NA track setup questions

[KyleB386]

Hey there, I hope I'm in the right place for this question.
I bought a wrecked 94 NA over the winter and been slowly getting it set up as a track car. At this point in time, I have added a roll cage, 15x8 Advanti wheels with Hankook RS4's, FM stage 3 Big Brake kit, and FM Crossflow radiator. The car came from auction with Raceland coilovers , which I've been told are worse than stock performance-wise on the track. However, last month was my first time with a Miata on the track, so Miata with Racelands is my personal baseline for what to expect out of the car.

I was on a time crunch to get the car driving and up to safety standards before the HPDE day, so I didn't have any time at all to mess with the setup. I showed up with -2 camber up front and about -1.5 in rear (I'm assuming the negative camber came from the aftermarket coilovers?) and ran 32 psi on all 4 tires. Ride height was set at around 4.25" from the pinch welds. My feeling was that the car was skittish in the rear and I also expected it to have more grip up front than it did based on what others have said about Miata's loving the corners. Don't get me wrong, it was still the most fun I've had on track when compared to my Lemons S10, but was thinking I'm missing some things on the setup.

I have a several upgrades in the works before the next HPDE day in September. I've ordered the GWR Spec Feal 441's to replace the racelands, have the R style tie rod ends and extended lower ball joints that are all ready to be installed. After I get these on, wondering what kind of setups you guys are running for a track only NA? Also, what other upgrades, if any, should I be planning for over winter?

I have been focusing on improving as a driver as I know that's where the most time can be found on track, but I also want to get the car to a point where it's a very fun budget track car, so any tips are appreciated.

Side note: I am enjoying the Mazda community so far - lot's of helpful and friendly folks out there!

[Ryan @ GWR]

Congrats on joining the Miata family!

Those Feal coilovers should be a good step in the right direction. You didn't mention sway bars, but a beefier front bar will help with front end bite as well, and should take some of that "skittish in the rear" feeling away. For grip levels like you'd have with that RS4, we're typically running about those spring rates that come with the Feal 441 RR, and a Racing Beat hollow front sway bar, and either a 12mm rear sway bar from an NB, or a 14mm rear sway bar like our 5XRacing bar, depending on driver preference and overall balance of the car. If you're currently on stock sway bars, make sure to add the sway bar reinforcement blocks up front, and upgrade the sway bar endlinks when you do the sway bar.

You're in the right neighborhood for ride heights, but you'll want to bump front camber up to about -3.0°, and assuming relatively stock horsepower I'd get the rear camber up into the mid -2's. Check that toe is zeroed all around, and only change toe to fine tune things after you get more baseline running in on the new setup. From there, a tire pyrometer is the best tool for the job to dial in how much camber your car wants.