Tony Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 I thought you already had rated roll bars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted March 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 No i left them standard as from what i have read people said they were adequate, however based on my last two track days with the Meisters on i still felt like the car was leaning too much. The first weak spot was the seats which has now been sorted with the Recaros but i still want to address the ARB situation. I just prefer a more flatter handling car so i wont be putting them on max stiffness just the first notch will do for now and work from there. I have a 2nd set of 5 spokes in the garage and contemplating getting those powercoated and throwing on some more grippy rubber as well so that will only make the situation even more apparent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Where did you get the anti roll bars from? I would've thought you'd fit them yourself, it's a fairly easy job. That autotune looks good, so you can use it to program settings in as well as diagnose? If you have the relevant sensors working there is enough in the AutoTune suite to get the car up and running and driving about. It might even be suitable for more on the fly performance related tuning to a degree but to be honest having a person tune your car that can read between the lines is still the way to go especially when boost is involved. Its amazing as a backup for the enthusiast like me though. There is potential however to be completely self sufficient if you know what you are doing. All elements of the tune can be edited in TunerStudio manually so you really have to know what you are doing and what the consequences will be - you could throw a rod out the block otherwise. The areas i have been looking into are exclusively the cold start settings, otherwise i use it for Gauges on a Nexus tablet that connects via bluetooth, Useful especially on track days and keeps an element of stealth with no gauges inside. Saying that the car doesnt look particularly stock any more So it would write these changes to the ECU then, even the stock one or do you have an aftermarket one, I can't remember? I definitely wouldn't attempt anything like that myself, I'm not really an engine person, although I don't mind working on the ancillaries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted March 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Yeah i have fitted ARBs previously on my 200sx however i am limited on time to do these kinds of jobs these days with the Daughter around so its quicker to let joe fit them for me. TunerStudio is designed to work with the MegaSquirt ECU so cant be used on the std ECU. You can tweak certain Mazda ECU's to get a tiny bit more poke but in terms of value i woudl say its better to just wait and switch to a MegaSquirt. It will run an NA engine and can easily be mapped to handle a turbo or supercharger with no additional equipment cost - its just mapping/rolling road time if you use a pro. Running in this configuration has forced me to become accustomed with the kit i am running with in more detail and to be honest i am quite enjoying it. I've gone through a period of change and meddling on the car replacing widebands and moving wires around etc so now it should settle down. Most of the issues i have faced are ultimately my own doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 So i spent a couple of hours at WiM yesterday whilst the team fitted the new whiteline arbs. They look like very nice kit. No discernible weight saving tbh but they are much more beefy (the rear one was puny!) and the front came with their own set of drop links also. So had those fitted, and also had the ride height raised by 10mm all round and then a geo back to traditional WiM fast road settings. Initial impressions on the drive back is the change of direction feels a bit more sharper/direct. It feels more 'flickable' i.e you can wag the wheel and provoke movement of the car easily, which hopefully should mean a more fun drive on track! Hard to explain but it just feels like the cars a bit more lively in change of direction, or input. The input of the wheel immediately equates to car movement. It also feels like reverting from my mild custom geo setup (more oversteer tendancies )to std WiM fast road has returned some of the usual understeer/nose dive when you let the gas off which is nice. I reverted back because i think since i have the torque to overcome tyre grip at any stage in the lower rev range it would be more confidence inspiring to return to a slightly understeery setup and then play with the throttle more mid corner. I have detected the ride on the current damper settings feels more harder than it used to? So i might need to soften the dampers up a touch (currently 8 front, 6 rear) to get a softer ride. Not entirely sure why that is but pleased with them so far! Cars now got one or two new squeaks and rattles now since all the changes and that is to be expected i suppose. I might try and get rid of them at some point in the future... Next stop : Full service and Track day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Sounds good, is there any standard suspension left on the car now? So when you getting a mag feature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 To be fair the arms and bushings are all standard. I wont be changing those or polybushing either. The only thing polybushed is the diff mountings and that was so i could leave a clean 11 on the ground with no axel tramp if i so wanted They'll probably need replacing at some satge since they are the best part of 18 years old now. Feel fine right now though. No mag feature - not my cup of tea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Oh and there i was getting me cup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 i'm sure a trackday video would provide better entertainment ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Indeed it would Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Working on it - got a roll bar mount for a better view and a new memory card so hoping the bloody recordings wont get corrupted this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Its been a while since i posted an update So back in june i took a road trip down to Le Mans again for the 24 hour race. I serviced the car before going and the trip down was flawless. On the way back whilst negotiating the traffic through Rouen i had a bang/thud as i pulled away from some traffic lights in a assertive fashion. I felt the power steering go so assumed the belt snapped and didnt bother to stop. I then drive another 110 miles or so back to calais and pulled into the Eurotunnel waiting area for our train. I took the time to just confirm my suspicions. However what i found surprised me ! Basically