Lachstock and Four Turbo Charged Cylinders ['04 NB SE]

[Crapweasel]

Yeah, but Lokiel's got to get Gina running again first!

Gina is running, I saw her at Auto+ today, and I'm pretty sure she didn't get there on a flatbed!!

[Nevyn72]

Gina is running, I saw her at Auto+ today, and I'm pretty sure she didn't get there on a flatbed!!

Without pictures, a post in his garage thread, and above all else..... a dyno graph!..... It never happened......

[ManiacLachy]

I don't think I'm quite ready for a photo shoot just yet, need to tuck that rear end in first. But I think Gina will be ready very soon!

[Lokiel]

Gina is running, I saw her at Auto+ today, and I'm pretty sure she didn't get there on a flatbed!!

Without pictures, a post in his garage thread, and above all else..... a dyno graph!..... It never happened......

Garage thread updated "Doubting Thomas"

[ManiacLachy]

Nice work!..... and kudos to Lokiel for helping out another forum member in need.

But please stop now, you're in danger of overtaking me in terms of doing mods to your car......

Nevyn, I think I now have the more powerful car (only because you stubbornly won't install your CAI), but you have me beat by a mile on the sheer number of mods! It'll be quite a while 'till I catch you up.

[ManiacLachy]

On the weekend I went up to Gympie with a mate in his R32 and another mate who was in for the ride along, to hit the skidpan and have some fun! This was my first chance to drive the car in anger, so to speak, and safely test the cars limits and exceed my limits (many, many times )

There were about eleventybillion GT86/BRZs there (ok, maybe there was only 10), 3 EVOs, one Commodore ute, my mate in the R32 and me in the 5. Everyone was pretty interested in the MX-5, and most of the guys there were very friendly and easy going, a mix of ages.



The day starts off on a big rectangular slab of concrete, wet with water, and cones scattered in an oval shape, you get a 4 minute run with another car, 2 minutes one way, 2 minutes the other way. As the morning wears on they change the shape of the course to include a bit of a switch back on one side, which got deeper and tighter as the day went on.

Lots of fun was had trying to catch the oversteer and balance it. I was experiencing a lot of understeer! Not sure if it was down to just my driving, or if the car's setup had a hand in it. I had a run with one of the instructors, and then he had a play, and damn he was good, keeping high in the revs never loosing the slide. The car sounded great! He said he felt a bit of the understeer too, but he was able to "cure" it.



The last couple of hours were playing some games. Two straights lead into the skid pan, one at either end of one of the long edges.

In one, two cars face off, one on each "runway", you power down into the skid pan, around a cone on the far edge and into a "garage" on the front edge of the pan. Winner faces off again, looser goes off. I won my first race, against a supercharged 86 Lost my second to an EVO I think . I kept missing 3rd gear!

There were a couple of other games, in the second one which was a time trial, on my second go the instructor said to launch a little more aggressivley, but at some point while in second I heard a loud pop. I thought it was boost cut again, like the other day, came off the power momentarily then slowly fed it back in, but all I got was a loud whine. Backed off again and tried again, loud whine, no power. Uh-oh!

Not as bad as I feared, just poped a hose of one of turbo outlet to the intercooler. We got it back on, damn that thing was hot, and played on. I need to replace all those spring clamps with the screw/ratchet type this weekend though.



It was a great day, top down out in the sun skidding around. The car ate a few cones, and the front bumper has a bit of a mark on it that will hopefully polish out. It's got me excited to try a track day soon!

[MINX]

well done.

That RoadCraft Gympie facility is great.
The Club organised a group advanced driver training weekend up there a few years ago.
Taught us a lot.

Ready for Track? Of course you are.
Monday at QR ! Come along!

[ManiacLachy]

Its good fun for sure. My friend likes to go quite regularly, but for me I think it will be more of a once-in-a-while thing. I think I'd rather go fast with grip, than slow and skid Though, next time I'm thinking of going I'll post up and see if any other Fives want to come.

