@The_Fonze how did you find the seat lowering for comfort? Did it open up more leg space or give a more relaxed position?
I’m having problems with my left leg interfering with my hands when using the clutch mid corner. My recaro bolsters are also digging into my thighs which maybe because I’m sitting awkwardly upright to give my legs more room.
For reference I’m 6’1” 13st and 50/50 leg/torso.
I am a short ■■■■ at 5ft 9” but I would imagine the lowering rails will certainly help address your issues. They not only lower but also add rake to the seat base so you feel more in the seat than on it. They are certainly one of the best upgrades I did, I have become that accustomed to it I can’t really remember what they were like before.
The JASS performance seat lowering brackets will lower the seat over 2" so worth looking at those.
The car is back on its winter wheels again (cross climate 2’s) and while steering feel and overall grip levels do drop slightly the car arguably feels more agile and still performs surprisingly well in the dry. They are outstanding in cold, wet and icy conditions though, I can’t recommend them enough.
I am currently collecting a few parts in preparation for a winter project to refine the handling balance of the car and add some visual appeal. None of it is entirely necessary but as I have said before I like to tinker and tweak things to my liking. I still feel the front end of the car needs to be stiffer to get the overall balance of the car closer to what I feel my preference will be (all trial and error).
As mentioned previously the Meister R GT1’s were supplied with 6kg front and 4.5kg rear springs and I found the handling balance to be far to rear biased even with a stiffer front anti roll bar. I increased the front spring rate to 8kg as I have itnow and overall, I have been happy, but I still have an inkling that a ratio closer to 2:1 would be optimal. So, I have ordered a set of 9kg front springs and a stiffer front Progress anti roll bar.
The Progress bar is 28.5mm (hollow but 6.25mm wall thickness) in diameter and the Eibach is 27mm (solid), the diameter of the bar apparently has more impact on rate than the thickness. Anyhow on full stiff the Eibach bar produces around 475 lbs/in and the Progress will be somewhere around 600 lbs/in.
I very nearly purchased a set of Karcepts bars but being a dual use car I was unsure if they would be to extreme having solid Delrin bushings and spherical bearings in the end links which I am sure would start to make noise and irritate me over time.
I did however manage to find some anti roll bar bushings from the US (Ridetech greaseless bushing) which are polyurethane but with an inner Delrin sleeve so should provide more support for the bar but also prevent binding under load. I know the bushing will fit but how these interact with the bar mount bracket is another matter, certainly a gamble that may or may not work.
The next task will be to fit a Carbon Miata spyder grill and while the front bumper is off fit a set of Mazda CX5 horns to replace the weedy/rusted standard ones. I will refit the bonnet lift (pedestrian safety) sensors on the original bracket and fabricate something so it will seat nicely behind the grill. I am unsure at this stage whether I will mount my numberplate on the front of the grill or fit a JDM style one with a side bracket.
Oh, and my TE37 Sonic’s (no affliction with the hedgehog) should arrive in the next week or so with some fresh AD09’s to go on. Can’t wait to see how it looks!
Nice!
Nice! Interested to hear how the ride quality is after the changes.
Not a fan of JDM style plates, I think my brain just associates them with poorly modified cars even though that’s not always the case.
I can’t imagine it will it will have a major impact on the ride as the dampers seem to deal with imperfections in the roads very well. Going from 6 to 8kg seemed to have very little impact on ride frequency. We shall see! What dampers/spring rate are you running?
Yeah I do agree but I am into that “jap” style and i think i can work when done right with a cut down plate. However I will most likely just use some Audi honeycomb grill clips and mount the plate centrally.
I’ve only just picked up an ND3 Homura (annoyingly before I realised they can’t be tuned yet) which is currently stock whilst I get the funds ready to modify with quality parts. Learned my lesson in the past with cheap components on my M2.
There is so much information on coilover setups it’s a minefield. Especially because the reviews you read vary so much based on that persons experience, or lack of.
I know what a good quality damped ride feels like but translating the words into the right parts is hard!
Ah very nice! Nice spec they are with the revised steering rack/diff over the ND2 
.
As ive mentioned previously I have found getting this car dialed in to my preferences (chassis balance) more difficult than any car I have owned. The rear multi link setup is very sensitive to inputs, spring rate, damper settings, ride height etc etc.
I have been in impressed with my Meister R GT1’s the damping is very good for the money but if you want control over both compression and rebound independently then you need to spend big bucks.
At a complete guess it might be tricky to dial in purely down to its lightweight nature.
I owned a super lightweight Clio Cup 200 and there was a huge difference depending how full the fuel tank was and how much heat you could keep in the tyre, I never really got it right after loads of messing about.
I drive 90% fast bumpy B roads so getting the suspension coping with big compressions is important to me. Sometimes I think car manufacturers should spend more time developing suspension on harsher roads, I suppose that’s what they try to achieve on the Nurburgring.
Certainly agree that the lack of weight makes it more sensitive to changes for sure. I’ve also owned a variety of 182’s and a 200 but with their fixed rear beam I found them pretty stable but not so compliant. The amount of fuel, tyre pressures, geo etc all have a big impact on these cars.
Getting a car set up for British roads is certainly far more challenging than dedicated track use. I’m trying to achieve both 
with a strong emphasis on road compliance/balance.
I have spent the last couple of evenings getting the car jacked up, removing the front suspension and the front bumper which is far easier than I anticipated.
While the car is up on axel stands over winter, I am going to give everything a once over, checking bolt torques, cleaning inside the arches, replace gearbox/diff,engine oils etc so it’s in fine fettle for next year.
I have considered replacing the lower front control arm bush with spherical or poly as this is an area that sees a significant amount of flex and movement. However as I have the power flex inserts in the rear bush I am not sure it’s worth the time and effort so we shall see.
As the front bumper removal was so straight forward I got rather excited and fitted the spyder grill. Very easy install and fitment was better than expected, I’m over the moon with how it looks! I refitted the annoying bonnet activation sensors with a various plastic and bolt stand offs to replicate their original positions then used epoxy to fix them in place. I also have some resistors to fit which remove the light on the dash if I decide to unplug the sensors on track. I really don’t like the idea of destroying the bonnet when going over a few kerbs.
Also fitted a set of cx5 horns to replace the rusted and awful OEM ones. Plug and play apart from swapping some of the brackets around.
Oh and the TE37’s have arrived! Will get them coated with Gyeon Rim then get the AD09’s fitted and test fit. They actually clear the brembos with around 2mm of space, I have some 3mm spacers but to use those will need longer studs I believe. Like with my Konigs due to the thickness of the wheel the wheel nut has around 7 1/2 turns adding the spacer will reduce this to a point where I am not comfortable. ARP 100-7726 studs for GM cars are a good upgrade that are around 5mm longer then stock and can be fitted without having to remove the studs. So may try these as the OEM studs have always concerned me and been in the back of my mind on track.
For track use, is it really as simple as unplugging and plugging the bonnet back in? Petrified of doing it and plugging them back in for road and they go off.
Shouldn’t be any reason for them to go off particularly if you disconnect the battery first but I get your point I had similar concerns. You can remove the explosive cartridge very easily which I may do as well.
If you get these resistors you wont have the light on the dash
You can disconnect them 5 mins after switching off the ignition (or reconnecting them)
Essentially does the same job as the plugs I got for less money, nice find 
. I guess once the plug is removed from the canisters there is no risk of them detonating it just leaves a light on the dash?
Yes, exactly
I’ve got the DSGarage ones too, just haven’t been brave enough to use them yet, but glad i’ve got them.
Tempted to remove the canisters all together to be honest!
Easily done with the resistors above
