cib24's 1999 Mazda RX-7 Type RS

[cib24]

March 2016

Clamped the bottom nipple this evening although I think I need to use a hose clamp with a screw to tighten it more. Drove 2.5 hours to the hotel and am ready for the track day at Donington tomorrow.

My car is currently on old Yokohama S-Drives in 225/45R17 all around with low tread on the rear. However, I managed to score with a mobile tire fitter whom will be at the track tomorrow to swap these tires at some point during the day for Nankang NS-2R mediums in the correct sizes of 235/45R17 up front and 255/40R17 in the rear.

So assuming I don't crash tomorrow I will be able to test the difference between the tires and finally be rid of the Yokohamas that were on the car when it arrived off the boat from Japan in February 2014. Plus, I have my gopro, external mic to be hooked up to the rear bumper for exhaust noise, and 10hz GPS receiver to record a few runs and lap times on both sets of tires.

I hope nothing bad happens tomorrow and that the sequential system remains reliable! It's my first time on track with the FD and I am a bit scared of it but if I take it easy on the first few runs I should gain some confidence by the end of the day.

Now all I need to know is what to do with my tire pressures and how stiff to set the front and rear coilovers. I suppose I will try a few settings out there tomorrow but any advice from the track day guys is welcome.

 

[cib24]

March 2016

Never. Been taking it easy this morning trying to diagnose a few things. First, I had too much oil in the car and filled the catch can in 10 minutes and sent a lot of oil through the intake system...throttle body area was wet...

2nd I only have 0.5-0.6 bar on the secondary for some reason. It was fine up until maybe my 4th lap today. Primary seems fine.

Donington is quite tricky and I don't trust the old tires, apparently manufactured in 2011. I have also been very gentle on the brakes because I am trying to work on my heel toe in this car. It seems to be a lot more difficult than the RX-8 for heel toe.

 

[GAVBEY]

Love the build. so fresh so cleeeeeen xxx

 

[JoeLanger]

Are we at 2018 yet?

 

[cib24]

March 2016

On Saturday, 12th March, I completed my first track day in the RX-7 and at the challenging Donington circuit. I had been waiting for this day for ages and it was good to finally be in a position to track the car and get to know more about its higher end limits. I will admit however, that I was seriously scared of driving this car quickly given it's lack of traction control since I'm not the most confident driver and Donington seemed like a challenging track with a lot of high speed corners and elevation changes from what I could gather on Youtube.

Anyway, I started the day at the Hilton Hotel in Leicester where I stayed the night before so I wouldn't have to get up at like 4am and drive from London.

After the driver's briefing and sighting laps I set to configuring the car for more downforce by adjusting the rear spoiler to the 3rd notch (of 4). As you can see by the dirt on the wing it actually does seem to be working during normal driving!

I also reduced my tire pressures slightly from 32 psi to 29.5 psi and ramped up the Ohlins to 26/32 clicks as I figured that would be a good starting point. After this I grabbed a ride with a former Formula 4 driver in his RX-8 to learn the track a bit better before going out on my old tires.

I then proceeded to drive like a pussy until changing my tires gave me some more confidence because I was still getting used to the car and didn't want to crash my pride and joy (and all of the other excuses). To be honest though, I was just really nervous about not having traction control to save me from my stupidity and running on the old tires which looked like this:

I was also battling three issues that were frustrating me:

1. Secondary boost limited to 0.55-0.7 bar rather than 0.85 bar the car is mapped for.

2. Excessive oil blowby filling up my catch can and blowing oil through the entire intake tract causing oil to squirt out of the lower intercooler hose and the top of the gap between the throttle body and plastic elbow.

3. Issues turning the wheel more than 60 degrees left at the Goddards hairpin causing me to always miss the apex and need to slow down excessively to just make the turn.

