'90 Mazdaspeed Miata Rallycross Project

Nope, he was too afraid of damaging it...

Knurled wrote: My newest (untested) theory of suspension setup says that 100% of bump travel should be bumpstop. So, while I can't say that you're on or off the mark, I will be curious to hear your impressions.

I tested this on the 2 with great results. If one is motivated, you can check back through my 2 thread and see the spacers I made to adjust bump contact. You could swap them in and out between runs. I liked that particular mod a lot.

The first picture makes me nervous. The last two make me want to get back behind the wheel.

In reply to cghstang:

The Miata is more fun than a horse...

It also has great throttle response with the lightweight flywheel.

Ooh, pictures!

edit: Five minutes of loading the stupid "infinite scroll" style layout and still haven't gone near the afternoon session.

Whose idea was infinite scroll, anyway? Is keel-hauling still a thing? Can we do that nowadays?

Yea that was annoying me as well.

Only because this discussion came up at our last event regarding Chris's Mustang....it was my impression that the rules don't explicitly allow running with no hood (though it says "hood....need not function as originally designed").

What's your reading of that rule? Some of us have really heavy hoods....

Knurled wrote: Ooh, pictures! edit: Five minutes of loading the stupid "infinite scroll" style layout and still haven't gone near the afternoon session. Whose idea was infinite scroll, anyway? Is keel-hauling still a thing? Can we do that nowadays?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta-Z_psXODw

The rules, technically, require a hood. It's somewhere in there.

I remember one event when someone whose name shall remain nameless - in a red Mazda, no less, albeit a 323GTX - tried to enter without a hood. He was told he needed a hood. Rules don't say that the hood must completely cover the engine bay, having an allowance for air vents, so he taped/ziptied a coffee can lid to one of the hinges and called that his hood. I forget how that went over, but there was also talk of putting Saran Wrap over the hoodhole.

That was at a National level event. At regional events, we're a bit more lax regarding this sort of thing as long as it's not safety related. My interpretation of the bodywork clauses is that they don't want cars that look like utter POSes at high level events. (I dimly recall that someone's car was ejected from the RXNC last year because of appearance)

don't they all 'appear' the same after they are covered in mud?

Knurled wrote: The rules, technically, require a hood. It's somewhere in there. I remember one event when someone whose name shall remain nameless - in a red Mazda, no less, albeit a 323GTX - tried to enter without a hood. He was told he needed a hood. Rules don't say that the hood must completely cover the engine bay, having an allowance for air vents, so he taped/ziptied a coffee can lid to one of the hinges and called that his hood. I forget how that went over, but there was also talk of putting Saran Wrap over the hoodhole. That was at a National level event. At regional events, we're a bit more lax regarding this sort of thing as long as it's not safety related. My interpretation of the bodywork clauses is that they don't want cars that look like utter POSes at high level events. (I dimly recall that someone's car was ejected from the RXNC last year because of appearance)

yeah, it's an interesting point. Miata has an aluminum hood. e30 hood ain't aluminum and isn't all that light.

Also an interesting point about the appearance. I know Chris plans to go to nationals with the Mustang....I wonder how that would go over, lol....Do the rules actually state something about appearance?

We cancel when it's muddy. Don't want to wreck the site, you know.

That said, I've discovered a new composite material. Similar to fiberglass or carbon fiber mat in an epoxy, I've found that grass thatch in clay is just about impervious to a power washer. Spent about $20 at the coin-op on Sunday. Then this evening when I pushed the car from the spot where the tow truck dropped it this morning, I rolled over a couple pieces of carpet that the midday rain had loosened up. Only it wasn't carpet, it was a lobster. Rock lobster.

As much as we loved running at Summit Point, that red clay was a biotch to get off of everything. The one nice thing about the new venue is the gravel and light substrate. It sprays right off with no scrubbing. The paint chips, though, are forever....

I hope Chris brings the Mustang to nationals. I'll park between him and Evan and pretty much all of the questionable mods to the RX7 should be ignored.

There are "questionable mods" in MR?

irish44j wrote: There are "questionable mods" in MR?

I question why people do some of the mods to their MR cars. Does that count?

irish44j wrote: There are "questionable mods" in MR?

It's headed that direction, isn't it?

moxnix wrote:

irish44j wrote: There are "questionable mods" in MR?

I question why people do some of the mods to their MR cars. Does that count?

you're just saying that because your mods generally consist of pieces of the front lip breaking off, or weight reduction via shock fluids leaking out, Shawn....

Besides, you have beard power. You don't need actual mods. Us less hairy people need actual mods to go fast...

My car is composed almost entirely of questionable mods

The rules state that you need all your body panels (or equivalent replacements) but not bumpers. I am cheating this a little, claiming my E36 M3ty lexan bulkhead is my rear hatch, but would be happy to make a hatch out of duct tape if I have to.

There is an appearance rule, but it only states that the car must look like whatever it started out as. I'm pretty sure even the most hacked up Modified class cars still just look like ultra-E36 M3ty versions of the base car.

NONACK wrote: There is an appearance rule, but it only states that the car must look like whatever it started out as. I'm pretty sure even the most hacked up Modified class cars still just look like ultra-E36 M3ty versions of the base car.

There is a Japanese body kit for the RX-7 that I was told that I can't run because the nose looks like an RS200.

In reply to Knurled: You did see pictures of the car that won M2 in '08, right?

What you may have been told and what would actually happen are likely quite different.

cghstang wrote: In reply to Knurled: You did see pictures of the car that won M2 in '08, right? What you may have been told and what would actually happen are likely quite different.

The car that won M2 in '08 was the Rabbit/Scirocco hybrid, right?

A lot of rules were created due to that car

I'm okay with it. OTOH, I'm also looking into getting the RX-7 professionally repainted/bodywork fixed. I haven't seen a home done paint job that didn't look like crap from under ten feet away and the chalky clearcoat is really starting to bother me...

I need another Miata, I don't even enjoy driving this one to work anymore.

In reply to EvanB:

Welcome to my world.