rodan

So this is where I was with the laguna pipes...

I had finished the bends, and they fit snugly in the stock tips, but I still had to fabricate a bracket to secure them on track. I decided before proceeding further, I wanted to do some testing.

I downloaded a decibel meter app to my cell phone, and we went out to do some drivebys. I have enough experience with cell phone dB apps to know the absolute numbers are not reliable, but I was mostly interested in the back to back delta.

The good news is my laguna pipes changed the exhaust by 1.5dB.

The bad news is they made it louder...

My wife even said it was noticeably louder with the laguna pipes installed. Looks like we're not running the ZL1 at the trackday this month...

Guess I should have tested the exhaust before having the track alignment done this morning...

Toyo RRs mounted and ready to go...

Mmmm... sticky!

Yeah I was looking at earlier NCs and even think about an NC3. If I could find a white NC3 Club with cloth top local I'd probably be willing to go to that 15k mark. I'd leave it stock and just run it in the stock autox class.

Even the Club suspension stock is pretty limp. You can go pretty quick though, it just has a lot of body roll... requires a smooth hand on transitions. I'd still take one over one of the Twins.

I had an explorer that was totaled, but I replaced it with a 2007 Sequoia so I can still tow.

OK, I knew it was a Ford Ex...something... didn't have time to look up the thread.

I'm really aiming to try and stay below $10k, but if I find something I can't resist I'm willing to push it to $15k but really not sure about going that far above budget. FRS/BRZ are usually $13k+

For under $10k, you've already got the best choice...

$10-15k - NC2/3, BRZ/FRS. Push the budget a bit more, and you're into ND1 territory.

For under $10k, you could probably pick up an NC1 with a blown engine and do a 2.5 swap, but that would be a project, and IIRC that was the problem with your NA.

The other possible option is to pick up a complete/finished race car. You could probably pick up something interesting (maybe vintage?) in that price range, but you'd lose street capability, which means towing it to the track.

I can't remember, do you still have the Expedition, or did it get totaled?

Hopefully not too OT.. I'm also wanting to try some auto-x (did it once last year) and some HPDE stuff. But, I can't justify a car JUST for that, since I could do that max 10 times a year, and then 1-2 days a week to work and back. Meanwhile, every day I drive kids to school, and drive the family around on weekends. So, I'm looking for a fun sedan that can stretch to do some auto-x/track duty. If I end up doing it a lot, THEN I can look at a beater DD + fun track car..

If you want to talk sedans for HPDE/AutoX, best to start a new thread. For a cheap/beater car that you can AutoX/track, it's hard to beat a Miata.

Something to think about is if you are going to track a car, you've got to be prepared to walk away from it if something happens on track... it's really pretty safe, but stuff happens. People have even totalled cars at AutoX.

Among those choices, I'd definitely go NC.

Our NC was pretty good on track... still easy on consumables, and can fit 255 rubber. With the PRHT, it was a pretty good daily, but still a bit spartan and noisy compared to an actual coupe.

Are the Twins (FRS/BRZ) dropping into your price range yet? Not a very inspiring motor, but still a great low cost track toy.

A C5 'Vette could be had for the same kind of money, but you're looking at more costly repairs, consumables and insurance. Order of magnitude more performance, though...

I get it. Our NA and NBs have never been DDs... only the NC hade that role, and it was much better at it.

I haven't been driving our NB much lately (snow not withstanding), and I keep toying with selling it. But for how little I have in it, it's too useful to have around as a spare vehicle. And it is fun with the top down.

The answer is just to stop resisting and make it a track only car...

Here's a pic of the stock muffler (which is huge)...

The exhaust has four modes:

Stealth

Tour

Sport

Track

In Stealth mode, the valve on the outer tip is completely closed, which forces all the exhaust through the tiny holes on the inlet pipe, so everything goes through the muffler and then out the inner tip on the opposite side. On a 650hp car, on the track, this generates a LOT of heat, which builds up in the muffler due to the restriction. Then the bumper cover has a meltdown. Not a problem with street driving, as you can't run full throttle long enough to be a problem (without going to jail!).

In Track mode, the valve is always open, so virtually all the exhaust goes out the outer tips. This is what the owner's manual suggests for track use, and it specifically says not to use Stealth mode on track.

In Tour and Sport, the valve is variable depending on throttle position and rpm. It's really a great exhaust... quiet when you want, but capable of sounding really nice. And no drone anywhere.

The only problem is straight through is too loud for sound limited tracks, and Stealth is not an option... thus the Laguna tips. Which hopefully will attenuate it just enough to make 95dB. They shouldn't cause any additional heat buildup.

Noooooo!

Well, sometimes it's time to move on. I hope you don't have seller's regret like I did with my NA. I was lucky to get it back for pretty much exactly what I sold it for.

