carmudgeons.com - View Single Post - What the Mazda RX-8 should have been (new autocross car build)

John V · 07-01-2019, 08:53 AM

I'm not sure a street mod car is ever at 100%. Seems like a constant state of triage.

I need to get organized for the next month in preparation for the Oscoda Pro which is the first weekend in August. There are two local events between now and then (one on 7/14 and one on 7/21) and I should attend at least one of them to shake down the latest round of changes (and more stuff I need to do).

1) Keep dialing in the traction and launch controls. Right now the traction control is way too intrusive. I'm not sure why but I have to set the desired tire slip percentage to be way too high (like 60% - should be about 10-15%) or it just cuts power instantly.

2) Need to find a way to disable the traction control for burnouts. Maybe I need to put a switch in there. The setup lets you set a speed threshold whereby the traction control doesn't kick in unless vehicle speed exceeds some value (like 10MPH) but it doesn't seem to work properly. I'll need to just do some testing.

3) The front spring couplers are binding. I need to put them on the lathe and take some material off of them

4) I need to redo the rear splitter mounts. They're super flimsy and the thing flaps around a lot. Ideally I'd find a new mounting location for them. It doesn't really affect performance so maybe I shouldn't bother but I want to get that done because it's really starting to annoy me how flimsy the ends are.

5) Need to get back down to Peter's for more work on the tune.

6) Hopefully, maybe, but probably not, improve the fuel system so I don't have to run the car with 100lbs of extra fuel onboard. I think this is probably an off-season project and I just live with it for now. But it'd be nice to fix that.

I think that's it for now.

07-01-2019, 08:53 AM	#275
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	I'm not sure a street mod car is ever at 100%. Seems like a constant state of triage. I need to get organized for the next month in preparation for the Oscoda Pro which is the first weekend in August. There are two local events between now and then (one on 7/14 and one on 7/21) and I should attend at least one of them to shake down the latest round of changes (and more stuff I need to do). 1) Keep dialing in the traction and launch controls. Right now the traction control is way too intrusive. I'm not sure why but I have to set the desired tire slip percentage to be way too high (like 60% - should be about 10-15%) or it just cuts power instantly. 2) Need to find a way to disable the traction control for burnouts. Maybe I need to put a switch in there. The setup lets you set a speed threshold whereby the traction control doesn't kick in unless vehicle speed exceeds some value (like 10MPH) but it doesn't seem to work properly. I'll need to just do some testing. 3) The front spring couplers are binding. I need to put them on the lathe and take some material off of them 4) I need to redo the rear splitter mounts. They're super flimsy and the thing flaps around a lot. Ideally I'd find a new mounting location for them. It doesn't really affect performance so maybe I shouldn't bother but I want to get that done because it's really starting to annoy me how flimsy the ends are. 5) Need to get back down to Peter's for more work on the tune. 6) Hopefully, maybe, but probably not, improve the fuel system so I don't have to run the car with 100lbs of extra fuel onboard. I think this is probably an off-season project and I just live with it for now. But it'd be nice to fix that. I think that's it for now.