Mentalpopcorn's MX5 SE

mentalpopcorn · Postby **mentalpopcorn** » Sat Jan 11, 2014 8:36 pm

Sandown tomorrow. Getting excited.

My brother in law gave me a present for Xmas, I feel like I need an edge tomorrow so I put it on the car. Should be good for 5% power increase.

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YglRNdjtrfQ/UtEQbul0Q4I/AAAAAAAABtI/kqAEzHcm90U/s2048-no/IMAGE_102.jpg

Mentalpopcorn
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fastfreddygassit · Postby **fastfreddygassit** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 1:39 pm

don't keep it hidden! Stick it on the outside :mrgreen:

Postby **Okibi** » Sun Jan 12, 2014 3:59 pm

Been wondering where to stick my herro kittah mazdaspeed badge too. :mrgreen:

mentalpopcorn · Postby **mentalpopcorn** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 12:49 pm

Headed to Sandown on Sunday..here's the account of my first time on the track.

The day was run by Driver Dynamics and I thought was pretty profeessional. We had a safety briefing and then dríven out on the track as a group, stopping at each major corner and explained the braking markers and turn in and out points (marked by cones). We then had one lap with a driver showing us some of the finer points. Then we were off on our own. We could request a driver or passenger at any time to help us out.

My first run, I spun out at turn 2. I actually found it the most difficult of the day. Up hill into a right hander, the rear end felt very light and it took a while to get my speed right for the turn. First session I felt a little out of control, probably too fast into corners and not getting my gear changes and breaking right. Second session I decided to slow down in the straights and concerntrate on getting the turns smoother. It was a lot better. More controlled. I could then concerntrate more on breaking later and getting my gearing right. Even so, by the end of the day I think I was still slow coming into turn one...lifting off and breaking early...and therefore slow into turn two. I was a lot better in the back half.

Performance wise...plenty of acceleration out of the turns and I thought it handled well. Seems to dig in the front end pretty hard under breaking, I thought it turned pretty well. Some of the tighter turns (the last few), I felt like it understeered a little and lost some front end grip. Not badly though. Although I was on all stock brakes, I thought they stood up pretty well, but the shudder got worse as they got hotter...it was pretty bad at some points...so I'd do a slow lap to cool them down. I can see a lot of benefit in track pads (which I have but not in yet...waiting on new front rotors).

Compared to other cars (particular newer turbos and larger V8s), I was getting pulled in at the straights. Top speed was around 180, although if I braked a little later and used 6th gear I might I squeezed a little more. It appeared most of the newer cars where reaching 200. Still...more often than not, I was back up their ar$e by the last turn, only for them to peel away down the straight. One less straight and some more twisties and I think I'd keep up with many of them. Or better brakes and stickier tyres and I'd take them at the major corners. (Of course, this is purely based on them driving as hopelessly as me and doesn't count for at least the Ferrari and GTR that were there).

I was very conscience of the noises coming from my car, waiting for something to come undone and fall off. It seems to have held up. Only thing I've noticed is the handbrake coming up a lot higher, probably due to the last 20% of my rotors and pads wearing away. Another thing I'm mindful of (which only popped into my head on the day), is I don't have a bracket on my exhaust near the manifold (I removed the factory bracket when the new exhaust went in). I think I'd put a new bracket on, as I was constantly worried about snapping a manifold bolt. It played on my mind because with the brake shudder, the exhaust was shuddering and hitting the braces.

All in all a fun day. Although I think I enjoy the twisties more that flat out speeds. I'm very interesting in working on the breaks and suspension and doing it all again. See what improvement I can feel.

Unfortunately I didn't get any times or telemetry out of the ECU. The rules seemed pretty strict on paper (no timing, no spectators) but were a lot less so on the day. So that's probably the only dissappointment. I could have easily taken each run out of the ECU for comparision and tuning purposes. Still..probably better to concerntrate of staying on the road rather than speed at this point.

Next time I'll know better.

rascal · Postby **rascal** » Tue Jan 14, 2014 1:58 pm

mentalpopcorn wrote:Although I think I enjoy the twisties more that flat out speeds.

..the reason to drive an MX5 and not a turbo skyline/silvia/WRX/HSV...
Any moron can hold their foot flat down on the throttle in a straight line. The corners is where its at..

mentalpopcorn · Postby **mentalpopcorn** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:11 pm

New rims are on. Here are some comparison pics.

Racing Hart 17x7 +40 with RE001 Adrenalin 204/40/17

Vs

Buddy Club P1 15x8 +35 with Hankook RS3 225/45/15

Buddy's are a little lighter overall

Certainly a little wider

And front view

Once I wash the car and get it respectable I'll post some more photos.

Mentalpopcorn
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davekmoore · Postby **davekmoore** » Sat Jan 18, 2014 10:54 pm

10% wider tyres and 5% less weight in the wheels and tyres must be a good way to go.

When my SE was last in use on the track the exhaust would bang from side to side in corners but various spannermen could never find anything loose. So it would be great to see pics of what you do in the way of exhaust bracing.

My car was well modified for more power for just the bursts of full throttle that a road car gets. But then I started tracking it and after I'd gradually become a bit less slow as a driver I eventually blew it up on a hot day at Winton. So, for the sake of your wallet and to avoid an engine rebuild, do consider extra cooling, including possibly a coolant reroute, early in your future mods and before you look for any more power.

The other thing I found as a self-confessed slow driver with a high powered car was that I over-used and cooked the brakes resulting in massive front pad wear. This is another good reason to leave extra power for a while until you've learned to use the brakes less than I do (because you slow down less for the corners).

mentalpopcorn · Postby **mentalpopcorn** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 12:33 pm

Unfortunately my car was written off recently. A right hand corner saw me continue turning right until stopped by a cliff face. The car wasn't salvageable as a registered vehicle.

Still working through what to do next...another SE, SP or something else. I'll be sure to start another thread if and when I do, armed with a lot more experience.

At some stage soon I may advertise a whole bunch of stuff either taken from the car or that never made it on.

Happy to hear from anyone who needs some advice or guidance in the future.

Postby **Okibi** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 2:01 pm

Sad news, if you have the time and space to buy the wreck and combine the best bits of 2 SEs then sell off the rest it should be profitable (if insurance sells you the wreck cheap enough).

We had a member buy back his SE from insurance and I was stunned how cheap they sold him the wreck.

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Sun Sep 06, 2015 6:54 pm

Okibi wrote:Sad news, if you have the time and space to buy the wreck and combine the best bits of 2 SEs then sell off the rest it should be profitable (if insurance sells you the wreck cheap enough).

We had a member buy back his SE from insurance and I was stunned how cheap they sold him the wreck.

A cheaper option would be to buy an NB8A and move the SE bits into it, including the engine (makes it easier to gain RWC and register as a turbo if the original engine came with a turbo).