I say sell the Miata, go ***** out on the crossfire. we need more track built crossfires to get the aftermarket into this car. I find the Miata a bit embarrassing to be seen driving even if it is a race car. Just an opinion.

You can always get an LSD for the crossfire later down the road. How much do the Hoosier tires run about?

 

Um doesn't the Crossfire have an LSD? It sure felt like it when I autocrossed it. The Hoosiers run pretty expensive but I will get the race compound to start with since it should last longer. They run about $300 a piece for rears. The fronts are just over $200. I figure the autocross compound Hoosiers will last about 60-80 autocross runs where as the road race compound which is slightly harder will last over 100 runs. The harder compound will be good to have while I am sorting out the car and the last couple tenths of a second are quite as important. Then eventually move up to the softer tires.

I never felt bad about driving the Miata, it is a fun car to drive and I am not stuck on image. Thanks for the opinion though.

 

If you're going to use Hoosier R3S05's you have to go 18" wheels on the rear. 225x40x18 are about $215 for the front and 275x35x18 are about $238 for the rear. These are strictly DOT R racing tires, not approved for street use...

 

No on the LSD... No matter what you read from the marketing material... DCX engineering told me it is an "open differential".

I used Hoosier R3S05's all last season and they are great tires... This year I'm using the new Hankook Z214 C50 compound because I got a contingency sponsorship from them. The tread design is the same as the Hoosiers, but they are a few bucks cheaper and seem to have the same characteristics. If you're going to run Auto X use the C70 compound with the Hankooks or the A3S05 Hoosiers... Much softer compound designed for Auto X.

PS: Turning a Crossfire into a full track car is a pain in the AZZ and not a very competitive vehicle for the track... Buy yourself a Solstice ZOK or GXP if you want a good track car... IMHO.

 

dump ten grand in to your miata and you'll kill everything. if people think its embarrassing to drive them they don't understand why cars are made. its was the closest thing to a street legal race car cor 15 years, until lotus showed up. i would love to see a race prepped crossfire, but i think you would be more competitive in a miata. if you increase your power can't you change classes?

 

I can change classes for sure but I am trying to build the car to the limits of a class I can afford to run in competitively. If I sell the Miata, the money I get from that will more than pay for what I am able to do to the Crossfire in stock class. I have decided that for the time being if I am going to run a class than I want to be able to be competitive in that class not just a back marker. So yes I could get more power into the Miata and run another class but that would cost me more money and there is no guarantee I will enjoy it as much as I did the Crossfire when I ran it last year.

 

sounds like you made your mind up. i wish you the best of luck, i'll be joining the ranks of racing crossfires in ten days. good luck and most importantly have fun!!

 

You will see a fully race prepped Crossfire in 10 days... I turn Maitas into tire dust... For that matter, I go head-to-head with the Lotus Elise, C5 Corvette and a host of other fun cars...

Can't wait to show your what this little Crossfire can do... Especially on a track that gives me enough room to hit the rev limit...

 

Ok so I just got back from an event running the Miata but picked up a pair of 245/35/18 Hoosier A3S04 corded tires to test fit on the front. I got the tires for free so the guy didn't have to dispose of them. I mounted them up as soon as I got home and here are the results.







The clearance on the upper ball joint bolt is not really any closer than the stock tires once I put the legal 5 mm spacer up front. So if the Miata sells I will be running the Crossfire. I love having a tire machine in my garage, it makes this stuff so easy.

 

Nice to see you got it worked out... I could never run 245's on the front because I have aftermarket suspension and wheels... The offset on my Milano wheels must be narrower than OEM... That combined with the 1.5" drop from suspension and running -2 degrees camber, caused the 245's to rub the top A frame bolt...

Have fun with your car in Auto-X.

 

I got the 245/45/17 V710 to fit on my similarly dropped and neg. 2.8 deg. camber'd SLK.

 

I'm running 18", not 17" wheels.

 

The 245/35/18 is shorter overall than the 245/45/17. Just so you don't think it is because the 17 is smaller.

 

Hell why don't you guys flare out your fenders and bolt on some 12" rims from a Porsche maybe you can squeeze in a 13" rim?. Chicane Sport tuning sells "the Jimmy" fender flare tool: "http://www.chicanesport.com/"

 

I am running stock class which requires you to use wheels the same dimensions as stock and only gives you a -+0.25 inch allowance on offset. Dave could go nuts and run a big wheel in the class he ran but he has done the wise thing and is driving a 2002 Corvette Z06 this season that is sick fast. I say he did the wise thing because his SLK ran in the same class as Subaru STIs, C4 Corvettes, and BMW M3s. I am running against the standard model WRX, Integra Type R, and BMW 330. My odds are a bit better or at least I hope so.

 

Ok so the Miata got paid for and picked up last Friday and I have spent the week getting things straightened out and selling off the extra parts from the Miata that the new owner didn't want. I will be swapping front sway bars with Dave (DaveOH) because he has the larger AMG/SRT front bar with delrin bushings. I will also be picking up his 17x8 inch Kosei K1-TS wheels to use for street duty. I know the car will look a bit funny without the big wheels but tire costs are so much better and it also allows me to run the stock wheels with race tires for the time being. The stock cat-back exhaust is being ditched for something that will is custom made and will allow a custom trailer hitch to be installed to tow my tire trailer. Now comes the big question that is mainly aimed at HDDP or others with experience. I have the choice between the Koni single adjustable or the Bilstein HD for shocks. Now both are revalvable by the companies. The Koni will probably be better off the shelf but the Bilstein costs $50 less per shock and only costs $65 per shock to revalve compared to $150 for the Koni. I am just looking for feedback on these two as I have never run on the Bilstein HD. My Miata came with Bilsteins that Mazda had made for road racing so they aren't a proper comparison.

I know my car is going to be a bit funny looking with the 17 inch wheels and the trailer hitch but hopefully it will be fast enough to turn some heads on course.

 

Why are you looking at Koni or Bilstein shocks? Don't you want a fully adjustable suspension with adjustable valving? What is the model number of these shocks your checking out?

I would try looking at Tein or Ohlin, for a custom setup. Whats the budget?

 

Basically what I am looking for is just shocks. Tein and Ohlins might make shocks but Teins are not the highest quality and for Ohlins you are looking at $2,000 for a set of custom shocks. I need to run stock springs, so there can be no coil overs. Both the Koni and the Bilstein are revalvable. The Koni is adjustable already. I don't have the budget for Koni 2800 series shocks which are essentially old Formula One technology with aluminum bodies and such.

 

god i can't even imagine what a custom set from tein would cost. they really aren't much better than the companies he has listed, probably not as good actually. koni, etc. have tons of race experience on a wider variety of cars than does tein.

 

good luck, can't wait to hear how you do.