Hello all. Here's a shot of my car from last year, I'll get an updated shot later. Next race is this weekend.

209,000 miles on original motor. Sterling Carb. Tokico Illuminas with RB springs/front swaybar. Respeed Camber Plates and Fuel Pressure Gauge. Racing wheels/tires on their way!


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Thanks for the excellent show of support Billy! It's great to be a part of something like this.....

Here are the results from my last race, which took place in Muskegon Michigan. This race was sponsored by "The Furrin Group". 3rd place out of 4 cars in class. I got beat by an MR2 and a Miata with race tires. The new camber plates should put me in the running, and when the race wheels/tires get here I'll really be able to put the fear of God in them!

'C Street Prepared' - Total Entries: 4 Trophies: 2 Times Total Diff.
1T 19 Swanson, Kristofer 00 Mazda Miata 1:01.421 0:57.346 0:56.553 0:56.096 0:55.298 0:55.298 -

2T 12 Meyer, Brad 91 Toyota mr2 0:59.646+2 0:56.670+1 1:07.719+1 0:56.297 0:56.054+1 0:56.297 0.999

3 98 Kentetsu Mazda RX7 1:02.776 0:58.612+dnf 0:59.989+1 0:59.907 1:01.959+2 0:59.907 3.610

4 84 Husted, Brian Mazda RX7 1:19.530+2 1:03.774 1:03.134 1:03.840+2 1:03.520+1 1:03.134 3.227

Wow, what a race! Pouring rain, but we all still had a great time. I think there were a total of seventy-some cars at the event.

In CSP, we had a total of 7 entries. My car had three drivers that day (my buddy Jim, and Man In Black also drove), so my car finished in 7th, 6th, and 1st place! So my final results are 1st place out of 7 entries. The car did great, and the rain helped to make up for my lack of race rubber even though nearly all of my tread is gone now. lol. Pictures and videos coming soon.

Hmm, trying to post a new picture but can't find any way to do so??? What am I missing here?



>>>>>>Looks as though I messed up the skin. Should work now. -billy<<<<<<

Just getting ready for the big race tomorrow at Michigan State University. I think the car is more ready than I am. lol. The camber plates have helped out quite a bit this year (thanks Billy). I was thinking of upgrading to the coil overs, so I could squeeze a little more camber out of them, but now it looks like I have the option of using the new crossmember instead (those multiple mounting points were a great idea). Decisions, decisions....

Well, we ended up only having three cars in CSP this weekend. One was a little honda hatch that sat about 1 inch off the ground, and had wide race rubber. His car was set up by some nationally renowned builder, as was his engine. Very fast car! In the end though, he only beat me by 2.3 seconds on a 55 second course.

We actually had two races that day, a morning session and an evening one. I took 2nd in the morning, but 3rd in the evening. There was a basically stock 83 on race rubber, who edged me out by 2/100ths of a second.

I'm really gonna have to do something about the front end push. I know I could be a lot faster if only she would turn in to the damn corners! But on the good side, I beat out some really nice cars including a brand new Lotus and a 2nd gen with a aluminum Vette engine.

On the downside, my engine started making weird noises the night before the race. She held up fine, and got me home, but I think after 212,000 miles it might be time to seek a replacement...

I just posted this over at rx7club.com in a discussion as to whether the RX7 was competitive against the Miatas:

The Miatas are NOT invulnerable!!!

Man, did I have a great weekend! I raced in Muskegon Michigan, and it was one of the nicest courses I've driven to date, despite the small size of the lot. This is only my 2nd year in autocross, so I'm still learning as I go, but this time I had a sort of epiphany. My car ran and handled great, and I felt like I finally drove it at close to the limit. What an awesome time...

The final tally was: I got beat by one Miata, but 7 others fell to the old rx7! On top of that, I also got:

1 Solstice
1 S2000
1 STI
and an RX8
plus many others, of course. But I don't brag about beating Hondas. lol. And this was on street tires! Sumitomos, to be exact.

Here's the official results (I'm #98 in CSP): http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/...sEVENT_ID=7999

From the begining, it was my idea to see how far I could push my car without race rubber. My suspension is just about done, so I think its about time to slap on some real tires. I have no plans for the motor because the way I figure it, I've never lost a race due to lack of horsepower. Only a lack of skill. 213,000 miles now and still plenty strong.

My internet is down at home, but when it gets fixed I'll post up some videos from this event.

DEATH TO THE MIATAS!!!

