Prepping The Miata For Battle

[Loren]

You're only dampening your shocks when they are wet. What you are adjusting is damping.

[SlowMiataDrew]

You're only dampening your shocks when they are wet. What you are adjusting is damping.

Haha yea I see the error in my statement

[SlowMiataDrew]

Well Ken and I decided to mess around with my alignment today. We started on the rear and dialed in the camber to about -2.5 degrees. We moved on to the toe afterwards. Measured it and it was at about 1/2in toe out, no bueno. Managed to get it to 1/8in toe in until we realized we did the camber wrong. Turns out we had about -5.5 or more degrees in the rear so we had to do everything over again. Managed to squeeze out about -3 degrees and 3/16in toe in. Might have gotten a better toe but we got tired of messing with it. Measured the front and we also had about -3 degrees and about 1/8in toe out. Gonna mess with it some more after Saturday.

[SlowMiataDrew]

The car felt absolutely great at the event last weekend! I can see now why everyone was telling me to upgrade my suspension. The car is so planted now. Philip, why haven't you done this yet? One thing I have been meaning to do is the brakes. Ryan Sauer was kind enough to give me his old 1.6 brake setup which included a master brace, rotors, and a bunch of performance pads. Some are track pads which will not see the car in the foreseeable future, but there are a set of "gently used" Hawk HP Plus pads. So I think I'll throw on the Hawk pads for now and figure out what I want to do when these are worn out. I don't really care that much about the pads atm since they were free and I haven't changed the brakes in over 3 years.

I also ordered pretty much all of the rest of the gaskets I will need for the motor so once those come in, I'll start turning bolts on the motor Loren and I also got the chance to look over my MS3 and tidy up some of my solder joints. I still have to do a little cleaning up and verify I have everything wired correctly for the sequential injection and it will be ready to go in the car. I think my goal for that is going to be have the car running on the MS3 by October.... I definitely think it's doable, I just have to find time to dedicate to sitting down and doing it.

[SlowMiataDrew]

Had some free time yesterday so I got the "new" pads installed. I definitely think they have some more bite over the pads I had on there before. I'm curious to see how they'll do at the next event. Hopefully they don't kick out as much dust, I already don't wash my car enough as it is.

On a side note, I'm 1 month away from my deadline goal! So much to do and so little time. These next 4 weeks or so will be very busy, but I am so excited!

[Native]

Rock on.

[SlowMiataDrew]

So Loren and I got the car almost started on the MS last night before FAST Monday but we kinda ran out of time before we could figure out there was no vacuum hose connected to the ECU Anyways, I'll be trying to fiddle with it some more tonight and hopefully get the car to start. Time is ticking, and fast!

On a side note, I am very close to ordering a new clutch to go with the new flywheel. My current 1.6 clutch is a little tired and I can tell on launches at events. Either way, it wouldn't last long under the gains I would get from the turbo, let alone the VVT motor itself. So, question. What clutch should I go with? My goals for this motor are just below the limits of the stock rods, which is approximately 250 ft/lbs of torque at the wheels. Ideally I'd like to be a little lower than that, maybe around the 230 range, just for peace of mind.

I have my eyes set on a few options:

ACT ZM1-HDG6 - Sprung 6 puck clutch with a heavy duty pressure plate rated at 250 ft/lbs. Best price I can find is $341.

Supermiata - Organic sprung full face clutch rated at 220ft/lbs. $343

Supermiata - Ceramic/Metallic sprung 6 puck rated at 270ft/lbs. $353

Both Supermiata clutches boast a 35lbf pressure plate. OEM is rated at 20lbf. Would a sprung 6 puck on a daily driver be all that terrible? It would give a little head room for future upgrades if I got ambitious.

Thoughts?

[aw614]

How about that twin disk clutch aaron was selling on the facebook group

You were the one who bought the fender roller off Steve Graham with a matte black turbo miata? I think he bought an ACT clutch off ebay with a 12lb flywheel and it felt just right when I got to drive his car. Not sure how long it would last for daily driving since its only a toy car for him. I don't recall the model, though but you can probably ask him. My guess it was a stock replacement b/c he bought a cheaper clutch disc I believe.

[Loren]

You'll be happier with a standard organic clutch disk. ACT stage 1 used to be a popular option.

