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Post by suggs84 on Jun 2, 2021 17:44:22 GMT
Seeing that word Recaro........ i stand by my previous comment!!
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Post by swordspork on Jun 3, 2021 9:38:44 GMT
Having seen your work on the underside of the car it has spurred me on to work on my suspension arms.
Im not going to take them off so like you I'll be under the car. I plan on trying to strip old underseal off using gunk engine degreaser letting it marinate, wipe off then wire brush the hell out of it.
Used dinitrol in the past it's ok but now I'm going to try buzzweld WAR.
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Post by batou on Jun 3, 2021 11:50:08 GMT
Having seen your work on the underside of the car it has spurred me on to work on my suspension arms. Im not going to take them off so like you I'll be under the car. I plan on trying to strip old underseal off using gunk engine degreaser letting it marinate, wipe off then wire brush the hell out of it. Used dinitrol in the past it's ok but now I'm going to try buzzweld WAR. I started with the wire brush and degreaser in the same vain but it proved tough going, a poly disk on the grinder and some light work, nothing aggressive, made a big difference. Its all a learning process for me really so I know for next time, I think I'll probably try the war next time as the UB doesn't look that great on the arms imo (not that you'll see it), and still not sure how things won't stick to it either. Seeing that word Recaro........ i stand by my previous comment!! Haha, yeah, I left it a bit late so hopefully I can get it together for the track day in July. Looks like the seat sliders are arriving tomorrow as my customs bill just came in today. Props to Japanparts.com, tuckin99 and ups for the turnaround given its a custom order, I presume tuckin99 must have had them in stock. Shame shipping is so damn pricey though, I was going to order more stuff to make it more worth while but the shipping just kept going up due to weight of course. I managed to bag an in stock SPG seat and all being well the last Takata Race-4 point they have instock so all being well they will probably surface sometime next week so the real wait will be on the roll bar so I might start prepping for the install so I can crack on when it arrives. I decided to focus on parts that you interface with and improve the enjoyment of the car (and I guess overall safety, sort of...), I think the seats will make a big difference going off previous experience, as will the harnesses, the bar should tighten things up to and get rid of the remaining scuttle shake (which is already a lot better since the door bushings). Some other thoughts/ramblings I need to note here... The gearbox seems to be fine for the time being and no oil on the garage floor, I'm going to have a look around the block after a few more drives to see if the oil has come back since the steam clean but I suspect it may have as I'm getting a stink from the manifold/o2 sensor but that could be old so need to check. I'm getting through the plans in the first post in terms of ordering stuff and I think I'll pick up some rodders or m1144s for Llandow too, brakes feel fine but hard to know on the road really and I don't want to be running into issues on the day. Looking more to the long term on the exterior and overall looks, its not going to look right until the new wings are on anyway, but that said, I'm almost having sleepless nights over wheels, I won't be doing them till probably next year but the anxiety over specs and fitment (I mean I know what I'm doing) is getting to me already. I've narrowed it down to three (if it wasn't for money I'd do all 3), they will not be cheap, probably a 6 week+ wait from ordering. I'll want them to serve two purposes, make the car look like a complete stance tart when I want them to, and also not give me headaches when out for a jolly, I'm happy to adjust the car to suit the look/purpose on the fly too. My current thought process is that there is always spacers for the former, so, I'll probably go for a slightly more modest fitment which I can adjust when I feel like it. If only a reasonably priced 4x114.3 hub conversion wasn't so elusive it would make life much easier and not have to custom order tasty jdm prarrie canoe. I wasn't going to do it but the solution might be to pick up some reps in the interim so I can get a feel for fitment before pulling the trigger, they would be easy enough to shift so don't mind so much. I know I'll need to roll the arche inner lips for sure (even on the 14s with the 185/60 ballons I need to), don't want any pulling though, I know that much. Sorry for the rambling, its only a car, I know  |
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Post by swordspork on Jun 3, 2021 13:44:13 GMT
What wheels you thinking of getting? I've got some 14 inch Watanabe wheels with 185/60 tyres and I've not done anything to my arches.
