rodan Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 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: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 (edited) Finally finished up the aero with the installation of a 9 Lives Racing wing and fiberglass trunk. Put some black vinyl on the wing to protect the aluminum, and got the trunk lid painted. I was originally planning to paint the top at the same time, but my wife insisted we leave it white. Still trying to decided if I like it or not... Aaand, this showed up on Friday: Hope to have it up and running and tuned for the fall. Edited July 17, 2021 by rodan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Is it a variable geometry turbo? looks like it's going to be serious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxkita Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 turbo miata? because traction limits isn't a real thing? that'll be stupid fun when you are done Build my car Boxkita Track days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 Not a variable vane turbo. Plan is to tune for ~220whp to run in NASA TT4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxkita Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 10 lb/hp? Build my car Boxkita Track days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted July 18, 2021 Share Posted July 18, 2021 12 lb/hp with driver, and there are some other classing modifiers (tire compound, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted October 23, 2021 Share Posted October 23, 2021 Well, the turbo still isn't installed. I told myself that since turbos about double the chances of a fire, I would install a fire suppression system before it got the turbo. Roll in a busy summer, and.... So I just finished up the fire system install, and a rewire of the primary battery and alternator runs with welding cable, incorporating cutoff switches. In the process, it got a new center stack and a front mount for a center net. Photo dump: And since our 'season' here in the southwest is October to May, now we're in the thick of things, so I'll probably wait until next summer to turbo the car so I don't miss too many events having it down. That will also give me more time to put together a new motor so I don't have to worry about preserving the stock rods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 Looks good. My only concern is how it's wired in case a fire disables the electric power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 Fire system is manual for that very reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 Fire system is manual for that very reason. Well, it looks like it has an electric switch, that's why I'm concerned. I've seen Murphy's Law in effect a bit too many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 The fire system is activated by the red "T" handles, which are mechanical: a cable physically pulls on the bottle handle. The red switch located next to the fire pull (or under it on the gauge panel) are the electrical cutoff switches. Either one will shut off power and kill the electrical system and engine. I'm still waiting for the labels for those switches, so sorry for the confusion. BTW, most of the electronic fire systems run off a small battery and are independent of the vehicle electronics. Some even use temperature sensors for automatic deployment. I still worried about the wiring being damaged by fire, so I went mechanical (plus, it was about 1/2 the cost!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 I see, not easy to follow the paths all the time from pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derp Posted October 26, 2021 Share Posted October 26, 2021 woo, race car stuff I could suck start a snow blower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 24, 2021 Share Posted November 24, 2021 Couple pics from our last outing. First pic is my wife driving, second is me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Had another great track weekend, set a new personal best, and won my TT class. I've had a couple of 2nds over the last couple years, but this was my first win. Even if it was only two cars in class this time! I still beat a few cars that were classed higher, so happy with the results. Some video from the last TT comp session, chasing a Mustang GT... I can never get the embed to work right on this forum, so here's a link: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitexc Posted February 1, 2022 Share Posted February 1, 2022 Congrats on the win. Cool footage. Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Our street Miata just got a major upgrade. Bought it in 2017... got it cheap 'cause it was an automatic. Solid car, with iffy paint. I swapped in a 2003 VVT engine and a manual transmission, and have been gradually working on it while driving it over the last four years. Back in early January, I dropped it off for paint. Well, this week it came home, and I've got it put back together (mostly)... Pretty pleased with the results. It's like having a brand new car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febreze Mee Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 That looks awesome! What is the name of the color? MILKRUN - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 That looks awesome! What is the name of the color? White. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 A few minor updates in Miataland... The NB got a different set of wheels. I wanted bronze from the start, but my wife insisted on black. Once I put the bronze set off our NA on it and she saw it in person, she relented. Fortunately I was able to turn the black wheels locally for no real loss. The NA is currently going under suspension surgery, getting delrin bushings and new springs with a higher rate to complement the aero. A while back I scored a complete set of control arms to facilitate the swap, which is still taking much longer than I planned, but at least all the prep work was done ahead of time. The turbo plan has also changed. Some 2022 rules changes have resulted in the goalposts getting moved, and the new plan is to run the car in NASA TT3 instead of TT4. This requires more power (~280whp), which puts it at the top end of the GT2560R capabilities for track use. So, the GT2560R setup will be going on the NB street car. The race car will be getting an EFR6258. This required a different manifold, and I've finally received it from Kraken. It's a low mount, which should make hot/cold side plumbing a little easier. Beautiful stuff! Downside is that the car will not be turboed until '23, so I'll continue to run the TT series I've been running and won't be getting into NASA competition this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 Looks really nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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