Guran's NA6 "Little Reddy"

[Guran]

Thought I'd share this short video which highlights the worst of what we had to deal with at Phillip Island last weekend. Just lovely. Thankfully we got a little dry weather in the last hour of the day.

[Guran]

26th April 2010

Back in March, when the exchange rate was really good, I took the plunge and bought myself a replacement soft-top from Prestige Autotrim in the UK. I got the fixed rear window version since it was the cheapest and I rarely bother unzipping the window anyway. Cost was £210 for the top, plus £58.16 for shipping, which came to $443 total.

Removal and installation all went fairly smoothly, although I spent the whole day on it and had to remove and reinstall the BD rollbar too. I followed the instructions provided by Prestige Autotrim and in Rod's workshop manual which both called for removing the entire frame and replacing the soft-top on a table. Had I found the alternate instructions on Miata net, I might have tried it with the frame still on the car and saved myself the job of removing the BD bar. Ah well, and I can still see the advantages of the method I used. The supplied rivets were next to useless (I used regular pop rivets instead), and the B pillar retaining plates had holes in the wrong places (drilled new ones).

After installation, I tested for leaks and found I was getting a few drips coming through at the rain rail behind the driver's seat. I had reused the old rain rail and the hard plastic bit was a bit brittle and cracked in a few places - repaired it with tape but obviously not perfectly. Looks like I'll have to spend a bit more time on it before it's completely leakproof. I also found that the sides of the roof are a little loose, which seems to be a common problem with aftermarket soft-tops according to Miata net, and easily fixed by pulling the top a little tighter at the corners of the retaining plate (haven't tried it yet). Otherwise, the new roof is tight as a drum and looks great. Very happy with this product!

BD bar and softtop removed.


Naked softtop frame. Was surprised at how heavy that thing is.


I'm yet to get some decent photos of the finished product but will add them soon.

[Guran]

2nd May 2010

NSW Supersprint Round 3 - Wakefield Park

It'd been five months since my last trackday at Wakefield and I was keen to get back out there. I was booked in for both the Supersprint on the Sunday and the MX-5 Club trackday on the Monday, so there would be plenty of opportunity to enjoy Wakefield again, and spend some time socialising with MX-5 Club members who also stayed over at Goulburn on the Sunday night. Unfortunately I couldn't squeeze in my set of track wheels, so I had to leave them at home and run with the the Adrenalins. That way I could stay in Class 1 at the club trackday. I did fit the CF hardtop though and it would be the first time I'd used it at Wakefield.

Arrived at the track right on 7:30 only to find that every garage spot was already taken! So much for gates opening at 7:30. I don't seem to have much luck with the scrutineers at Supersprints. They always find something to grill me about. This time, they weren't happy with the eyebolts I use to hook my harness to. They were attached to the BD rollbar just like the dozen other MX-5s that were there, but I had to pull some clips and lift the carpets to show how it all worked. Grrr.

There were 94 drivers entered and 13 of them were in MX-5s. Mike Hicks and his team of MX-5 Club volunteers put on an excellent show. Very slick management! We were using Dorians for timing which meant a full warm-up lap, four flying laps and a full cool-down lap. I still managed to get in six runs! Lap times were based on the conventional start line on the main straight.

Run 1: A nice heart-starter although I found I was short of breath during the run, the result of pulling my harness up too tightly! As the tyres came up to temperature and pressure I finished with a 1:18.846 on the last lap.

Run 2: Started with a lap of 1:19.060 and then caught up to a procession of cars that were stuck behind a red MR2 turbo. The guy was a newbie and was lapping in 1:23-1:25. The infuriating thing was that although he was driving Miss Daisy in the corners, his car was quick on the main straight. So everytime one of us managed to get past on the back straight, he'd blast past on the main straight only to hold everyone up again for the rest of the lap. It totally ruined the run for half the cars in this group.

Run 3: This was a fairly clear run although I was caught by a few faster cars and slowed to let them past. Best lap was 1:18.665.

