JMortensen

If you want to run the finned cover you can make your own link to connect the rear-rear control arm bushings. There was a company making one that you could bolt on up higher, but you had to drill some holes for it.

If you lengthen the control arms, you need to worry about the tie rods. You can't go very far at all before you start running out of threads. You can make your own new ones, bjhines and I both did that and documented it here. Did I see that you're running 225s on a 7? If so, I'd suggest you get wider rims, especially if you're running autox tires (DOTs or Rs). They tend to run wide, and generally speaking you want the section width to be the same or a little smaller than the rim width. Lots of Miata guys run 225s on a 9" wide rim. I would run them on an 8 or 9. Aside from that, the trick is to do what makes the tires happy. Start with shoe polish over the sides to see how far the tires are rolling. Inflate to get less roll. After that you'll have to start taking tire temps to really get it dialed in. When I was autoxing my Z I had camber plates and adjustable arms, and maxed out I had a little over 2 degrees neg. I never got enough neg camber and after a season you could look at my wheels and see that the tires were worn on the outsides. They looked like used skateboard wheels. I wouldn't arbitrarily try to make the camber less than 3, see what it actually wants. The main question I would have about running that much is would it be hard to drive, following ruts and all that on the road due to camber thrust. There are enough idiots out there who do it because it looks cool that I guess we know it can be done, but it might also kill your race rubber pretty fast...

My understanding is that the Cusco uses 6 or 8 clutches. The Giken uses something ridiculous like 30. More clutches, more adjustability. I'd go Giken if the cash weren't a factor. I think it's about twice the cost.

Sorry Keith, didn't mean to pee in your cheerios. Ron, why don't you share some pictures of your project and lighten the mood...

I remember being at an autox and talking with the guy I was working the course with. He had a built up Meyers Manx and was a second or so faster than my Z depending on the course. I told him how much money I had in mine (about $15K at the time) and he said he had $3500 in his, and his (faster) buddy had a better motor and ran 11's at the drag strip, had had $5K in his. I think the Z is good value for money, but there are even better solutions if economic efficiency is the goal. Some of those Lotus 7 clones can be built really cheap too, and it's tough to beat them for power to weight ratio and cg height, which is where all the rest of it stems from.

So he said shocks then?

Different cam isn't allowed in ITS, but yeah, if you're not running Improved Touring then just get a bigger cam.

You can change the lash pads to get the wipe pattern, no need to shim the cam towers up. 30 degrees of timing total is a bit on the light side. 30 degrees at idle is way too much. Can't tell you anything about the AFM mods, although I did something similar on a Toyota I owned and felt absolutely no change afterward.

That's it. Thanks. Very happy with the piece I got from them.

There is a place that sells the top panel where the latch is. I bought one and for the life of me I can't remember the name. It's the guy who does the rear control arms with the huge monoballs and the curvy tubes. In SoCal IIRC.

Did you bolt the masters together? That's something Cary clued me in on, never seen it before but it makes sense.

I think the idea that makes the most sense is to reinforce out to the sway bar mounts and then leave it alone after that. Barring hitting something, just about all the stress comes into the chassis through the suspension. Little bit from aero if you have it, but nothing like what the suspension does. EDIT--for the m/c I'd do some sort of brace from the strut tower that touches the end of the master.

Hehe... my wheels are 15x14s, and I'm using a 13" wide 23.5" slick. Width is not the issue when cutting the fenders; diameter is the important part. My tires are most likely smaller in diameter than yours which gives you less room than I have. If you follow through Austin's post above, you'll see where he mounted the ZG's too low and didn't cut enough and had to redo it. On mine with the smaller diameter tires I basically did like Austin did, then fixed it like he did, and then mocked it up with my camber plates and sectioned struts and found that I still didn't have enough room. There are a lot of variables, so putting the suspension together with no spring and jacking the wheel up and down is really the best way to know for sure.

Cut high, especially if you have 17's. I just had to recut my fenders in the rear again because I didn't cut enough the first 2 times. If you're using ZGs you might have an issue getting the flare high enough to clear the wheel. Best thing to do is cut, then put the suspension on with no spring, bolt the wheel up, and jack the suspension up and down to make sure that you have enough room. That way you actually know for sure.

Fits nice. I don't have my pins yet, but I've laid it in place and it's a very good fit.

Dan McGrath has posted a .gif of a main hoop that I and a couple other people have taken to fab shops and had reproduced. It is a TIGHT fit, which is a good thing but makes the welding a bit more of a pain. It used to be in the download section of the site, if not try his album. His username is 74_5.0L_Z

I have one of the Woodward to Datsun joints that I'm not going to use because I ended up going with a whole custom Woodward rack. You would need to convert the center shaft to Woodward joints on the other end too. I also have another regular Woodward joint. In addition you'd need three of their male ends. 2 to make the intermediate shaft that plugs onto the U joints, and one to weld to your steering column. The joints are about $60 each. I'd sell these for $80, and I'll cover shipping. You can get a decent idea of what has to happen by looking at my shaft that I made for the Woodward rack. EDIT- Just remembered I have more than enough 3/4" steer tube too. You can have that as well, bump the price to $100 and then you just need three of the male ends and weld it together. Looks like they are $5.30 each from Woodward direct: http://woodwardsteering.com/images/steering%20universal%20joints.pdf (ST201)

Supposedly.

Your coilovers probably came from John Coffey, definitely not me. Adjusting the control arms for camber is a bit tricky because of the tie rod length issue. There have been some threads on that in the past, and bjhines and I made our own tie rods with 5/8" rod end outers. You could do the same or get camber plates for the top to get the camber you want without running out of steering arm length. Here is another article on DIY alignments. Obviously the adjustments are not the same on a Miata, but it tells you how to set up the strings: http://www.quadesl.com/miata_alignment.html I have a related question: caster is checked by measuring camber and then moving the wheels x degrees and checking camber again, and then doing some math to figure out the caster setting. In theory though, the caster angle on a Z is just the angle of the strut tube fore/aft, because the top of the strut is one of the determinants and the ball joint which is directly under the strut is the other. So wouldn't it be possible just to stick an angle finder on the strut tube and take that measurement directly instead of having to figure out how many degrees you turned the wheel? Seems like it should be more repeatable and easier for the at home alignment, if it works...

Are there no race shops in Dubai? I would try and find one and then give them the specifications that you want and tell them to try and hit them. You'll need adjustable suspension to do anything though. With a stock Z the only adjustment is front toe, and maybe shimming a tiny bit of caster.

It's the body flexing. A guy I used to autox with installed a roll bar and then welded that to the roof near the dome light and it stopped most of the creaking of the interior panels in back. Similarly if you jack up the front and put jackstands under the TC rod buckets and then let the jack down you can watch the front end sag ~1/2" under the weight of the motor. These cars are just old, thin, and had poorly designed chasses to start with. Search "chassis stiffening" if you want to see some fixes.

Use a drag racing calculator. It's not going to be perfectly accurate, but should get you an idea. This one says that a 2800 lb car with 250 hp does a 12.9 at 104 mph, and 2350 with 250 hp does 12.2 at 111. http://www.hotrodpitstop.com/tool.php

If you're looking at steelies, Bassett wheels are better quality and approximately the same price. Steel wheels are not as light, but they're not ridiculously heavy either. When I first put my Z together I had Carroll Shelby cast aluminum 15x7s that weighed 25 lbs each. Now I have 15x14 Bassetts which weigh 25 lbs. 15x10 weighs 21 lbs. www.bassettwheel.com

Looks like you took the time to tuck it up nice and tight. Very nicely done!

I know it's autox and you're not likely to need it, but strap your helmet on.