mx5trackdayproject.co.uk

Tag: Exterior Mods

  • New Bracing Goes In

    New Bracing Goes In

    In this post

    My MX5 NC already has some chassis bracing both on the front struts (see the images in my previous posts)and on the chasis rails underneath the car (see below), in this post new upgraded bracing goes it to try an improve already excellent handling.

    The why of it

    From the start the aim has been to create a grand touring track day car and in my post on the new BC Racing Coilovers, I mentioned that the car had acquired a kick when changing gear under load and whilst this was not a track day problem it was a put off when driving on the street.

    The forums suggest that this can be chasis kick caused by the relative softness of the previous suspension no longer soaking up the chasis twist from the rotation of driveline.

    It may also be a contributing factor that I Polybushed the rear suspension and the diff bushes where replaced with even harder poly bushes.

    Sites like Flying Miata suggest that it is difficult to overdo chasis rigidity and forums have suggested improved feel in the driving experience.

    For all these reasons and because they are hidden underneath the car I pushed the go button the IL Motorsport X-Brace and Rear Suspension Lower Brace as a first step in bolstering chassis rigidity.

    Why IL Motorsport?

    Only because I liked the look of the parts (they’re red) and in comparison to others they seemed pretty good value. I didn’t buy the full kit because I’d heard that the OEM front suspension tower brace is pretty good anyway and doesn’t really need replacing and the OE front bar (before the X brace) could be upgraded later as it is still pretty substantial.

    Instalation

    So you need to have confidence that the suspension won’t collapse when you start loosening bolts, and you’ll need to take a moment to search google for the installation instructions which didn’t arrive in the box and then a further moment to get your head around the instructions before you start any of this.

    I lacked the confidence to pull the bolts without chocking the subframe but it was either overkill or additional body stabilisation for the whole operation.

    I found that you need to pull the bolts out first, then instal from the back forward as the suspension brace sits under the cross brace. The hex bolts supplied replace the originals from the cross brace (I wasted 10 mins trying to work out why the wouldn’t bite on the suspension bars).

    The instructions also give torque settings for all the bolts, but these are pretty low. I triple checked them all with a torque wrench.

    Impressions

    They are both light and strong, the OEM x-brace could be flexed with my hands but the new one could not. Once I worked out what went where and how, it all went on pretty easily.

    As the rear module sits on top of the existing subframe rails it does hang down below the chassis and lower suspension arms rails a little (~1 – 1.5cm), the X brace less so as it is a replacement for the original. So if you have clearance issues you’ll need to work around these when driving over an obstacle or like me when pulling off the drive.

    It does not seem to foul the BBR exhaust that I can see, but it gets a thorough shake-down test next week at Thruxton.

    How the mod affects handling is something I’ll find out next week when I’m back on track.

  • Rain-Ready Now

    Rain-Ready Now

    After the biblically wet track days at Silverstone and Thruxton recently, I decided to take the hint and get a rain light. Of course it’s not as simple as, “Lets buy a rain light”, you then need to navigate the options.

    Choice 1: I decided that I wanted an FIA approved one so that it was of a modern standard and not just something cheap which may or may be of use. So I bought something that was compliant with the FIA’s 2019 reg’s (yes I know I’m not competing – but being compliant with current race regs reassures me it will be track relevant).

    Choice 2: Round or Rectangular? I opted for rectangular merely as I liked the link of it more.

    Choice 3: Flashing or Constant? I read that flashing rain lights are easier to see than constantly illuminated ones when you are following from behind. In my Silverstone Post I talk about cars passing and nothing being visible behind the cars but grey water; so anything to improve my on-track safety drove me towards a flashing rain light.

    Choice 4: Flashing, Flashing and Brake Light or choice of Flashing with constant via switch; I chose to wire it as brake Light repeater with a switch operated flashing function. Obviously I don’t need to be completion class rules compliant which would have limited my options .

    £150+ later I was the proud owner of the CarTek 8874-2019 Rectangular Model Rain Light.

    FIA Flashing Rain Light from CarTek

    Instalation

    The three wires were expended with soldered wires and heat shrink and then I extended the heat shrink to to a length that takes the protection well under the car.

