Roadster NA

[Roadster7]

MATG was fun this year. Got to see a few old faces, met some new faces. TNRooster3, ethaniscool, JamieH, Doppelganger, Bryan, good seeing you guys again.

Definitely focused more on driving than I did last year, got 9 runs in on US129, compared to just 2 last year. Car feels great on the tōge, such an improvement over the previous setup that it's not even possible to compare the two. I could throw it into pretty much any corner at any speed and it would handle it just fine. Got to experiment a bit with shock adjustment and tire pressures to see how each affects the car. Really began to understand how each component affects your driving style and car's characteristics. The setup I felt most confident with towards the end was 15/10 clicks on the shocks and 28psi in the tires, which I worked up to from 6/4 clicks and 25psi. I was probably pushing at 75-80% for most of my runs, but it is insane how much further I can push it compared to before. One of the notes I took away from the weekend is - I could do with another set of springs in 700/400 sometime in the future. For most of the 318 corners 550/350 were perfectly fine, but I felt like a few of them would have benefited from something stiffer. I may have had different feedback if my ride height was higher, though. Currently at 4.75"R/4.50"F.

Anyways, on to the photos.



A&W Spirited Run






Saturday at Fontana









Sold most of my stuff - enjoy the parts whoever got them!

[TNRooster3]

Glad to get to meet you in person, hopefully will be able to bring Rooster next time and maybe get a photo of both our cars together. Speaking of pix, for some reason I took only a couple this year, mind if I copy a few of yours?

[Roadster7]

Glad to get to meet you in person, hopefully will be able to bring Rooster next time and maybe get a photo of both our cars together. Speaking of pix, for some reason I took only a couple this year, mind if I copy a few of yours?

That would be cool, we'll plan for it next year! Photos are all yours, no problem.

[91BRG]

wow just went through your entire thread... amazing work, esp with that dash and centre console. your car has come a long way... photos are beautiful too.

[TNRooster3]

That would be cool, we'll plan for it next year! Photos are all yours, no problem.

Thanks, look forward to it.

[Roadster7]

For most of the 318 corners 550/350 were perfectly fine, but I felt like a few of them would have benefited from something stiffer.

Decided to fix this with the help of a larger front sway bar. Found a good deal locally on a used Racing Beat 54105 tubular with end links.

First impressions - much less understeer than before, cornering feels much sharper. No need for stiffer springs at the moment.

[Roadster7]

I've had a certain look in mind for a while now, and have always been inspired by the styles of a handful of roadsters from the pages of Minkara. To help achieve that look, a few parts found their way home from Japan this week.
























Vitaloni Sebring (M2-1028) mirrors and Zoom Engineering tail lights. I'm not sure if Vitaloni manufactured the bases on these mirrors, but I'm almost certain they didn't. M2 Incorporated made bases to go on the M2-1028 - these aren't them. Although a new set can be easily found on YJA, this set was used, and no information was provided other than "came from a roadster."

The Zoom Eng lights have been on the list for a long time now. They are in good shape, but will need just a little bit of attention before getting painted. A reverse light was also included, but I'm not sure I want this light below my rear bumper. I might try to incorporate a reverse light into the finish panel a la Garage Vary.

[lucmor444]

Taillights are lovely - in case you didn't know you can get aluminium garnish rings for the lamps,

[Roadster7]

Zoom Engineering sells them separately, but I think I prefer without rings at the moment.

[Roadster7]

Next few posts will be catching up on a few upgrades I forgot to mention previously.

RS Products switch.



Quality part, well made and very solid. Not sure if I should have found a black one instead.

[Roadster7]

My troubleshooting thought process while tracking down a rattle in the exhaust system:

Step 1: It must be the old manifold heat shield falling apart. Replace it.





Racing Beat 4-1. Very nice part, well worth the trouble of installing it, which wasn't that bad. EGR lined up perfectly. I mean fitment seriously couldn't be better. Wiped down with vodka/alcohol after installation, and it's developed a nice dark bronze finish now.

Fixed 'the' rattle, but apparently I was hearing two rattles at the same time. Next step...

[Roadster7]

Step 2: It has to be the cat, right? Replace it.



GoodWin Racing high-flow cat. I'm sure the old cat wasn't in great shape anyways, so replacing was a good idea, but this didn't solve my rattle.

A rubber mallet confirmed it's my muffler. Don't ask why I didn't do this in the first place.

Anyways, now I'm left with a car that's too loud, and still buzzes while coasting to a stop @ ~2,750 rpm.

Step 3: Decide which muffler to replace this one with.

Exhaust changes to be continued...next year?

[Roadster7]

How I've gone this far without a roll bar, I have no idea. I like the uncluttered look of a rear window in a roadster, but eventually the single diagonal, more aggressive look grew on me.

Blackbird Fabworx Single Diagonal NB is a great choice. Love the harness bar integration between the main hoop on the NB version, so that's what I went with.




HUGE shoutout to Pete @oldgrayleather for this next bit. He helped get me in touch with Martha of Bethania Garage, who was happy to replicate the custom SFI padding cover she originally made for Pete's bar. It nicely covers up the formed SFI padding Hard Dog sells.



Installation of the actual bar wasn't difficult, just time consuming. It took a full day with all of the trim and details that I wanted to take care of. The notches required in the rear shelf were trimmed with a rubber tube cut in half and some hot glue, which just protected the bar during installation. Hard top side brackets also needed to be modified in order to work.







The only thing I didn't anticipate is not being able to move the seats all the way back with the bar in place now. I'm not tall by any means, but sitting a good 2-3 inches closer to the pedals took some getting used to.

[Roadster7]

During one of the drives @ MATG, something broke around the clutch pedal, causing it to click badly. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was small, blue, and broken. After a few minutes of searching, I found out it's a pad that engages a cruise control switch, replaceable with either the same blue plastic part or a rubber version that fits just as nicely. I used this chance to order a few other OEM parts that needed replacing.

Speedometer cable, clutch cruise control switch stopper, and brake/clutch pads.









No more bouncy speedometer needle, clutch pedal no loner makes a funny sound, pedal feel is much nicer.

[bogaut]

thats the nicest parcel tray roll bar cut job ive ever seen