Project Simplify+Lightness ||| Stage 1 Complete

"MarquetteLa" (marquettela) 03/30/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: project simplify+lightness

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A good wash is coming soon, but I was too excited not to take photos right away

After keeping my 2002 Mazda Miata pretty much stock for about three years, I’ve now completed the preliminary stage of my build. Stage 1 consists of:

Suspension

Ohlins Road & Track DFV Coilovers — ~5 lbs (2 kg) of unsprung weight loss compared to stock suspension (I think? I was too dumb to weigh before/after)

aww, look at the cute little 6.5" stock wheels!

they GLEAM

These coilovers were the first appreciable modification to the car. The stock suspension was pretty worn out at 77k miles due in large part to Louisiana’s awful roads (Colorado’s are so much better!). So what to replace the stock suspension with?

I caught wind of these Miata-tailored Ohlins coilovers on sale and I bit the bullet. Single-adjustable, 1-25 clicks. I’d imagine the 20-range would be suitable for very smooth, flat tracks like Circuit of the Americas. I daily drive & canyon carve around 10-15. Dropping down near 1 smooths things out pretty close to if not better than the stock ride.

These monotubes are Swedish marvels. They have versatility, great communication, and an outright restraining order level of attraction to the tarmac. Well worth the money if you value your Miata’s suspension. And did I mention they’re shiny and gold?

Brakes

Flyin’ Miata Little Big Brake Kit — 14 lbs (6.3 kg) of unsprung weight loss compared to stock brakes

we’ll get to these wheels in just a moment

Over the past few months of use my brake pads had been nearing the end of their dutiful lives. When those pads entered service, I had the rotors turned to saved some cash, so this time around I would be replacing them, too. If I’m replacing pads & rotors...why not take things a step further? I’d had my eye on Flyin’ Miata’s Little Big Brake Kit some time. The stock floating calipers are replaced with Wilwood Powerlite 4-piston aluminum calipers on all four corners, shedding an awful lot of unsprung mass in the process. What’s notable about this kit is that the rear calipers are modified to accept a handbrake. It’s a pretty weak handbrake, though. I think it may need some adjustments to get the most out of it.

Handbrake cable

Since the rotors needed to be replaced and I was using new calipers, I had the opportunity to upgrade my Miata’s base 10" rotors with the sport 11" rotors. Vented and drilled, too? Sure, why not. Bigger rotors, 4x the pistons, and a good deal of excess unsprung mass excised? Yep, count me in.

Wheels & Tires

949racing 6UL 15x8 wheels — Removed 15.6 lbs (7 kg) of unsprung, rotating weight compared to the stock 16x6.5 wheels

So...about those big brakes up there. They actually didn’t quite fit the 15x7.5 black 949racing 6UL wheels I had at the time. The fronts cleared, but just barely . They would need a spacer. And the rears? That special handbrake cable was in the way. And so the answer to this dilemma, like so many others in life, was to buy new wheels. New gen4 15x8 ‘bronze’ 6UL wheels, to be exact. That extra half-inch and the resulting change in offset made all the difference in the world!

Hankook Ventus R-S3 tires — no appreciable weight change :/

yes my front bumper has a slight mounting issue

Guess what! The BFGoodrich Rivals that were on my old black wheels were also getting long in the tooth. So new wheels meant new tires. The R-S3 had comparable reviews to the new Rival S on Tire Rack and had a $100 lower price tag Rival S, so here we are with 225/45-15 tires (compared to the stock 205/45-16). I haven’t put even put 100 miles on them, so I can’t do much in the way of comparisons yet.

Shifter

MiataRoadster extended short shifter/rebuild kit — a little bit of extra weight added :(

my shaft has an angle to it

The Miata is sitting in my garage with 91,019 miles (146k km) on her right now. I put most of those miles on the car myself, with plenty of quick shifting throughout. The shifter needs a rebuild. I think you can see where this is going.