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Post by batou on Jun 3, 2021 15:41:47 GMT
What wheels you thinking of getting? I've got some 14 inch Watanabe wheels with 185/60 tyres and I've not done anything to my arches.EEit Well this is how it currently sits, 14x6J +18 on 185/60...  ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr I've raised it a little as the front lip was catching on hard cornering/braking, I've also stiffened up the dampers somewhat. I'd be going up to a 195/50 on a 15" rim, probably a 8 or 8.5J with an offset that puts things out at least 20mm more outboard. I'm not against rolling the inner lip, and when I say rolling I just mean folding the inner lip up to prevent tyre damage under compression, this can still happen even if not that low as my camber is not that aggressive F -2.0 / R -1.8. |
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Post by batou on Jun 7, 2021 14:20:03 GMT
INTERIOR
# Recaro Profi SPG FIA Bucket Seat (Drivers side)# Tuckin99 Super Down Sliding Seat Rail (Drivers side)So sticking to my plan I picked up a single Recaro SPG and a sliding seat rail, I'll obviously do the other side (probably fixed brackets) but there was only the one in stock at this price, and its nice to spread the cost out a bit, these are not cheap seats. The standard defoamed seats are good, but really I want to go down the roll bar and harness route and also get a little lower down/locked in so a decent bucket makes sense. I also wanted the seat to slide so the mrs can drive it on long trips, I tend to do most of the driving but there has been a scenario on holiday where I was unable to drive and a bucket bolted to the floor and a few pillows behind her is not ideal for safety  .
Probably the most comfy bucket seat I've sat in was the Pole Position seat from Recaro, but as these certainly have clearance issues in a Roadster and not that it really matters but no longer have FIA cert (or never had) I decided to go down the SPG route as its a similar design and just as comfy, just a little tighter overall. It also has that RS Limited vibe, I'd love the carbon RX7 Recaros but they are rare and silly money. So the SPG, the question is, does it fit? Some people on the web say yes but there isn't a clear answer...
Had to get this out of the living room sharpish before it ended up shredded or covered in hair...
Recaro SPG vs Bengal by batousan, on Flickr
So the sliding rails, these came in from Japan, and a little pricier than I would have liked when I factored in shipping but I did pretty well considering. They were bought as a Tuckin99 branded item, however, from my research it seems that these rails that are made in Japan are sold by Maruha, Arrows, Tuckin99 and a few others that all seem to use the same supplier and simply apply their own sticker/branding (I was a little miffed this branding was missing on mine but I'm really not that fussed, as these were well priced) and price them differently and the generic branding on the box suggests this. It also doesn't say NA6 but I was assured they will fit.
They are all designed to work with recaro's specifically, but will work with other seats. These are the single lock versions, but you can get a double lock version if you are worried about noise and a possible slight movement on one side in certain conditions, ie a car on semi's and aggressive brake setup under heavy braking cornering (edit. After some spirited driving I haven't noticed any movement or noise from the single lock rails, again this might be only noticeable with better tyres/brakes and/or on track.)Tuckin99 Superdown rails - £150 (each)Arrow Superdown rails - £317 (each)
Maruha Super Low (double lock) rails - £409 (each) You get the rails, some instructions in Japanese, seat bolts/washers and spacers as well as a specific nut and bolt/washer designed to bold the seat belt buckle to the rail if you so wish.  The thing that differentiates these and cheaper knock offs are the part that mounts to the seats is actually welded on, not badly bolted (which come loose) as well as the fact that both rails are connected by solid metal. They feel study as fook so I felt happy with that. Oh and they line up perfectly without having to bash or drill anything...  I bolted them down first just to test fit them and the seating position and unbolted them as its much easier to bolt the seat to the rails before fitting to the floor. I didn't get a picture but basically the seat is set to the second from the bottom on the front mount and the lowest on the rear mount which seemed ideal to me, you can see the mount options below:  Tuckin99 - SUPER DOWN Slide rail by batousan, on Flickr With the seat in this is as far back as an SPG will go without any interior changes, at 6'1" and longish legs this is certainly better than before, it can't get much better than this without spacing the wheel out closer but it would mean I'd be more straight legged if the seat went back a little more with a big spacer on the wheel (meaning the indicator/lights would be a pita).  Recaro SPG - ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr This is the clearance with the door closed... 
