| MIATA BUILD |
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 | |  | August 9, 2007 - The windshield fairy has been here!
Having the windshield in makes the car look so much more complete - and smaller. At least, that's what I think. Janel and Brandon think I'm nuts. This isn't the same windshield I pulled out a few months ago. It turns out that one had a small stone chip, and may not have survived the implantation process. New glass was only about $70 or so, so that was an easy decision to make. Now that there's glass between me and the bugs, the car is much more driveable.
Brandon came over and we tore into the car. He pulled the co-driver's seat and installed the sub belt for me while I worked on suspension and also installed the undertray for the engine bay.
entry 278 - tags: seats | | |  | August 9, 2007 - Finally, some real suspension.
These Öhlins are beautifully built with an obsessive attention to detail in some places and are carefully documented - in Japanese. There's a shortage of numbers so I'm guessing there's little information on setup. I was able to figure it all out though.
They're also very, very short shocks. At full droop, the front wheels are only at about 13.25" from the hub to the fender. That's close to what I wanted to run for static height, so they're unlikely to be the suspension of choice for the Targa. Still, it gives me the chance to test them out and get the car on track next weekend at the Flyin' Miata open house.
The spring rates are approximately 450 lb front and 330 rear. That's a good aggressive street rate, but again a bit more than I'd want for Targa. I went out for a short run after installing them and the ride is very good. There's a suppleness to it that bodes well. On short acquaintance I like them, but I don't think they'll work on the rough Newfoundland roads. We'll see how they work on the track, I don't have much else to test at this point.
entry 279 - tags: suspension | | |  | August 9, 2007 - Out of the garage!
The Targa Miata visited Flyin' Miata today for the first time. Well, it's been there before, one piece at a time. But this is the first self-propelled visit. The car behaved itself and all of my coworkers were suitably impressed with the paint job.
I spent enough time looking at the car from a distance to start spotting sections of the stripes that I could have done better. It's time to get the decals on the car and distract myself from all that, I think.
One good note - the silicone on the rear window is slowly drying and going clear. In another couple of days, it should be all done.
entry 280 - tags: testing, Martini, lexan window | | |  | August 9, 2007 - A lot of little jobs got done on the car tonight.
The most obvious underhood is the installation of the red valve cover - that's an instant 15 hp gain for sure, although I need to get a filter for that cam cover breather. I installed an interior rear view mirror, the plastic cowl at the base of the windshield, cleaned up a bit of wiring, changed the throttle cable bracket and generally did a few small things on the car.
The Mazdaspeed MX-5 turbo muffler sounded terrible, so it's been replaced by a Flyin' Miata part instead. That sounds a lot better and also drops a few pounds. I also determined that my recent addition of a no-slip patch was a total failure, as it started to creep around the footwell and announced itself to be a hazard. So it's gone now although the bits on the pedals remain.
The car's heading for the alignment shop tomorrow morning and then on to the dyno to get the engine into shape. It's part of the push for the track debut at the Flyin' Miata open house.
entry 281 - tags: ergonomics, exhaust, alignment, engine | | |  | August 11, 2007 - Sticker time!
I picked up all the various Martini logos and sponsor names yesterday. It's not quite a complete set, but it'll do to get the primary look of the car done. First step is to figure the exact location of the stickers and make sure they're straight!
entry 282 - tags: Martini, decals | | |  | August 11, 2007 - After the car's cleaned off, I wetted the surface down with slightly soapy water.
This gives me the ability to reposition the decals if necessary, although it can make it difficult to position strips of letters if you have things too wet. A small squeegee was used to chase out the bubbles and make sure everything conforms to the complex shape of the car.
entry 283 - tags: Martini, decals | | |  | August 11, 2007 - And here it is.
The Targa Miata, in (almost) full livery and ready for the track. As you can tell from the background, I live in an area that is about as different from Newfoundland as it is possible to be!
If anyone wants a larger version of this picture (or more shots of the car, I have piles of them), just let me know.
entry 284 - tags: Martini | | |  | August 11, 2007 - From the rear.
The chunky black lettering on the rear bumper is taken off the Martini cars as well. I'm considering something for the nose, but it'll have to be smaller to work. Maybe a MAZDA logotype. You can't tell from this photo, but the silicone around the rear window is finally going clear.
entry 285 - tags: Martini, lexan window | | |  | August 11, 2007 - The trunk logo is placed near the trailing edge of the trunk.
I'm not 100% sure this is the best place for it, or if it should be centered.
entry 286 - tags: Martini, decals | | |  | August 11, 2007 - I've put the driver/codriver names above the window.
They're pretty visible!
I'm pretty sure I asked for a larger version of the logo for the hood, but it's pretty well balanced. There needs to be room for race numbers, race sponsors and more of our own sponsors on the sides of the cars.
entry 287 - tags: Martini, decals | | |  | August 11, 2007 - Open wide!
