NC Light

[ronbauer]

I too think that the turbo project sounds awesome for XP. One thing you might want to look into is whether others in XP are down at their minimum weights. I honestly don't know the answer to this, but if no one else is at the minimum, then you not being able to get there isn't as big of a deal.

As for the wheels, I was going back and forth between 6" and 7" of backspace. I do want to be able to use the same wheel all the way around the car, so I decided to start with a 6" figuring that it was a safe number. If ultimately I can go higher, I will.

Ron

[jasonMX5]

Thought I'd throw my Turbo NC into the mix. It is being built as a dedicated race car. Currently stripped out and running sniper/XEDE tuning. I am also installing the rear sheet metal barrier in the back like Brians. I asked AWR about it and they hooked me up.

Progress stopped for the past two months due to an injury and not being able to lift my left arm hehe. But now I will be continuing the build! I want 16X8 wheels or 8.5 plan on running 235 rubber or 245.

It has around 300 WHP last time I dynoed it it was 280 something and that was with the XEDE alone. Now its a more precise tune. I have done all the work myself and tuning myself.

[jasonMX5]

Drivers side. Also for engine front cross member frame, I removed the heavy metal panel and built a coroplast plastic barrier. Water proof and heat resistant plus durable for some oil pan protection. Weighs not even a pound.

[Brian]

Thanks for posting Jason...project looks good.

Tony mentioned to me that he had sold one NC panel kit to you. It is currently an exclusive for Mazda Motorsports as part of kit that includes door panels. But Tony had an extra rear panel kit and needed the cash. He is meeting with Steve up there in the first week of January about officially releasing the exclusive so we can sell the kits here. So, you lucked out but others are stuck waiting on discussion of that new deal.

[jasonMX5]

Yeah I did get lucky haha. I have been getting annoyed at the unfinished look in the rear and I also needed to cover the rear with a barrier because I put the battery back there.

I still need race seats/harnesses, wheels/tires and weld in the rear supports for the roll bar to make it legal. I'm still looking for more ways to lose weight as well. So far I have stripped everything I can find out of the interior and the exterior. Have to get it re weighed soon after I finish.

Do you know where I could get some pre fabbed rear supports for the roll bar Brian? Or I can just build some from scratch I guess.

Jason

[jboemler]

What kind of racing do you plan to do, Jason?

[Traum]

I'm still looking for more ways to lose weight as well. So far I have stripped everything I can find out of the interior and the exterior. Have to get it re weighed soon after I finish.

Hey Jason,

Judging by the pictures you've posted, can you not strip out more stuff from the dash area? It seems to me that there is still a lot of plastic and panels and stuff on on the dash.

I dunno how much more weight you can shed from there, but 0.1 lbs is still 0.1 lbs.

-Lik

[jasonMX5]

I am going to be doing SCCA club racing most likely. I looked at NASA time trials but the club racing is more appealing. I'm not sure what class it will make it into however. I really want to be under 2000lbs but stay "street legal" hehe just for kicks of driving it on the street.

I am looking at Brians carbon fiber dash for more weight savings, also doing the race seats/steering wheel to get more weight out.

[jboemler]

If you're planning on road racing (as opposed to autocross), you should carefully investigate the club's class structure before building your car. Classes are created to gather similar cars together, so overdog cars like a turbo MX5 don't have much of a place to play. You'll find yourself in a regional-only "catch-all" class, grouped with turbo Porsches and other exotica. Some will be much slower than you, others will be faster, but you'll likely spend much of every race lapping by yourself.

What you would find much more fun is a class where all the cars are very close in capability. You'll always find someone to race with, even if you're not at the top of the prep scale, even though you're not going as fast. There are several good classes for that, but right near the top is Spec Miata.

Without droning on, my point is that you may be on the verge of making the same mistake that many have made before you -- spending a bundle to make an unfulfilling "race" car out of a perfectly good street car, and never getting to really race. You can get an entire SM for the cost of the mods you'll put into the MX5, and have two cars that are each very good in their respective domains, instead of one car that's sub-optimal in both domains.

jim

[Brian]

Ditto what Jim said.

Read rules first....

As the mods allowed in the class you pick increase, you may expect it is exponentially more expensive and difficult to be competitive in that class.

We are facing this same issue in another thread here with our new autocross project and the decision for XP or DP class. The car is almost plug and play for DP autocross with just an engine swap and without further weight reduction....but I am tempted by the XP class for the challenge. That temptation is tempered by the realization that Xp class will cost MUCH more time and prep in the long run for just a mild chance at being competitive.