The boost issues could be a number of things but perhaps have to do with all of the oil loosening up the intake pipes. Here is what the catch can looked like after each session:

When making a sharp left turn the wheel wouldn't turn more than about 60 degrees and there would be a grinding noise when trying to turn more. This issue does not occur at parking lot speeds. We checked for tire rubbing and didn't see anything so I will have to look at the steering rack and bushings this week although I think it is probably the power steering pump going bad.

Anyway, despite these issues I was still enjoying myself and after lunch I decided to change my tires from the old Yokohama S-Drives, of which mine were apparently manufactured in 2011, to brand new Nankang NS-2R mediums. I also decided to upgrade my tire size to the recommended spec on the door.

Yokohama sizes were 225/45R17 and the Nankang's are 235/45R17 front and 255/40R17 rear.


Old

New

One thing I noticed is how large and wide the Nankang's are and I think I may have gone too wide in the rear for the rim even though my rims measure about 8.25 inches thick from each tire beat seat area. Later, I looked it up and the Nankangs typically run a bit wide so the 255 is more like a 265 tire from another maker.

One thing is for sure though, I had grip for days after the switch. The difference was unbelievable and the tires grip far beyond my own capabilities or willingness to push the car at this stage in the corners. I could finally put my foot down at the exit of a corner (sometimes mid corner) and not start sliding like I did a few times in the Yokohamas.

Once the Nankangs were on I gained a lot of confidence and my lap times consistently improved and my fastest of the day, although not on video was a 2:02, which is very slow even with my boost issues limiting power but I improved from over 2:20 at the start of the day. Plus, I'm now a lot more comfortable with the car's handling characteristics although I will still need a lot more track time to really start getting the most out of the setup.

Oh, and throughout the course of the day I adjusted the Ohlins to full stiff and the handling was still sublime but just a touch firmer than how I started out. There is very little body roll and the dampers absorb bumps so well it's ridiculous. I love them and because of that here are some photos of them from the track day!

The only other thing that sort of bugs me right now is heel/toe downshifting. The pedals just seem to be too far apart for me to do it comfortably and so most of the day I was just downshifting without heel/toe and punishing my synchros. If there is a gas pedal thickener to bring it closer to the brake pedal then please let me know as I think I need one and my feet are simply too narrow.


All in all, Saturday was a great day and the issues I experienced didn't plague the fun I had and I can't wait to do it again this coming Saturday, 19th March at Anglesey! The car was also one of the highlights of the day with numerous people stopping by my garage to check it out and tell me how pretty it was. The best was when an older gentleman came up to me and asked what it was because he had never seen anything like it before. He said it invoked something inside of him and he had difficulty looking away because of its "gorgeous" shape.

 

[cib24]

March 2016

Other Track Day Photo Dump

Thank you to Sean Pearce for some of the photos.

 

[GAVBEY]

Awsome! i love the nankans on track. they feel awsome! Love the car dude. keep up the good work

 

[cib24]

March 2018

Dropped my FD off for a full valet and detail including full paint correction and ceramic coating. The job will take about 5 days and I will have it back around Monday. I have been waiting to do this since I had the car resprayed, and I am really looking forward to the result!

I'm still going to drag race a very shiny FD on the 17th though.

 

[Spendyrx]

Haha nice one roy ? don't suppose we're gonna have to ask for pics as I'm sure in 5 days time we're gonna get spammed with a snow white fd ? if I done that to monty I'm sure he'd only see the road on the only summers day we'd have ?

 

[cib24]

I am hoping for several pics as the detailer progresses and then I will upload them here.

The ceramic coating is much stronger and longer lasting than your typical wax or sealant. It has a hardness on the Mohs scale of around 9 compared to your typical gorilla glass phone screen of 6-6.5.