Here are a couple photos, but they're from before I had the stickers. This past race, somehow, I managed to get nothing but video... You might notice that there are two drivers. That's because (despite the high mileage) I let my buddy Jim drive at most events, so the car runs double (and sometimes triple) duty. You've got to love the rotary!

Okay, here is the video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jB-JDdINMzU

If you listen closely, you can still hear my sticking apex seal... Still working on that issue, but I'm beginning to worry that it might be a bad spring, rather than a sticking seal. Comes and goes when it wants to now.

Here's some video from an earlier event, which was my first rainy raceday. I actually held FTD for the first half of the event, before the course dried up:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aqTrHIN--2Y

Guess who just ordered a Tri-link/Panhard bar setup! I'm drooling in anticipation. lol

My autox car has the gForce setup. You can expect it to be noisy, but it'll be faster. You still have your rear sway bar laying around? You have Jim's book as well?

I think that I will invest in the Gforce set up book.

Yeah, I heard they were noisy. Maybe I'll come up with a solution for that though, I'm not too bad when it comes to improving other people's ideas (sometimes). I guess the one I'm getting is actually from ISC, so I don't know what kind of differences there will be.

I do not have Jim Susko's book yet, but it is on my list for sure. I've heard very good things about it.

I am currently using my rear swaybar, so yeah, it's still around. I tried running without for a while, but after installing the heavier front bar I found I had better handling with the rear installed as well. Helped cut down on the understeer produced by the heavier front bar.

Well, I have the new parts and it looks like it will be a fairly big job to install. I may have to wait until this winter to install the trilink, not sure if I'll have enough time before then.

I also got a set of Bilstein rear shocks and adjustable rear springs, so those will probably be going on very soon. The man I bought this stuff from also threw in an adjustable rear swaybar for free. Coilovers will be going onto the front of the car once they arrive (thanks Billy), and then that should be about it for the rest of the year.

Some possible good news: My motor seems to have recovered from that apex seal problem! Over the last few days she hasn't made a peep, and the power is back up where it should be. I really can't imagine that she's got much life left in her with that many miles, but for now she's still doing the job so we'll wait and see.

I fabricated and installed my panhard/tri-link 2 winters ago. I don't recall how many weeks I spent doing it but it was sure worth it.

Did you get an install manual with the stuff? The front mount for the tri-link will set your pinion angle (Plus or Minus the rod end adjustments) So you will need to make sure and nail that during install.

-billy

Yeah, I did get a set of instructions complete with additional notes from the original owner. I've read through them, and they are very detailed...

I spent today installing the adjustable rear springs, Bilstein shocks, and adjustable swaybar. The new setup feels a lot "stickier" than the Illuminas did, so I'm very happy with it. The ride is very firm, but it doesn't tend to bounce my noggin off the ceiling like the Tokicos did on higher settings. Both the shocks and the tie rod ends use spherical bushings, so things are quite a bit noisier than before but well worth it in my opinion.

The Bilsteins were probably about 4" shorter than the Tokicos were, so the rear of the car is sitting quite a bit lower than before even at the highest adjustment I could get. I set the spring height so that the springs were not trying to fight against the maximum distention of the shocks because I figured that would be a bad thing for the shocks. Looking at the car, the rear is just ever so slightly lower than the front with the front shocks at their lowest setting. Once I get the coilovers installed things should be very nice indeed...

The rear spring adjusters are pretty basic, but seem to do the job well. My only concerns are that there is no set screw to keep them from adjusting themselves over time, and they don't actually attach to the car but rather just sit in the perch like a regular spring would. With the short Bilsteins on there this shouldn't be an issue, but if I was using a longer shock then they would probably fall out if I jacked the car up.

I just checked the Mazdatrix site to find out what the rate is on the rear RB springs. They are 110, and the new springs are 150. I could not tell a difference in the springs as far as ride comfort, so the Bilsteins must be doing a really great job of keeping them under control.

Our rear kits fit the same. I have seen guys use axle limiting straps to keep the rear from drooping to far. The rear springs do not have a tendency to turn with steering like the front springs so they should not turn the nut.

-billy

Well, I guess I should have expected this after all the work I put in yesterday...

213,100 miles exactly. May she rest in peace..... She gave up the ghost on the way home from work today, but (bless her soul) she managed to limp the rest of the way on the one remaining rotor rather than actually leaving me stranded. Cause of death, ate the apex seal... So, the search is on.

I am so sorry to here that but you did get some great miles out of her though.

Yes, I certainly did. No hard feelings, that's for sure. She pretty much gave me her two weeks notice before quiting too, which was certainly thoughtful.