We're three weeks out from our next event, which will be the first time out for the Camaro. I've been waiting, because I wanted my wife's first time on track in the Camaro to be on a track she knew, so she could concentrate on learning the car.

Only one problem... the track has a 95dB sound limit, and I know from talking to other drivers that a stock ZL1 won't pass sound in track mode.

Well, it has active exhaust... why not just use "stealth mode"?? The manual specifically says not to use 'stealth mode' on the track. I think this is why...

So, I've been planning a 'Laguna Seca' exhaust for the Camaro. I found a couple of pics online that gave me some ideas:

The other problem is that the track has two sound meters... one on each side of the track, so the "point it away" trick won't work. So I'm going to try "point it up"...

One nice thing, with the active exhaust in track mode, all of the exhaust goes out the outer two tips. Any gasses that do end up coming out the inner tips will have gone through the muffler and I'm not worried about that. So I only have to build two tips.

I started with some 3" 90 degree bends from Summit. Nice thing is they slip right into the stock tips.

Bad thing is they're very close to the bumper. I could only find 60* or 90*, and I really wanted something in the middle. So I broke out my HF bandsaw on the SWAG Offroad table (have I mentioned I love this thing?!), and cut a wedge out of the bend.

The wedge was to take ~15* out of the angle, and once tacked back together, you can see the difference from the 90*.

And both tacked up...

Don't have time to finish weld them today, but once I do, I'll start working on a bracket to mount and support them.

No Miata driving today...

But I did order a set of Toyo RRs for the next event...

Well, our first event of the season is in the books...

It was spitting snow when we left our house, but great racing weather in Phoenix, if a little on the cool side... right at 50*F when the track went hot, with a high of ~ 60*F. I'd never run this track in a car, and though I have a lot of laps here on a bike, the last time was in 2006, and we ran it in the opposite direction.

Lots of cool stuff showed up, including some late model heavy metal...

The guy in the Porsche Turbo S was fast, but drove like a tool, making some stupid passes. At the end of the day, I was running 2 seconds faster than the guy in the C7 ZR1 (!).

I started out on NT01s, and with the cold, green track (lots of rain lately) the car was really loose, and I was sliding everywhere. I forgot to start my lap timer app, so I didn't get any data. 2nd session was better as the track and tires started to warm up, and I was ~ 2.5 seconds off the lap record for my TT class. Next session was my first "timed" session for the TT class, and I took another tenth out, but I was realizing the NT01s were done.

Looking back this morning, that set of NT01s is 4 years old, and had done 11 track events! And unfortunately, they'd spent some time in our trailer in freezing weather this winter.

The car was running great, and felt really strong after the dyno tune. Unfortunately, I don't have any historical data from this track, so I couldn't compare lap times or speeds. Next time out, I'll have some data for comparisons.

I swapped on my Rivals for the next session, and immediately picked up almost a full second. Next session out, I pulled out another few tenths, but I still ended up about 1.5 seconds slower than the class winner, who dropped the lap record by ~.5 seconds. I still felt pretty good, as he was driving an ND Miata on Hoosiers.

So, second out of 5 drivers for my first TT event, on a track I'd never driven... pretty happy with that!

Now it's time to replace the NT01s... I'm not going to spend the $$$ on Hoosiers, but looking for a little more... probably Toyo RRs.

Some other cool stuff that showed up:

Mildly (180hp) turboed NA

Wildly modified C3 'Vette

Even a couple of ZL1s

Gotta love a guy who guts and cages a brand new $70k car!

We didn't take our ZL1, as I wanted my wife to have her first outing in it on a track she knew. This track is also pretty tight for a ZL1. She had a good time driving the NA, and I think driving on the shot NT01s was good for her.

Got a month to the next event...

I was thinking about adding an M1A to the collection, but I think I'm over it.

 

SC

I had some experience with a Military (1950s production) M-14, and it shot very well. I liked it enough that I bought an SA M1A Scout a number of years ago. It was highly disappointing...

The match grade guns probably shoot pretty well, but the Scout I had was a 3 MOA gun with optics. The beat up, Korean war vintage M14 I shot was a 1 MOA gun with irons...

I wasn't able to stick around to see numbers, but it sounded GLORIOUS!

I know Korths are high end guns, but they always looked like a cheap copy of a Python to me. I could never stop associating them with RG in my head...

One revolver I always wanted to build, but never got around to was a Smolt... best of all worlds.

http://www.esca21.com/GunBigPhoto/smython_4inch_silver_wood_prop.jpg

Oh, the car after me on the dyno...

4.2L(!) 964... I wasn't able to stick around to see numbers, but it sounded GLORIOUS!

I finally got the NA on a dynotoday...

After I did the engine swap, and got the car running, I did a bunch of street tuning. It felt pretty good, and the virtual dyno results I got seemed to be in the ballpark, so I thought I'd done a decent job tuning it...

