Awesome build. Love the photos and the details.

Thanks! :icon_tup:

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

The motorsport scene out there seems quite fun.

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

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!

Great build! Love the carbon :D

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!

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

Great thread!

Thank you! :icon_tup:



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!

Awesome thread, man!

Any more pics of that Cayman?

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

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!

I'm jelly of all the sparco stuff!

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

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


thanks :icon_tup:

I got a call last week from Hugh at Evasive with some great news - turns out my carbon fiber pentagonal JDM pRon 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!

...




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

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

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).

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

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!

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

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

You got it! :icon_tup:


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

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..."
:D


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!

Woke up super early Sunday to head up to Ayer to support Tommy and Nguyen for an SCCA autocross event.


The FD hasn't seen this pavement in quite a while!



Great company for a hot day at Devens - (L to R) John, Erica, Tommy, Nguyen, and Alex


Nguyen's S2000 sitting pretty in the staging lane with a new J's Racing bumper, canards, front diffuser, and 57xtreme's

That was a lot of fun - great job gentlemen! You guys are getting really good behind the wheel - great inputs, braking and turn in points, and car control (especially staying on top of that MR Tommy - I thought it would be a handful, but you made it look easy)! You guys will only get better with more seat time - keep up the great work! Tony and I will have you guys out on a road course in no time :D


So that about wrapped up this past weekend (with rock climbing with my brother-in-law/future brother-in-law, crashing my sisters bridal shower, and a great friends and family smore-B-Q Saturday night). Another great weekend for the record books!


Many thanks to Brian for your help getting my wheels and tires down to Bellingham (Heidi really appreciates it too!), I hope you had fun; thanks Rob for your help setting up the suspension and for your pointers, feels good so far; very nice to meet you Evan, I look forward to seeing your EP3 and making it out to a SoHonda Garage meet; and many many thanks to Seamus for your help with the wheels/tires, fenders, and fitment, you definitely saved the day for me!



Cheers!

It seems as if our cars are basically twins.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.n...95261511_n.jpg

Just about - lookin' good!

I'd say give it a couple months and we'll be more like fraternal twins than identical :icon_tup:

:lol:

Fraternal sounds about right!

so what alignment specs did you use?

:bigthumb:


The set up I had in mind:
Where we ended:
Rob sets up all of FOs Spec Miatas, so I'm sure he knows his way around setting up an FR car for track use. The wheels put us in a bit of a corner with trying to get to what I had initially intended, but it has felt pretty solid so far. Best part: no rubbing!

I'll have more feedback after this weekend. I would have love to have gotten a probe-style pyrometer before Thompson to see how that cambers working my tire temps, but I've got some work to do with my driving before I start tweaking the suspension trackside to balance out the car. Maybe for my next event.


Cheers!

is there any reason you all decided to go with that setup? that's generally considered too much camber and not enough caster. the inside of your tires will probably be too hot and you won't utilize the outside of the tire at all. i run about 2.0* front and 1.5* rear and (but about 6* of caster) and it feels great, and it may be slightly too much camber if anything.
i think any more would be substantially more "twitchy," which no one wants in a 350whp FD.

you and i appear to have about the same power.

also, while FR, spec miatas are quite different from 350whp FDs.

Love the TE37s! Wish they came in wide sizes with a bit more friendly offsets.

We had initially set it up to where I wanted it, but the wheels were not going to fit with -1.2* camber all around. What we ended up with is as conservative as we could get to fit the wheels and tires. Not an ideal situation, we'll see how it feels this Sunday.


That makes two of us! The TE37 comes in a 18x9.5 +35 or +40 offset, and the TE37SL comes in a 18x9.5 +35/+40, 18x10 +40, and 18x11 +35 offset. How wide were you thinking?



Special thanks to my beautiful wife for designing my number plates and picking them up from the print shop today <3




Cheers!

Sub'd.

I can't wait to see this with the aero on up front and the fenders painted.

Your friends' S2000 (both Voltex and J's Racing kitted) are super cool too!

Thanks - I'm really looking forward to it all coming together too

I know my friends appreciate the compliment - they do have some beautiful cars :icon_tup:



We had a great weekend at Thompson - the support friends and family were second to none as always, car ran strong, had a great rapport with my instructor, suspension dynamics felt awesome, "kept the rubber side down", shaved 9.44 seconds off my laptime goal, and I'm signed for solo!


Off to work (life's going to slow down right quick :( but it will afford me more of these great weekends :)) - more to come shortly



Cheers!

Good to know. Guess I never seriously looked into them before, as most fitments Ive seen were in a +22 or +18. Mind letting me know where you ordered yours from?

I ordered them from RS. Looks like you'll need to have them shipped, so Evasive Motorsports also wouldn't be a bad option for you

Last minute prep work before running Thompson with COM had me in the garage for most of Saturday with minor things here and there.

The main thing I wanted to tackle was protecting my latest investment (trust me, I already know: there is zero monetary ROI on all of these purchases, I use the term investment loosely here) with wheel armour. I spent all that money and waited all that long for them to come in, the least I could do is put in some elbow grease up front and keep them looking good as long as they're under my fenders! Having a long love affair with black wheels has come with the the cost of the finishes needing above average maintenance, upkeep, and care. Having a set of HP+ brake pads (which are well on their way out after this past track day - more on that to come shortly) that leave quite a trademark dust trail hasn't made it easier.

I tripped over a really helpful video when I was researching my next set of wheels that I knew would be beneficial once I found that set

Check it out and take care of those wheels!


That dusty bronze overlay is from less than 75 miles of light highway driving - why do I love black wheels so much?!




