NC Miata Thunderhill West 10/12/24

Decided to use up the V730s, the rear left was chunking and this seemed to be the last session for the set before the grip levels plummeted. Corded the tires this weekend, so got full utilization of 13 track days. RE71RS is next for this set of wheels.
Damping was modified to induce some quicker response on corner entry and to allow the car to point quickly for corner exit. Seems like the gamble to make the car very oversteer-biased paid off for this session. Drift sessions later in the day turned this car into a drift car. Hope to be able to do 1:25s and dip into 1:24 optimal times soon.
Lap Analysis:
T1: Same excuse as always for braking into T1, fighting with ABS while threshold braking is pretty distracting. Sometimes I think I'd be faster without ABS, as my tires are still locking even with ABS.
T7: Quite timid on the entry, had a massive slide on exit in the prior lap.
Ambient: ~60F, cloudy and recent rain/drizzle
Mods (Speedsf Challenge S5 Build):
5-speed stock power (besides Roadstersport Race Muffler)
Shaftworks Bilanx on 650 [lb/in] front and 450 [lb/in] rear
13 clicks from full soft in the front
10 clicks from full soft in the rear
27 psi front hot
27 psi rear hot
Progress front and rear ARB
PFC 11 front and rear pads
AWR Brake ducts
Kumho V730 225R17-45 on 17x8
12th track day
OS Giken LSD
Alignment:
Front
-3.5 deg camber
6 deg caster
0 deg toe
Rear
-3.0 deg camber
0.15 deg toe in each side

[@danielpineda1916]

Amazing driving! How are you reaching 90mph on 3rd? Did you change diff gears ratios? On my NC3 I can only get till around 70ish mph on third before I have to hit 4th gear. My buddy has an NC1 it’s about same for him; up to 70ish on 3rd gear.

[@joeyzhu7139]

The car has a five speed, so the ratios are super long compared to the six speed. It makes things simple but the car falls way out of power band in the low speed corners.

[@404nobrakes]

Feels like you held back through t4. And how necessary is that downshift through t6

[@joeyzhu7139]

Probably got like 1-2 more mph through T4 on the V730s based on previous laps.
I think the downshift is necessary in T6 because I experimented with staying in fourth and it loses like a quarter second in the corner exit. This engine seems to love high revs and the five speed ratios are pretty far apart with third as 1.0 and fourth as 1.33. I'd dip to ~4300 RPM in fourth for min speed on V730s and the car just feels gutless at that rpm. I think the tradeoff gets more interesting though with CRS as there's a hypothetical 81+ mph vmin in good conditions where staying in fourth would be a bit higher in the rev range.

[@404nobrakes]

@@joeyzhu7139 yeah I just realized you're able to floor it for quite a while in 3rd. That downshift is absolutely not worth it in my car, but I have way more torque and less grip. You should experiment with basically burning the clutch to slowdown instead of braking, shifting, then getting back on the gas