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

John V · 07-18-2019, 07:48 AM

Ha, that's nice of you to say but I lack most of those qualities except persistence, and I make up for the shortfall in the others with persistence.

I'm pretty happy with where the car is, given how few events I've been able to do, and given that the car wasn't even running six months ago. Now I'm in the mode of trying to make it competitive with the top cars in the class, knowing that typically this process takes years.

So plans for this weekend (we have an event Sunday):

* Fix a persistent leak in the power steering. I machined a fitting to adapt the 13mm Mazda PS fluid return line to the 10mm return port on the Toyota PS reservoir, and it leaks. Need to re-engineer that.
* Work on the cam phaser tuning in the Haltech. It still doesn't work like I would expect
* Work on the boost control setup. I think I have a good idea how to fix this but it's going to take tuning.
* Fix the corner-entry to mid-corner push. This could be from the wing or it could be that the front end is just too stiff, while the corner-entry part is probably too much front bump damping. I think I'll take a little wing and front shock out of it and see if it improves on Sunday.
* Need to come up with some sort of fluid reservoir for the differential vent. The Ford 8.8 IRS diff is notorious for spraying gear oil out the vent, which I just have open to the atmosphere. It leaves a couple drips on the ground after every run, which is no good. Not sure I can fix that this weekend, probably need to remove some stuff from the rear end to get to the diff

Stuff I probably won't fix before this weekend but I'd like to address before the Oscoda pro at the end of the month:

* Relocate the battery to the passenger's side to help the weight balance and make it easier to work on the fuel pump as needed. I should have done this to begin with... sigh.
* Start tuning in the traction control. Maybe I can get to this during the event sunday, it's mostly just laptop time.
* Make some pieces to tie the corners of the front splitter to the bumper to deflect air around the tires
* Make some heat shielding around the turbo and possibly heat-wrap the downpipe. It gets HOT in the engine bay from the turbo and manifold hanging out in the open. Need to get that heat under the car, away from the ECU, hoses, etc.

I'm already thinking of stuff I want to do over the off-season, like a line lock, lighter brakes, and some other front-end weight reduction stuff. But mostly I don't expect to do a lot of major re-engineering.

07-18-2019, 07:48 AM	#291
John V No more BMWs Join Date: Apr 2005 Carmudgeonly Ride: Ram, MS3, CX-5, RX-8 Location: Glenwood, MD Posts: 14,753	Ha, that's nice of you to say but I lack most of those qualities except persistence, and I make up for the shortfall in the others with persistence. I'm pretty happy with where the car is, given how few events I've been able to do, and given that the car wasn't even running six months ago. Now I'm in the mode of trying to make it competitive with the top cars in the class, knowing that typically this process takes years. So plans for this weekend (we have an event Sunday): * Fix a persistent leak in the power steering. I machined a fitting to adapt the 13mm Mazda PS fluid return line to the 10mm return port on the Toyota PS reservoir, and it leaks. Need to re-engineer that. * Work on the cam phaser tuning in the Haltech. It still doesn't work like I would expect * Work on the boost control setup. I think I have a good idea how to fix this but it's going to take tuning. * Fix the corner-entry to mid-corner push. This could be from the wing or it could be that the front end is just too stiff, while the corner-entry part is probably too much front bump damping. I think I'll take a little wing and front shock out of it and see if it improves on Sunday. * Need to come up with some sort of fluid reservoir for the differential vent. The Ford 8.8 IRS diff is notorious for spraying gear oil out the vent, which I just have open to the atmosphere. It leaves a couple drips on the ground after every run, which is no good. Not sure I can fix that this weekend, probably need to remove some stuff from the rear end to get to the diff Stuff I probably won't fix before this weekend but I'd like to address before the Oscoda pro at the end of the month: * Relocate the battery to the passenger's side to help the weight balance and make it easier to work on the fuel pump as needed. I should have done this to begin with... sigh. * Start tuning in the traction control. Maybe I can get to this during the event sunday, it's mostly just laptop time. * Make some pieces to tie the corners of the front splitter to the bumper to deflect air around the tires * Make some heat shielding around the turbo and possibly heat-wrap the downpipe. It gets HOT in the engine bay from the turbo and manifold hanging out in the open. Need to get that heat under the car, away from the ECU, hoses, etc. I'm already thinking of stuff I want to do over the off-season, like a line lock, lighter brakes, and some other front-end weight reduction stuff. But mostly I don't expect to do a lot of major re-engineering.