In reply to bobzilla :
For whatever reason these cars hate putting power down... Well the little it does have.
I gave Tot a French whore-bath via waterless wash (despite it's paint feeling like sandpaper...) So it looks decent from a distance on track. Have the stuff to run data and get video, so hopefully that all works as planned, if not then so be it. Going to try and focus on just driving and learning the course.
Holy cow VIR was awesome! Had a great time, just need more power. I managed to run a low 2:38 which is insanely slow, but with the lack of power, cold weather, and my first time there, I'm good with. I had a (TT5 driver) friend run a mid 2:35 in my car(with me along for the ride) so it's definitely got more in it. I need to suck it up in South Bend and Hog Pen where he put the most time on me.
Me:
Much faster friend:
I have a video of myself I'll have to upload later this week. Already trying to figure out if I can afford to/shift my schedule around to go back this year. Unfortunately Sunday on North Course got cancelled due to snow, so I only ran Saturday. 
Video of my best lap + the ones before and after it.
I love that your throttle is either matted to the floor or you're on the brake. Feather? no need. 90hp. I absolutely love it.
This kinda makes me miss my 2. It looks like SCCA will be at VIR for a Track Night in May and I plan on being there in the RX7. I need to look into RaceChrono and see what I can make of it. I have an old car with no OBDII so no fancy throttle/brake overlay.
In reply to infernosg :
You can do an all directions g-meter which, while it won't tell you throttle position, assuming your car isn't Mazda2-level weak, it'll register something for forward thrust. 
In reply to flatlander937 :
the track addict app picked up acceleration for Tubey.
So I pick up a set of 8in wide wheels and the spec tires (RT660s) specifically to run Gridlife Sundae Cup at Mid Ohio in August... Go to sign up and... Waitlisted. 
Debating whether to sign up for HPDE and still drive the 20hr round trip to do so... Or do a couple events at VIR and Summit along with NCCAR with TSCC like usual... Hoping to hear something back soon-ish.
You continue to make me shop for a 2, I still have not found the one.
In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :
I'd you're on Facebook, join the M2O Mazda2 Owners group. They come up for sale pretty frequently there. You just missed a clean low mileage one for like $5k (the blue one I checked out got resold again).
In reply to flatlander937 :
Just did. Now the waiting game.
In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :
Did you get approved? I'm one of the admins but I don't know your name/profile. We typically reject anyone that has a jibberish name from other countries and/or can't answer the 3 questions... Depending on how spammy the account looks.
The question nobody asked: 205 Conti ECS on 9 vs 7.5 wheels... I picked up another pair of 7.5 Dekagrams to put my rain/street tires on.
Was just testing the 9 because I have a spare, they're all going on 7.5s.
And I am signed up for Gridlife Sundae Cup at Mid Ohio Aug 6-7-8!
Me and the wife signed up for a track cross at Summit Point on Shenandoah in two weeks, so going to be busy prepping and inspecting both cars this weekend and next. Should be a good event to scrub in my RT660s.
I have new calipers, hoses, and MSI studs and lug nuts on the way to replace the now 5 year old ARP stuff that is rusting on one corner from frequent use.
Saw "Tot" and "Blueboy" yesterday at the GFE trackcross. Cars look great and you did pretty good in results. We were there dual driving the Elantra. Some crazy fast cars in attendance.
In reply to kevinatfms :
Thanks! Yeah no way was I catching two cars with decent drivers who had +80hp on me
I saw the Elantra late in the day and wanted to stop and check it out, but it was an eventful afternoon with Liz getting sick after lunch time... The pork BBQ didn't sit well I guess (hence why she DNS in the afternoon).
She had fun though, and we're thinking about running the one next month, if not an autocross. I need to rotate my tires and scrub in the rears now
I really liked the afternoon course... But the morning I was NOT a fan of the cut through. I was definitely still feeling the car out on the different tires and had another second in it of I could stop screwing up and stay consistent. I felt a lot better about my afternoon driving for sure.
Results from the morning:
http://www.getfastevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/spts521am-final.htm
Afternoon:
http://www.getfastevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/spts521pm-final.htm
flatlander937 said:In reply to kevinatfms :
Thanks! Yeah no way was I catching two cars with decent drivers who had +80hp on me
I saw the Elantra late in the day and wanted to stop and check it out, but it was an eventful afternoon with Liz getting sick after lunch time... The pork BBQ didn't sit well I guess (hence why she DNS in the afternoon).
She had fun though, and we're thinking about running the one next month, if not an autocross. I need to rotate my tires and scrub in the rears now
I really liked the afternoon course... But the morning I was NOT a fan of the cut through. I was definitely still feeling the car out on the different tires and had another second in it of I could stop screwing up and stay consistent. I felt a lot better about my afternoon driving for sure.
Results from the morning:
http://www.getfastevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/spts521am-final.htm
Afternoon:
http://www.getfastevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/spts521pm-final.htm
Ah the Pork BBQ....yikes. We usually head to Charles Town for Wendy's or Popeye's. Ive had some bad luck at Summit and once at the Railroad place down the road. Its always a hit or miss around there.