Run 4: Started this run behind Keith (KRM) and managed to pass him on turn 10 before the 1st lap started. That gave me a slow run onto the main straight, and then I could see my "old friend" in the MR2 fast approaching from behind. So I gradually eased to the middle of the track to make it clear to the MR2 driver that passing me would not be a good idea. A bit naughty but I wasn't weaving or anything serious like that, and the marshalls were not concerned. I didn't see the MR2 again after that, although he continued to cause trouble for those behind me (isn't that right Keith?). My best time on this run was 1:18.473 on the second lap following Glenn Thomas (NB8B), before we caught up to a pair of white Commodores. I almost had a Suzuki Swift GTi run up the back of me in the braking zone for the fishhook. The young bloke had started to overtake me on the outside of the corner, then changed his mind and had a lift-off oversteer slide as a result. Very exciting! Anyway, the rest of the run was a slow procession behind the Commodores.

Run 5: I didn't get any video of this run because the batteries died on both of my cameras. A shame because the third lap was my quickest of the day with a time of 1:18.279. That was half a second off my PB but I was still pretty happy with the result considering the volume of traffic I encountered.

Run 6: After my 5th run I returned to the garages thinking that would be it for the day since everyone was packing up. Thought I'd try joining the queue again anyway and, wouldn't you know it, I managed to tack onto the last run for the day. No video again and there was lots of traffic, but I had a best lap of 1:18.548.

The final wash-up (1:18.279) was that I finished 5th in class 1B (ie last!) behind Stewart Temesvary NC (1:15.416), Tony Chan Celica (1:16.090), Ian Vickers NB8A (1:16.302), and Glenn Thomas NB8B (1:18.059). Watch out next round because I'll be running with semi-slicks. My PerformanceBox indicated that my best lap timed with the start line in the fishhook was slightly better at 1:18.2 and I lost time on turns 4-5 and the fishhook. Pretty happy with the day's effort.

Ironic moment of the day? The bloody MR2 driver pipped me with a time of 1:18.145 - looks like he finally figured out how to take a corner at more than parking speed!

After three rounds, the MX-5 Club is still leading the club championship on 328 points, followed by NSWRRC on 297 and ARDC on 239.

[Guran]

After the drivers' briefing at the Supersprints on Sunday, some trophys were handed out for Round 1 at Oran Park GP. I was amused to be awarded my first trackday trophy ... for finishing 1st in Class 1A. I was the only entrant in that class!

[Guran]

3rd May 2010

MX-5 Club NSW track day - Wakefield Park

After the Supersprint, I stayed overnight at the Bakehouse Motel. Most of the other MX-5 Club members were staying there too, and it was fun chatting over drinks with everyone crowded into Mike & Cobie's room, and then share a meal next door at Trappers Inn restaurant.

Next morning I was out at the track by 7:30, and catching up with old friends. Must say that I find it a lot more enjoyable and friendly at the club trackdays, compared with the Supersprints. There's just a different feel to the event -- there are more likeminded drivers, the cars are more evenly matched, and the general atmosphere is more welcoming.

There were 58 drivers entered and 45 of them were in MX-5s. Timing was using Rod Menzel's system with the start line in the fishhook, which meant a half lap warm-up, four flying laps and a brief cool-down on the back straight. This event also saw the return of a regularity run of six laps after lunch . I was in group 4 and started behind Ian Williams (HSV Clubsport), Phil Mayo (modified NA6) and Ian Miller (standard NC), with Roger Palfreyman (standard NC), Allan Cruz (standard NA8), Glenn Thomas (standard NB8B), Renaud Degois (standard NA6) and Robert Pimm (standard NC) behind me.

Run 1: Lots of traffic! I made the mistake of pushing a bit too hard in my warm-up lap and caught up to Ian's NC by the end of lap 1. Overtook him at turn 10 on lap 2, but then caught up to Phil by the start of lap 3. Overtook Phil at turn 10 on lap 4 and then caught Ian's Clubsport at turn 6 just before the finish of the run. Whew! Best lap was only 1:19.53.

Run 2: This time I left lots of room behind Ian's NC on the warm-up, and did a 1:18.64 followed by a 1:18.67 but was struggling with turns 4-5 and the fishhook (as usual). Then at the end of lap 3, I had a slight lock-up into the fishhook, turned in with too much speed and a light rear, and around she went. Waved to Roger and Allan as they zoomed past, and that was pretty much it for that run since laps 3 and 4 were buggered.

