Custard’s Tart

[Custardtart]

Whilst I enjoyed chatting to drivers and the fantastic array of cars I realised this sort of event isn’t really for me. We only got 2 proper runs and there was no timing so I didn’t bother going back on Sunday and went to the beach with the family.

I understand that the Noosa end is, well, fraying a bit. I understand the event is a JV of some sort between a Brisbane club and a Noosa club, and there is some serious turmoil within the Noosa club. Presumably that had some effect on manpower, and potentially expertise.

Ok, didn't know that. I don't want to have a go at them cos the people were clearly trying their best and it's a massive event which lots of people were clearly enjoying.

[Custardtart]

Finally tracked down a crotch strap for the harness. I’ve been using the standard seats and belts because frankly they’re safer than a fixed back with 4 point only belts.

Now on the hunt for seats.

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[Custardtart]

A terrific day at Lakeside yesterday. Great to catch up with folks and meet new people. Interesting to see 6 NC’s there, they seem to be at that point in their lifecycle where they become viable as a track toy.
A couple of highlights would be managing to follow Clive and Sonke for a few laps and learn some good lines and being overtaken by John’s supercharged 2.5 NC like I was standing still
The weather and track conditions made for some very slow times with a strong headwind down the main straight and recent storms had cleaned the track of rubber.
The Tart suffered from an intermittent misfire traced to an electrical connection on no.1 COP which was a result of a poor previous repair by me.
The new shocks were set to the track settings suggested by MCA and I couldn’t fault them. The car handled perfectly, sharp turn in, not a hint of understeer and as the following video shows, progressive enough to catch a BIG slide out of the last corner at 140kph

Times wise I posted a 64.9 half a second SLOWER than last time on Bilstein/Eibachs which gives and idea of just how conditions affected times.

[SKYHI]

Yep, that'll get your attention Glad you like the coilovers, I had similar experiences with the MCA gear to date.

I had my own little moment at the end of the straight on Saturday. Will post a video shortly

Your video is a little over exposed which makes it hard to see the track. Not sure what camera you're using, but if it's a GoPro, you should be able to turn on spot metering to help balance the exposure out a bit.

[JBT]

Interesting to see 6 NC’s there, they seem to be at that point in their lifecycle where they become viable as a track toy.

Mine has been used for motorsport (club track days, hill climb. motorkhana) since the day it was bought almost 11 years ago.

[rascal]

Mine has been used for motorsport (club track days, hill climb. motorkhana) since the day it was bought almost 11 years ago.

Sadly, too few follow your example..

[Custardtart]

Your video is a little over exposed which makes it hard to see the track. Not sure what camera you're using, but if it's a GoPro, you should be able to turn on spot metering to help balance the exposure out a bit.

It’s a garmin virb and doesn’t have any exposure adjustment. With the roof down it’s fine but roof up it’s pants I’m afraid.
Look forward to your vid!

[Custardtart]

Interesting to see 6 NC’s there, they seem to be at that point in their lifecycle where they become viable as a track toy.

Mine has been used for motorsport (club track days, hill climb. motorkhana) since the day it was bought almost 11 years ago.

Good work mate they are such great little cars for a bit of everything.

[Custardtart]

So I was fascinated by the lack of a decent time compared to my last outing where the only change was moving away from the Bilstein/Eibach set up to MCA Reds. I played a lap from each event with identical timed 64.9 second laps on split screen. The biggest difference was how easy, calm and smooth the lap on the Bilsteins looked whereas the MCA's shook me around a lot more. The next is the speed, I was significantly faster into, through and out of the corners on the MCA's but the strong headwind down the straight meant I was playing catch up for the rest of the lap.
Having said that, I remember getting out of the car on the Bilsteins and feeling I had at least another 1 second in me (I only did 3 sessions) but got out of the car on MCA's feeling I'd pretty much been at the limit with only some fine tuning and significant seat time to get a few more tenths off.
The Bilsteins felt much less track orientated than the MCA's but it was far easier to do a lap time on them. I'd expect that from a softer set up but the fact I didn't go any faster on the MCA's must be put down to track conditions.

So in summary, if you want to go faster and really understand your lap times, get a proper data logger

[Magpie]

So in summary, if you want to go faster and really understand your lap times, get a proper data logger

Whilst I would love to look to the sky and shout "hallelujah" at the last sentence, I feel it would be a disservice

You need to spend some time setting up the MCA's as well as learning how to drive with them. Is the car at the same ride height? Did you get an alignment after installing the MCA's?

