MLDoom

iTrader: (5)

Awesome build. Love the photos and the details.

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

Thanks!

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

Thompson's 1.7mile road course - not a bad addition for the east coast!
Best part: 37 minutes from the garage!

Thompson Speedway Road Course

Registration opens in four days - who's coming with me?! COMSCC Registration

Farkel

iTrader: (19)

The motorsport scene out there seems quite fun.

Looking forward to forward to seeing all your JDM goodies come together on your car Rick

ArmenMAxx

iTrader: (21)

Great build, love the direction your car is going. Its exactly what I would do.


Do you know if that undertray will fit with 99spec bumpers? If so I really want one!

Zepticon

iTrader: (1)

Great build! Love the carbon

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

Hey Eric - I hope all's going well with you and the GrandMighty RX-7 and 7tuned!

The motorsport scene out here has been good and getting much better with all these local tracks popping up! It kept on strong while I took a four year hiatus from official seat time, now all I've gotta do is get back into it! Tony and I are registered for Thompson, so I'll have some overdue track fun end of July, with hopefully four in total by years end.

As for the JDM goodies, I'm still waiting on a few freight shipments, but I'm getting excited for it all to come together. I have a vivid image of the final product in my mind: the transformation is definitely going to be drastic, but it's how I always envisioned my car. That's what I get for idolizing Tsukuba, Fuji, and togue monsters, I guess?


Thank you very much for the compliment!

I don't believe the TCP Magic undertray will work with a 99 spec bumper, at least not without hacking it up a bit. Ray at Malloy should be able to get you an authentic 99 spec undertray. Shine also makes a good flat undertray that I used on my 93 spec bumper that could work with your '99 spec.

You can see my old undertray to the left of the Koyo box below. I have some pictures of it mounted somewhere - I'll throw them up within a few days

This was the look for a little while to hold the undertray up after I took a chunk out of it on Monticello's curbing



Thank you sir! The sixth element's dangerously addictive!



I took the RX-7 out for a road trip up to New Hampshire this past weekend with Tony, Tommy, and the NA1 to drop off Tony's replacement wheel.


You know, after ten years with the OEM wheels, you think I'd be used to the look. Nope! I can't wait for the new set to come in (and I kind of miss my CCWs)



TC105N riding shotgun


Now that's service! I guess it could have fit in the NSX trunk, I just wanted an excuse to get the FD out of the garage. Anyone spy the CraftSquares in the background? That was the first set I saw in person; visibility was pretty good, I just might need some Loctite to get them to hold solidly (just a little play). I'll also use some plastidip to coat the aluminum base.



Tony's AP2's just about all wrapped up for Thompson


Tommy's NA1 sitting pretty on a new set of KWs. Sounds great with a new exhaust set up as well. With new tires on the way, he should be out on track soon (right Tommy?!)



Dirty girl is dirty - this pollen is killing me!



We got back to Tony and Tommy's and had some more fun - 24 Hours of Le Mans streaming in the background, live timing in the foreground, and a hard fought Grand Turismo Tsukuba time attack battle in a 2001 RX-7 Bathurst (Tony won with a 1:03.557 for those keeping track at home, but Tommy and Nguyen put up a hell of a fight). I didn't get to my mother-in-laws until five in the morning, but lost sleep well worth it!



Awesome set up - well done boys!



Cheers!

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

*that's Gran Turismo; Grand Turismo's Clint Eastwood's next racing movie

JerryD680

Great thread!

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

Thank you!



I've been putting it off for years, and have been getting by with help from friends at past events (thanks Pete and Paddy!), but it was about time I got my own gear. I ordered up some nomex just in time for Thompson. No pork chop sandwiches!

It won't make me any faster out on track, but it will make me feel a hell of a lot safer! Now I'll have to get a lot more seat time to get my money's worth - not a bad task to uphold! Don't be surprised if you see me at F1 Boston rockin' my FIA get up like a gumba in the off season



Sprint RS-2 suit



Top+ SH-5 shoes



Flash 3 gloves



Pro Tech RW-7 hood


Puma socks (off brand?!)



I know, I know - I still need a HANS device! It's on the list


I asked my wife to take a picture of me with my gear on and she decided to take it outside and made a mini session out of it. That's what you get when you're married to a professional photographer, I guess. Thanks hun!

(that's my Blue Steel by the way - it's a work in progress)


Disturbing the neighbors (or just testing the suit fitment sitting down in the flat six - the helmet wasn't necessary, but my wife got a kick out of it )




Cheers!

