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Finally got a chance this weekend to finish installing the rear differential bushings, Z1 expanded capacity diff cover with cooling fins, and flush the diff with some better Redline fluid.
I also picked up some exhaust wrap to use close to the differential to help keep some more heat away from the ABS sensors. Hopefully, all of this will keep my ABS sensors from melting at the next track day. Fingers crossed...
Will upload a video shortly. I am quite happy with the current setup, it's little oversteery but plenty of fun. I am still learning how to correct oversteer properly, which is hard with my current setup. I have Hotchkis rear sways at the middle setting (3 way) and front Eibach sway bars at the lower (2 way) setting. I am getting lots of lift off oversteer which I think it unusual given the slight bias of weight to the front and the multilink suspension setup. I may move the Eibach fronts to the higher setting and see if it fixes that issue.
From what I understand, having talked to the local Z car guys, we could use a lot more front roll stiffness, leaving the rears relatively soft compared to the rear. It really hooks the rear down and lets you power through corners without too much compromise.
My suspension tuning is probably different than yours, but I have a Hotchkis sway in the front only. Despite how counter intuitive that sounds, it works for me haha.
4DR, let me know how the car feels after the fresh diff fluid. I am thinking of changing mine soon given how I've been beating on the car lately.
bP, that is definitely a unique set up. I did the same, except only the Hotchkis rear sway bar (on the middle setting). Let's just say that wasn't a very safe setting, in any environment :P
I'll say, You have definitely improved from the last video you posted. Noticeable difference. Those first two sets of runs were very impressive. Great save at the end of the first video and you said it best... gotta be happy keeping up with the Miata, a track staple, in a 3800 pd Sedan.
I'll say, You have definitely improved from the last video you posted. Noticeable difference. Those first two sets of runs were very impressive. Great save at the end of the first video and you said it best... gotta be happy keeping up with the Miata, a track staple, in a 3800 pd Sedan.
Definitely pushing it in the last set of runs lol
Thanks for the compliment! The videos are not chronological, I just compiled all the spin out videos into one sequence.
From what I understand, having talked to the local Z car guys, we could use a lot more front roll stiffness, leaving the rears relatively soft compared to the rear. It really hooks the rear down and lets you power through corners without too much compromise.
My suspension tuning is probably different than yours, but I have a Hotchkis sway in the front only. Despite how counter intuitive that sounds, it works for me haha.
My first track with this car was a very short technical track where the car was understeering a bit with the Hotchkis rear sway set at full soft. I stiffened it up a bit to the middle setting and it was perfect for that track- the back end would only step out a bit when provoked and it was predictable. I kept the same setting at Road America and it was also good. This is on Tein Basis coilovers and 245 & 275/19 RE-91R's.
Originally Posted by bsanalyst
4DR, let me know how the car feels after the fresh diff fluid. I am thinking of changing mine soon given how I've been beating on the car lately.
I am trying to remember as I originally flushed it with this fluid last fall after everything got too hot. I don't recall any big difference, but I am hoping that combining the fluid with the diff cover and the exhaust wrap will solve my heat issues.
When we split the exhaust to do the rear differential bushings recently we noticed that the gasket between the y-pipe and midpipe was cracked. Wow did the car make a lot of noise from that small crack! So I got a heavy duty metal replacement from Z1 Motorsports. I also picked up some for between the y-pipe and cats in case they go bad. Much, much quieter now. Anyone else have issues with gaskets breaking down under the heat of a track day?
There are three styles of damping -- linear, progressive and digressive. As its name suggests, linear damping force increases in linear fashion as shaft velocity increases. Progressive damping increases damping force faster than linear as shaft velocity rises. Lastly, digressive reduces damping force as velocity rises. Of course, these are very simplified. OEMs use digressive damping for the most part.
There are many web sites that explain this stuff. I like Fat Cat Motorsports video series on youtube. While his bread and butter is Miata, he works on any rebuildable Bilstein damper. His shows many damper curves as he tests dampers on his dyno.
There are three styles of damping -- linear, progressive and digressive. As its name suggests, linear damping force increases in linear fashion as shaft velocity increases. Progressive damping increases damping force faster than linear as shaft velocity rises. Lastly, digressive reduces damping force as velocity rises. Of course, these are very simplified. OEMs use digressive damping for the most part.
There are many web sites that explain this stuff. I like Fat Cat Motorsports video series on youtube. While his bread and butter is Miata, he works on any rebuildable Bilstein damper. His shows many damper curves as he tests dampers on his dyno.
Look at Shim ReStacker,
Thank you for the introduction to Fat Cat Motorsports. A diamond in the rough...
What types of coolant temps do you guys usually see?
I have a Phase 2 radiator cap with a temp. gauge now and it reads about 170 on the commute to work, 200 after a "spirited" drive on some winding roads on the way to Road America, and 210 after a very easy 20 min touring session on Road America. The red section on the gauge starts at 220 and I think I will easily go over that on a full out track day. I am thinking a bigger radiator is in order to help with the temps. Last time I did a track day at Road America some coolant was spitting out a bit.
I've just been looking at the csf triple pass radiator myself after following the tidings of a friend who had chronic overheating during the recent one lap of America event, eventually did a head gasket. They seem like cheap insurance, but a few reports from around the internet of them leaking, so I'm not sure what to look at. Someone over at the370z.com apparently does replacement bungs to stop the leaking/seizing.
I'm going to start logging water temps at my next track day to see what temps actually get to before biting the bullet on any more upgrades tho. Oh and I think the NISMO radiator cap is higher pressure, which will help, not sure what that pressure is tho
Oh and I think the NISMO radiator cap is higher pressure, which will help, not sure what that pressure is tho
Funny you should mention that. A lot of the radiator caps that claim to be high pressure have the exact same rating or lower than the stock cap. In fact, the cap I have now claimed it was a higher pressure rating than stock for "improved performance." Nope, exact same rating as stock.
Do any of you track guys run a different radiator? If so, what differences are you noticing in temps?
My coolant temp. gauge stays right in the middle, but it does spit some coolant out the top on long track days. Was thinking of a bigger radiator or vented hood- both would be good, but I figure the radiator would be better
I was thinking of this CSF radiator from Z1 Motorsports and a set of their silicone hoses. Thoughts?
05-15-2017, 10:18 AM
So I got a heavy duty metal replacement from Z1 Motorsports. I also picked up some for between the y-pipe and cats in case they go bad. Much, much quieter now. Anyone else have issues with gaskets breaking down under the heat of a track day?
