Guran's NA6 "Little Reddy"

[Charlie Brown]

Thanks Phil. As I wrote in response to Peter, I think it was more like 105km/hr on the speedo (tops). To put your mind at ease, I checked my PerformanceBox data for turn 2. On that PB lap my Vmin was 86km/hr right at the apex (it bobbled around as I clipped the ripple!), and by the time I reached the left ripple strip on the exit I was doing 95km/hr.

Phew!!! I struggle to keep it out off the dirt on the exit if I'm in the 100kph range.

Your video is very interesting. I can see where you are making a lot of time but won't broadcast it here. I had a think about what I do at that particular part of the circuit but realised that speed between the two cars is the main difference.

[Guran]

C'arn Phil, spill the beans! I have no secrets here and I'm perfectly happy to share my track tips with others.

Oh and yes, I struggle to keep it out of the dirt sometimes too. Had quite a few excursions out there and usually manage at least one visit per club trackday (when I'm on the less grippy RE001s).

[Sailor]

Phil,
I have data from that time you had my Race Chrono onboard
Shows you getting on the brakes at 161.4kph for T2 slowing to 88.5 just prior to apex
then getting on it through the apex then the bump as you hit the ripple strip on the apex at 103 kph.
132.1 before you lift for T3
139.2 when you brake for the fish hook
141.4 on the picks for T10.
on a 1.11.1 lap.

Sadly I was about 15-18kph slower at each of these marks and about 4.5 secs slower

[Hellmun]

My maximum speed last trackday on a 1:10:02 lap was 154kph before T2. My minimum speed through T2 though was 92.7kph. 95.95kph as I hit the apex, so the wide line does give you extra speed. Be interesting to see if that's still worth it with the increased track distance. This data logger has me very seriously considering putting off the turbo gear for a while to see how close I can get to 1:08's.

[Guran]

Ordered these yesterday and they are here already. Nice.


Untitled by Guran5, on Flickr

[Guran]

I installed the new front pads and rotors yesterday and bedded them in this afternoon. They're Hawk HP+ (from MX-5 Mania, $150 + $8.70 postage) and DBA "Street Series Standard" (from Supercheap, $101.50). Can't believe how cheap these things are! The job took me about an hour, although I didn't need to flush/bleed the brake fluid (last changed only a month ago).

Out of interest, I checked the weight and thickness of the rotors and got the following results.

Old rotors: 3.280kg / 16.21mm driver-side and 3.165kg / 16.31mm passenger-side
New rotors: 3.655kg / 18.03mm
Spec: 18.0mm new and 16.0mm service limit (16.5mm on the DBA rotors)

So now with the new rotors, I'll be carrying an extra 0.5kg of unsprung weight on each side! I'm also interested to see how DBA's "kangaroo paw" vents compare with what I had before.

New driver-side rotor and pads after installation

IMG_1857 by Guran5, on Flickr

New passenger-side rotor and pads after installation

IMG_1859 by Guran5, on Flickr

Plenty of meat still on the rear pads, which were installed new when the last front pads went in.

IMG_1851 by Guran5, on Flickr

I had been worried about the fine cracks that had appeared in the old rotors and given that they're only a few tenths off the service limit, they have now gone in the bin. Interestingly, the cracks were only on the outside surface of the rotors (caliper arm side), and there were no cracks on the inside surface (piston side). I'm not sure, but these old rotors seem to be genuine Mazda items - can anyone confirm?

IMG_1861 by Guran5, on Flickr

Cracks on the caliper arm side of the front rotors

IMG_1863 by Guran5, on Flickr

No cracks on the piston side of the front rotors

IMG_1865 by Guran5, on Flickr

Looks like I timed this change perfectly as there was only a millimetre of pad left. But otherwise, the Hawk HP+ wear was nice and even, with no sign of flaking.

IMG_1866 by Guran5, on Flickr

IMG_1867 by Guran5, on Flickr

IMG_1868 by Guran5, on Flickr

The Hawk HP+ pads held up MUCH better than the Bendix Ultimates I was using previously. The Ultimates were crumbling and falling apart around the edges, even with about 4-5mm of pads remaining!

