D Prepared Miata Build

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These are 6" backspace which I pretty much knew would be a bit too tight, but spacers are cheap. It's a lot easier to go out than it is to bring them further in haha. Anyway, it looks like I'll need about 1/2" of spacer on each side, narrowing the car a total of an inch, and dropping about 20 lbs in the process. I'll be keeping the Bassetts for eventual hill climb / TT work :)
 
JamesCH said:
Those wheels are absolutely awesome. <3
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Yep. They've got a hair too much backspace however (which I knew going into it), because you can either order 5" or 6"... and it's a lot easier to get a deeper backspace then use spacers (which is the plan).

I THINK I can get away with running only 1/4" of spacer and clearancing the end of the rear upper control arm (ie: non structural), and the square nubs that stick out of the front tie rod ends.

I think. We'll see. If not it'll definitely work with 1/2", but I'd rather run the car more narrow than less if I can get away with it.
 
Here's the clearancing that needs to be done to run with a 1/4" spacer. I could run 1/2" without doing this, but narrower = more better in autocross :)

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Fronts to come probably later today.
 
Why more narrow? Wider will cut down on that pesky weight transfer. Is it just that much easier to fit through the gates?
 
New vs Old because I'm a photo ***** today.

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So the car will be, on the whole, 1.5" narrower on the Real Racing wheels vs the Bassetts. The Bassetts will be sticking around, however, for TT / Hill Climb use, as they'll be able to take a bit more abuse than the Reals (steel vs aluminum), probably still running Avons.
 
stevemhudson said:
Will you need longer wheel studs with a 1/2" spacer?
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I believe I can get away with 1/4". But even at 1/2", still have tons of thread engagement. I've got some pretty long wheel studs (...ladies.)

I forget what studs they are exactly, I got them back in my STS days. IIRC a company that I'm having trouble tracking down now called "Advanced Race Technology" sold them (there's a Different A.R.T. out of FL that seems to have taken over the domain name). These would likely be fine with ARP studs as well.
 
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Here's a little story about truth in advertising: Basset Race Wheels advertise their 13x10 Ministock as being 16 lbs. Their actual weight? Uh... more than 16 lb. 25% more than 16 lbs.

Try 20.5 lbs.
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I knew they felt heavier than I thought they should, but this ain't close. Fortunately the Reals are actually 11.7 lbs. Compare the weight of the Real wheels with the tires mounted, to the Bassetts by themselves.

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So what do these self-indulgent numbers actually mean?

The obvious is 36 lb (9 lb per wheel) of unsprung mass lost. So, that's big, but not super seat-of-the-pants noticeable. It's good, I'll take it.
BUT: as a bonus, between the weight lost on the clutch and flywheel (17 lbs), and the new wheels (18 lbs on the rear axle), I've lost 35 lbs of rotating mass off of the driveline. So, that'll make a difference.
 
Especially that clutch/flywheel weight, it's spinning way faster than the wheels. Your power is still used to rotate the front wheels, I'd count their weight in there too!

53lbs total is huge, great job.
 
I just took the car out on my street for a quick spin on the new wheels to check clearance at ride height & make sure nothing was rubbing (as the clutch break in was on the 15s). Nothing is except at extreme full lock up front. We'll see how that holds up on an autocross course. I'm bringing an extra set of spacers this weekend just in case we run into issues.


Holy crap does it scoot. Like... wow. It has significantly woken up the car. I can't want to run this at our 2 events this weekend :D
 
We never go beyond one turn of the steering wheel on course. With a stock Miata power steering rack. You just have to remember to not go full lock moving around paddock, etc.
 
stevemhudson said:
We never go beyond one turn of the steering wheel on course. With a stock Miata power steering rack. You just have to remember to not go full lock moving around paddock, etc.
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Bingo, same goes even with my oldschool manual rack (I have a power rack I need to de-power and convert, but alas, time). My co-driver caught the dreaded grind a couple of times in paddock, but once I reminded him what was going on we didn't have any issues. The car feels great, can't wait for Lincoln :)
 
Took some time today to make a couple of small tweaks that ended up paying off big time. We found a much happier tire pressure, and made a 1/4 turn adjustment to the shocks that made the car a world of difference. We also made a few changes too far in the "right" direction that taught us some things we'll likely need to use on the high grip of Lincoln (ie: how to loosen or tighten the car at will with small changes).

The clutch is awesome, despite a couple of stalls. It has woken up the car significantly, in terms of building up a head of steam. And despite those stalls, it's actually not terribly difficult to modulate when you remember that you're dealing with a clutch with a very short throw compared to most. Between that and dropping nearly 10lb at each corner, the car just seems a whole lot happier.

Video from today:

 
All packed up and ready to head out to the big show in Lincoln, NE. SCCA Solo National Championships bound :D

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