LS powered Miata swap- Build Thread
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From: Hattiesburg, MS
Also looks like you deleted your fuse panel!
Why aren't you able to dial out the camber with the lower eccentric bolts? That "should" also push the top of the tire away from the inner fender. A picture of the FC rear end with CV angle vs lower arm angle would be awesome!
Why aren't you able to dial out the camber with the lower eccentric bolts? That "should" also push the top of the tire away from the inner fender. A picture of the FC rear end with CV angle vs lower arm angle would be awesome!
The lower eccentric bolts are maxxed out right now. Several companies make an adjustable upper control arm though.
Will you be putting flares on the front end also? If so, try throwing the 275's up front. If they fit, that would be a nice unheard of combo for Auto-x with around 40psi of pressure in them. The sidewalls are decently stiff and the tires hold up fairly well. The tires can handle over 1800 pounds per corner, and resting weight on the miata is around 550-600 per corner.
LS1-450: The differential breaking was mainly my fault. I didn't install the plates that go on the bottom of the rear "ears", so when i actually got traction the urethane bushing literally just separated and dropped. When it did that, my solid front mount was bent. I hammered it back for the time being, but do plan on building something a little more sturdy for the long run. For now, the solid delrin in the rear and a solid metal mount for the front seem to support the differential pretty well. Only time will tell though.
And yes, that is THE strongest rear end design i have seen. If i ever swap to an 8.8, i will probably borrow from the design.
Last edited by dark_dementshun; Oct 13, 2009 at 04:09 PM.
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IMO, you're better off w/ a cam/pushrod/spring & maybe even a head upgrade. Forced induction is a pain in the *** to maintain. You'll always be either re-building engines/turbos or worrying about timing & intake temps; not to mention oil flow to the turbo.
You could even do heads & cam on a budget. Find some ported 241's (they can be found in the parts section cheap (maybe $250-$300) or a set of 243's for a bit more. A 224/224, .563/.563, 114 LSA cam (regrind for $125). New pushrods for the new valve wipe pattern $125. Head gaskets (.040" Cometics) & bolts $225. Underdrive pulley $125. LS6 intake & @ least an 85mm TB if you don't already have.
This should get you close to 400/390 on a compitent re-tune. A higher lift cam or 1.8 rockers w/ the noted cam would gaurantee it. If I remember correctly, you already have upgraded injectors. If not, a used flowed & balance set of ACCEL 30# ers will do.
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I'm mainly just wanting to keep as close to stock of an engine as possible for reliability. I'm familiar with a few turbo and all motor setups. They each have their advantages. The main advantage of all motor is of course the space savings. It looks like i could fit a turbo up front, but routing the charge pipes and downpipe is going to be tricky along with the large increase of under hood temps.
For right now i am just enjoying the car as it is. I have a little wet nitrous setup that i am going to run, but nothing major. I think that will last a little while and keep me happy as i work out all the little bugs.
For right now i am just enjoying the car as it is. I have a little wet nitrous setup that i am going to run, but nothing major. I think that will last a little while and keep me happy as i work out all the little bugs.
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haha I am in the process of getting a camera mount for the roll bar, so there should be some videos up in a week or two. I will be sure to post them up here.
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Obviously, you were just thinking out loud, I get it. When the time comes, give the heads/cam a good hard look before choosing forced induction. The right combo will not effect daily driving & the LSX platform is one of the best for building reliable power w/ a simple (for lack of a better term) h/c swap.
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Come to think of it, I probably need to change my tamp... errr I mean manpon now.
Haha, I just mean keeping a stock engine with the addition of forced induction. I have always had a soft spot for turbo v8's of any kind, though in this car the space limitations may limit me to all motor/nitrous. I didn't plan on even buying a nitrous setup yet, but this one landed in my lap. These builds always evolve in ways you didn't expect in the beginning. Should be interesting to see how this ends up.
Haha, I just mean keeping a stock engine with the addition of forced induction. I have always had a soft spot for turbo v8's of any kind, though in this car the space limitations may limit me to all motor/nitrous. I didn't plan on even buying a nitrous setup yet, but this one landed in my lap. These builds always evolve in ways you didn't expect in the beginning. Should be interesting to see how this ends up.
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Excuse the poor video quality. These are my first attempt, and with a new camera on top of that. Still, you get the idea.
First video with me driving. Second video with Adam driving.
As you can tell, the car really needs a tune. The tires have been doing great until 2 days ago when a cold front came through; now we might as well have the 195's back on. We got a lot of little quirks worked out today, so i'm going to try some in car footage maybe tomorrow.
First video with me driving. Second video with Adam driving.
As you can tell, the car really needs a tune. The tires have been doing great until 2 days ago when a cold front came through; now we might as well have the 195's back on. We got a lot of little quirks worked out today, so i'm going to try some in car footage maybe tomorrow.
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Thanks guys. I have right over 14k in it right now from what i can tell. Probably closer to 15 or 16 if i counted every little part though.
We had a cold weather front come through a couple days ago, and ever since then the tires just don't want to stick. They usually do much better though. The roads wouldn't get warm even in the sunlight. Most of the camera shaking is us just shivering. haha Southern boys not used to cold!
We had a cold weather front come through a couple days ago, and ever since then the tires just don't want to stick. They usually do much better though. The roads wouldn't get warm even in the sunlight. Most of the camera shaking is us just shivering. haha Southern boys not used to cold!
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I had planned on taking it out to the track yesterday, but i couldn't launch at all on the street. I need to get some base runs in though. I'm anxious to see your car again. Then again i havn't been to the track in a while...