I was wrong.

All those hours researching VE, AFR and ignition tables... logging, and reading logs... Well, I had the car way lean. Didn't help that it appears my AFR gauge appears to be reading .5-.75 rich.

I had figured I left something on the table, but it turns out I left a LOT...

Pardon the pic... couldn't get my scanner to play nice, so I had to take a pic of the printout. Runs are baseline, and final result

So, peak to peak 23hp and 15lb/ft.

But the really good improvement to me is the shape of the curve 3500-4000rpm. There are several corners at the tracks we frequent where the car is pulling from 3500rpm, and this is going to make a huge difference in acceleration. ​​​​​​​

We're all signed up for an event next weekend, and I'm running the car in a Time Trial class for the first time. Looking forward to our first outing of the season!

Picked up a 2 1/2" 686 Plus today...

Google pic, not mine:

I've been looking for an older (pinned & recessed) 4" M29 or M28 for a while, without success. I was in Phoenix today, so I stopped by Cabela's just to look around and they had the 686 in the used case, just put it out this morning. I would have preferred a 3" gun, but they had it priced ~$150 under typical prices I see for these so I decided to grab it. Best part was when I got up to the register and the guy scanned it, it rang up another $60 cheaper and they stuck with the lower price!

I had a Lew Horton 2 1/2" 686 back in the late 80's, so it's kind of a trip down memory lane. Back then they didn't have the 7 shooters, though. Now I just need some new speed loaders...

i'm thinking of throwing mine up on cl/fb to see what kind of trade offers i get

nooo!

Boring picture of the NA back in the garage after 3 months of hibernating in the trailer at the storage yard...

Brought it home for a pre-season inspection... everything was good to go, except for a tiny wiggle in the front wheel bearings. Re-torqued to factory spec and it's all good.

Also got it weighed, as I'm planning to run a TT series this year and the classing is based on weight/hp. 2045lbs with 5 gallons of fuel on board.

First event of the year in three weeks!

Speaking of first events... anyone watching the Daytona 24? That rain doesn't look like fun...

I was driving the NB the other day and the power steering went out just as I was getting home...

Finally got a chance to dig into things today and found a little issue with the pressure line...

Apparently, it got a little too friendly with the PS pulley...

New hose is due in tomorrow morning. So much for my Saturday...

In other news, I got my truck back today.

Looks good, but I'll spend some time inspecting everything tomorrow.

Just got a phone call from the body shop (dropped the truck off earlier this week - FINALLY)...

NO FRAME DAMAGE!

Still making (slow) progress on the control arm/bushing project. I decided I wanted to switch to NB2 front upper control arms since they have extra bracing...

NA

NB

The arrow in the above pic shows the additional bracing, which actually needs to be clearanced, as it can interfere with the coil overs at full bump.

I found a set of NB2 arms on eBay from Miata Mecca in Phoenix. With free shipping, it was cheaper and easier than driving to Phoenix.

I ended up paying a little more than the typical eBay price, but most sellers don't differentiate between NA, NB1 and NB2 arms and use stock photos so it's unclear exactly what you're getting. In this case, I knew exactly what I was getting, and they were nicely cleaned up and in great condition. I also knew it would be easier to deal with any potential problems with the seller being semi-local.

Now I just need to pop out the bushings and ball joints, and clearance the bracing. Then I need to decide if I'm going to have them blasted before painting them.

Since we're talking tires, I'll ramble a bit...

There's not a lot of choice in track tires for this car. Using basically stock sizes (20s) you have:

Stock GY Supercar F3

Michelin Cup 2

Toyo R888R

Hoosier R7

If I go to ZL1 1LE sizes (19s), I can choose from:

Stock GY Supercar F3R

Michelin Cup 2

Nitto NT01

Toyo R888R

The 1LE spec GY F3R is basically a one-off cheater tire GY built specifically for the ZL1 1LE. It supposedly has grip approaching Hoosier levels, but doesn't last long. On the good side, they are a good bit less expensive than the other tires.

Hoosiers are too much $$, and cycle out too fast for HPDE. I hear the Cup 2s are really fast... for a couple of laps. And they're $$ as well.

My go-to track tire for HPDE has generally been the NT01. In my experience they last a long time, and have good grip through their lifetime. I hear the same from others who have them. Not the fastest, but still faster than the 200TW class.

I'm hoping the R888R will prove similar. Since Nitto/Toyo are under the same parent company, I had always thought the two tires were the same tire with different tread patterns. From what I am finding online, folks are not reporting the same love for the R888R as they do for the NT01. I guess I'll find out.

If I'm happy with the performance, I'll stick with 20's and run R888R. If not, I plan to pick up a set of 19s and run NT01 in 1LE sizes. And I can always throw on a set of the F3Rs if I want to set a lap record...