed to the death of our NT01s...

 

These should clear the brakes, so I'll swap my 205/50-15 Conti ECS onto them, so I can use them to store the car, and they can also be a rain set for the track. The good stuff can be stored safely inside when it's chilly out. And they'll go on the NB for summer. I'll most likely put the Konig Flatouts those are currently mounted on up for sale...

Every mode except for Stealth opens the valves fully at full throttle, so there's effectively no difference on the track.