I finally placed top 1/2 of the field in the Elantra in the morning. The afternoon and the car just didnt have the gear. Did ok though and didnt blow up or break. So it was a win.
What app are you using for those overlays? I have trackaddict and it didnt want to sync at all. Times were all over the place and GPS kept going in/out during the day. Pretty sure you're 5 mph faster than i was entering the first cut through turn.
In reply to kevinatfms :
It's RaceChrono Pro($20 app) + a used 10hz GPS Bluetooth unit by Qstarz. I have $70 total into both of them, but I did just pick up an Aim Solo II DL, so I'm not sure how much longer I'll be using it. Only downside is I got the Solo II without OBDII connections, but I really like the idea of it being set it and forget it. Vs screwing with it before every run or session. May sell and buy the OBDII version to have the best of both worlds.
I didn't run video this weekend, normally I have a GoPro 3 but it seems to be giving up the ghost as far as battery life goes.
Forgot to add the couple photos someone took from the event last month. Haven't updated a lot here... But been playing around with springs a lot. 450/stock front bar and 12k(672lb) rear with no bar feels incredibly good. I had to go to a 5in rear spring because out back space is limited where the spring and adjuster can fit. Had to go with Swift since I don't want to go to a 4in spring... And holy crap these 12k rears ride better than the 10k and even 450(8k) rears. I'm a believer in the hype now. Probably going to buy some 10 or 11k Swift's for the front as well soon.
Also I found out I slipped both camber bolts and was only running about -2.5 at the event last month which explains why I never felt quite happy with it overall grip wise. I kind of chucked it up to being brand new tires, etc.
I made some risky purchases in the name of science so should have some fun updates in the next month or so 
In the middle of tearing down For for a TON of work going on currently... But in the meantime I bought a new tow rig/work vehicle for carrying all my ADAS calibration gear... We decided it makes more sense to sell Blueboy and share Tot for tracking so we can spend the money on safety gear and insurance, etc to minimize costs. Also having to prep two cars is hell stressful.
Blueboy for sale post here:
Been busy plugging away at Tot. Regretting tearing it all down, but have some 6in 10k Swift springs on the way for the front, chucked the front sway bar entirely, new MSI wheel studs and lug nuts... And a few other goodies.
flatlander937 said:In the middle of tearing down For for a TON of work going on currently... But in the meantime I bought a new tow rig/work vehicle for carrying all my ADAS calibration gear... We decided it makes more sense to sell Blueboy and share Tot for tracking so we can spend the money on safety gear and insurance, etc to minimize costs. Also having to prep two cars is hell stressful.
Blueboy for sale post here:
There is something different about the front end on that Sequoia, does it have an extended grill and a different front bumper? And what is that about ADAS gear and calibration work? Sounds interesting!
In reply to Nitroracer (Forum Supporter) :
I have no idea. I think they're just new headlights?
I do mobile ADAS calibrations and electrical diagnostics/pre and post collision repair scanning. I wanted something that could carry my 120lb Nissan radar target stand around if need be without having to leave it at my primary shop when picking my kid up from daycare after work.
I actually wrote an article and shared it on the GRM forum a few months ago: ADAS and the Car Enthusiast
This is the target stand in question (set up for a front radar and also had to do a 360 camera calibration as well hence all the tape on the ground).
Made more progress today - got the front struts upper holes slotted for max camber with the OEM 12mm dis bolts so I don't have to worry about the eccentric bolts slipping anymore.
My Tekonsha P3 for the tow pig arrived, going to install that and look everything over real good before towing 600mi to Mid Ohio so I can replace anything loose/worn/etc. I think there's a tiny bit of play in the steering shaft but I need to isolate whether it's upper or lower first.
It moves again! Steering is so much faster with Fiesta ST knuckles! That's been the major project.... They net a big improvement in lower control arm angles, plus bump steer correction for lowered geometry. Also more camber. With struts maxed out I could get 5 deg if I wanted to. They're about 1 degree more than stock, the rest is from slotting further. More info to follow.
They're not "drop knuckles." Ride height is determined by hub centerline and strut mounting location. As installed they only affect LCA angle (and tie rod angle). Also the TRE mounting location is further inboard (towards the SAI) so results in a ~10% faster steering speed.
I used a bore sight laser to shoot marks on the floor for straight ahead and full lock, then used the self leveling lasers to shoot the lines to create an angle to get a stock reference point of 39.2 deg to full lock (inside wheel). I only worried about the inside dimension because the wheels move more inwards due to Ackerman.
The new knuckle just thrown on (with toe adjusted to the zero point originally referenced on the ground), I found that the ST knuckles give 47.6 deg of steering at full lock. This is enough to bind CV joints and cut tires on inner sheet metal, and invert the tie rod ends if you give it a nudge. Very not good.
For those keeping track, this is ~21% faster steering ratio I believe. Not insignificant.
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