Run 3: The start of this run was delayed for several minutes when the track light system failed and we eventually started under manual flags. For some unknown reason, my pace was really off in this run, and there was no traffic to blame. The first two laps were reasonably smooth but I still only did a 1:18.89. I was even hitting the rev limiter in 3rd on the back straight. Strange.

Run 4: Amazingly, this was my 4th run of the day and it was still before lunch. We were called in one lap early and out of the three laps, I managed to improve my best to 1:18.53. Again the rev limiter was cutting in at the end of the back straight and I kept mucking up turn 10 as a result.

Run 5: I was initially planning on nominating 1:18.80 for the regularity, but was then flipping between 1:18.70 and 1:18.90 - went with 1:18.70 in the end thinking that my times were improving and I might go a bit quicker this time. Ha! Things were going pretty smoothly for the first 4 laps, avoided the rev limiter on the back straight by coasting the last 20 metres, but then I started to catch Ian's NC. On lap 5, I experimented with a shift to 4th on the back straight and got confused with my heal-toe change into turn 10, producing an ugly oversteer slide. By turn 2 on the last lap, Roger's NC caught up to me and I backed off to let him past - but he didn't get the hint. After all of that, I thought I must have messed up my regularity time. In the end I finished with a time of 2.38s which put me 8th. Roger Palfreyman was the deserving winner with a time of 1.31s, and 0.87s of that was on the first lap! Very consistent driving! John Karayannis also put in an amazingly good run for a first timer, finishing 2nd and probably would have romped to a win if he hadn't lost 1.37s on his first lap.

Run 6: By this late stage of the day, I was resigned to it being a slow one for me, so I decided to experiment with a few things. First was a short-shift to 4th at ~200m on the back straight, then practice my heal-toe changes from 4th back to 2nd on turn 10, and more significantly, I tried just lifting the throttle for turn 5 (I have always dabbed the brakes for this corner). I had most success with turn 5 where I found that carrying a little more speed into the corner helped the car to oversteer, but then the road camber caught it and produced a lovely four-wheel drift. I was carrying an extra 2-3km/hr corner speed as a result and that shaved a tenth or two off the lap time. So I finished the day with laps of 1:18.52 (my best time on the day), 1:18.54, 1:18.86 and 1:18.60 - nicely consistent, even if it was well off my PB.

Here's a complete video of Run 6. For an example what seems to be a quicker way to negotiate turn 5, pay attention at 3:18, 4:35 and 5:53. Compare that with 0:40 and 2:00.


After some time at home analysing my PerformanceBox data, I discovered that the fairly strong NNE wind that picked up in the mid morning on Monday had a pretty big impact on my top speed down the main straight. For comparison, I managed 145-146km/hr on Sunday and 142-143km/hr on Monday. For the regularity run after lunch when the wind was strongest, my top speed was only 141km/hr! That speed difference alone added about 0.2s per lap. Ironically, Glenn Thomas and I were joking about the headwind on the day, and it turns out we weren't wrong.

So what's next?

Eastern Creek Supersprint 16th May
Wakefield Park Supersprint 5th June
Wakefield Park Supersprint 20th June
Wakefield Park Club trackday 21st June

If I can't improve on my Wakefield PB with all of that, there's gotta be something wrong!

[Ando]

Excellent vid and sound. Really made me feel like I was along for the ride. Best I've seen.

Great rundown of the event too. Well done Guran. Little Reddy is a screamer.

[Guran]

I took Little Reddy to Pedders in Wollongong today for a wheel alignment. Was lucky to get in at short notice, which is great because I have a Supersprint at Eastern Creek on Sunday. They didn't need to do anything with the camber or caster, but the toe was way out. Front toe was -0.1mm left and +0.6mm right which they reset to -0.2mm on both; rear toe was +0.9mm left +1.2mm right which they reset to 0.0mm on both. They also said the sway bar D and link bushes were worn and needed replacing, which is something I expected and will be getting done ASAP. Didn't really notice any difference in handling on the drive home, but will give it a good test out on Sunday.

In preparation for Sunday, I bled the brake fluid, fitted the CF hardtop, and swapped the Adrenalins for the RE55s. Looking forward to returning to Eastern Creek.