Recaro SPG - ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr It touches but its not an issue, I'm happy with how this fits without any modifcations. So the answer to the question "Do Recaro SPG's fit in a NA Roadster/Mx5/Miata?" Is yes, and without modification, and with sliding ability if you buy the correct rails. I'll probably go out for a quick run later and report back on any more thoughts but I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it. Now just waiting on the GC Fab bar and Takata harnesses.... 
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Post by dadbif on Jun 7, 2021 16:00:16 GMT
Looking great!
I am of similar stature, and can see the advantages of your seats with a thin backrest, I find clutch changes a tad awkward with the thick tombstone seats, but I want to keep things original.
Bit of a bugger..,
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Post by suggs84 on Jun 7, 2021 16:09:07 GMT
That looks really good and still fits in with the overall look of the car. You just cannot beat Recaro seats and i still say the old standard seats in my old Escort RS Turbo(s) are the best and most comfy seats i've ever sat in. They were the best of the bunch, i used to slide around a bit in the VXR Recaro's and didn't hold quite as well. Great write up  |
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Post by batou on Jun 7, 2021 17:46:44 GMT
Looking great! I am of similar stature, and can see the advantages of your seats with a thin backrest, I find clutch changes a tad awkward with the thick tombstone seats, but I want to keep things original. Bit of a bugger.., I just had a fettle and managed to get a little bit more wiggle room, I removed the cap thats held on by a screw and the tonneau connector, that gave me enough room to get back a whole click. Just went out for a drive and its bloody brilliant . What steering wheel do you have? The 350mm dished Nardi makes a big difference to pedaling the car, a 330mm would probably better if you're not fussed about obscuring the dials a bit. I was exactly the same, I've wanted to keep it original as possible but seats are a reversible 10min job, so is the wheel, so its no issue. Plus, sans sourcing a set of RS Limited/FD3S Carbon Recaro's its about as close as you can get to a "original modified" model....  RS Limited by batousan, on Flickr These are the main things you interface with when driving and make things a lot more enjoyable, couldn't recommend them enough. That looks really good and still fits in with the overall look of the car. You just cannot beat Recaro seats and i still say the old standard seats in my old Escort RS Turbo(s) are the best and most comfy seats i've ever sat in. They were the best of the bunch, i used to slide around a bit in the VXR Recaro's and didn't hold quite as well. Great write up Yeah, happy with how it looks, and man you are just locked in, its a reasonably tight fit in the legs but not much movement in the shoulder area. I was hitting the gym hard last year so my shoulders and back was a lot broader than it is now so will see what they are like if I put a few kg back on lol. Just need to save up for the other side now lol. I think I know which seats you mean, Recaro do a seat called the "Specialist" which is a homage to that seat  Recaro SPG - ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr |
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Post by batou on Jun 13, 2021 8:18:38 GMT
WHEELS, BRAKES & TYRES
# Roddisons Motorsport Front & Rear Brake Pads
Some basic bitch wrenching this weekend, chucked the new Roddisons pads in from Bofi Racing and re-adjusted the handbrake. I haven't yet gone up to the 1.8 carriers and disks yet, I'm going to see how I get on with just the pads, fluid and line upgrade at Llandow and re-evaluate from there. I'd like to keep the smaller brakes if possible as that might give me more options on wheel disks face down the line 
 
Roddisons Motorsport Brake Padsユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr
Fronts look a tad different to OE and you can see the compound difference, rears look similar apart from the compound. (They are no different in size its just the angle of the picture).
So did my usual bedding in/pad transfer and heating/cooling procedure and repeated that a few times following fitting, let them cool completely on the drive back then went back out later for a test run. They may well bed in more but they feel great so far, probably go out a bit later today for another run as the weather is supposed to be stonking but I'm happy to have the chassis/brakes sorted for Llandow. Just waiting on the damn roll bar...
ENGINE
# Maruha 1.1kgf/cm2 Radiator CapAlso popped on a new Maruha rad cap, I replaced the one that came on the car since import which was an uprated 1.1 bar after the rad popped in 2017, but just picked up a standard 0.9 cap at the time. With the newer radiator on it should be fine but I'll keep an eye on the colour of the plastic top. It should be fine for pretty much standard power but if I have more trouble with it down the line I'll go with a Koyo core next time.  Maruha 1.1bar Radiator Cap by batousan, on Flickr Also, I fitted the Takata lap belts while I wait for the roll bar to arrive and couldn't help getting a cheeky look at what the finished product looks like...  Takata Race 4 ASM & Recaro SPG - by batousan, on Flickr I'm fully aware these are Schroth Profi II ASM's in Takata colours (Schroth is owned by Takata and makes their EU products in Germany) but I'm absolutely fine with that.