Funkspectrum

iTrader: (5)

Awesome thread, man!

Any more pics of that Cayman?

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

Thanks Nader! I wish there was "more build" than "photoblog" in here, but I'm glad you're enjoying it

Here you go! I love the Cayman, but for the money, I don't think it would be my next sportscar



Not sure if it's entirely necessary, but I may look into this approach as an option for mounting my polycarbonate rear window




Cheers!

Len-Len

iTrader: (9)

I'm jelly of all the sparco stuff!

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

super cool picture in the car with the helmet on...

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

I've always been a sucker for Sparco! I didn't get a bad deal on it all - give Evasive a call


thanks

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

I got a call last week from Hugh at Evasive with some great news - turns out my carbon fiber pentagonal JDM **** pieces were manufactured a month ahead of schedule!

I had a hard time finding pictures of the actual Craft Square carbon touring competition mirrors for an FD, so please excuse / enjoy the overload for future purchaser's reference


I am planning on plastdipping the bases with my buddy Joe next week. I should have pics of them installed soon - just trying to get more essential things squared away before Thompson



Hugh also gave me an update on my Voltex wing - it should be going into production next week, shipped to California by end of month, and on its way to me early August. I have been the most excited about the wing out of all of my aero purchases so far for some reason; it could just be because it is one of the last outstanding aero items... whatever the reason, I can't wait!

Although it isn't the main wing component, the team at Evasive dropped in some good ancillary aero with the mirror shipment - Juran Gurney Flap



Here's a good writeup from Motorsport Magazine for reference on Dan Gurney's flap

[quote]Picture the trailing edge of the wing cross-section, with the Gurney pointing upwards and the airflow moving from left to right (above). At the trailing edge, the airflow immediately beneath the wing rolls into a small anti-clockwise vortex behind the Gurney. Immediately above this, a second small vortex, rotating in the opposite direction, is formed by the airflow traveling above the wing as it passes over the gurney's lip. together these two vortices form a small separation bubble - a rotating mass of air removed from the main flow - which is somewhat taller overall than the gurney itself.

In clearing this separation bubble, the airflow's vertical deflection is increased and hence downforce increases. Additionally, separation of airflow from the wing's lower surface is postponed, allowing a higher angle of attack to be used before stall, which further enhances the wing's effectiveness.




ArmenMAxx - I haven't forgotten about the undertray picture that I owe you; I just haven't hopped on my ancient laptop to track it down yet.


I'll be putting up a long overdue post that I've been anxious to write for almost half a year early next week. Stay tuned - I can't wait!


Have a safe and happy fourth of July!


Cheers!

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

...




Thank you so much Mark for working with me and Mackin to get these out as soon as possible - I sincerely appreciate the effort!

ArmenMAxx

iTrader: (21)

Appreciate it man, i almost forgot about it also. Lookin forward to seeing it.

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

Here ya go - sorry for the delay


Not sure if Shine still makes the flat undertray, but this should work perfectly for your set up('99 spec undertray).

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

What a weekend! With Thompson right around the corner, and having quite a to do list with limited free weekends between now and then, I spent about 20 of 24 hours in my garage with a few games of pool in the middle.

I'm still a little groggy and worse for the wear, but the RX-7 is just about ready. I can't wait to have my own garage so I don't have to pull these marathon sessions.

Most of the things on my list weren't necessary for Thompson, but are now crossed off regardless

• Touch up paint on the passenger door
• Passenger armrest carbon fiber overlay removal
• Wire tuck on the interior passenger side
• Driver seat positioning, harness adjusted
• Passenger harness adjusted
• Hood pin height adjustment
• Front strut tower bar reinstalled (I messed around with the Cusco and R1 bars, went back to Cusco)
• Roll bar hardware torqued down (50 ft/lbs for reference)
• Ride height raised all around
• TE37s delivered to the garage and test fitted

My brother Hunter gave me a hand getting a majority of the list squared away. Thanks bud!






The TEIN Super Street coilovers are relatively easy, albeit time consuming, to adjust ride height: measure initial ride height, raise car, remove wheel, loosen lower perch, rotate top perch clockwise to lower / counter-clockwise to raise, lock lower and upper perch together, put wheel back on, lower, measure, rinse, and repeat.
For reference, one rotation with these coilovers is about 1/8".