The powdercoated valve cover isn't a perfect match to the stripes, but that's fine by me.
It's interesting to see just how red the stripes do photograph despite the orange hue of the paint. That's why I spent so long searching for the perfect red, it had to have that ability to pop. I'll get some photos in direct sunlight later and see how it looks.
entry 288 - tags: Martini | | |  | August 12, 2007 - A number of little things were done today in order to prep the car for the track day on Friday.
This little filter is on the valve cover to feed the PCV system. That's a pretty misunderstood system, and in most cases a filter on the cover would be a bad idea. In my case, I have an engine management system that uses manifold vacuum to determine load, so there's no problem if some air comes through the valve cover first.
The car also got the first oil change and is now running full synthetic. The transmission and diff were drained and refilled with the correct fluids this time (whoops), and judging by the condition of the stuff coming out of the diff it's not a bad thing that I "flushed" it. I spent a bit of time working on exhaust system alignment, I'm afraid I'll have a bit of a rattle on hard cornering.
On the less mechanical side of things, I put some small rubber bumpers under the trunklid to ensure it doesn't rattle at all. Windshield wipers are in place (and functioning) and I added Grassroots Motorsports and SSR decals to the side of the car in front of the door. This is partly to acknowledge the support from GRM (go pick up a copy of the October 2007 Grassroots, you'll find my Seven in there) and to give SSR a bit of credit for originally supplying the wheels being used on the car. It's also partly a test of how to arrange sponsor decals on the car. Oh, and there's a big black FLYIN' MIATA on the nose of the car now to match the rear bumper. Pictures will come.
entry 289 - tags: drivetrain, exhaust, decals | | | August 13, 2007 - Car gallery added to the website.
After being innundated with a request, I've put up a gallery of the car from a bunch of angles. Yes, it's completely self-indulgent. But I don't mind at all.
So, if you'd like a Targa Miata wallpaper or just want the chance to critique the stripes carefully yourself, check it out: Targa Miata gallery.
Meanwhile, the car got aligned today. A bit of tuning on the computer and it's ready for the track. I've been driving it around for the last few days. I'll post some driving impressions soon.
entry 290 - tags: alignment | | | August 14, 2007 - So, how does it drive?
The engine isn't fully tuned yet so the car doesn't have full power, nor does it like to idle much. But ignoring those little foibles, it's a blast. The car is conspicuously light. It's surprising just how much difference an extra 300 lbs can make to a car, but it will happily surge forward on even just a tickle of the throttle. Even in the semi-tuned state there's a real snap to the throttle response. The car wants to run, and the short gearing exaggerates this.
The power steering is very light. A bit too light, perhaps. I'll try disabling it to see how that feels and if I'd want to deal with hundreds of kilometers of shattered roads without it.
The car is very rigid, with absolutely no flex - even compared to a modified Miata with a butterfly brace, structural foam in the frame rails and a rollbar. Amazingly, there are no rattles although there's a fair bit of noise and vibration through the uninsulated chassis and competition motor mounts. It's also rather warm inside as the engine and exhaust heat gets nicely transmitted. I'll have to do something about that.
The springs are stiff, but the Öhlins shocks control them very well. It'll be interesting to see how well that works on the track even without sway bars.
In short, the car is a ball to drive. It's a reminder that it's not just a Miata with a cool paint job.
entry 291 - tags: testing, stiffness, suspension | | | August 14, 2007 - Ready for the track day.
Three years ago, my Seven made its public debut at the Flyin' Miata Open House as well as its first serious track testing. This year, it's the Targa Miata's turn. There's a lot of interest in the car so it's going to be fun.
For final preparation, Brandon and I bolted on a new right rear caliper to solve a problem with the handbrake sticking on. Hopefully the rotor will be okay, a coworker drove the car about 1/2 a mile today with the old caliper siezed tight in place. Stinky!
The engine tuning was given a bit of a tweak today as well. The engine isn't putting out full power, that's fairly obvious even if we didn't put the car on the dyno. Still, it should be safe to run on track and the engine is very eager and flexible. At least it will idle happily now!
And voila. A bit of cleanup for the interior and I'm ready. Just in time, too!
entry 292 - tags: testing, brakes, tuning | | |  | August 19, 2007 - Time for the kids to come out to play.
I managed to get both the Targa Miata and my Seven out to the track together - and since I was running the day, I got to schedule myself into two run groups so I could run both cars. Ah, it's a tough life.
The event was the Flyin' Miata Open House, and the track is actually a large kart track. We've found that if you run it backwards it is a more challenging track, with a larger variety of corners including one downhill sweeper into a tight braking zone that is pretty tough. In a fast car, you have to make the choice between braking before a little kink or waiting until afterwards, in which case you don't have a lot of room for error. A number of other corners conspire to catch you up and it's a very fun challenge.
entry 293 - tags: testing | | |  | August 19, 2007 - The first session took place in a light rain.
