"Honey Badger" Miata: Turbo Track Build (new brakes installed)

[disturbedfan121]

we use bolt in rollbars and theyre fine, lets us take em out to sell or when we part out. and they do there job the same as long as they're installed and tightened down properly

[omgjacki]

So did you take that sticker off yet?

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by omgjacki

So did you take that sticker off yet?

Nope

Originally Posted by disturbedfan121

lookin good man, i'm off friday and don't have plans till later in the day (i wanna go to atco) so i could probably come out and give ya a hand if you have the tools

I have a haircut appointment on Friday and class 9-12 so no go. I'll do it tomorrow.

Another look:

[thefro526]

Roll bar is the Sickness CleanNeon.

+3

[DPancoast]

looks great.

also... padding doesn't always help. An MR2 owner had his head caved in after slamming his head on his padded cage in a front end collision.

[Zillon]

Looks great, Alex!

Originally Posted by DPancoast

looks great.

also... padding doesn't always help. An MR2 owner had his head caved in after slamming his head on his padded cage in a front end collision.

How's he doing, by the way?

I haven't heard anything since his accident.

[noclutch]

Originally Posted by DPancoast

also... padding doesn't always help. An MR2 owner had his head caved in after slamming his head on his padded cage in a front end collision.

That's a retarded statement. Of course it's not gonna make you 100% safe from injury if you plow into someone, but properly designed padding will help absorb the force of the impact.. So Yes, padding always helps.

[cmr076]

Originally Posted by disturbedfan121

we use bolt in rollbars and theyre fine, lets us take em out to sell or when we part out. and they do there job the same as long as they're installed and tightened down properly

to me... theres something about "tightening down" and "roll cage" just dont belong in the same sentence... but thats just me...

Originally Posted by DPancoast

looks great.

also... padding doesn't always help. An MR2 owner had his head caved in after slamming his head on his padded cage in a front end collision.

IIRC im pretty sure that was a NON-padded cusco cage.

Originally Posted by noclutch

That's a retarded statement. Of course it's not gonna make you 100% safe from injury if you plow into someone, but properly designed padding will help absorb the force of the impact.. So Yes, padding always helps.

and PLEASE stress that a pool noodle or whatever there called is NOT the same... and if your gonna cheap out anywhere it should NOT be with something like this... thats like buying the cheaper airbag... makes no sense, if you can afford to do it right, just dont do it.

[TurboTagTeam]

Originally Posted by cmr076

to me... theres something about "tightening down" and "roll cage" just dont belong in the same sentence... but thats just me...

WORD

The tensile shearing strength of 4 grade 8 points on a typical bolt in cage footer is around 80,000psi

The tensile shearing strength of a properly welded 6x6 footer is over 140,000psi


Enough said.

[disturbedfan121]

its not a cage. that should be welded in. its just a roll bar. i can find the pics from my friends old car where he rolled his miata and the Bolted in roll bar is teh only thing that saved his life (and the seatbelt)

[BradC]

Is weld in stronger? Yes.

Does a bolt-in keep your head off the tarmac? http://www.bethania-garage.com/testimonials.htm

[CleanNeon98]

What's with everyone **** talking bolt-ins? Dave, GVAutosport quoted me nearly $1,000 for a bar to be designed and welded in, no thanks.

Would a weld-in be better? Sure
Does a bolt-in suffice? Yes

It's been proven time and time again, in a rollover, these bolt-in bars save lives, and it did a lot to stiffen my chassis and help the car handle itself better.

[oneday]

Pool noodle on bolt-in cage in a Miata = non-padded bolt-in cage in a Miata =

Properly padded, bolt-in cage in a Miata =

Get some padding you cheap bastid.

[noclutch]

Geez, can't swing $60 for padding?

Nothing wrong with a bolt-in cage IMO as long as it's bolted in with plates on the back also so the stock sheetmetal is sandwiched between them. If the hardware wouldn't hold up when installed like that, then welds likely wouldn't either.

[cmr076]

Originally Posted by CleanNeon98

What's with everyone **** talking bolt-ins? Dave, GVAutosport quoted me nearly $1,000 for a bar to be designed and welded in, no thanks.

Would a weld-in be better? Sure
Does a bolt-in suffice? Yes

It's been proven time and time again, in a rollover, these bolt-in bars save lives, and it did a lot to stiffen my chassis and help the car handle itself better.

im not **** talking! i just never got bolt in caged... also did you hear me honk at you when i was passing your work last week haha

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by cmr076

im not **** talking! i just never got bolt in caged... also did you hear me honk at you when i was passing your work last week haha

I did! I was actually just done selling a guy an Orange 08 Cooper S.

Originally Posted by noclutch

Geez, can't swing $60 for padding?

Nothing wrong with a bolt-in cage IMO as long as it's bolted in with plates on the back also so the stock sheetmetal is sandwiched between them. If the hardware wouldn't hold up when installed like that, then welds likely wouldn't either.

