Introduction
So the recent mods (see previous posts) are all in the car and have been tested at a shakedown at Thruxton Circuit in blisteringly hot conditions. In this post I review the work this far and how this has shaped future thinking for the car going forward. There’s some YouTube links below which show full runs at Thruxton.
IL Motorsport Chasis Bracing
In my New Bracing Goes In post I said that I was hoping to improve the rigidity of the chassis having notice some kick when changing gear under load having installed stiffer suspension.
I can honestly say I didn’t notice any kick on the drive in (though this was pretty gentle) and not on the track so I’m going to say that adding the IL Motorsport Cross Brace and Rear Suspension Brace have improved the handling of the car.
I was definitely pushing my limits further than before and my pace improved over my previous outings.
BC Racing DS Coilovers
I love these, they are a definite improvement over the old worn out Bilsteins. That is not to say I would not have loved new Bilsteins, which I did in my younger days on a different more rally-orientated car; or any other make of coilovers for that matter.
When I drive on the road with softer settings they are comfortable in that role and when I set them much harder on the track there is less roll than before and there seems to be tighter control at higher speeds. On this occasion I drove in with them set at 1 click off softest, then started the sessions at 5 clicks from hardest in the morning and 1 click from hardest in the afternoon. I accidentally drove home with them set at track hardness and frankly it was not pleasant so note to self – change them back before loading the boot; and a learn from the experience.
My spring rates are the 6 front and 4 rears which is the BC Racing recommendation for MX5 NC’s. I noticed at Thruxton that where I was pushing the car much more than on previous runs I was getting more roll than I had anticipated in the harsher corners like Campbell, Cobb and Segrave, which made me start thinking about anti-roll bars as a future option.
The car was splendid through the chicane at Club so as I’ve already said above, I’m really happy with this choice.
I’m not drawn to the idea of upping the spring rates yet (c.£200) as the ride for road use is pretty good at the settings described above. I don’t really want to add harshness given my Grand Tourer objective, though this would change if the car was to become a track-only tool but I’d still need to upgrade the ARB’s anyway.
Yokohama AD08RS
These are the newer road legal spec and sometimes get battered for not being as good as the old spec. I’d pretty much decided that I wanted AD08’s as the start point for my track-focussed tyre choice.
Since I’ve got them I really like them. My standard road tyre is Dunlop Sport Max which is a pretty good track day tyre for wet conditions. The Yokohamas were part of a tyre & wheel package from Wheelbase last year.
On my last trip to Thruxton I did notice that the tyres protested the treatment they were being given by squealing pretty regularly on the tighter corners but the handling remained strong and I was doing 12 lap runs. I did trip the DSP once or twice when pushing harder than normal. I’d have no problem getting them again but I have not yet tried them against anything else.
If I could afford them when the time comes and if they were available in my wheel size then I’ll try the Avon ZZR’s recommended to me by a very fast MX5 owner I met in June who raved about them, though at c.£260 each for the Avons and half that for the Yokohamas that’s a couple of Track days so we’ll have to see what the budget will allow.
Fox FX004 Wheels
These Black 17 x 7.5’s are shod with Yokohama AD08 RS215/45/R17 came from wheelbase as a package and frankly I think they look fab .
I don’t think they were a weight saving choice (Budget wouldn’t allow), but they look mean and that’s got to be wort 1-2 mph. EBC Yellow Stuff Brake Pads on standard discs and calipers
I love them they work well for me, though for the first time I noticed that they get better with a bit of heat in them. With good braking point selection they hauled the car down to
BBR GTI Catted Manifold, Centre Pipe and GT Rear Box
Again I love it it burbles nicely, makes a good noise when up and running and the car either is faster or feels faster. I added a Versatune standard NCU package ECU flash as a stop gap until I can get it on aRolling Road. Again Ive not been disappointed despite the cost.
I fabricated a heat shield for the rear of the alternator until I can be sure the heat generated by an unshielded manifold won’t damage the black plastic ?? vent to channel cooling air into the alternator.
So Where Next…
As the car does not over heat despite 30+C at a fast track where the car is up near maximum revs for a lot of the lap I’m not thinking an Oil Cooler is necessary at this time and have removed that from my development plan for the time being.
I’ve been thinking that I’ll start getting together the parts for a clutch swap. With over 80+k miles on the clock I’m expecting the clutch to need replacing in the not too distant future. I’m also convinced that this car has been tracked at some point by previous owners again increasing the likelihood of increased wear. The car itself is not showing signs as yet. Its going well an is eager to go faster when the load button is pressed.
I’m thinking I’ll be going for the Bofi Stage 2+ kit on the premise that it will cope well with heavy track use and a lightened flywheel to make it a little more eager.
The other possible development direction might be Aero with a splitter at the front, some underbody air flow smoothing and wing at the back and probably done in that order. But that’s a cerebral exercise for now as the car is going well and I’m probably still less competent in my driving than the car’s capability.
Finally there could well be the option of doubling down on my BBR GTI upgrades and going for the Cam upgrade to take the car to 200 BHP.
I’m back at Thruxton next month so if you see me come over and say hello.