Great, just the way I like to test out a car for the first time. Other than about 200 road miles, the car was completely fresh.
On this first session, the car was a handful. It would understeer on corner entry then light up the rear wheels and oversteer on the exit. It didn't help that I had brand new RA-1s on the car that hadn't been heat-cycled yet and I never got around to installing sway bars! It was a bit of a challenge.
The one thing that did stand out, however, was the engine. It's a hero. Sharp throttle response, lots of torque from deep down and a killer top end. I thought there was something wrong with the tach - I use that to judge my speeds on this track because I know it so well. And in a couple of places, I was pulling almost as many rpm as I do in the Seven - a car that weighs 1300 lbs!
It's cool seeing the action shots of the car, partly to see how the stripes work. This picture was taken in light rain, but the blinding white and the orange-red colors jump out just the way they're supposed to. Excellent. The headlights are up because I forgot to put them down, no other reason.
entry 294 - tags: testing, Martini | | |  | August 19, 2007 - After that first session, everything dried up and I got faster.
My best lap on the first session had been a 1:12.049. I was concerned that the wheelspin on exiting hard right corners and a banging noise was due to a possibly bad shock, so I bumped up the damping a little to see what would happen.
The results? No real change in the behavior of the car, but then again the track conditions were quite a bit different. The tires were biting now on turn-in, and the combination of excellent initial grip and no sway bars made for a car that required a fairly light touch. I let Bill Cardell from Flyin' Miata take the car out as well and we agreed that the lack of traction on corner exit was probably a wheel lifting. The Torsen differential used in the car is nice when both wheels are on the ground, but once one lifts it acts like an open diff. The lack of sway bars and resulting body roll meant I was getting a lot of droop on the inside rear wheel, and the short Ohlins shocks didn't have a lot of droop to provide. This is something that could be solved by lowering the car - not good for the Targa - or by limiting the roll a bit more. I did test, and the car dealt very well with big bumps such as driving over the kerbs in the chicane.
My time dropped to 1:08.527, mostly due to the dry pavement. This picture was taken on the most difficult part of the track, as I'm accelerating hard downhill towards a braking zone that has the car up on its toes. On my first hard lap, I didn't have the car properly settled before nailing the brakes, and I was rewarded with a spin. Right, no sways and 2050 lbs instead of 1300. After reminding myself of that, I was able to take the late, gutsy option without drama. This corner is an excellent one for dialing in brake balance.
entry 295 - tags: testing, brakes, suspension | | |  | August 19, 2007 - Turn one was a bit of a fast one.
As the day went on, I was starting to figure out how to drive the car better. The biggest trick was getting a good drive out of corners, and it led to me taking some different lines than I usually do in the little lightweight weapon. The Seven has a huge amount of traction, but in the Targa car I was taking wider lines to settle the rear down first. It was paying off, my fastest lap dropped to 1:07.977.
I've found a satellite picture of the track here . We were running counter-clockwise, and the big sweeper is the fun part. My goal is to start braking when my left front wheel hits the kerbing before the hairpin.
entry 296 - tags: testing | | |  | August 19, 2007 - It wouldn't be a track day for me without an oversteer shot!
I was able to throw the car around a bit. By this point, I'd figured out that my banging noise was probably the exhaust hitting the differential. I knew that clearance was tight there, I'll have to get back underneath and take a peek.
The 1:07.977 was my fastest time of the day, and it was a pretty good one. By comparison, a turbo Miata with 225/45-15 Toyos (well scrubbed in) and the JIC shocks turned a 1:07.119. Another turbo Miata was close behind with a 1:07.337, both driven by coworkers of mine. And the Targa Miata was third, ahead of another 45or so Miatas. It was an excellent first day out. The fastest car on the track (1:03.733) was my little Seven, to my satisfaction.
So, what did I learn about the car? I'd like to try a nicely sized front sway bar to cut down the roll, and maybe a bit more front camber. That will make the car easier to throw around, something I'll need to be able to do on the Targa surfaces. Unlike the track, I'll be reacting a bit more instead of anticipating.
The braking is very light, almost to the point of being overassisted. It's the first time I've tried these brakes with the larger booster and master from the late Miatas, and that could be the reason. It could also be the street-only pads I was running (you could smell them at the end of the day) and the fact that I was jumping out of the Seven which has a very firm unassisted pedal. After the first lap, it wasn't really a problem so it may have been acclimatisation. Still, I'll get some proper pads in there and see.
The shocks are the big question. They do an excellent job of damping surface imperfections. But can I run the car high enough to get the ground clearance I need for the Targa? I'll have to drop the rear down a bit and see how it works. There's another set of shocks sitting at work that have 5" of travel and I want to try them next.
entry 297 - tags: testing, other cars, brakes, suspension | | |
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