PROJECT ND: Parts Development, Testing, Measurements, DYNO

[Brian]

The Longtube needs the special short midpipe included with it, cannot be used with our standard midpipe. The longtube with included midpipe works great with the Race muffler and I daily drive that combo...under 90db in all my testing so far here.

[Ryan @ GWR]

We were happy to have saved 1 lb per corner in the rear with our standard 2-piece ND rear rotors, but we wanted to see how much more we could carve out by getting creative.

These are "wave" style rotors, similar concept as seen in motorcycle and kart applications to reduce additional weight. We've been testing these for a while now.. we kept things to ourselves while we tested them because frankly we expected them to present some trade-offs, but to our pleasant surprise they've functioned silently and comfortably just like a standard round rotor in both daily street and autocross conditions.

The drawback (there's got to be one, right?) is added cost due to a LOT more machining, but now you can save 5 lbs total in the rear rotors! Yes, these are 6 lbs flat compared to the stock rotor's 8.5 lbs.

[NathanD277]

Those rotors look fantastic!

[NathanD277]

Are you working on doing anything similar for the front rotors?

[Ryan @ GWR]

Not planning on this for the fronts. Already saving a big chunk in the fronts with our current rotor options there, the driving force behind pursuing this in the rear was to find more than that 1 lb of savings.

Also, the fronts are vented rotors, so it would be a much more complex process requiring an entirely new casting mold for the front rotor rather than just additional machining.

[Brian]

Second version of the hardtop, this is the version exclusive to Mazda, and is taller to clear the full cage used in the Global Cup series. Our version, which looks a bit more slick as you see in the first pics a few pages back on our blue ND, clears the roll protection choices we offer. Sorry, don't have date yet, Mazda's exclusive batch still going and needs to finish first, then our race shell, then our street shell. Street Shell does now have full liner, Dave is still working out the particulars on the rear windows.

[YuMiata]

The drawback (there's got to be one, right?) is added cost due to a LOT more machining, but now you can save 5 lbs total in the rear rotors! Yes, these are 6 lbs flat compared to the stock rotor's 8.5 lbs.

ND_2pcRotor_Rear_Wave2.jpg

Hey Ryan/Brian,

Were your wave rotors not drilled or slotted due to added costs making them too pricey, or because they were potentially gonna effect the integrity of the rotor itself?

Just curious, since weight loss was the name of the game on these custom options

[Ryan @ GWR]

The drawback (there's got to be one, right?) is added cost due to a LOT more machining, but now you can save 5 lbs total in the rear rotors! Yes, these are 6 lbs flat compared to the stock rotor's 8.5 lbs.

ND_2pcRotor_Rear_Wave2.jpg

Hey Ryan/Brian,

Were your wave rotors not drilled or slotted due to added costs making them too pricey, or because they were potentially gonna effect the integrity of the rotor itself?

Just curious, since weight loss was the name of the game on these custom options

Cross-drilled isn't recommended for racing use, so we usually don't do coss-drilling on any of our cars considering the myriad of uses all our projects get, some of which involve competition driving.

As for slots, the edges of the scalloped rotor serve the same function as slots in a traditional round rotor - so in this case slots would be redundant.

[Ruiner]

Got the GWR branded tower brace mounted in my sport. This thing is *light*, much lighter than the box/packing it came in, and maybe significantly lighter than the stock parts (at least guessing from my memory of the equivalent NC OE brace). Really sharp looking piece of craftsmanship.

Have you done any fit testing of your brake kits with the OE 16" wheels?

[Brian]

Got the GWR branded tower brace mounted in my sport. This thing is *light*, much lighter than the box/packing it came in, and maybe significantly lighter than the stock parts (at least guessing from my memory of the equivalent NC OE brace). Really sharp looking piece of craftsmanship.

Have you done any fit testing of your brake kits with the OE 16" wheels?

Both my ND Miata came with factory 17x7 and 3mm spacer needed, we have them on the site. Our Fiat 124 came with OEM 16 inch, same need for 3mm spacer.