FDEEZ wrote:Yup > Miata + LSx + T56 + Ford 8.8 =
But I also support the plan you laid out. However, I would go with coilover shocks, replace all bushings, remove rear sway bar, and have the car corner balanced with you in the car and the race wheels/tires installed. Also, if you strip the car, you won't have to worry about bigger/better brakes, lol.
Based on your sig, it looks like you already have a street car. Why not make this the "hardcore track rat" of your 3 cars? I mean roll bar + extra set of wheels/tires (strictly for the track) sounds like a hardcore track rat to me
I like your thought process! Although, if I was planning on running a LSx swap, I would think a cheaper NA or NB Miata would be a better place to start, as opposed to throwing away all the fancy MSM parts that I likely paid more for up front.
As far as making it a hardcore track car goes, well it doesn't fit into my plan at this point! There's a few reasons why:
-Last summer I got a phenomenal deal on a house (as in no one in their right mind would turn it down- 50% off list price via GNND program)... unfortunately, my commute to work quadrupled as a result.
As did the drive to take my son to school (he's in a great school, don't want to move him). Part of the appeal of buying the 3rd car was to help keep miles off of my brand new "commuter" car. No sense in rapidly devaluing the brand new, luxury car by racking up miles for the daily grind. The plan was to try and drive the Miata to work 1-2 days a week; and I'm happy to report that I've kept with the plan.
I'm a big fan of street suspensions on street cars and due to commuting occasionally, I would very much like the MSM to remain a street car.
-The Subaru is the wife's car.... we rarely ever trade!
She's not a big fan of the Infiniti (loves her WRX!) and even if she was, well, she's not so great with taking care of cars either, so I'm not so keen on letting her take either the G37 or the MSM
.... so it's more like having "2" cars.
-I work nights and weekends. Why does that matter? Because most race series' occur on weekends... Having a full time track car would be pointless to me, as I know that I don't have the time to go to the track very often. In order to go to a track or autoX day on a Sat/Sun, I have to burn vacation time and that's no bueno. Using a vacation day here or there is no problem, but I don't have enough time off to spend every weekend at the track... and even if I did, the wife would be pretty upset when I told her we're no longer having vacations haha!
-On my days off, me and the little lady like to go on mountain drives and such when we can get away from the kids. Thus far she LOVES the MSM... if I stripped it down and installed a cage, or if the suspension rattled her teeth out of her jaw, well, let's just say I would have to hear about it in a not so pleasant way! Which would result in her being less than supportive of modding further.
Maybe one of these days I might consider converting to a full blown track car, but before that would happen I would want a different schedule and a shorter commute to work, so I didn't have to occasionally rely on it to get me to work.
The wheels and roll bar are a different story altogether.... If I want to do ANY track days, EVER, the roll bar is a must. However, part of the appeal of the Boss Frog Clearview Maxx is how far back it sits, so I can still use the car on the street without fear of smashing my head on it.
The wheels just seem like a good idea, but to be clear, most of my cars get 2 sets of wheels anyway (generally just summer & winter wheels/tires). I know how fast a couple track days can wear down tires.... The factory Racing Hart 17's aren't known for their strength and there's no use paying for 17" tires that would be destroyed quickly on a track when a set of 15" wheels/tires will get the job done. Whatever I would likely spend on the 15" wheels themselves, I would likely be able to recoup my money if I ever sold them (aftermarket 15's), as they would likely be purchased used. Making it more of an investment over time... the 15" tires would just be a money saver over time (vs 17's). Not to mention, I wouldn't want to risk damaging the factory 17's as they're fairly rare/hard to come by and I would like to be able to return the car to stock in the event that I ever sold it.
So, while I applaud the idea, I've got a few reasons for "the plan."