I'll get it with my next order which is the new topic of discussion. And yes, the bar is held in place well. Bolt and washer on inside, bolt through metal, backing plate, nut with a small flare to act as washer.

Next up is to tidy up the suspension some more. 3 options

1. Full coilovers
2. New shocks and stiffer springs
3. New shocks and stiffer springs on coilover sleeves

The trick is, I have a budget of $1000 and less

Option 1: A decent set of full coilovers is pretty much out of the question because with them, performance doesn't come on a budget.

Option 2: New shocks and springs and deal with the rake the car will have.

Option 3: I called FlyinMiata and talked to Keith who is a very well know member of the Miata community and has written a few books even. He said with my mods, my ideal setup would be as follows

Tokico Illumina shocks
Eibach Race-Series springs with GC sleeves

He said he is running the same setup on his own car and loves it.

The springs are specially rated to match the according shocks, they also sell the same Race-Series springs with GC sleeves for KYB AGX and Koni Yellow shocks though they are softer at 375lb/in F, 250 lb/in R, which is only marginally stiffer than my current 318 lb/in front and 233 lb/in rear FM drop-in springs. Springs for the Illuminas are 425lb/in F, 300 lb/in R which is a considerable upgrade from what I have now and should make the car corner much more flat.

My goal with the sleeves isn't to go super duper low like all the cool kids but to be able to get the ride height nice and level with flush fitment.

The setup with Illuminas and Eibach/GC springs would cost me just shy of $1,000 shipped and would be my last mod until Spring came around.

Any insight?

[03.5MSP]

DO IT!!!!!!! Illuminas and Eibach.

[CleanNeon98]

Originally Posted by 03.5MSP

DO IT!!!!!!! Illuminas and Eibach.

It's gonna happen, but Mazda Miata + Suspension parts = cluster****.

There are a ****load of parts out there pre-made and tons of custom companies too. Being a car that is raced so much and is so popular there is an even bigger cluster**** of information and pre-made combinations of parts that work best together.

I'll be spending at least a week knee-deep in this **** by the time I call back FlyinMiata, Good-win, Trackdog, Fatcat, and many more.

The Illumina + Eibach/GC setup isn't my final choice but with my little research so far it's the best option so I have to call around and compare it with others. Here is my post on Miata.net so you can see what they say.

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=345478

[CleanNeon98]

As said by another forum member on mazda-speed

"You've already saved a thousand dollars so why not be patient, save up some more money and get what you know is a better choice (coilovers that cost over a grand!). If it was me (and it was) I'd rather spend more for what I really wanted then dump a bunch into something less then optimum!). You'll get more satisfaction with the end results and not wondering what could have been if you settle for something else! AFCO's might be the optimum setup but you can do pretty well for less."

My response

"Woofster, my only gripe with full coils is their cost, I think you pay a pretty big premium just to have coilovers. I've been saying for years that a proper spring/shock combo is as good/better than a coilover, and performance for dollar, compare option 3 that costs 1000 and see what coilovers are out there for the money that will perform the same way. Full coils IMO are good for going super low which is not my intent.

True that AFCO coils or Mono-Flex, or FCM Variants are ideal, but this is a street car, the extra inch of engineering won't make a difference to me, especially given the price gap. If it was a track car, I would be concerned about getting the absolute best performance no matter the cost, being a street car, I have a bit of leeway in my expectations.

A very agressive setup that will deliver maximum performance won't be good for street use, especially where I live, the roads are garbage.

I'm looking for an agressive street combo that can be used for track days as well, but not as a race-primary setup. On the other hand if I found a set of used AFCOs or Flex/Mono-Flex coils for a few hundred over budget, I would consider stretching to get them but as I said before, I need the car to be drivable, having it so stiff that it gets airtime over small bumps is unsafe for a daily driven car IMO and I'm willing to give up that little bit top-end performance for at least some comfort.

As I told Keith, "the car is what it is" but there has to be a line drawn somewhere"

Another thing about coilovers being "matched", I hear mixed things. AFAIK, coilovers come with fairly generic damping and spring rates that are designed around the chassis and weight of the car, to get an absolutely ideal match you would need to get them revalved for your spring, at which point you have to ask yourself if it's really worth it. Of course this isn't all coilovers, but the Ksport, D2, BC, lower Tein models, Megan, STD, etc. as far as I know are this way.

With a "proper" spring/shock combo, you don't get an absolutely perfect match either, but you don't get the increased cost either.

Lower model coilovers are anywhere from 800-1200, whereas a similarly priced shock/spring combo will outperform them all day simply because of the price difference and keeping in mind that with a shock/spring, your dollar gets you more.

Maybe that will help explain my goals a bit more.

[BradC]

I picked up a set of lightly used Tein Flex for $900ish. You can get what you are looking for with your budget, just be patient.