Psh, my first track weekend my Z had 900 miles on it. :driving:

I here ya.

This is exciting news, Mike! You know my car is a NASA TTA car so I'll be watching this thread and if okay with you chiming in with my own thoughts on occassion... good that your emphasis will be on tuning/tweaking vs bolt-ons...

There are a few posts in my build journal where I talk about the trade-offs of what fits into the TTA class... might be worth re-reading those as you plan out your points trade-offs

I love the way you laid out the progression as a step by step guide, very cool Mike! Even after being heat cycled, how do the RS-3s hold up in street use? Are they a big improvement over the RE050s?

Nice thread and very well thought out mods. I wish my wife would let me do the same on her car.

I guess it is easier to ask for forgiveness than ask permission......RIGHT???

Keep it up and good luck on the track day. Keep us updated.

V3.0 haha. This car has such an identity crisis.
I like the idea of a racer on the cheap, forces you to be more creative and keeps the ideas more accessible to us weekend warriors. I'll also be keeping an eye on this.

Mike, Have you considered running a Mocal Laminar Water oil cooler? I am just itching to switch to one, but there just isnt much to go on as far as data for these cars. The guys at AM Performance are using a similar water oil cooler from C&R Racing and they said it keeps them at 180-200 deg on the track. Both are very cool units and they don't block the radiator / are much easier to protect from debris and smaller, but relatively expensive ($420 for mocal, $650 for C&R). They do however allow the oil to heat up much quicker on startup, then it remains rock steady. Any input on this from the racers? Travis? I'm wondering if the stock radiator is enough to keep both the coolant and oil cool.

Thanks everyone!

Yeah I plan on getting caught up on your thread to see how in the hell your car fits into that class and still you can run Hoosiers. I am having a hard time planning my build while keeping within the points bracket for TT-A on street tires.

We tried a laminova cooler on the Berk 135i and it was a complete failure. I am sure they work great if you have the proper cooling system to back it up but that just adds to the cost of the whole package.

Back to the project and I have some bad news. Unfortunately I will not be able to go out and test the car at Buttonwillow this weekend after all. :(

The RS-3 tires that are on there right now have 1 track day left in them at best. I was counting on another set of RS-3s but that fell through. Since these are my only set of wheels/tires for the car, and its still my daily driver, I can't risk cording these tires until I have replacements ready to put on.

That's too bad Mike. The Miata folks have been complaining about the RS-3 for months, they are on national back order and no one can get them.

Yeah I am really bummed. Mine were not coming from Hankook, mine were coming second hand (barely used) but they decided to keep them instead. As for the Miata guys, they're probably just out of their sizes. Last I checked they still have a bunch of the sizes I need, I just can't afford a new set right now.




Travis - Clear your PM box, I have questions to ask you.

Thanks, that saves me a whole lot of pain and time.

really important point... i had the car re-classed based upon power to weight as TTA (no stars)... it allowed me to run the car at a much reduced weight... i was not using hoosiers though... that kicked me into TTS... was running 275 square NT01 setup in TTA trim... ask Greg for the same power/weight reclass that I had... I can email it to you also

love all versions of this car.
Definitely looking forward to results of the oil cooler panels. Did you only create plates for the sides? Or did you do the top and bottom also?

I love the track focus and performance dedication of this car.

What do you think about switching to Enkei Rpf-1s rims in 17-inch with 275 tire square set up? They are incredibly light and I am guessing 17' should fit stock brakes. I heard reducing rotational mass makes a huge difference in turns of driving feel. Correct me if I am wrong, but the forgestars are not exactly lightweight rims?
Also, on the subject of reduce weight, what do you think about single catback exhaust? that should cut some weight as well.

17's don't clear the sport brakes, but will clear the base brakes. Enkei's are great wheels though and they do make 18's.