    As I was rooting around in the boot I noticed a large rubber grommet which gave me an entry point for the wires. Once the wires were brought up into the boot I found an earth point near the rear lights and then tapped the red wire into the brake light loom. The final blue wire which is the feed for the flashing function was fed through behind the seats and into the cabin under the centre console and the onto the designated switch.

    I’ve removed the panel below the radio which usually houses the lighter, aux audio input point and heated seat switches a while ago and eBayed the same panel from a lower spec NC and installed the illuminated switches for this unit and the intercom.

    As the switch is illuminated I ran a power feed off an auxiliary fuse box to the switch and ran an earth to an earthing point under the centre console.

    So there it is, I now have an additional brake light repeater and when required I can run a flashing rain light on track days.

    Another option would have been to rig the rain light so that the flashing function requires the headlights and rear lights to be on. I’ll think about it but and the implications for the future.

    First Impressions

    It was easy to instal, it’s bright and it works. I like it.

    Ironically there’s a yellow warning for heat out at the moment and no rain forecast for some time. Probably just in time for when I return to Thruxton next month.

  • MX5 Suspension & Exhaust Upgrades Begin

    MX5 Suspension & Exhaust Upgrades Begin

    Introduction

    May and June saw the process of preparing the car gathering pace ahead of planned trips to Silverstone and Thruxton circuits.

    Planned works included BC Racing DS coilovers in the corners, a sound-pipe delete and a new catted BBR GTI Exhaust System. Also plans included installation of adjustable seat runners on the passenger side and new EBC yellow stuff pads for the season ahead.

    BC Racing Coilovers

    Choosing the suspension has been the most stressful decision about the car so far. I wasn’t sure I even needed to upgrade and it was pretty good already with the Bilsteins which were standard on this spec of car.

    The choices I thought about were – should I stay with the Bilsteins’ or try something else; and if something else then what; should I run with the pack and fit Meisters or try something else like Yellow Speed Racing, Ohlins, or similar.

    At Thruxton I’d hit the bump stops at Campbell on more than one occasion last year when trying to conserve speed so this had made up my mind to try something new. I was looking for something firmer, and with 88k on the clock I thought the Bilsteins’ were probably past their peak.

    In the end, after much humming and harring I chose the BC Racing DS range as I wanted something that might be more plush for the road bumps and stiffer for the track day undulations. I elected to stay with the softer 6Kg/mm front 4 Kg/mm rear springs as BC racing had strongly suggested this starting point so I elected to run with it and upgrading springs if necessary in the future would not be that expensive.

    Installation

    I measured the ride height of the car (hub centre to top of wheel arch) prior to starting and decided that my target would be 245mm for the front and 250mm for the rear once the new suspension was installed.. This would give a little rake for loading and acceleration squat and I gambled that the stiffer springs would not squat so much with fuel and passengers on board, It will be easy to adjust the height once the car had settled onto its new suspension should this not be enough.

    I having jacked up the car. I removed the wheels then the bolts on the suspension upper mounts and also removed the turret brace bars. These bolts are not torqued up very much and were easy to remove.

    The front left was the first to succumb to change and took me a little longer than I had anticipated. I ended up accidentally disassembling the whole original shocker on the car having misunderstood what I was looking at when I was looking down at the top mount as the top of the Bilstein mount which had a black shiny metal cap was nearly the same colour as my car and looked like a permanent part of the car. having understood the issue the remaining mounts proved much easier to remove.

    I also removed suspension upper wish bone bolts, brake line fasteners, anti-roll bar and drop-links to allow for the necessary wiggle room and it all came out nicely. The only pig was the strut bottom nut and bolt which was super stiff and took plenty of work with a breaker bar to get out.

    To be fair the new struts are pretty boring to look at but are super clean and have no rust (unlike my rusty Bilsteins which had definitely seen better days).

    When refitting the top suspension mount brace to the BC’s I took the opportunity to drill the brace top and fit 11cm extenders to the front suspension adjusters and 25cm extenders to the rear. these facilitate rapid adjustment of rebound on track days. I wound it all up to 5 clicks off max hardness all round for the test period

    The sound pipe has been deleted and a Mk3.1 air pipe replaced the original. Also the suspension adjustment is blocked by strut brace
    Sound Pipe Delete and new suspension fitted

    New Exhaust System

    Whilst the car was up on the jacks I took the opportunity to instal a new exhaust. This was a the BBR GTI catted manifold, mid section and Grand Touring exhaust. Removing the old manifold was the most trickiest operation with rusted in bolts catching on the body work despite angling the engine over on one side as seen in the Turbo installation YouTube video from Flying Miata.