[greenMachine]

Hahaha those pads tell a good story, not just that you have short arms and deep pockets!! You must look after your slider pins pretty well to get the wear that even...

I would suggest your rear pads are too hard, but softer pads may upset your brake balance - do your fronts lock first, if so I would try softer rears and see what happens.

[Guran]

Thanks for the tips. I have been cleaning up the slider pins each change and greasing them up well. Good to see the rewards.

Yes the fronts always lock first. So what rear pads are softer than Bendix General CT?

[greenMachine]

Bryan, I don't know, but give Dave at Carco a call - they played around with rear pads when running Turbogirl/boy, and he will be able to give you a steer.

[Guran]

Thanks Ed. I'll give Dave a call during the week.

[PeterB]

Carco were running standard rear pads, which apparently gave good feel and balance, but only lasted a couple of race meetings - but as they were cheap they just kept replacing them and they were easy on the rotors. I think they still use this setup on their road registered cars.

They moved to a willwood setup on the race cars and used a softer willwood pad on the rear, with a harder compund on the front. I used a similar setup on Fanta, which was very good, but did have a balance adjuster to set it up.

They have me trying a "Lucas" rear pad (a few dollars dearer than stock NA rear pads) on my NA with the Hawk HP+ fronts. They seem to have a reasonable balance and are wearing at about the same rate as the fronts. Mine usually locks the front, but last state round was locking the left rear for the first few stops in the cold until the temperatures stabilised.

[evil_weevil]

holly sh*t !!! I dont know how I missed this!!
congrats Bryan - you are killing it mate!!!!!!!

while your times for a stock car are freaking awesome - have you thought about doing mods?
i know the class you are in doesnt allow mods - but do you hav e that voice in the back of your head saying..."maybe if I had some mods here and there...."?

[PeterB]

He was running light weight brake pads to reduce the unsprung weight.

And he has done it again - a report from the latest state round at Eastern Creek (running on semi-slicks presumably)

"Bryan Shedden, another perennial record breaker, broke his own Class 1A Record by just over a half a second in his MX5 with a time of 1.59.288. Great time for a standard MX5."

Another great run - congratulations - looking good for the Nationals in November !!

[Guran]

Thanks guys. It was another big day at Eastern Creek! I was consistently lapping in 1:59s which was great, and then to find a half second improvement was a big thrill. It almost came at a cost though. Because I was carrying a tad more speed into turn one (no brakes, no throttle lift), the car started getting loose mid-corner at 165km/hr! I kept the boot in though and managed to catch it with a little opposite lock. Drifting at that sort of speed, knowing full well how many people hit the concrete wall when it goes wrong ... it was an adrenaline high!

It was a day of mass carnage! There were five or six cars that were badly damaged in various incidents, and thankfully no-one was hurt. Lindsay Burke unfortunately lost it on turn 12 and crashed Robert Kai's RX7 head-on into the concrete wall on the inside of the track. I was behind him when it happened, but only saw the dust cloud at first. It was a great relief to see him out of the car and standing with the ambos. The car was a bit of a mess though.

[Guran]

Chris, it's always tempting to consider modifying my car, and I've been toying with the idea of having a go in Clubman class. However that would put me into Type 2 at supersprints where the class leader has done 1:09.999 at Wakefield and 1:51.273 at Eastern Creek, in a stripped out, but mildly modified Civic. Tony Williams is our best mod NA6 driver and he's a couple seconds off that pace, with more mods than are allowed in Clubman. So it would be a big ask!

Another option I've been considering is to "upgrade" to an NC and punt it in standard form. I'd have some tough competition from Roger at club trackdays and Stewart at supersprints, and it is a challenge that appeals to me. But funds are tight at the moment so it's just a long term goal.

So I'll be staying with a stock NA6 for at least another season and trying to encourage more people to join me. Call it succession planning!