Trackday Prep List

  • Thread starter Thread starter mk1_salami
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mk1_salami

mk1_salami

I'm almost certain I'm going to make the 5 into a pure trackday car. Being honest I'm getting fed up driving over all the million speed bumps, ruining the car and this will only get worse if I make it into a more focussed track tool. Also being honest it's maybe a little too fun for the road without getting myself into trouble sooner or later. I figured I'll get something sensible and leave the fun for the track.

I'll be taking it off the road and probably towing it to the track next year. So with that in mind I've started a list of things to do by spring next year. Is there anything you'd add that you found useful on the track??

Cooling

- Radiator ducting / shroud to direct air through heat exchangers (£ 10)

- Bonnet vent (exit for hot air directly behind radiator) (£ 20)

- Water Injection – Pump, tank, pressure switch, water lines, nozzle, on/off switch, 25l meth (£ 250)

- Oil cooler – sandwich plate, lines (£50.00)

Cooling total £330.00


Brakes

- Corrado 280mm big brake conversion (brackets) (£ 80)

- Carbotech XP10 race pads (£ 120)

- New race fluid (£ 25)

- Brake ducting from front bumper (£ Free)

Brakes total £ 225.00


Weight Saving

- Remove electric windows (£ Free)

- replace electric mirrors with light mirrors (motorbike carbon?) (£ 30)

- Remove centre console and all associated wiring for windows, mirrors (£ Free)

- Remove sunvisors / add sunstrip (£ 10)

- Remove stereo (£ Free)

- Bung aerial hole (£ 1)

- Lightweight battery 3kg (£ 120)

- Remove lights (£ Free)


Weight saving total £41.00


Traction and Aero

- R888’s or Full Slicks (£ 280.00)

- Fabricate front splitter(£ 30)

- Rear wing (undecided / expensive £400)

- Cut out section from rear bumper to improve airflow (£ Free)

- Coilovers £600

- 4 wheel alignment (£ 60)

- Bushes ( £350)

- Gutted hardtop (£ 300)


Traction and Aero total £ 1,620.00

Total cost £ 2,326.00

I can't wait to get out on the track more, and running the car as a daily just isn't helping. I can never spend time getting the car how I want it without worrying about it being on the road for the next day.

Some ideas stolen from this car:

img_mazdaspd_tuning_personal56_lg_21.jpg


img_mazdaspd_tuning_personal56_lg_06.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What about safety? Full roll cage, bucket seats and harnesses? I'd deffo want a full roll cage in a track only MX5. Could also throw in an fire extinguisher too.
 
Yep good point. I'm running elise seats at the moment and don't have any immediate plans to change them, They're lightweight and supportive for me. I've currently got a half cage in there at the moment, but could investigate a full cage. I'd GUESS it's going to be very expensive for a full welded in cage. £800 - 1000?
 
Some sort of dry sump set-up as you'll be doing fast/hard cornering. You don't want the oil just sloshing from side to side.
 
Janesy B said:
Won't you need a better sump?
Click to expand...

Another good point. Running 888s could induce oil starvation. Baffled sump may be a necessity. If you can weld you could make one up yourself.

Cusco do an off the shelf 6 point cage for ~ £600 but that would be a bolt in. Most people go for custom made cages which could be a cheaper alternative. There was a guy on the Type-R forum who had one made but I can't find the thread.
 
IIRC baffled sump to stop oil stravation when chuckign the car through corners - someone will correct me though!

edit: beaten to it!
 
battery kill switch
fire extinguisher

£600 seems a lot for suspension. why get adjustable? I'm sure that just some decent shocks and springs would be just as good. do you not already have aftermarket stuff on there?
 
Good call on the cut off switch and fire extinguisher.

£600 will get me either Gaz gold pro or P5 monotube coilovers. The aftermarket stuff I have on at the moment feels too soft and I've been meaning to replace it since I got the car. I've always ended up buying other stuff.
 
Think you may well end up selling the elise seats on. Many don't find them supportive enough for track work and I can't remember if they're suitable for a harness. You may even make money swapping out the elise seats for buckets.
 
Remove the larger front discs. No need for them, people use those pads with a standard 1.8 brake system on track with zero fade, and thats with similar power to you. If you are going to upgrade to the corrado discs then make sure you upgrade the rear to the mk2 1.8 sport discs otherwise you will ruin the brake balance.

Have you rerouted your coolant yet? If not then definitly do that.

What suspension you going for? If its for track then I think the new Gaz shocks are meant to be good for it. Also you may want to get mk2 top mounts for it too, means you can run 15mm lower with exactly the same suspension travel, which is helpful.

Have you thought about not running a rear arb and instead upping the rear spring rate? This setup is very good for traction out of corners as it allows the rear wheels to be totally independant. I am doing that to mine as soon as my springs arrive. In my opinion it would be very handy for you with having a turbo.
 
mk1_salami said:
Good call on the cut off switch and fire extinguisher.

£600 will get me either Gaz gold pro or P5 monotube coilovers. The aftermarket stuff I have on at the moment feels too soft and I've been meaning to replace it since I got the car. I've always ended up buying other stuff.
Click to expand...

Ahh I think Gaz will suit you better, it can be more modelled to what you want. What suspension do you have at the moment?
 
I've never been 100% happy with my suspension. It's just some aftermarket jap stuff. So i'll have that replaced over winter. AT LAST :D
 
mk1_salami said:
Weight Saving

- Remove electric windows (£ Free)
- replace electric mirrors with light mirrors (motorbike carbon?) (£ 30)
- Remove centre console and all associated wiring for windows, mirrors (£ Free)
- Remove sunvisors / add sunstrip (£ 10)
- Remove stereo (£ Free)
- Bung aerial hole (£ 1)
- Lightweight battery 3kg (£ 120)
- Remove lights (£ Free)

Weight saving total £41.00
Click to expand...

I make that £161.

I would echo others thoughts however; a full cage will not only be safer but will add stiffness to the car. Slicks are quite likely to cause oil surge problems, a baffled sump and perhaps an Accusump would be a good idea, a dry sump being the best solution and can also release a bit more power.

Unless you are already having problems with suspension and brakes on the road, I would hold off until you've done a track day to see if they are immediate requirements or not. Bearing in mind you never get back anything like the amount you spend on track cars, and the fact that regular track days are expensive to fund, I would upgrade on an as required basis where possible.
 
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