I have a I have a GSL-SE with a T04 TII etc.. Car once tuned will be between 350-400 horses at the wheel. So, this is not an all show, no go car. The car is an HPDE track car with occasional street driving (it is registered as an antique).

I am getting it painted this year and I need some advice before I do that. First, I am not a fan of bad quality paint jobs and I prefer no paint to crap paint. So, that being said, I am budgeting between $2,500 to $3,000 for paint and body work.

I have some aero enhacements that I would like to make prior to paint. As anyone that has driven these cars over 100 miles an hour knows, the front gets light due to the wedge design of the nose. I also want some more down-force on the rear at speed but I still want to look good.

I picked up a Mariah flying whale tail still in the original plastic in the for sale section for cheap. I know it is not as good as a "real wing" but driving around with a wing on the streets would be really rice and I would prefer to shove ice picks into my eyeballs. I'm not totally sold on the wing yet, but I guess if I really do not like it, I can take if off.

Now for the front. The Mariah SCCA/ITS legal airdam is not too expensive and liiks like it would split the air better around my car and direct more air into the intercooler. I kind of like the idea of the entire bumper being replaced such as Mariah's mode four, but the lines and the 80's Supra look of it do not sit too well with me. Mazdatrix sells a very similiar one for about $100 less.

That being said, I am looking for quality and functional pieces. I want my car to look good but I am going for function over form. The Mariah wing I have is very well made and makes me think that their bumper would be equally well made. Does anyone have any experience with either of these? Anything else you recommend?

On a side note, I'm thinking about painting my car the original Mazda black/brown color, and adding some stripes down the middle ala the FD in Pettit's markee http://pettitracing.com/ just with a darker, less aggressive silver. Anyone have any thoughts on that? Too Miataish? I just have never seen an FB with those kind of stripes and I think it would look sharp without being too loud.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Pictures of my car below:

 

Heres links to the airdams you mentioned:

http://www.mariahmotorsports.com/ext...airdam_its.htm

http://www.mazdatrix.com/k79-85a.htm

My favorite would be the kamie for an SA, similiar to the mazdatrix one.

 

Kamei? Um, no one has gotten off their *** and made one, so that is kind of out of the question.

 

I have a flying whatetail on the widebody, very well made as you said. I had a Mode 4 airdam that I sold. That, or the similar MazdaTrix one would be my choice for you. It's advantages are 2 fold. It eliminates the front wedge allowing for more down force and opens up the area for more air to aid cooling. Even though the widebody front is quite different, I found the same principles apply.

 

Which Mazdatrix do you speak of as there are two. Also, I wis thinking of choosing the Mariah for their quality. Nothing worse than a cracked/broken bumper.

 

Factory IMSA if you can find one. Nothing else works for me.
https://www.rx7club.com/members/hyper4mance2k-18059-albums-rxanne-v2-631/

 

The Mariah Mode 4 front air dam replaces the entire front urethane piece. Part # 0106, it's also the more expensive one. From MazdaTrix, I'd go with part # 591033.

 

i'd make your own, simply because the ones you can buy are not wide enough and i dont think would flow air AROUND the car as well if you made your own. One that flared out before the wheel well.. But i'm not sure if hats an option.

Most of the guy that run SCCA in my region with there FB's make there own lower front air dams, specially in IT7. I'll be at Gateway International(SCCA national) on the 28th, i'll try to get some picks if i can remember.
If making one isnt an option i'd go with the mariah.

 

I have a Mariah Mode IV -- and it's been a good piece. It survived a head-on off-track into pea gravel at 30+ MPH. It also has the internal baffling to direct the air into the cooling module. Lastly, you can use the foglight holes to attach brake cooling ducts.

 

Having a real wing on wouldn't be rice. As long as your car is being raced its race, not rice. Check out some of the cars that race at nationals. They'd look plenty obnoxious out on the street as well.

 

the mariah has more look to it, but i believe the mazdatrix has more functionality, but its your choice.

 

Good stuff guys, keep it coming...

Hyper, parts made of unobtainium dont do me much good (unless you are offering to sell me yours ). Beautiful car by the way.

Trochoid, I was not really considering the mode 4 as I'm not that big on the look. I like the fact that it replaces the whole front though and being a couple hundred more is not a big deal and will probably just delay me from buying Rotary-Works throttle body or another useless yet beautiful mod. So, I gues it is an option.

Crispin38, My fab skills are not there and whatever I came up with would look like ****.

Elwood, yes the Maria stuff is top quality, I'm just not sold on the mode 4 styling. Can you post some pictures of your setup? Also, the SCCA bumper has the same holes, so there is no advantage there.

Super, I know the real wing is the real way to go. But the old-school wings look better to me and the car is also a street car (an antique at that) and I'm not trying to draw unecessary attention to it. Plus I'm HPDE, I'm in no way professional...

Kutu", Do you have any evidence that the Mazdatrix is more functional?

Can somone point out the difference between the Maria Racing/SCCA and the Mazdatrix 591033? They look identical to me. Anyone have pictues of bith for a side-by-side comparason?