[SlowMiataDrew]

ACT has a full face stage 1kit but it's only good for 200 ft/lbs. With this definitely being a "do it once" mod I'll probably go with the full face SM. Mainly curious to see what people's thoughts and opinions were on the 6 pucks. Ryan has the SM full face in his miata and besides the throttle response being different, it feels more or less like stock.

[Loren]

Any puck clutch will have more capacity, but also be more "on/off". If you do go with a puck clutch, I'd still try to stay with an organic material that's not going to eat your flywheel or wear too quickly. Or Kevlar.

Resist any urge you may have to get a clutch disk with an unsprung hub. I did that once. And, while the lightness and sharp engagement was kinda cool in a lot of ways... it really was difficult to drive. I think I still have that one on the shelf. You never realize just how much those springs on your clutch disk do until you eliminate them!

[twistedwankel]

I put an Exedy stage 1 in my 238HP RX8 and stalled it 3 times before I left the parking lot first time. Sharp contact point but acceptable effort. Organic and took 500 miles to wear it in normal driving. Did you buy a 1.8L flywheel so you can use the stronger clutch? I read somewhere that most + clutches are stronger than your transmission.

[SlowMiataDrew]

I got the 1.6 flywheel. I wanted the lightest one possible and the fidanza was the lightest around with the best price!

[twistedwankel]

I ran an overboosted Misterbitchi (300HP) with a stock clutch for 10 years. Launched at 3k max since at 4k clutch would slip/hot and ruin my runs shifting into 2nd. My friend with a Centerforce clutch drag car 400HP carried spare 1/2 shafts with him. I never had to replace a 1/2 shaft. Better to have a clutch slip than snap a shaft. My 2 cents.

[lddavis91]

On a side note, I am very close to ordering a new clutch to go with the new flywheel. My current 1.6 clutch is a little tired and I can tell on launches at events. Either way, it wouldn't last long under the gains I would get from the turbo, let alone the VVT motor itself. So, question. What clutch should I go with? My goals for this motor are just below the limits of the stock rods, which is approximately 250 ft/lbs of torque at the wheels. Ideally I'd like to be a little lower than that, maybe around the 230 range, just for peace of mind.

I have my eyes set on a few options:

ACT ZM1-HDG6 - Sprung 6 puck clutch with a heavy duty pressure plate rated at 250 ft/lbs. Best price I can find is $341.

Supermiata - Organic sprung full face clutch rated at 220ft/lbs. $343

Supermiata - Ceramic/Metallic sprung 6 puck rated at 270ft/lbs. $353

Both Supermiata clutches boast a 35lbf pressure plate. OEM is rated at 20lbf. Would a sprung 6 puck on a daily driver be all that terrible? It would give a little head room for future upgrades if I got ambitious.

Thoughts?

I would NOT recommend going with a puck clutch in a DD and with your power goals there is definitely no need for one unless you are a masochist. My 14 psi supercharged Miata was making about 220 ft-lbs at the crank and I ran one of these: https://www.specclutches.com/693750/ Beyond being a bit "chattery" at low speeds, it worked pretty excellently and I daily drove and autocrossed it for years. I liked it enough that I put the same thing in my C4, though I didn't like it in the C4 as much, it did still work okay for years before it started slipping.

[CaptainSquirts]

My evo had an act 6 puck for 65k miles before it was replaced. I didn't know it was a 6 puck..... Has a full face organic disc now and def is a little easier for DD but the 6 puck wasnt that bad by any means.

[SlowMiataDrew]

My 14 psi supercharged Miata was making about 220 ft-lbs at the crank and I ran one of these: https://www.specclutches.com/693750/ Beyond being a bit "chattery" at low speeds, it worked pretty excellently and I daily drove and autocrossed it for years. I liked it enough that I put the same thing in my C4, though I didn't like it in the C4 as much, it did still work okay for years before it started slipping.

Wow, didn't know a miata clutch would fit in a C4 Corvette

[AScoda]

FM happy meal stage 2 here. It really clutches and stuff.
Check with Dave Williams about which ACT clutch he put in his NB. Don't buy that one.
Drove it once

https://youtu.be/HZHwxIL9oYo

[Native]

Spec stage 2 (or 2+ as Les mentioned).
I've got the stage 1, all's good. Drives easily, has held up to autocross use no problem.

[lddavis91]

My evo had an act 6 puck for 65k miles before it was replaced. I didn't know it was a 6 puck..... Has a full face organic disc now and def is a little easier for DD but the 6 puck wasnt that bad by any means.

Yeah, but you're weird.