Time to do some wheeling and dealing to get a replacement. Looking over my inventory, I should be able to come up with a nice trade for someone who has an extra 12a laying around. RB springs, Illumina shocks, a full body kit, etc. Wish me luck...

What a bottle of MMO wont fix that?
I'm changing engines this weekend too. Tired of driving the ported engine to and from work. It can rest until next spring until then I'll enjoy driving a standard 12A.
I have these 2 12A's that run and a 6-port 13B that is in pieces (+turbo = SM2 winter project?). Sorry I don't have another 12A for you.
Good Luck
Bruce

Sounds like a good time man, turbo eh? lol.

No worries man, I've got a couple of potential deals cooking. Time to turn some of my unused stuff into a running 12a. Either trade a body kit, or talk to the local junkyard and trade a 5 speed tranny for a low mileage motor and do a soft-seal rebuild on it....

Well, still no news on the motor. A friend says he'll trade me enough parts to build three motors in exchange for my body kit, so I'm chewing on that possibility right now.

I received my front coilovers. Thanks again Billy, they look great. I'm going to be doing a whole lot of stuff over the next few weeks, provided I've got the time. Here's the partial list (this is just the stuff I already have sitting on the shelves waiting to be done):

Panhard/3 link
New rear end
New rear brake calipers/rotors
New front calipers
SS brake lines all around
Front coilovers
Front control arm bushings
Pitman arm
Tie rod ends (inner/outer)
Used but good steering gear box
and a bunch more I can't think of right now. I'll also be giving the engine bay a compete "going over" while the motor is out. She's gonna sparkle when I'm done with her.

I'll most likely wait until spring to install whatever motor I end up with, unless something turns up real quick. Anyway, that's my update.

Bruce, must meet up for cold beer soon!

Do you definitely want to go with a 12A? My neighbor has a '91 13B in his garage that he took out to swap in a TII motor. I was thinking of getting it for about $500. It's a good motor.

I could possibly go with a 13b out of a GSL-SE, but any other 13b would unfortunately take me out of CSP class for racing. I'm not going to do that to myself until I've got a whole lot more horsepower to work with. Of course, that would also require wider wheels and tires, which would mean a wide body kit, and don't forget bigger brakes, etc. etc. etc. lol

Nope, I figure I'll stick around in CSP for at least a couple more years. Hell, I'm just now getting to the point where I can make the top guys a little nervous!

Good news! Cody (Perfect Circle) is bringing me a motor in the morning, and will help with the R&R too. So, I may be racing my own car this weekend! WOOHOO!!!

Well, the majority of the work is finished, and we got to hear it run. Perfect circle and Man in Black stuck around to help with the install, otherwise I'd still be out there. lol. The motor ran, but we won't really be sure of it until after I do some tuning and get it cleaned out. But so far so good. Still have a few details to take care of before the race on Saturday, so I'll be busy....

Update:

When we installed the new motor, one of the guys helping me out had some bad information. As a result, we ended up using an incompatible flywheel. So the motor will be coming back out, which is okay because it was kind of a rushed job to get it in there anyway. Now, I'll take the time to clean the motor up and make everything else look nice while I'm at it.

December was a waste for me. Spent a week in the hospital and a total of 6 weeks off work as a result of a respiratory infection. Just got back to work last Friday. The only thing I've accomplished so far is to get my garage cleaned out and move the 7 in there.

Hope all is well with everyone else.

Well, procrastination must come to an end sooner or later. The weather finally warmed up above freezing this past weekend, so I took advantage of it. I'll post some pics later, but I managed to get the motor/tranny pulled again on Saturday. Spent the rest of the day cleaning everything and painting a couple of parts.

Sunday, separated the motor from the tranny and pulled the clutch off. Couldn't find my 2 1/8" socket anywhere (dammit), and I know I had one when we did this last time. That's okay though, I found a ratchet that doesn't belong to me and a couple of screwdrivers I don't remember in my toolbox. So we've managed to swap some tools, no biggie. So, off to Sears I go, but the idiot gives me a 2" instead of the size I needed which turned into a total fiasco... Finally said screw it, and spent more time cleaning the engine/tranny and engine bay. The motor cleans up nicely.

I ordered a Respeed swaybar last week, so I'll probably take a bunch of pics when I install that (or maybe a short video on youtube).

Update: Two races down this year, and two wins in CSP. The car is running great, and handling better than ever. My next race is in a couple of days, and I'll be trying out some race rubber for the first time.

