Lightyear's SE Replica Track/Road MX-5

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Tue May 17, 2016 10:38 pm

There always has to be at least 5 options on price Beavis - you should know that.. :lol:

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Tue May 17, 2016 10:52 pm

Well that depends on what comes with the car. But I would say about $12,000 for a package that would be popular. ECU, Turbo, Willwoood's, coil overs, standard body and bits. There would be no car that can touch this for under $20k or even more. I talked to plenty of guys and they have spent $50-$60k or more and are slower.
And this is the lap times that I have achieved without getting a lap that I would be happy to say that was a good lap. Take Winton, never been there for a year, new surface, new car set up (turbo, tyres, busted aero, new clutch, different gearing, etc), and it did a 1:32 after only 2 laps. With a working wing, and some time to get the car (and driver) set up it will go quicker again. And even at 1:32' that time is as good as several outright record times from some race classes.

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Tue May 17, 2016 10:59 pm

MrsB wrote:There always has to be at least 5 options on price Beavis - you should know that..

you got to give people options.

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Tue May 17, 2016 11:05 pm

Of course dave - but those old lap records at winton will all fall now - not to say that it isnt a bloody impressive time cos it is - circuit is between 2 and 4 seconds a lap faster with more grip and some of the nasties removed. Just like all the old records at Phillip island fell when that was resurfaced. People doing 41's and 42's will find themselves doing 38's amd 9's. Your old PB of a 35 is probably about equivalent on the new track to the time you did. That set up is probably about ideal at winton cos it doesnt have too much power to get traction which is always the problem the more power you get there - but maybe less so with the new surface.

and Dave - you sure do :lol:

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Tue May 17, 2016 11:21 pm

When the club goes up to Winton on the 12th we will know how much faster it is. I can't say, as I changed too many things. VicV8's went there this year. The new record on the new surface is 1:32.7.

MrsB · Postby **MrsB** » Wed May 18, 2016 8:28 pm

cool look forwards to seeing how quick it is

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:43 am

Update time.
We decided to use the foam core that was made wrong. I cut some plywood to match for the ends, laminated it with fibreglass and carbon fibre. Vacuum bagged it in the foam block it came from, and it melted due to heat from the epoxy curing.
So we went with the new foam wing core that is the correct shape. It is much denser, and this time we didn't use the foam block and only used carbon fibre. It worked much better, not 100% perfect but good enough. We did the two person standing on it test, and it passed very easy, no flex at all.

I also bought a spare SE turbo kit and it came with a 3" custom downpipe, so made a new 3" exhaust. Total cost for the exhaust was $590. Hopefully it makes a difference. Looks far less restrictive. And no cat.

Wing after sanding.

free upload

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 9:07 am

New vs old exhaust. I wonder if it will make much difference.

post a picture

Postby **beavis** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 9:09 pm

Here you go, made a cheesy video of the wing....

Postby **Okibi** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:46 pm

Much better, looking forward to seeing it finished.

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:50 pm

It's been clear coated (with a roller) sanded, and half assed buffed. Will be fine to test. I also drilled some holes in the uprights to adjust the angle of attack. I plan on doing a bit of testing with wool and a GoPro. And I would like to get some white lines and some reference points on the rear suspension to see the load created by the wing. Ultimately driver feedback and lap times are what really matter. Problem is if it works too well, I will need to upgrade the front aero.

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Wed Jun 08, 2016 2:53 pm

Will take a better pic at the track, it's a bit hard in the garage.

photo storage

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 11:22 am

That is looking pretty good to these eyes!

My prediction is that you should start thinking about that front aero now, if not sooner!! That wing should generate some serious DF - do you have a graph of lift at different AoA for that one?

Good work, as usual!

:mrgreen:

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Fri Jun 10, 2016 6:23 pm

I have no graph. It is a big wing for an MX5, but hopefully I can make it work. I will be doing plenty of testing in the next few weeks. It is set at zero degrees now, and will test a few angles. Wool tuft and Spring compression will be videoed too.

On a side note, I had to swap the old exhaust back in. The 3" is working too well, and I can't keep the boost down. And if it is going to get a tune, I may as well get bigger injectors and E85 and do a good tune. No time for that before Sunday.

Car is almost ready for this weekend. I did notice the front wheel bearings have some movement, so not happy about that considering they have only done about one hour of driving. I ordered a new set.

Going fast starts to cost money unfortunately.

lightyear · Postby **lightyear** » Sat Jun 11, 2016 9:31 am

Took it out again this morning to check the tune again since we played with it. And you can really feel the difference in power after having the 3" on.
So back to the old power that I WAS happy with. I will load it up and get it packed for tomorrow.

Next mod is to install bigger injectors, E85, Mac, swap back to the 3" and get it tuned. Will be a quick car for what it is.