[Guran]

I'm laid low with a headcold today, so just a quick bit of news.

Had a fantastic day at the Eastern Creek Supersprint yesterday. Started the day by beating my PB (2:06.0) with a lap of 2:03.668 in my first run. Kept chipping away every run after that, with a final new PB of 2:02.340! Smashed it! And my previous visit in February, I managed only 2:09. I had a huge grin all day.

[Hammer]

Congratulations. How did the wheel alignment feel on the track?

[Guran]

The new alignment didn't feel much different to be honest. The only thing that changed was the toe, and mainly only the rear.

The biggest difference was the semi-slicks. I could really lean on them in the corners and (most of the time) they hung on. My new PB was set on lap 3 of the 4th run, so I'd given them plenty of time to warm up. I launched into turn 1 with only a slight lift before turning in (167km/hr), then mashed the throttle the whole way around and my speed didn't drop below 160km/hr. It was an awesome ride . On the Adrenalins, my speed typically drops to 145km/hr during turn 1. Could maybe push them a little more than that, but it's a scary corner and takes a lot of commitment.

[Charlie Brown]

That’s a good drop in time Guran, congrats on your new PB and a very fast time for a 1600!!! You certainly have the little red beast flying.

Turn 1 is hairy as you can do a lot of damage at that speed if you go off.
Someone asked me what speed I take it at and I had no idea, I just go on feel. So one lap I looked just after the 100 metre mark and the speedo read 190, which I know isn’t correct as a data logger a few meetings ago recorded a max speed of 184kph. I then glanced just before the apex to see 170kph on the speedo, which is probably 163 or so. I think that it would go another 5 kph if I pushed it but the gonads aren’t that big.

I managed my FTD on my second last lap and that surprised me as it included the shower of rain over Corporate Hill and a brake groaning problem I had a high speed.

[Guran]

That’s a good drop in time Guran, congrats on your new PB and a very fast time for a 1600!!! You certainly have the little red beast flying.

Thanks Phil. To be honest, it came as a complete shock to me, especially after my pretty average effort at Wakefield Park two weeks ago.

BTW, the speeds I quoted above were recorded by PerformanceBox GPS. Like you, I rarely look at the speedo when I'm out there, just go on feel most of the time. I did have a look at the speedo just before the braking point for turn 2 and the needle was hovering at about 170km/hr - that equated to a GPS speed of 163km/hr.

Turn 1 is hairy as you can do a lot of damage at that speed if you go off.

You're not wrong! In July 2008, I lost the rear end of my MINI Cooper S on turn 1, and slid sideways for 150m before stopping, thankfully still on the black stuff. The car was fine except for two destroyed front tyres. The driver needed fresh underwear! I got off lightly. On a previous visit to Eastern Creek I saw a bloke put his MINI into the concrete wall on the inside of turn 1. Ouch!

Front-right tyre off my MINI Cooper S

Front-left tyre off my MINI Cooper S

[Hellmun]

Phil let me use his race chrono phone + GPS for my last run on Sunday. I was just dawdling showing Fergus around but on the last lap I did a main straight entry + max pace through turn 1 to turn 2. I hit 190kph before turning in and dropped to 168kph by the end of the turn and then hit 174kph before braking again. Looks like I'm entering the straight at 90kph. I could just touch the rev limiter in 5th with 225/50/15's.

I've only had one fun experience at turn 1, doing a 520 degree spin after hitting coolant. Managed to keep it on the black stuff and even wave to Andrew who was right behind me before J-turning it back round and keeping on going

Turn 5 is the only corner that really worries me. There's a lotta paint on that concrete wall and the crest really unsettles the car.

[Guran]

16th May 2010

NSW Supersprint Round 4 - Eastern Creek

On my last visit to Eastern Creek for Round 2 of the Supersprints in March, I rocked up with Adrenalins expecting a downpour only to experience a completely dry trackday. I was also disappointed with my best lap of 2:09.175 which was well off my PB of 2:06.0. This time, I was ready to go with the RE55s fitted, the CF hardtop bolted on, and fresh wheel alignment (as noted above, only the toe needed adjustment).

