My driveway has changed...

Winding down from the first autocross event, had no idea how the car would be going in, but learned a lot. Went faster every run but I think the 4th one. Only got 5 runs unfortunately, and completely spaced turning traction control off the entire day. Still had fun, but have a lot to learn about the car. Still feel like I did okay for only having driven the car the last week and a half. The RE71R's are absolutely brilliant.

Pic:

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The course was really frustrating, and after the event I checked how many DNF's there were, turned out there were 60 runs that didn't finish. Just bad course design, IMO.

Here's my map of the course, tracked it using Google Fit:

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Was 0.41mi. Here's my fastest run. I lost it on the last turn, but still had some good moments. Trying to get used to driving 10 and 2.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHQp1tmX3PI&ab_channel=AdamBath

I had two instructors ride with me on my 2nd and 3rd run, got some pointers that helped me run faster. I placed 11th in Novice class, out of 45 entrants.
 
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Got it aligned this morning. Haven't put enough miles on it to have an idea of how it feels, and probably won't fully know till the next autocross on July 10.
 
Went deep on the Miata today, swapped the open diff out for an OEM limited slip. Literally dropped right in, the shims/spacers were perfect, backlash was perfect.

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Also replaced my stock shifter with a larger one from Sickspeed.

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The diff completely transformed the car. I test drove it initially at low speeds, made sure there weren't any strange noises or issues, then I went on a 2nd test drive and whipped it around a bit. Diff locks up great, got some fun skids in on backroads. Can't wait for autocross on the 10th. Car is going to be so much better.
 
So none of the potential problems you were concerned about, nice. Gotta love it when things go right the first time. :up:
 
Picked up a 2020 VW Jetta R-Line for $24k out the door with 20miles for my GF. This thing is great! I want a VW now :(
 
Damn that looks like fun. Taught my sis to drive stick long time ago and she never went with an automatic. Not long after I went with automatics... Kinda miss it.
 
Got a replacement steering wheel. The feel of the stock wheel always felt lame to me, it's pretty skinny, the profile of the wheel is round, and the hand grips seem like an afterthought. Here's the original wheel:

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The new wheel comes from a Fiat 124 Spider. Those cars are a Miata underneath, so the wheel is the exact same center section, but the profile of the wheel is completely different and the grips are MUCH better. New wheel feels so much better in my hands, and is much more comfortable when holding 10 and 2.

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Here it is, in the car:

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So I've got 3 more mods left to do on the car and then I'm probably done. I need to upgrade the front sway bar, and I need to install the optional Bilstein dampers that came with the GT-S package that I've been building. Then my car will be as good as it possibly can be while staying in SCCA C Street class, and the only upgrade I can make is to the driver. Third thing I will be doing is a smart top solution, there's one coming out soon that can lower the hard top with the key fob, as well as lower the windows, and allow me to lower the top at up to 30mph instead of 6mph.
 
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Had another autocross today... Started out the morning with my windshield developing a crack, which has spread quite a bit since these pics:

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There was a ding that was roughly 1mm that caused the whole thing, had no idea it was there, it must have happened after I washed the car yesterday.

Anyways, here's a pic of the car before the autocross:

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And after:

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Started pouring in the middle of my heat, I got 2 dry runs in before everything went to hell. Still had a fun time, got to really feel the car out in the wet as well. My best wet time was actually better than my best dry time, but only because I had 4 wet runs to 2 dry runs, and my fastest dry one I hit a cone.

The video of my last run is corrupted for some reason, so I don't have video from the event today. Placed 88th overall out of 125, and 10th out of 31 novices.
 
Got the appointment for windshield replacement scheduled for the 23rd.

Also had someone reach out on the Miata board, they have the Bilsteins I need to complete the GT-S package, so bought those today. Should be here by the weekend I think, or early next week.

Coolest part? They're shocks, not struts, all the way around so I can swap them without screwing up the alignment.
 
Acquired the OEM Bilsteins this week, just finished installing them. Verdict is they're very nice. Car handles a bit better, gives a little more oversteer, and seems to stay flatter in turns. With that, I've upgraded my car to have the full GT-S package.

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There's an autocross event on the 25th, will be fun to be able to test out the car.
 
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Dropped the Miata off at the dealer I bought it from this morning, they're repainting the front end after I found lots of evidence of a poorly done respray. They assure me they didn't do that respray, but they're making it right, so kudos to Maxwell Ford. They're telling me I should be able to pick it up Monday.
 
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