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Post by batou on Jul 7, 2021 14:30:05 GMT
Mighty5s Track Day Weekender 2021Well, that went well! What a foking blast that was. Really well organised day and the camping was a laugh too, great to meet a new crowd. Everyone was sound, no drama on the day so meant no red flags or stoppages which made things proper chill. Sadly my GC Fab bar didn't arrive in time but it didn't hold back my inner intial D too much lol, so much so it got me a telling off for drifting  Camping - ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE - Llandow by batousan, on Flickr First time I've been out on track with less than 200hp and first time in this car, quite a different experience . Can't really hide your lack of speed through the corners if its the only place you can find time lol . Learnt a lot about how the car behaves at the limits, and how much the tyres rub under compression too. Got out very out of shape a couple of times coming through gluepot but thankfully managed to gather a big sideways moment up without being spat back the otherway into the tyres. The rear will rotate nicely with a bit of trailbraking through the bustop section and a dab of left foot brake into Devils Elbow will cause some rotation lol, but wasn't actually that quick I found the car could push understeer a bit through gluepot and devils elbow if I didn't get the turn in right, however, I managed to find a bit more speed towards the end of the day through that section after having a few passenger laps in the Skuzzle race car and also found my balls through Jacks Curve so I think my best speed through there was about 62-64mph.  ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE - Llandow Circuit by Four Nine Six, on Facebook I had the dampers at 3 clicks from full hard front and rear, I ran the fronts full hard at first but it created more understeer so it was a little better after dialing it back. I would have increased the rear a bit but with the changeable weather I was trying to keep the oversteer to a minimum. The road tyres held up well, even wear and still so much life on them, they just squeal a quiet a bit (same on the road), I had the pressures at 20psi front and 18psi rear which translated to around 24-26psi all round when hot. I did find even with the dampers wound up, which is quite firm on the road, there was a bit of roll in the car which would cause quite a bit of compression, and over the kerbs through Jacks Curve I'd get a bit of tyre rub (unrolled arches) but it didn't cause me any headaches.  ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE - Llandow Circuit by batousan, on Flickr Conditions in the morning sessions were damp and wet, probably why I got the warning for drifting, but it dried up in the afternoon to go full ham so only had to run with the roof up once which was nice. Being one of the lower powered cars on the day meant watching my mirrors a lot, there were a lot of quick Roadsters and a few other makes there. But one thing was consistent, the brakes, with the low top speeds and lightweight I could really leave the braking to the last minute, I had a couple of lockups into the bus-stop on some of my first quick lap after the outlap trying to brake at the 50 board before they were upto temp but I had no issues with fade and consistency but that is to be expected with a NA 1.6 with a few bolt ons, I knew it was slow but wow the turbo and supercharged cars would just blast past me.  Chased down by BOFI Turbo by batousan, on Flickr  ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE - Llandow Circuit by Four Nine Six, on Facebook In terms of reliability, only two issues on the day, one being a little bit of a PAS fluid overflow, apparently it gets hot from a lot of wheel action and froths up. I'll keep an eye on it but doesn't seem like much to worry about. I didn't use any oil on the way down, on the track day and after I checked it when I got home hasn't moved at all. I did about 600 miles in total and gave it a good ol' beating so can't really complain at that when its sitting at 207,000kms. Just made sure I didn't stay out for too long and gave it a breather between sessions.  ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE - Llandow by batousan, on Flickr The second issue was when I got home, the rear parking brake is not really very effective anymore. Throughout the day I made sure to cool the brakes down for at least 1 lap, sometimes 2 and drove a lap almost completely off them, also not pulling the handbrake when stopping... although, I accidentally did it once without realising as I started talking to someone and got distracted so its either that, or maybe from the compressions and taking bit amounts of kerb from time to time caused the bearings to deflect a little a knocked the pads back and causing the piston to move out of adjustment. I'll readjust that and see if theres any play in the bearings. I need to have a look at the underside too as I caught the chassis rails a few times on the drive down. Probably should raise it 10mm to be fair but I can't bring myself to do it. Anyway, roll on the next one. Be good to see some familar faces there next time as some of these cars were so well done, the Corns Roadster took it for me, simply because I'm a massive weeb and that car is literally a rolling rare meme part car with a beast of an engine, and I'm a sucker for a dinky set of SSRs too  Llandow 5Fest Track Day by batousan, on Flickr Slomans MiataEvo is a complete package too, of course he was the other guy who got a vist from the tower for drifting... something tells me he's a little bit more skilled at that though   Llandow 5Fest Track Day by batousan, on Flickr Also, one of the standouts for me was a chap in a silver bullet of a mk1 who I think was called Tom. Wonderful engine bay (no pics sadly) with a unique supercharger setup and probably the angriest sounding rear diff I've heard before lol. This thing was properly quick!  Llandow 5Fest Track Day by batousan, on Flickr Again, count me in for next year all being well  Llandow 5Fest Track Day by batousan, on Flickr
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Post by scottydugg on Jul 7, 2021 15:06:23 GMT
Looks like you had a great time, interesting to hear how you got on.