MiataRoadster sells a rebuild kit that also includes an extended short shifter. The idea is to extend the shifter to bring it 4" (10 cm) closer to the steering wheel while keeping the same relative length throw with the short throw shifter. I’m very excited to install this over the weekend. My shifter has been practically begging for new parts for so long now!

Driver Mod

MarquetteLa — Removed 60 lbs (27.2 kg) of sprung weight compared to 2013 model year MarquetteLa :)

323 GTX cameo

So in the course of upgrading worn-out components I’ve managed to trim 34.6 lbs of unsprung mass off the car. Combined with my 60-lbs weight loss, my Miata and I are damn near 100 lbs lighter than we were four years ago. How’s that for a gram strategy?

More photos to come soon once Denver’s weather decides to get all warm & sunshiny again next week.

Stage 2

need more monies first

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! & !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! : @MarquetteLa
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GTI Sprinks > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 09:05

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congrats on the weight loss.

Stage 1 also looks great!

epidemike > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 09:18

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Ok, I’ll have to be honest here and say that is a Miata I do like. I generally think they’re over rated but yours is super clean and the green and gold paint scheme is so classy. Love the wheel/tire combo because of nice meaty tires.

Master Cylinder > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 09:21

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Nice! I would love to swap some lightweight calipers on my 944. There’s a kit out there for Wilwoods on the front, but nothing on the rear.

Losing weight (from the car and from yourself!) is the way to go.

Nonster > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 09:40

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man I want those wheels for my MR2!

HONDAD > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 09:49

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That’s a nice looking Miata! I really like the green and gold. Nice write-up.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 10:03

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This post, it makes me happy.

Very clean, functional, and proper build! Congratulations all around. I’m looking forward to following your progress.

Any track events planned in the near future?

What spring rates are the Ohlins?

DeLM > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 10:38

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100 lbs, nice that’s 1/10th quicker in a straight line, with the amout of weight being cleared from the corners, should save you near a second on the track. Nice color combo by the way!

MarquetteLa > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow 03/30/2016 at 11:05

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Thank you!

It’s a daily driver & autocross machine for the moment. Once I ditch this chassis it’ll be a track rat.

Spring rates are 450 pound front (7 kg), and 336 pound rear (4 kg).

MarquetteLa > HONDAD 03/30/2016 at 11:06

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Thank you! I’m planning on carrying over the color scheme to the Exocet build.

MarquetteLa > Nonster 03/30/2016 at 11:07

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I highly recommend them!

MarquetteLa > epidemike 03/30/2016 at 11:09

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Thank you! I love the green & gold liveries of old Lotuses and I think it carries over to the Miata pretty well.

MarquetteLa > DeLM 03/30/2016 at 11:09

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Thanks for putting some times to the weight loss! I can’t wait to pick out the green I’ll be using for the Exocet chassis.

MarquetteLa > Master Cylinder 03/30/2016 at 11:12

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Non-matching calipers would drive my OCD insane I think.

And thanks! I feel so much better now that I’m not lugging that extra weight around!

MarquetteLa > GTI Sprinks 03/30/2016 at 11:13

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Thanks! I’m pretty pleased with how it came out looks-wise, although the new wheels don’t quite match the color I plastidipped the hardtop. Oh well, I’m not too concerned about it.

Master Cylinder > MarquetteLa 03/30/2016 at 11:58

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I’ll bet! 60lb is an awesome achievement!

epidemike > MarquetteLa 03/31/2016 at 10:01

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It gives a very classy vibe.

stigshift > MarquetteLa 04/01/2016 at 15:15

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I know quite a few fellow members of The Baby Seals Club Racing who could benefit from the 60 lb. unsprung weight loss program... Good job!

MarquetteLa > stigshift 04/01/2016 at 15:24

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Haha thanks very much! :)

stigshift > MarquetteLa 04/01/2016 at 21:40

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I’m Jeff R. A fellow Miata owner. Ratty old ‘90 with 211k on it. Still makes me grin every time I get in it...