accordionfolder said:
So last question, I tried emailing 9lives, but never heard back from them - does the aero work like really sticky tires? Covering bad habits? I've always heard you drive an "aero car" differently, but maybe this aero is just giving the miata a bit more poke since it's fairly tame?
Thanks for answering all my random questions!
Sorry if we missed your email! It's been a bit crazy the last few months...... in a good way.
No, I don't believe aero masks bad habits the same way sticky tires could. A +1 to what Wonko mentioned, it's kind of the opposite lol. From all the random cases I've seen of before/after aero I have one general take away... The "average" driver improves by huge deltas after aero, like 3-5 seconds of legit improvement. Meaning it helped them get closer to the limit than they ever have been. It's certainly very confidence-inspiring after adding a big chunk of down-force to the car......not to mention cutting drag and lift off NA/NBs. Typically, more advanced drivers don't see quite the same delta in improvement since they are already comfortable at or near the limit. As a result, the benefits of added grip and reduced drag is what drops their times.
After aero, I haven't changed my lines much at all on my NB. I have fewer correction inputs actually, so the car is a tad more stable. Sometimes I like to ignore the fact that I have aero and drive to the limit the best I can. It all fun until I go off and I catch a bunch of grass/gravel/sand on the front aero 
In reply to Marcus_NineLivesRacing :
Hey Marcus, good to hear you guys are busy! That's cool that both you an Wonko seem to agree it's not like playing on r-comps or the like. I would love to be able to get more in the face of some of my club-mates at the big tracks without having to go non-bp engined/FI or sacrifice getting better by masking mistakes - so that sounds ideal to me. Now I've just go to decide if I mess up my nice silver car or find a use for my wonky little NB that currently is just sitting there doing nothing....
WonkoTheSane (Forum Supporter) said:
If you find yourself in new England, you're welcome to take it for a session or two.
I appreciate the kind offer! Thanks for the detailed information! I'll shoot you an email about some available track time down south, though it's a bit of stretch if you're that far north, but can still be worth it.
End of seat season minor update:
Thanks to a new set of Re-71rs and the splitter ramps I recently got from the blemish pile as 9 lives ramps up production on the plastic version, I got down to my personal best at Palmer! I'm in the 1:55s with a passenger in the car now :). The car is very stable and predictable in all situations, so there's no real drawback except for sightly higher tire & brake useage.
I'm back at Palmer this Sunday for my last day of the year, I'm shooting for a 54 if I can get a run without passengers!
Here's my ramp install. Remember that I don't have the official 9 lives splitter, so no cut out for me. I gotta make my own.
First I made a template out of a manila folder:
Paint marker:
Cut cut cut cut
I then glued (RTV) and stapled them down after the rtv cured.
Finally, since the big slots left the splitter a bit floppy, I spent $10 at the local hardware/racing supply store to support the edges. They were out of turnbuckles that could take ~ 200lb, so I did it the hard way:
The result of the ramps and securing the splitter was a noticeable reduction in understeer, so it was totally worth it. I was planning on making some ramps out of aluminum in the off season, so I'm happy these popped up for sale.
First of two packaged showed up....
accordionfolder said:
First of two packaged showed up....
Ooooooh, that looks exciting!
So far, thanks to 6(!) year old Toyo RRs, I've gotten down to 1:53.0 at Palmer, with a passenger. I think there's a reasonable chance of getting into the 1:51s.
Still no downsides to aero. I'd recommend this kit to anyone who doesn't have to daily drive their Miata.
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
Nice! Good to hear there are no regrets. I ordered the dual element rear wing and splitter ramps since both are allowed in my class for TTNats. Box 2 should have the splitter/airdam and friends.
accordionfolder said:
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
Nice! Good to hear there are no regrets. I ordered the dual element rear wing and splitter ramps since both are allowed in my class for TTNats. Box 2 should have the splitter/airdam and friends.
It's so pretty! Are you coming up to Palmer for TTN?
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
Maybe, I'd like to make a few other tracks this year! I'm signed up for NCM already
This thread makes me more solid in the decision to get the Medium Downforce Kit in the near future. I just wish the logo wasn't so large on the endplates. The previous versions with NLR was much more classy in my opinion.
In reply to captainawesome :
You might be able to request it blank, but the end plates would super simple to make copies of if not!
In reply to accordionfolder :
Certainly couldn't hurt to ask. Another issue I keep forgetting about is that I have the Racing Beat front bumper so I'll probably have to make my own splitter.
What was the reason for the dual element?
In reply to captainawesome :
It's a bolt on affair, so if it's too much drag I can take it off, but I wanted the option since it's allowed in my class for TTNats with the SCCA
I'm running max5
https://timetrials.growsites.net/pages/max-category
captainawesome said:
In reply to accordionfolder :
Certainly couldn't hurt to ask. Another issue I keep forgetting about is that I have the Racing Beat front bumper so I'll probably have to make my own splitter.
What was the reason for the dual element?
A thin piece of black plastic glued behind it would also make that a lot more subtle, too.
Yeah, if you're attached to your bumper, that could be challenging. I don't see how you could use the Sturdy Boiis without hacking it up. That said the splitter would probably be fine, you'll just have make different mounts.
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
I'll probably have to just make my own splitter and mounts at this point. I got a good deal on the LRB undertray setup, so between that and the RB bumper it makes sense to do something home made. I wanted to do less arts and crafts type stuff for a bolt on solution but my wallet would appreciate a little more sweat equity. I've also got FM intercooler piping to worry about.
accordionfolder said:
In reply to captainawesome :
It's a bolt on affair, so if it's too much drag I can take it off, but I wanted the option since it's allowed in my class for TTNats with the SCCA
I'm running max5
https://timetrials.growsites.net/pages/max-category
I'm also running Max 5 now that Prepped has gone away.
captainawesome said:
In reply to WonkoTheSane :
I'll probably have to just make my own splitter and mounts at this point. I got a good deal on the LRB undertray setup, so between that and the RB bumper it makes sense to do something home made. I wanted to do less arts and crafts type stuff for a bolt on solution but my wallet would appreciate a little more sweat equity. I've also got FM intercooler piping to worry about.
Yeah, that makes sense.. Time for some CAD.
WonkoTheSane said:
accordionfolder said:
In reply to captainawesome :
It's a bolt on affair, so if it's too much drag I can take it off, but I wanted the option since it's allowed in my class for TTNats with the SCCA
I'm running max5
https://timetrials.growsites.net/pages/max-category
I'm also running Max 5 now that Prepped has gone away.
I find the rules interesting for max5 TBH ->
"You can customize your interior so you can replace (but not remove) the carpet, seats, trim and maybe even paneling. We're not going to argue too hard if you do things like remove package trays and such, but we don't want bare interiors. Bare metal interiors are race cars. Unless you can show us a REALLY compelling reason it's done that way on your street car, we're going to consider bare metal/stripped interiors an Unlimited Category car. (It better look like the Hughes H-1 Racer in there.) "Because I like battleship grey paint" isn't a compelling reason."
Now if they enforce it or not, I'm not sure - but a bunch of the guys I run with don't have interiors/passenger seats/etc so they're in "unlimited" now.