My cliffnotes:

Step 1: fill up a wash bucket with soap and water, fill up a rinse bucket with water and a grit guard to prevent damage, hose down the front and back of the wheels



Step 2: spray the wheels, front and back, with a low acidity wheel cleaner. I've had great results with Sonax. Rotate the wheel every minute or so to make sure the cleaner gets to all of the wheel. Note that the green will turn purple as it eats the grime and brake dust. Wash the wheel cleaner off after about five minutes



Step 3: scrub the wheels all fronts first then backs with a soft wash mitt, dropping the mitt in the rinse bucket, running along the grit guard, then back in the wash bucket to repeat.



Step 4: rinse the soap off



Step 5: dry the wheels off with a clean microfiber towel. Looks good, but not done yet!



Step 6: apply Gtechniq's Panel Wipe to the wheels to get all the remaining contaminants off. Spray on a clean microfiber cloth and wipe down the front and back of the wheels. I wore clean rubber gloves in step 6, 7, and 8 to prevent getting any fingerprints on the wheels



Step 7: apply Gtechniq's Wheel Armour using the applicator pads provided. Apply it to the front and back of the wheels, and wipe away with a clean microfiber towel


Step 8: set the wheels in a shaded, non-dusty area to cure for at least three hours



It's a pretty straightforward, albeit time consuming, process, but well worth the effort. Let me know if you have any questions along the way!

need less info about OCD cleaning of expensive wheels, more info about driving on the race track.

^ Agreed, let's see the damn thing on track already!

also more info about why you used street brake pads at a track day with a powerful FD with sticky tires.

I am all about the OCD - there's a lot more where that came from!



My wife brought out the big guns for the event (5D with a 70-200 f2.8), but she's in the middle of her busy season (wedding photographer), so the full edits are on the back burner. I'll have them all up with a few videos eventually.

Will this suffice for now? A badass picture my friend Jared snapped coming out of T8



I agree that I could use a bit more pad on a bigger track, but my brake set up was more than good enough for Thompson (135mph on the front straight into T1, hard braking between brake points 5 and 4 with no fade throughout the day)



Cheers!

fd looks very nice in that pic. CF fenders, lip spoiler, and the volks really come together and make it look pissed.

oh, and everyone loves a little exhaust fire! :)

post more pics and video!

I'm going to buck the trend and say bring on the OCD posts, like the wheel detailing one above. To be honest, posts like that are some of my favorites.

your car is great and all..... but I must say I have never seen a more cost effective use of pvc pipe. Cool playstation rig!

Thanks


I'll keep the granularity and OCD coming!


Thanks. I can't take credit for the sim-racer set up - that's all Tony and Tommy. I'll see if I can find a write up for reference. I would love to build myself one eventually.




My beautiful wife Heidi edited the Thompson track pictures last night - thank you sweetheart! She'll have a blog post on her professional page shortly.

I wasn't sure what to make of the layout from videos and pictures before hitting the track, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. Worth the trip for any track rat! Brian and I arrived with ample enough time to walk the track with a gentleman who had run the course five times prior - time well invested! I had taken some pictures (surprise!) of my walkthrough to share things you wouldn't notice from videos (bumps, camber, track degradation, potential pooling areas), but have misplaced my point and shoot for the time being. They'll be up soon.

Entering what is becoming the most dangerous section of the course - turns 9 through 11b. This was my favorite section - a smooth run here rewarded you with great speed on the front straight into turn 1. I had made it a point to track my speed here before cresting 11b every lap as a gauge for how well I ran it and to start thinking about what I'll need for a braking point approaching 1.



My friend Pete hot on my trail



Time for an education! Pete, who is an instructor with many years of experience, passed me and slowed down to my pace so I can see a proper FR line


It took me a little while to realize his bravery and skill were mixed with R-comps (note - for those that don't know, an R-comp tire can make a world of difference compared to a street tire, even one as sticky as mine. I ran a set of V710s for a full autocross season in 2006 - the FD felt like a whole other monster! I've got a lot of work behind the wheel to get in before I get another set).

I backed off his pace once I realized I couldn't place my car where he was. I did, however, set my fastest lap behind him - thanks for the tow bud!




Scott and I bringing her in safely

Tony and I were in different run groups, so I didn't get to see him out on track or in the pits much for most of the day. It looked like he had a great day, though, clocking a 1:27


Bringing it home safely - job well done sir!



Pete and Paddy's S2000 - you'll be seeing a lot more of them this fall! I took off some time in October to head down to VIR with them for trackside support while they run SCCA's Charge Of the Headlight Brigade 13 hour enduro. Anyone else planning on going?




The gang's all here (not all pictured though)! We have figured out a hell of a set up for autocrosses and track days. It was a little hectic with two cars and Tony and I in different run groups, but everything ran smoothly. You guys were on top of everything!


Much thanks to my wife for your patience and support while I spent countless hours in the garage, Brian for your help getting my wheels and suspension squared away and getting me set up at the track, Hunter for your help giving me a hand out in the garage, Jarred for lending me your gear (and for giving me the EDFC! That will make my track life a little bit easier), Mark for your continued garage support, Tony and Tommy for your help and motivation in getting my car ready (can't wait for our next event!), my mom and mother-in-law for coming out and showing your support (I hope it made you feel a little bit better with what I do for fun), Nguyen, Alex for what I know will be great footage, John, Andrew, Mrs. Le, Emily and everyone else for their trackside support! Although I had a lot of fun out on track, your trackside support was definitely the best part of the day!


Cheers!

Here's my wife's blog post from the trackday: Thompson Motor Speedway // Our X 7