Misc.

Front upper shock mounts with spherical bearings are installed today.

 

Thinking more about the Contour camera, I really do like how simple it is to operate and the price was excellent.  However, any changes to the recording settings such as volume or picture resolution must be done through computer software; not something that can easily be changed on the fly.  And as mentioned previously, the .mov file output is not my favorite.

To get the most out of the camera, I decided to fabricate a mount using some scrap aluminum.  I wanted the mount to be behind the driver and high enough to easily see the course.  Some 1/8" x 1" angle was modified to mount to the passenger side hardtop bolt location which is standard on all NA and NB Miatas.  It stands about 19" tall and gives a good view.

I was worried that it may vibrate or sway with all the weight up high, but a quick video test drive around the neighborhood delivers good results. Sound is not great, but at least it does not pick up a lot of wind noise.  There is no remote on/off switch so I will have to deal with that too.

Data

  A Torque Android datalog using a cheap Amazon OBDII reader shows that my car tops out second gear at 59.2 mph at 7506 rpm.  This is with my 'street' tires that are about 1/8" shorter than stock. Data capturing was set at 500ms.  I was expecting to see at least 7700 rpm as that is where I told Dynotronics to set the ecu rev limiter.  For a planned ECU revision, I will soon be logging data with an Innovate LM2 which should be more precise and verify the accuracy of the bluetooth device. 

Action Shots

Pics from http://lateapexphoto.com/ taken at the January San Diego SCCA autocross.

Event #2

   Another championship SCCA autox event at the Q with a fast course gives me more valuable seat time.  The 4.30:1 rear gearing feels great but limits my maximum second gear speed, thus I was riding the limiter on this particular course for more than I hoped.  For faster courses I will need to shift to 3rd or extend the rev limiter beyond my current 7700 rpm - expected, but not something I am thrilled about. Fortunately, I expect most SCCA Tour, Pro, and National courses to be a tick slower than today's offering.




Sorry about the video's sound quality; it seems that youtube doesn't work well with .mov files and the sound is borked and then dropped halfway through the run.  Although the Contour camera was cheap and is simple to operate, the QT format is not my preference and something I was not expecting.

Transitionally the car is loose, especially on corner entry, but with great feel in the sweepers.  A rear toe measurement after the event shows I have 1/4" total toe in, and my rake is nearly flat with 1/8" higher in the rear measured at the pinchweld.  The traditional fender to hub measurement reads just more than 3/8" higher in the rear.  To help settle the car I have a few options including lowering the rear ride height or installing the 1.25" Racing Bear front sway bar.  The next autox practice is scheduled for March 3rd.

Event Results
Don't read too much into the results, as we had some rain in San Diego and the course was wet early morning and mostly dry by noon. STR ran 4th group in the dry.  Once again, the Toyo magic gave me an effortlessly quick first run that turned out to be my best raw time, but plus 2 cones. 


The lightweight Enthuza XR muffler got replaced by the Enthuza Speeder which will easily pass the local sound restrictions and yet has a great note.