Nice set up mark, if only i had three more seconds on you at GVSU.

See you at MIAC

Hey do you wanna do the turkey trot TSD rally with me

Not sure. It would depend on the day, and whether or not I've got the time available...

Well, its been a while since I've updated this thread so I figured its about time...

I've added a new set of wheels, some Revolution 13x8 which are very lightweight. They fit great and really add to the looks of the car. Looks like I'll be running the Sumitomos for another year due to the astronimical expense of Hoosiers.

I've had two races this year, both time placing 2nd. First race I got edged out by 2/10ths of a second by a highly modified Miata on Hoosiers. I was soooo close!!! The last race my buddy got my by under a half second with his 75 RX3 on Hoosiers.

Bad news, my win streak against Porsche has been brought to an end. After over two years, one of the buggers managed to beat my (1/10th of a second). Surprisingly, it was not the supercharged 911 that I was worried about, but rather a '76 911 that has been racing for a couple of decades.

Good news is that the Dodge Viper was a couple seconds slower than me, as well as all kinds of RX8s/TIIs/and a whole bunch of exotic cars.

Getting the race rubber back on will be my next goal, as that will make the difference between almost winning my class and competing for Fast Time of Day.

The car continues to handle like a dream, and the used 12a we put in is still running strong. I even drove her down to North Carolina this spring for the Tail of the Dragon event with absolutely no issues. A little tuning of the Sterling carb has resulted in not only more power, but also better gas mileage (figure that one out).

One other note concerning the used motor we installed. First start up revealed a bad coolant seal, she was pumping coolant out the exhaust so fast it looked like a house fire! After installing this motor, then pulling it back out to fix the flywheel issue, then reinstalling it, I was seriously bummed. In fact, I was bummed enough to consider alternative solutions. I ended up paying $4.00 for a bottle of Alumaseal (radiator sealant) and after about 20 minutes of idling the motor showed no signs of a problem. I've got probably 8,000 miles on her now, and even with the trip down South, she's still running strong and using zero coolant. Probably a dozen others have used this method since I wrote about it, all with great success.

Anyway, here's a few pics with the new wheels....

Glad to see that you are still doing well with the car in Solo2. I still need to add some parts sitting on the shelf to mine. I have no time since I am moving to VA. Moving sucks but since my new home has a 2 car garage i plan on doing alot this fall and winter to the RX-7.

Lots of nice roads in Virginia. Unlike Michigan roads, which were laid out with a ruler.

Well, I had two events this past weekend...

Saturday: We had an autocross driving school. This was actually pretty interesting; we had a very nice course set up, and national class drivers who rode with us to critique our driving and car setup. I got pretty lucky and got the instructor I wanted, he drives a Supercharged Miata that is very nicely prepared, and he really knows how to use it. After riding with me for three out of five runs, he said the only advice he had for me was to get stickier tires (using Sumitomo HTR 200s right now). He complimented the setup of the car, and even said that he couldn't believe it handled as well as it does (this coming from a Miata driver!!!).

Sunday: Ran the autocross utilizing the same great course as Saturday. I felt that I drove the car to its limits (actually, I drove the tires to their limits), and the car handled like a dream. There were 3 different long sweeping turns with varying radius which were a lot of fun. Redlining 2nd gear right at the edge of adhesion, holding a very slight 4 wheel drift through most of them. Power was great (the Sterling carb performed flawlessly as always), the car just felt good all over. I was leading my class by over 2 seconds after 3 of 4 runs. My best time on this course the day before had been 50.3 and during the race my best was a 49.7 so there was a slight improvement. On the very last run, a Miata in my class (everyone in my class ran race rubber) turned in a 49.4 to edge me out of 1st place...

I'm just a hair away from being able to do this on $50.00 tires (which would be great). But a hair is all it takes for those Miatas to beat me out it seems. Last race weekend I got beat by a different Miata, both days I was off by less than 2/10s of second. And I'm usually within a couple of seconds of Fast Time of Day, even with supercharged Miatas and 450 hp turbo'd Lotus Elises and such. I think at this point, tires would damn near put me in contention for FTD and would certainly put me consistently at the top of my class. But with a wife and three kids, what's a guy to do?

Once I learn the area a bit more I plan on testing some of these great roads out. Where my home is located is some great roads. Only prob is there is no lines and the "Country folk" love to ride in the middle of the road on the crown. Scares the hell out of me when I am on my motorcycle. I plan on doing at least one autox this month with a group from Richmond. and maybe one next month.