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miata_racer's turrible STF build thread

31K views 258 replies 14 participants last post by  Adam3s 
#1 ·
Yep. I suck at these...but here we go!

Car is a 2008 Mazda 3s. It's black and has about 101k miles. It's got 3 bilsteins and one stock strut on the RF (warrantied the RF at tire rack...that sucked).

So now to the mod list for STF that's on it.

- stock 2012 MS3 rear bar (off my other street car)
- adjustable upper rear arms (might swap out for the stock arms with the whiteline offset bushings I have later)
- AEM cold air intake hacked in half to make a short ram.
- 17x7.5 Enkei fronts and stock miata 17x7 rears with 225 rivals.
- AWR passenger side mount


Upcoming mods?

- super secret coilovers that everyone else already has :)
- race seat on the driver's side so I quit falling out of the stock seat
- header back setup from OBX because the stock setup sounds lame ;)
- ecu? maybe?
- new pulleys (including a new tensioner I suspect...sounds rattly at times)
- lower dogbone mount insert
 
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#235 ·
Nationals Debriefing

Enjoyed watching your progress throughout the season, and thanks for sharing your experiences and adventures with us.

Please share with us, if you would, your Nationals spring rate setup (f/r), and also did you go with the 15's or 17's finally?
 
#236 ·
15s. Once I raised the rev limiter to 7800rpm indicated (7500 actual) the 15s were the easy choice. I still would bounce here and there...but they had little to no wheelspin with the stiff rates on my car. Drastically reduced body roll.

I also ended up with the front bar connected after spring nats

Final rates were 10k front and 14k rear.
 
#237 ·
Well the de-prep continues...I've pulled the seats and put the heavy stockers back in and also removed the header. Car is slower now. LOL :)

This weekend I hope to swap the suspension over to the other car (2012 MS3) for some track use over the winter. :) I also need to unload this big rear bar at some point.


A by the way post too...when it comes to the trans mount...get an OEM. :) I am having to replace my cheap $28 ebay one under warranty. I just replaced it around April. It's broken already. :\
 
#238 ·
Well the wheels appear to be sold. And the coilovers as well. Wouldn't mind unloading the hotchkiss rear bar too :)
 
#239 ·
I can sell the miata passenger seat setup too if someone wants. It's a bolt in and is right at about 25-26lbs total. :)
 
#240 ·
Wheels Arrived Safely

Dave, the Rota wheels arrived and did so without trauma or excitement.:bigsmile: Thank you. Looking forward to getting them mounted soon.

Debating painting the wheels first (anything but "flat black"). Not sure how hard that would be to do a good job on them. Anyone here ever painted wheels? Advice?

I measured them right at 35mm, as the box stated. My current 7 inchers are 45mm, so I gain a little track. Not a bad thing.

Again, thanks for the sale.:bigsmile:
 
#242 ·
Ugh...those basTURDS told me the box says 35 but we assure you they are 40mm. A bit irritated with 18racing, but oh well. There's a bit of a language barrier there I think

Glad they made it ok.

IF you're going to paint them try plastidip. OR do the color shift. I used it on the mini and it was awesome. AND it uses a black base coat :) :) so you're good to go :)

Dave, the Rota wheels arrived and did so without trauma or excitement.:bigsmile: Thank you. Looking forward to getting them mounted soon.

Debating painting the wheels first (anything but "flat black"). Not sure how hard that would be to do a good job on them. Anyone here ever painted wheels? Advice?

I measured them right at 35mm, as the box stated. My current 7 inchers are 45mm, so I gain a little track. Not a bad thing.

Again, thanks for the sale.:bigsmile:
 
#249 ·
Silver Rota Wheels

OK, wanted to be different, so I painted the Rotas "Dull Aluminum".:grin:

Here is the result.







From the wheels I was using (15x7), with an increase in outward offset as well as the increase in width, the car's track is now a full two inches wider!

Dave, you said that the stock lugs worked, but the ones I had from my other wheels were too large, so I had to go with "Tuner" lugs. Probably saved at least 8 ounces, so I should be really, really lighter now.:chuckles:



Will be trying this next weekend with Porsche Club. Yes, that's right, no snow here in Arizona.:lol:
 
#251 ·
I just looked and I have these steel open ended lugs on my car. I don't know where my stock ones went to lol...Sorry :\

The silver looks good on your car. The black matched mine...and the brake dust.
 
#252 ·
I had my Dunlops mounted on David's wheels. At the next event, after my first set of runs, I checked tire pressures and went to the scoreboard.

Walking through the pits, someone came up and said I had a flat tire.

WTF.

So I went and looked, and found one of the rubber valve stems had ruptured at the base. Torn through. From sitting there. Got it replaced. They were the very short ones.

Two weeks later, sitting in the driveway at home, happened again. Another of the originals, and after the first I had rechecked them all.

Just got them all replaced.

What's going on here? Any cues? Luckily each happened while sitting, not moving.
 
#255 ·
Valve Stem Breakage

In over 50 years of playing with cars, I've never seen anything like this. These were the very short all rubber valve stems, and they broke off right at the top of the outside of the wheel. Almost like someone had pulled on it sharply. It was completely
torn through, with only a few rubber strands holding the top in place.

When the first one failed, I thought perhaps poor installation. Now I'm really sure it was poor installation, someone with no feel for how hard they pulled it.

But.........how do they fail weeks later, only while the car is stationary, rather than in the middle of a run? And in the one case, between runs? Or, on a highway?

I'm feeling very lucky.......:banana:
 
#257 ·
whenever I put new tires on I usually put new valve stems in. I assume the tire shop replaced them? The stems they had in them were a high pressure stem that was actually sturdier than what you're describing. Brass end on them just like the one below. They were only about 9 months old too.


I use these in all autocross and track tires that I've been doing for the last 6 years.

If I had to guess I'd say in typical practice the tire shop replaced them with new stems and pulled them in way too hard. When a kid is being paid $8-9/hr they typically aren't very careful. :(

Also, if they aren't careful when mounting the tires they can damage the stem when mounting tires as well. I've only had tires lose air in 2 situations in the last 20 years on track and autocrossing. Punctures and a cracked inner barrel on a 3pc wheel.

I'm with Adam. Time for a new tire shop and get the other type of valve stems put in. They are a stronger stem and easier to check pressures with as well. :)
 
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