Caution Hot!

Ok, I guess the main inspiration for the addition of the diffuser to my car was from the RS-Stage car fitted with the Nopro Diffuser. If you CAN look past the girl in this picture. You will notice the diffuser fins have a little warning note and an arrow pointing to the exhaust.

I thought this was pretty cool, so I cut a similar one out of vinyl for my car.

I didn't add the heartful butchered japlish version though. It's a bit strange.

"my heart... hot what time..."

Russ.

Nopro Diffuser Trim

Ok, I had a little time today. So it was out onto the main street sidewalk again to cut about 20mm from the diffuser so it would clear the exhaust. I discovered the exhaust is not exactly hung straight.

I'll try and rectify that later. but for now it's all go. I'll have to take off the rear bumper to properly fit it because there is no access to the mounting points and I don't want to use rivets. I hate them.

I bought some nice RC 4mm black anodised allen head bolts for mounting.

The Fujitsubo Legalis R may be legal but it is a waste of time. 2kg heavier for 2hp more. Why the previous owner chose it, I have no idea.

I'm also going to have to cut some thick vynyl sticker or something for the underside. It's going to get absolutely peppered by stones from the tyres.

Russ.

Quick cuts

I was digging around in my old stuff and found a big ass Fidanza sticker from my flywheel. Way too big for the car, I guess its another for the suitcase.

I also cut a couple of corn's stickers for the side of my NC.

Russ.

Bernoulli's principle.

Bernoulli's principle is related to the effects of pressure and speed or what I'm interested in the reduction of drag at speed and an increase in downforce.

Today was time to put the Nopro diffuser on my car. It's just a test installation until it's painted but its all ready to go bar a little trim near the exhaust. Just touching on the ends.

I like products where installation is simple. Cut, Cut Cut and Drill 4 holes. Cutting the rear inner splash guards were actually the most time consuming, but I think I have an elegant installation. Not as straight forward as Nopro's instructions, but worth the extra effort.

In this picture, you can see how much of the bar has been removed.

This one shows the exhaust fitting and below shows how much overhang there is.

I can't wait to get it painted and the wheels. I'm also going to drop the car the final 1cm so I can scrape my front spoiler. I know I want to. haha/

My clutch should be in next week. so the car will be back on the road and for now... FINISHED!

Russ.

Race Suit Updates

Thanks to my friend, I got a couple of extra patches for my suit.

• First Sunako Juku, they don't make these any more. Pro Super GT and Super Taikyu driver Sunako-san's race school patch.
  
• Skip Barber. If you don't know Skip Barber's driving schools and you're a roadster fan, then you need to look into it. Best graduates in America go straight into the Mazda Roadster one make race, then mazda open wheel, then grandam etc. If you're good enough.

The other two have some meaning also.

• Small Yokohama from Aki links well to the rear.
• large Yokohama ADVAN patch I got from Sunako-san directly after last year's Ebisu Race.

These all match well with my current TG-R helmet design. Red and White is the theme.

BTW... I HATE SEWING!

Russ.

Ebisu 12Hr

Well, what can I do while I wait for clutch repairs. Go RACING!

Last year, shortly after I got my roadster, I joined the last Sunako Juku race school with a bunch of friends and we learned some techniques from Sunako-san, who was a Super GT GT-R driver. Later that year I covered the Ebisu 12hr race that other members of Sunako Juku attended in a Civic with him.

This year, my friends invited me to join an 8 driver team attacking the Ebisu Super Endurance race series in their own car. This was a lot of preparation and hard work with fun thrown in for good measure. It takes a real team effort to get a car through 12hours.

Our N-spec BB6 prelude finished 4th in class. But more importantly finished it's first outing on the track and proved itself as a real race car, with great balance and some good speed.

It was a great experience. I hope I can get to the track a little more. but as cash has run dry, I will have to make some tough decisions soon.

You can see a lot more of my coverage on the TGRacing Datalog.

Russ.

NR-SPEC Phase 1, Stickers.

I got impatient today because I had too many stickers all over the house. So i decided to apply them to my car.

I totally stuffed up the bonnet decal, but managed to save most of it. Just don't look close on this one.

So I got serious and laid on the tattoo manufacturer stickers ... Sweet! I was more careful with these and they are perfect.

Left side also went on very well. I was learning as I went there is a small issue in the rear door cut, but it's neither here nor there. It still looks great. I like them because in certain light you hardly see them, and in high contrast, they show up very well indeed. best of both worlds.

Left side, lined up well... then huh??? WTF the rear T was way off. I don't know what I did here, i think it's actually a mistake in the cutting of this one. I think the length was bowed. But 0.05 of a degree can make a big difference over a meter or so. Anyway. No drama. It's not a show car.

So thats it. Finished the sticker application. Now on to diffusser fitment then paint and wheel paint. Probably after the 24th. No time.

I'm really happy with the result and I learned a lot about sticker application. The main one is don't rush and it's probably best to have help. Just someone to do small cuts and hold things would make a big difference.

ps. Do it inside too. I'm a bit sunburned.

Can't wait to finish it off.

Russ.

Mazda Mx5 SuperLight

Due for the Frankfurt show is this new speedster from mazda to celebrate the 20th anniversary. Exterior gets (doesn't get) a windscreen, Rear gets integrated roll bars doors are flowing into the cabin. Interior is inspired by the Mazda flowing designs of late.

Report is here.

I'm sure it will never make production, but perhaps something will come of it.

Russ

20th Anniversary Edition

White. Red and Black leather seats, special stickers. Not too much different, but it's still special.

Mazda Japan special anniversary site.

Russ.