If that silver mk1 is the guy with the coldside supercharger I've spoken to, that things a machine!
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Post by suggs84 on Jul 8, 2021 8:15:23 GMT
Great write up, interesting to hear how the car performed - sounds like it handled it all well. With mine being on 200,000 km now, albeit it well maintained, it's good to know there's life left in it yet |
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Post by batou on Jul 13, 2021 10:18:34 GMT
EXTERIOR & OEM REPLACEMENT/MISC
# Aftermarket Rear Lip (R-Package)# OEM Door seal rubber NA0158760JFew bits of faff recently, firstly, I've been meaning to replace the aging door seal for sometime now, these things are pricey for what they are but it needed doing... Before - NA0158760J - ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr A bit of swearing later...  After - NA0158760J - ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr Its not a hard job but firstly the little clips you need to remove after you pull the seal off are a massive ball ache, a regular trim tool doesn't cut it so its just faffing around with pliers for 30 mins using your favourite swears. Secondly, whilst it is supposed to be possible to feed the section that runs down down the back of the quarterglass without removing the door card/glass its a pain so honestly, just remove the window and unbolt a few bits, I used a bit of Honda shin etsu grease to help it slide down that channel but its just a messy faff really. Also, after seeing this picture... ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE - Llandow Circuit by batousan, on Flickr ...and being a self confessed tart when it comes to looks I decided to pick up the R-package lip for the rear that BOFI sell. The finish isn't brilliant raw, but I guess most people paint it body colour, the front lip isn't painted so I just left it as is to match. The rear bumper has handy markings to show you where the lip needs to be attached to and the lip comes undrilled with some self tappers so I decided to start the holes in the bumper first and drill out the corners of the lip and bolt that up, then I can offer it up to the car and paint mark where the holes in the lip need to be. It took time and a bit of a forearm workout as I couldn't be ars£d to charge the battery drill but I put the self tappers into the lip, bolted the ends back to the car and continued winding the self tappers into the holes I'd started in the rear bumper. In the end this strategy worked very well for the long section which fits perfectly flush (unlike the front lol). The small section on the rear has a tiny gap if your really looking for it as it could do with another hole (there isn't one on the bumper) and the angle of it won't really allow for one, I tried but it didn't make much difference. Still it looks fine, and I can live with it for now.  R-Package Rear Lip - ユーノス ロードスタ S-SPECIAL NA6CE by batousan, on Flickr Hopefully get some decent pictures next weekend as heading to the coast with a few friends but happy with the lines now. Just waiting on that roll bar too, damn they take their time. Also fixed my pop-up lights not working from the stalk issue, the service/centre dash button popped them fine, but, whilst the switch on the stalk turned the lights on, they didn't pop on the switch and the flash to pass had stopped working. Just waggled the relay under the bonnet fixed that issue. Cheap fix!
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Post by suggs84 on Jul 13, 2021 11:21:40 GMT
The rear lip looks very smart in that photo as it carries the line down the car from the front as you said - will be very interested to see some more photos from different angles!
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.
le sigh
Jul 15, 2023 20:03:52 GMT
le sigh
Jul 15, 2023 20:03:52 GMT