Also, no one has answered the stripe question. Anyone with opinions or pictures?

 

I guess the mode 4 is starting to grow on me, this one even has my tail on it.





I like the fact that the whole piece can be changed out if it is damaged. Plus, I can remove my original bumper and relace it if I like it better/for street driving.

I believe all of these options still maintain the tow hooks as I obviously need them for the trailer and the track (anything else would not make sense).

 

Jacking my own thread (I'm in Spain so whild you are sleeping I'm doing searches), this color I think would make a nice racing stripe color:



Also, I just noticed that the above image is a Mode 1 widebody.

 

from ones i've seen, (i'm not that familiar with FB wide bodies) this one looks to be the most functional looking kit, and the coolest looking in my opinion.

 

Yeah, unfortunately there is no way to do a widebody for $3k, that is more in the $10k range and not even up for debate at this point.

Just looking for a front bumper to be functional and match my tail. I'm not even sure that I like wide bodies, although the one above is pretty hot and not over stated.

The mode four is identical to the mode one wide body kit on the car in white, except it is more narrow as it does not have to accomodate the wide fenders.

 

I've been looking for years, but still haven't found an airdamn that I could give a damn about. I want something that is HIGHLY functional, but just haven't found one yet. I'll continue to peek over your shoulder on this thread to see if anything pops up that I haven't seen before.

Good luck on your search, and what the hell are you doing in Spain?

P.S. I think you should name your car Nemesis, just because that's what I always called it when I was competing against it.



.

 

Too bad it's not an SA. I have a MINT air dam similar to the Kamei

 

a friend introduced me to this one... http://www.kaminari.com/mazda-rx7-air-dam-frp-1981

 

I like that name "Nemesis" It is now the Nemesis of my bank account.

I'm in Spain because I work for a Spanish company that builds wind turbines (Gamesa), so I travel to Spain on business and sometimes China.

Back on subject: I like the ability to change out the entire nose in case it is too low for the street or it get damaged. Nothing is worse than driving around with damaged fiberglass. That being said, I'm leaning more towards the Mariah mode 4--easily replacable and removeable.

Anyone with comments on stripes or color?

 

I think that one is horrible and is way to second gen MR2 looking to be on an FB. I like the old-school look.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

This is the stripe look I think would look good. Anyone with good photoshop skills do this to an FB with a Mariah-style bumper? Looking for the stripes to be a little more the color I posted above. Comments or suggestions are always welcome.

Gracias!

 

Any other comments before I place this order?

Right now I am debating between:

Mariah Mode 4 air dam and the
Mariah Mode 1 widebody package shown on the white car above as I want more rubber on the road without looking overweight and the mode 1 I think is just the right amount of thickness (like a good thigh on a woman).

Car painted the original black/brown with huricane silver (the gold trailered car above) stripes in a almost ghost like the Miata picture.

 

Now that I'm home and can actually see the pictures, I'm really digging that mode 4. It looks a lot like the airdam I had on my 240z, right down to the rubber strip at the bottom. I wonder if my car would be too low to run that one?

On the stripes, I really like the last pic you poste, nice and subtle. The earlier pics were way too Viperesque.

 

Thanks Kentetsu. As always, it is you helping me out. The white car is the mode 1 widebody though which looks just like the mode 4 just wider. The more I think about it, the more I think I should just go with the mode 1 widebody. Here is my reasoning:
*I am pushing the limits of tirewidth in my current setup, if I decide down the line that I am not getting enough traction, I will need to go wider--but won't be able to.
*The mode 1 replaces the entire fenders and mounts at the factory mounting points. If and when I am involved in any accident, the replacement parts are available (as long as Mariah stays in business)
*Eventually I want to upgrade to the TII breaks which will open up a whole new world of wheels (I have seen some awesome BBS that would be perfect)
* If I go with the mode one, I'm afraid that I will regret it down the road because I need more wheel clearance and end up spending the money twice
* I like that it is wider, without going crazy wide like some of the other kits and you have to almost look closely to see that it is a widebody (as in the white one above)

I spoke with Mariah today and I'm awaiting a shipping quote to know the final prices on both options. According to them, I can mount all of it myself using the factory mounting points, and even start to mold the rear fenders. Then, just take it to a the body shop to get completed and painted. That way I can save money on labor.

As far as stripes, the only ones I posted are the Miata ones above. I did suggest I change them slightly using the Diamond silver color of the stripped car on the trailer (I beleive it is a stock Mazda color). One of the technicians at KDR dors show quality paint jobs and did an FD with ghost stripes that were only visible in the right light. I like that concept, but maybe it is a little too understated. The Miata is just right, just needs a little more bronze instead of gunmetal. I believe that Miata is a photoshop job too as the site I got it from had 20 different colors on the same pic.

 

Well, a widebody is definitely a lot of work, and a whole lot of money. But as long as you've got the cash and the time, I'd say go for it.

Talk to Trochoid and Dan Young first though, so you can get some first hand advice on what needs to be done to do the job right.