Whilst an alignment is not critical, if you lower the car you would have in fact changed the existing camber. From memory the NB gains about 1°of negative camber every 25mm. Therefore lowering the car will change the existing camber.

If you still have the Bilstein/Eibach setup how much bump travel did you have at normal ride height. The same info should also be collected on the MCA's. If you have different amounts of bump travel then this will change the handling of the car. Further, at what amount of bump travel do the bump stops engage? Also what are the compression rates for the bump stops? Since the bump stops add to the spring rate this will also change the way the car handles.

Using my recent experience as a guide. Of the 45mm bump travel in the rear only 15mm was being used as the bump stops prevented any further travel. This works out to be 1.5° negative camber in the rear that the car was not getting! Took me almost 5 years to learn this lesson

You have reached a point where some decisions need to be made as to if road or track orientated. Data logging will help, however it will not solve the problem... I showed my wheel aligner my data on the shock velocities as well as change in ride height and bump stops causing the issue was not his first thought.

[Custardtart]

So in summary, if you want to go faster and really understand your lap times, get a proper data logger

Whilst I would love to look to the sky and shout "hallelujah" at the last sentence, I feel it would be a disservice

You need to spend some time setting up the MCA's as well as learning how to drive with them. Is the car at the same ride height? Did you get an alignment after installing the MCA's?

Whilst an alignment is not critical, if you lower the car you would have in fact changed the existing camber. From memory the NB gains about 1°of negative camber every 25mm. Therefore lowering the car will change the existing camber.

If you still have the Bilstein/Eibach setup how much bump travel did you have at normal ride height. The same info should also be collected on the MCA's. If you have different amounts of bump travel then this will change the handling of the car. Further, at what amount of bump travel do the bump stops engage? Also what are the compression rates for the bump stops? Since the bump stops add to the spring rate this will also change the way the car handles.

Using my recent experience as a guide. Of the 45mm bump travel in the rear only 15mm was being used as the bump stops prevented any further travel. This works out to be 1.5° negative camber in the rear that the car was not getting! Took me almost 5 years to learn this lesson

You have reached a point where some decisions need to be made as to if road or track orientated. Data logging will help, however it will not solve the problem... I showed my wheel aligner my data on the shock velocities as well as change in ride height and bump stops causing the issue was not his first thought.

Thanks Magpie. The car has been lowered and had a full alignment and corner weight done when the MCA's were installed (by the people MCA use). I also had an alignment done in June (by another MX5 race car specialist)) before Morgan Park and another one in September. The recent one varies slightly in that the car has more camber because, as you say, lowering the car allowed/created for more - and a touch of toe out which was instantly noticeable.
No idea on bump stop detail, an interesting thought. The car is now sat just above road legal height with a touch of rake.
The car will always be a car Mrs Tart drives every day and I get to thrash around a track occasionally. The MCA's on soft settings are perfectly fine for daily duties, Mrs Tart hasn't noticed any difference!

[JBT]

My two cents worth - and as I don't have a garage spot:

I got my PB at Lakeside on the original suspension with Whiteline adjustable sways. The change to Tein Flex Z has done nothing for my times. However, while the car feels just that bit flatter through the corners, I also get significantly more shaken about. Grip has not improved but the car doesn't have the 4WD look anymore.
Maybe I should remove the Whitelines, re-fit the stock sways and see how it goes.
I'm still not completely happy with the brakes. Started off well on new rotors (front heavy duty) and Brembo pads but the pads were off by day's end. A1RM time for the front I think.

[Red_Bullet]

A1RM did not cope on the front of my NA. Rear I still use them. The A1RM pads crumbled and broke apart on their first outing at QR.

I'm running PFC-11 (Performance Friction Compounds) from the USA. Not cheap, but work well at the track, work ok on the street, very progressive, kind on rotors compared to my experience with Hawk Blues. Not too dusty, no squeal. So far my favourite pad for road/track compromise. I have no idea if they are available for the NC.

[JBT]

Started my own garage thread.http://www.mx5cartalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=77340

[Custardtart]

The Tart came back from daily duties yesterday sporting a nasty knocking sound. Turned out the mid pipe was banging on the X- brace.
I couldn’t work out why except possibly knackered engine mounts?
Anyway, a temporary fix was to space the X- brace with some washers.

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