The coating seals the paint much better than a wax or sealant as well and takes damage better too. It's not going to necessarily stop a rock from chipping the paint if it hits the car hard enough (it's not a substitute for PPF) but it can take a lot more damage from the elements and keeps the surface cleaner as it doesn't allow things to adhere to the ceramic coating as easily as a wax or sealant. For example, a bird takes a huge shit on your bonnet, the coating absorbs that and it will not affect the clear coat or paint underneath. All you will have to do in the event of a bird shit that sat on your car for a while is clean the car, lightly polish away the area and reapply/top up the ceramic coat on the area.

Three of the best things are that you don't need to apply wax or sealant on top of the coating, washing is much easier with less chance of marring, and the coating will last up to 5 years if taken care of properly (the warranty Gyeon gives to its ceramic coat products when applied by an approved detailer). Now, I don't expect 5 years out of it but I shouldn't have to consider a reapplication or top up for about 2 years depending on how much adverse weather my car sees.

My FD is basically having the whole Gyeone suite of products applied including coatings on the rims, calipers, glass, rubbers, FEED carbon fiber door kick plates, inner door sills, engine bay, interior, etc.

I should probably buy a car bubble.

 

[cib24]

March 2018

Only a couple of teaser shots because the detailer hasn't sent me more. Yes, my brakes discs look suspect but the car hasn't moved in quite some time...

Car was washed, deconaminated, all 4 wheels removed, arches, coilovers, suspension arms, discs, etc. all cleaned. Wheels and calipers cleaned and ceramic coated. Arches dressed. More to come tomorrow!

Before cleaning arches, coilovers, etc.

After cleaning arches, coilovers, etc.

Cleaning calipers

Cleaning wheels

Random attention to detail during clay bar session

 

[Spendyrx]

Haha fair play he's not messing about is he! I bought devil blood the other day for my wheels but it doesn't turn a nice colour like the wheel cleaner he's using but I only paid 7 quid for my bottle lol. It does work ok but I've not tried it inside the wheels yet! Next year they'll be done ?

 

[Ceylon]

What are you using to clean the calipers Roy? Looks like it works really well. I take it it's safe on the paint?

 

[cib24]

What are you using to clean the calipers Roy? Looks like it works really well. I take it it's safe on the paint?

I will ask him today.

 

[Satoshi-FD3]

Your detailer is lazy Roy, he could of cleaned the repeater connector

Just kidding, looking great.... How much is this level of "Detail" costing if you don't mind me asking?

 

[cib24]

Your detailer is lazy Roy, he could of cleaned the repeater connector

Just kidding, looking great.... How much is this level of "Detail" costing if you don't mind me asking?

Haha, maybe he did! The pics are progress pics anyhow as there is dirt in the lense wipe photo and one of the wheels still has water on it! Haha.

As for price...not sure yet. It's a bespoke service...one of those POA type paint correction options. It's not going to be cheap but I always aimed at going pretty crazy on a detail/valet after my respray, at least the very first time so that it's manageable from then on.

This guy is award winning and really good as well. He has been doing this for over 20 years and I have e used him before and was very happy with his work.

 

[Spendyrx]

It does look amazing fair play! If you get it under 150 then I reckon you've had a bargain when you think how much all the products are to buy and how much back burning goes into the work!

 

[cib24]

£150? Ha, think closer to £1,000 for the 5 days of labour, several passes for as defect-free of a finish as possible on all panels, ceramic coating all over the place, interior and engine bay valet, etc. I'm also in London after all and this guy's usual work is on cars costing more than most of our homes.

 

[Spendyrx]

Pmsl.... that my friend is why I own a bucket and sponge ? I earn a thousand pound in 3 weeks of 7 til 4 Monday to Friday ?

 

[cib24]

I have been saving for a while for this one. Always wanted it polished up by a real pro. I'm just hoping it turns out well.

The good thing is paint thickness on my car is about 550 microns whereas an OEM finish is typically 100-150 microns. There should be plenty to play with and get a perfect polish!

Lots of pig tails and other DA marks from the body shop however. That's why you never let a body shop polish the car for you. They almost always mess it up because the work environment is dirty and their pads are dirty.