There were 113 drivers entered and 12 of them were in MX-5s. The format was a start from the pit lane, with a full warm-up lap, followed by three timed laps, and exit to the paddock at turn 4. Despite the huge turnout, I was pleased to get in five runs in the White group which comprises the slowest batch of cars.

Run 1: I started this run near the front of the final group, behind a Ford Laser (2B) and a Toyota Celica (1B), both of whom are usually quicker than me. That meant I had a nice clear run with no traffic. Started with a lap of 2:06.286 and didn't the semi-slicks feel great. I smashed my old PB on lap 2 with a 2:04.803, and then finished with a new PB of 2:03.668. Wow ! I wasn't really pushing all that hard, still getting the feel of the semi-slicks and the tyre pressures were only roughly set.

Run 2: With tyre pressures dropped a couple psi to 28psi (hot) all round, I went out for another go and started nicely with a 2:04.869 and 2:03.712. The final lap was going well and by turn 11, I was on target to knock another 0.5s off my new PB. Then I got a bit excited with too much throttle on turn 12, the rear swung around, and I gave it even more. End result was that I stopped on the grassed inside of the corner facing backwards . Ah well.

Run 3: I started this run behind an old Corolla and Nova, which were both much slower than me, so I was determined to get past them on the warm-up lap. I was all set to pass the Nova exiting turn 5 when the driver shut the door on me abruptly. Thankfully I got past both of them by the turn 9 hairpin and had a clear run after that. focussed on building up my confidence with turn 1, gradually stepping up my entry speed. My minimum turn 1 corner speed was 148km/hr on lap 1, 153km/hr on lap 2, and 157km/hr on lap 3. It felt solid! Had a similar result on turn 11 too, climbing from 80km/hr to 89km/hr during the run. My times were 2:04.094, 2:03.650 and 2:03.468. That's two consecutive new PBs. And now I had it on video too! After the second run I embarassingly discovered that I got no video of my first two runs since the microSD card was full - I had forgotten to delete the videos from Wakefield Park.

Run 4: OK, time to really have a go this time. I had Glenn Thomas (1B NB8B) and Peter Price (3B NA8) following my lines close behind, so I was keen to set a good pace for them. On my first lap, I thought I'd try taking turn 5 with a bit more entry speed. Umm, not on warmish tyres you don't. The rear swung around and off I went . Stopped in the dirt facing the right direction and took off again after Peter and Glenn. After that I focussed on building up for turn 1 again. My minimum entry speed climbed from 152km/hr on lap 1 (2:15.746), 154km/hr on lap 2 (2:03.501), and finally on lap 3 I had a slight lift, turned in and mashed the throttle all the way around, achieving a minimum speed of 160km/hr. It was a hair-raising ride and I literally cheered when I came out the other end. I held it together for the rest of the lap and finished with a final new PB of 2:02.340.

Video of my fourth run


Run 5: Last run of the day was called and while sitting in the marshalling area we got news that it had starting raining on corporate hill. Before we started, the rain arrived in the pits. So out we went for a damp run. I tip-toed around the first few corners, then had a scary moment on the rise between turns 4 and 5, and decided that more care was needed! I then noticed that the flaggies were holding yellow/red striped flags and I mistakenly interpreted that to mean "prepare to stop" rather than "slippery surface". So my first lap was spent at a slow pace looking out for a crashed car, and all the while I wasn't liking the slippery conditions. So I decided to call it quits and came into the pits early before finishing my first lap.

The final wash-up (2:02.340) was that I finished 4th in class 1B (ie second last) behind Paul Bower XR4 (1:59.910), Stewart Temesvary NB (2:00.884), and Tony Chan Celica (2:01.072), but ahead of my "old adversary" Glenn Thomas NB8B (2:04.449). I was stoked with the result and was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

After four rounds, the MX-5 Club is still leading the club championship on 450 points, followed by NSWRRC on 411 and ARDC on 368. With Ian Vickers deciding to go home without hitting the track (he had a slow leak in one tyre), I'm currently running 2nd in both the Type 1 and Class 1B pointscores.

[Hammer]

Great work Bryan.

Are you still using the "Gum" style camera? If you are, I guess you've patched the chipset to get rid of the date?

I might do the same.