    The purchase of some swan neck ring spanners proved very useful in both the removal and installation phases for managing the manifold bolts.

    I also gave some thought to he absence of heat shields on the BBR manifold and fitted some gold reflective tape to the pipes and cam cover and existing engine bay shield and fabricated a shield for the back of the alternator where there appears to be a black plastic air duct.

    Heat shielding over new exhaust, also suspension adjustment extenders fix the problem of fouling caused by strut brace.
    Heat shielding and suspension adjustment extenders.

    Versatune

    Also while I was at it I opted to remap the ECU by flashing it with a vesatune basic upgrade.

    Impression

    So the weird thing is that the suspension feels a little stiffer but not massively different at urban speeds. The engine note is exactly what I wanted with a little burble and more open bark under acceleration and is not any more intrusive at motorway speeds than OEM.

    I had dialled the suspension up to five clicks from hardest all round and have noticed that under hard acceleration there is now some kick in the straight line direction upon gear change and I think this may be because as yet I have not had the tracking re-set. though it may also be chasis flex, but tracking will be the first step.

    Anyway despite this anomaly it was more or less ready for Silvestone and Thruxton and the seat runners would have to wait for another day…..

  • Heads-up: BC Racing DS Shocks

    Decision made, have ordered some BC Racing DS Coilovers.

    Deep joy.

    TBC

  • New Towing Eye

    New Towing Eye

    I’ve always been concerned that the OEM towing eye was a hazard for pedestrians when I was not on track and also that removing it left access for water and created a rust trap – as with the rear one that I had to replace as it was corroded badly.

    So I decided to replace it with this one from Jass Performance. It screws straight in and looks better than the old one. £38 well spent.

    Im booked in now for Silverstone GP Circuit and Thruxton, so on with prepping the car.

    Dilema

    I’ve managed to break on of my keys when it literally fell apart on me and I’ve no transponder for a replacement.

    The question is whether to risk it or get another key. Apparently I need two working keys to programme a third.

    TBC

  • Nice new windscreen fitted, next the MoT

    So it’s been raining (again) and is therefore the perfect day for Autoglass to come and change the windscreen. I’d noticed a crack in the screen when I was fixing the water leak and it seemed long enough to cause concern about my upcoming MoT so it needed sorting out.

    The process was painless enough, book it in for a date, confirm and find its a different date to the one you wanted so change it and get something more convenient.

    They ping you by text to say they’ll be there sometime on the day you want then nearer the time they give you updates to say they are on their way.

    The lad who fitted it was friendly and got on with it under the really impressive awning/cover mounted on the roof of their van.

    Anyway it’s done, the screen looks beautiful and much cleaner than the old one. The instructions were something like don’t drive it for half an hour, don’t wash it for 24 hours, don’t worry about the rain that’s ok.

    Next up I’m going to book the MoT and then cross my fingers in the hope that I can then get the season underway and get it filthy again.

  • Number Plate Light Upgrade

    Number Plate Light Upgrade

    So there’s the little matter of an MoT test to prepare for. The number plate bulbs have always been an issue for me and the ones in the MX5 have been temperamental since I got it. So I decided to fit LED ones in the hope of adding reliability.

    Again they were bought from MX5 Parts, arrived promptly and were pretty simple to install, with just a simple slide to one side to remove the old units.

    popped the old unit out
    the buld housing connected
    view of old unit from behind
    the old plastic light holder
    old unit and new unit attached you can see difference in brightness
    Here you see the brightness comparison
    New units in place. That rust is playing on my mind
    Job done

    Fitted they worked immediately and without fuss. They seem much brighter than the the bulbs they replace. Time will tell about reliability but so far so good.

    Now that it’s completed I’m happy with the product, but that rust on the boot is a worry.

    I could treat it, but in truth I’m starting to think about,”… simplify and add lightness”, once the MoT is over.

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