the actual tensioner bracket had snapped in half and sat on the undertray for the last 100 miles! Anyway so i set about getting a replacement from Moss, which they very kindly sourced from the US and sent to me. This took some time however so i ordered a Trackdog tensioner as a posisble solution. in the end i had both sat on my table so i was able to compare the pair of them closely : 2 piece assembly versus 1 piece : Comparing brackets - Trackdog significantly thicker but heavier buy a few hundered grams. Both made from billet aluminum i believe (i know track dog is 100%). Pulleys themselves - Moss are nylon one piece - bearings not servicable. As you know i had to replace one already that started making noises. Track dogs are steel pulleys with replaceable bearings: In the end i weighed it up and decided that although fitting the moss one again would be the easy fix i wanted to try the beefier (and slightly heavier) track dog as it looked like it addressed the two previous failures i experienced (bearing and bracket). This is what they look like fitted (not my engine bay) : Suffice to say i had massive fun and games fitting this. I had to re-orientate the power steering hose to allow room, remove some intercooler pipe work and also develop bendy hands to try and get the nut on the back of the power steering pump that secures it to the block. I also managed to split thin a coolant pipe whilst struggling in the tight space - it must have been brittle as it didnt take much for it to start weeping. So i ordered a 9 piece coolant hose set to replace the damaged hose, and put the rest in when time allows: I got there in the end however! So car is now back on the road. The charger and belt needs re-aligning now though as its slipping but its drivable Lastly i thought after all that i thought i'd give her a clean before putting it back into the garage : more soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parthiban Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Wow, is it normal for a chunk of aluminium like that to just snap? Love that pic, got the lighting and shadows perfect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted August 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 No its not normal - might have been a piece with some inpurities in or something. Either way i felt the effort of fitting the beast track dog one was worth it for peace of mind. Yeah i am loving that photo shame its in the garages - i'll get a proper photo session on it one day hopefully. She scrubs up alright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Talk about fail .... And the angle of the brake being longitudinal makes it even more odd? She does look glorious though Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 That was a nasty break, how random! The car is looking sweet and I really like those black wheels. Where did you get the clear side repeaters and bumper reflectors from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted August 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Cheers dude Clear side repeaters from MX5 parts - one of the first mods i ever did to the car back in 2010 I think those were about £17 back in the day and £19 or so now. Bumper reflectors i held out till a second hand pair came up - i think i paid about £35 for the set. They can take side marker bulbs but not fussed wiring them up - its a bit of a american thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 My oil filter from MX5 Parts came yesterday and they put a catalogue in with it - I don't think that was a good idea! The bumper reflectors are expensive so I'll keep an eye out for some used ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 Ha you've come down with MX5 fever....... Only known cure is a turbo injection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted August 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 That catalog is lethal. Stay away from the nutz group buys page as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 That catalog is lethal. Stay away from the nutz group buys page as well! Thankfully I'm not a fan of chrome, there is quite alot of it in there, which would've been tempting. I've not looked on the group buy section yet, I'll go have a look now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted August 9, 2015 Report Share Posted August 9, 2015 You'll be sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Cars back together but putting in the track dog tensioner became a more tricky job that what it looks like on paper! Ended up having to adjust the supercharger from scratch to line the belt up on the pulleys again, but one of the bolts that secure the charger to the head and also serve as adjustment bolts decided to round off. I later learned the heads are tapered hence my 14mm spanner that was correct slipped. Lesson learned! I had to take the charger off entirely to get at the bolt and luckily it had enough meat left to pop a socket on and get the bolt out. That could have been a nightmare scenario if it was stuck. i ordered some irwin bolt extractor sockets but luckily these werent required. Some nice new bolts were used when it went back on! Went out for a drive the other day in between torrential rain and its driving well. Eliminiated some terrible belt slip noise due to not enough tension and just as i thought i had it nailed, the belt jumped off gunning it up onto the a41. No big deal just need to adjust the supercharger back. We are talking 1-2mm of adjustment though which is tricky. Once its there though thats the end of it. Enjoying the journey though - this is definitely the case of improving upon any weaknesses found as i go. Also - i have ordered a couple of these Zoom Engineering center consoles from japan. Mine will have black centres though : This is to allow some gauges to be installed since i just wasn't happy with slapping them in pods - just doesn't look right. I have ordered one in leather and one painted and i will see which one i prefer. After that i will put the other one up for sale. Suffice to say they are like rocking horse s***e in the UK so shouldn't have an issue moving it on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 It's all fun and games with your car but sounds like you're getting there. I have a set of those Irwin sockets, they were a life saver when I had a rounded caliper bolt, got it off no problem The centre console looks good, will definitely give a better finish compared to pods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve-O Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Yeah i only get an hour here and there to get things done so even these minor things turn into mini projects. I am enjoying it though as i have a thorough knowledge of the car now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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