It wasn't exactly rocket surgery - a point of reference on each fender measured with a yardstick with a leveler to the center of the wheel


Point of reference on the perch to track revolutions (blacked out perch tooth, Maureen Ponderosa)


Hold the suspension wrench in place and rotate

25.0" rear


25.0" front



Cusco bar back on

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

18x10.5 +22


18x9.5 +22


I couldn't quite figure out Heidi's macro lens in the garage


Test fit results were questionable. Jarred has an Eastwood roller and fender finisher; I may have to massage the fenders a bit more.

I've got an appointment with FO in a couple weeks to have the wheels mounted and balanced, then a full alignment and corner balance. We'll see how that goes before I jump into surgery.


I gave Jarred a hand with his roll bar install somewhere along the way. Also got to check out his new E30 project and drive his new B7 S4 - you have some of the best toys! Thanks for your help with the suspension wrenches.



In hindsight the day feels like a blur (don't worry Jarred - your roll bar's in there safely). I have a few more weekends between now and the track day to finish everything up, but I think I took out the big ticket items.


Cheers!

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

So this might have happened at some point over the weekend (all kind of a blur again)...


I'm running on fumes tonight- I'll post up the full details tomorrow

silver_7

You tease. Cant wait to see the full pics...hahaha.

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

You got it!


With preparation time running out before Thompson, I took this past Friday off and headed up to the garage Thursday night.

First task at hand: Widefoot Pedal Adapter. I had been interested in one for a while, and just never got around to it. I finally ordered up one of David's larger adapters a few weeks ago. I haven't had much seat time with it yet, but I can tell my downshifts with heel/toe blips are getting easier and smoother. Should be most beneficial on track! Thanks for your help David! Can't wait to head up to NH to check out the shop - I'll get my shopping list ready. Pretty straight forward install, but I took pics along the way for reference if anyone needs them




I did a few things here and there throughout the night, then packed up the FD and set aside a few things for the next morning.



Brian came by early Friday morning and we loaded his Subie up to head down to FOM to get the wheels mounted and balanced, get an alignment and corner balance, and square away some minor things. I am quite impressed with how we were able to squeeze everything into his hatch - I really thought we were going to have to take the 3.6R.



Dead Spec Miatas - we definitely ended up in the right spot. We met Seamus, Rob, and Evan bright and early, talked cars for a bit, then got to work.


Seamus doing work with the wheels. Mounted up perfectly - not a scratch or blemish anywhere. Well done sir!



Just about ready for an alignment



Juuuuust kidding! The last stud that needed to be torqued snapped (which was previously replaced), so that set us back a little bit. I'm definitely glad it failed in the shop and not on track.



Good time to grab a coffee

ZumSpeedRX-7

iTrader: (12)

Game on!


...not quite. Can anyone spot what's wrong with the above picture? I knew they were going to be an aggressive fitment, but I didn't think it would be that far off. Contrary to personal and popular belief, it turns out an 18x9.5+22 and 18x10.5 +22 set of wheels will not tuck in stock fenders with a moderate roll.

Rob: "Yea, you're not going to be able to run Thompson with these wheels unless you want to potentially rip your fenders off and ruin your wheels and tires."
Me: "Are we off that much - full suspension adjustments and all?"
Rob: "Yea, this is quite an aggressive fitment. Sorry, you're going to have to run with your OEMs until you rework the fenders."
Me: "Hmmmm, can't argue with that. I just so happen to have a set of wider fenders at the garage..."



Seamus said he had some bodywork experience so we scheduled time to meet up later to iron the fitment issues out. Although it wasn't ideal with the fenders being in their raw, unpainted/unclearcoated state, it did mean I would be able to have a lot more traction for Thompson. Decision made - they're going on the car as is!

Seamus was able to cleanly fit the front fenders and rolled/pulled the rear fenders. The kid's an artist!

I wasn't initially keen on the blue on black on red, but I'm really liking how they look



A little bit more camber than I wanted - we'll see how it handles on track



The wheels already have a dark bronze hue to them from the brake dust. I'll be nipping that in the bud this Saturday with a thorough cleaning and wheel armor. I'll have a walk through of this for anyone else interested in preserving their wheels.



I was planning on painting the top part of the fender black and leaving the bottom clear coated, but the boy racer with the GSR from 14 years ago inside of me says just clear coat them and save some weight (who am I kidding - I'm still that boy racer). The carbon fiber weaves of the hood matches the fenders pretty damn well - I mean not Horacio Pagani well - but pretty good! I think it will all flow much better once I have the carbon fiber canards, end plates, front diffuser, and rear hatch on. What do you guys think?

It took me 11 years, but I believe I finally have my perfect wheel - better late than never!