thinkmonkey

Does this exist! I want a full electronic style (as opposed to electrician style, which is more of a wiring diagram) circuit diagram for the Z. I don't care too much about color codes, just how the car is actually wired. Thanks guys. -David

I have a pair of slightly worn tan miata seats I'm going to sell on ebay or something. Heres a picture tell me if you're interested. They've got the speakers in the headrest and sliders. Leather, really comfortable (although I prefer wedged in sports seats), and they look cool. -David

I suppose this should be in a different forum, but it applies to the body of the car. I'm building my car from the unibody up as a weekened racer and so I've been addressing certain issues as they come at me. Lately the issue of high speed aerodynamics has come to my attention. The smooth sweeping shape of the roofline into the hatch of the Z is very aerodynamic and creates a low pressure zone because the air flows faster over it. (Bernoulli) On the other hand, underneath the car the air is very turbulent and creates a high pressure zone. All this adds up to lift at the rear, and I've heard at 70mph anywhere from 120-180lbs of the rear tires! This concerns me because I live in seattle, where it rains like the ****ens, and we have very wet roads. AT 70mph my car oversteers which is not a very good situation. I can come up with a few solutions to this, and I want your guys opinion on effectiveness. Front Air Dam: I'm going to get the MSA II one, no question. It is stylish and is supposed to force air underneath the car in order to create a low pressure zone by moving the air faster. Skirts are to keep the air trapped underneath. Has anyone noticed a significant handling change as a result of this airdam, or is it more cosmetic. Flat Underbody: This is less practical because it would require a lot of work and have many problems, but would be very effective. Smooth out the airflow, create low pressure, less lift maybe downforce. Mclaren pioneered this in the 60's/70's in F1. AIr diffusers could be built into the underbody. Diffusers look like channels pressed into the underbody that widen towards the back of the car. High pressure air goes in, expands in the channel, creating a low pressure zone. Thats the basic theory. Visually and Aerodynamically distracting spoiler: I have to say, I'm not a fan of the wing. Supra's, F40/50's, Rice, Countach's; all very tacky with the spoiler. I've come to realize though that this may be my only option. Cosmetically, I tolerate the molded lip spolier the most, although I doubt it's effectiveness. What I'm looking for is a removable and adjustable wing to go over the hatch so that I could keep my pride during the week, and save my neck on the weekends. http://www.geocities.com/spized1969/ has a wing that I may look into. I H A T E how it looks, but it looks very functional. When it does come to traction and aerodynamics, let me clear up a few things. On a three box car design (like a sedan) a spoiler actually does improve drag. The trunk area creates a lot of turbulence, even with a swept window. The wing helps to smooth out the air and guide it away from the body. On the Infiniti G35 it improves the drag coefficent .01 from .31 to .30, which is somewhat significant. But this is why the fatback was invented, to help improve drag. On a Z it will only decrease top speed, but will increase top speed handling. With fatter tires you do not get more grip. Plain and simple. The force of friction, which equates to how much force you can apply to the road from the engine, is dependent of two factors. The normal force (weight of the car) and mu (the coefficient of friction). Mu changes according to the to the two surfaces in contact, and temperature. Hot Pirellis are sticky, while cold firestones are not. Fat tires do however improve handling and can take more stress because there is less weight per square inch.

With my roll cage I want to put a bar behind the dash, or else I'll have to install it infront of it which would be too intrusive. Has anyone else done this? Any problems, pictures? Thanks guys, I love how everyone responds so quickly and helpfully. Great site this is. -David

That rubber/plasticy/gooey insulation on my z is all cracked and peeling, so I want to take it out. I'm not putting my interior back in (sleeper baby!) and I am painting the interior body color, so that crap would be distracting. Has anybody else done this? I remember someone mentioning they used dry ice, but does that work? Thanks guys. -David