I don't think I'll be making it this Monday, but I will be seriously looking into the next one

[speed freak]

Looks like you had a great day, good to see just a few 86/brz's out there would have been good to watch them though.

Skid pan would be awesome fun I reckon, good chance to really kick the tail out.

The understeer could have come down to the wheel alignment if your running factory specs still, tyres and possibly the shocks if they are still the originals, they could be a bit tired.

[Nevyn72]

Yikes!

I suppose that given the replacement pipe is not supported by a bracket to the exhaust manifold anymore there is enough flex now for it to pop off like that.....

Hopefully proper replacement clamps will do the job as the factory spring clamps would not have been specified with enough force to hold without the support bracket.

[ManiacLachy]

Also, they were very hot from the engine being run at high revs all morning, and therefore very soft, making it even easier to slip off. Replacement clamps should take care of it. There's a trip to Repco for me this weekend Going to see if I can tidy up that big looping breather hose from the BOV to the inlet at the same time.

[track_addict]

That skid pan looks like loads of fun! Definitely get onto a "proper" track. You'll learn so much. The car behaves completely different to how it does on the street. Just have good brakes ;).


Also, NitroDann exhaust is gooooodddd.

[ManiacLachy]

Yesterday afternoon saw me with some spare time, so I decided to install the MiataRoadster Short Shift Kit, which had arrived a couple of weeks ago, and my leather shifter and handbrake gaiters which I'd gotten a month or two back.

The MR SSK is an awesome bit of kit and there are excellent instructions available on MR's site. Only two issues presented themselves.

First was me not planning ahead. I pulled the console out, and removed the stock shifter, began the install of various bits, and realised I need grease. I didn't have grease. Nor did I any longer have a working car in which to go and buy grease.

No worries, I thought, I'll just walk down to Coles a km away, they have some automotive stuff maybe they have grease, and if not, the servo next door would be a good bet. So I set out, in inadequate shoes. Of course, neither had grease, but there was an SCA about 3km further, so off I trod. Blisters already forming on my heals, so I took of my shoes and hoofed it bare foot. Got to SCA, got the grease, and walked the 4k home again. By the time I got home I had blisters on the soles of my feet, and some uncomfortable chaffing. This will teach me to read instructions to the end before starting!

Anyway, I slicked the whole contraption up, inserted the stick, and bolted it down. Figured I'd see how it felt before putting the console back in just to check everything - couldn't select gears. Hmm, pulled it apart, put it back together, still can't select a gear. I took it apart again and realised the bulb wasn't going down far enough. Turns out a bushing from the old stick was still in the turret. In the instructions, this bushing came out along with the stock stick, mine got left behind. It came out easily enough, everything went back in and now I could put it into gear!

So it took longer than it should have, I always seem to make things hard on myself, but got there in the end! And the result? Well, I'd heard how this SSK really transforms the shifting, but I really didn't see how, the stock shift is pretty good I reckon, didn't give me too much trouble. Now that the MR SSK is in I can see it! Wow, it's totally transformed.

The best way I can think of to describe it is with the stock selector, you're throwing a leaver to change gears, with the SSK, you're flicking a switch. Shifts are so short, so positive. A few times I wasn't sure I was in the next gear, I thought I might still be in neutral! I love it!

The new gaiters went in no troubles. The old shift boot was a little torn, and the plastic on the handbrake was a bit ugly. The gaiters are black leather with SE red stitching - matches the car perfectly!

Next up, I want to get my hands on some coil-overs and install them. I'm thinking HSD after talking it over with a few other fourmites. Whenever I look at the car as I walk out of the office, it seems to lean a little to one side, not sure if it's my imagination, the ground, or real, so today I'll measure the heights. If it is off, I'll have my mental justification for splurging on the new shocks

[Magpie]

Sounds like a dodgy day is needed in Brisbane as the planned MX5 jobs are reaching critical mass.

[Nevyn72]

See, I told you the MR SSK was that good!

I'd love to see some pics of how the new boots look, was the handbrake boot the replace the plastic sheath type or slip over the top?