Well, Richie [cruzer] was kind enough to let me drive his car for 5 runs this weekend. We swapped 2 runs during the practice on Sat and i then ran his car for 3 runs in Sundays race. The 12+ runs on Saturday toasted my clutch good and it slips pretty bad in second now, especially when hot. First runs where ok, but like ice after that... (will be fixed this sat)

Anyway, he's got that car very nicely set-up (2002 ES 2.0L) i was impressed with it's behavior. The engine has nice torque down low for the corners, but my BP beats it on top end by far. But for autox down low is a very good thing. It stayed very neutral and balanced, even when i got alittle violent with it. It did wanna drift out on me a few times but it wasn't tail happy at all, which i would actually have liked, fits my style a little better... Turn in was pretty nice, and it stayed pretty flat. The rear Mazda suspension set-up works really well. I think more negative camber is needed and it'll be a top 5 car in STS easily.

But all in all, i thoroughly enjoyed driving it. Thanks Richie!!!

BTW, RC had his incar cam hooked up.....

 

I ran my brand new '03 DX for the first time this weekend and loved it. The events were not SCCA affiliated autocrosses and had slow to medium speed courses. I had Kumho V700s on '02 LX wheels and a K&N air filter as my only changes from bone stock.

I'd have to echo your sentiments, mazdaspeedwest, on the handling balance and power. The car had no trouble staying in 2nd gear around a couple of spin cones when my STS Neon was faster in 1st the last time I ran it on this lot. The lot is at 3100' elevation BTW. The car did nothing wrong and I was very comfortable pushing it as hard as I could through the gates. My times were so good that on Sunday the uhh, not so experienced timing people were DNFing my times because they thought there was no way a HS car could be running a second or so off the local "hotshoes" in their Prepared and Modified sedans.

The only adjustment I made was to add some toe-out up front between runs on Saturday. That definitely improved the car's transitional ability. I haven't measured what it is yet but, I've turned each tie-rod about a half turn from where the factory set it and that measured 1/8" toe'd in. I'm figuring it's probably at about 1/8" toe'd out. I'd like to try some toe-out in the rear this weekend during the OR Region events at PIR.

One thing I need to change bad is the stock brake pads, they just don't bite hard enough to obtain max braking quickly with R-tires from any kind of speed.

Steve W.

 

Good to hear some others driving 3rd gens!

the 3rd gen doesn't really oversteer much- the rear wheels steer the car pretty well, so it doesn't really snap around like other front wheel drive cars. I drive the car fairly aggressive (ask Jesse) and like to really throw it into the transitions. When I got comfortable tossing the car, my times seemed to improve.
Toe Out in front is key!! I've experiemented with as much as 1/2" toe out in the rear (usually on concrete), and found that zero toe feels the best IMO. But I think alignment is something everyone should experiment with, as it can really be fine tuned to suit your driving style.

Fast DX- how was the body roll?? Stock shocks right?
What kind of tire pressures were you running?
Sounds like you're on the right path with alignment specs.
BTW Hawk HP+ Pads will tighten those brakes right up! Does the DX have smaller brakes than the ES? I think in 2000 they were.

 

Originally posted by Jas00x
Good to hear some others driving 3rd gens!

the 3rd gen doesn't really oversteer much- the rear wheels steer the car pretty well, so it doesn't really snap around like other front wheel drive cars. I drive the car fairly aggressive (ask Jesse) and like to really throw it into the transitions. When I got comfortable tossing the car, my times seemed to improve.
Toe Out in front is key!! I've experiemented with as much as 1/2" toe out in the rear (usually on concrete), and found that zero toe feels the best IMO. But I think alignment is something everyone should experiment with, as it can really be fine tuned to suit your driving style.

Fast DX- how was the body roll?? Stock shocks right?

It didn't feel bad at all and my 11 yr old said it looked good. He also said I was getting up on three wheels all over the place. Sorry to not have a more scientific answer, that will have to wait until this weekend

Yes, I'm on stock shocks and I'm pleasantly surprised that the car worked very well. It transitioned pretty close to what my STS Neon feels like, too. I think the quicker steering and R-tires help make up for the reduced roll stiffness. I agree on your thoughts about alignment since I constantly change it, mostly between runs to suit the course and my preferences.

I was concerned about being on stock shocks and R-tires since my experiences with Neons told me it shouldn't be pretty. They corner on the bumpstops, especially stock, and REQUIRE decent struts just to keep pointed in the right direction. The Protege has about the same suspension design but didn't display any of the bad tendencies a Neon has. These were slower courses so I'll see what happens on the faster ones the OR Region usually puts together. If it didn't push like a pig or snap around on me this past weekend, I think it will only feel better on a faster course.

What kind of tire pressures were you running?

I was using the same pressures as I used for my Falkens on the Neon in hot weather-45 fr, 30 rear. This is going to be a work in progress as I figure out R-tires since I've never had a car I used them on before.

Sounds like you're on the right path with alignment specs.
BTW Hawk HP+ Pads will tighten those brakes right up! Does the DX have smaller brakes than the ES? I think in 2000 they were.

I've got the same 10.2"? brakes as the ES does. They look nice and beefy, too. I'm online right now to shop for pads...

Steve W.

 

Darryl,

No problem,, any time you want to drive my car just ask. And i've
finished with your cam video. they are 4 megs each. I will try to
find a place to post since I think those are too big to email them
to you. Unless your mail server can handle attachments that large.
Just let me know.

oh and incase you didn't get my email.. I actually got a 75.3 in the
2 run of fun runs..

Richie

 

sweet, i think my email can handle it. try it

damn dude, 35.3!!!!!!!! i think you mean 75.3

 

yah your right.. its 75.3 just checked my stickies in the car and I
had a 78.9 for my best run in championship. And I think you had
a 76.5. If I only had that score when I ran champ.. I would have
been 6th right above Julie. Oh well practice practice practice.

Richie

 

I'd love to run my third gen (P5). There's a couple reasons I won't. They are as follows:

1. I've already busted one daily driver at an event (but i'm 100% sure that it wasn't due to racing). I just don't want any "what ifs" because i've been without a car once, heh.

2. I don't have any race rubber for it. I don't want to chew up my streets.

3. The Miata is so damn fun! Especially now that i've got light wheels, Hoosiers, and KYB AGX adjustables (Watch out Jesse, I was only 0.303 secs from Jay at the last event )

Don't get me wrong. The third gens are very capable cars and I would love to drive mine. If my Miata ever goes out of commision for an event, I may just run the P5 just for ***** and giggles.

 

i'm really happy with how my '02 ES runs...i'm 2nd in H Stock class so far this season with V700s and a K&N filter as my only changes. i can't decide whether to stay HS or move to STS next summer -- mmm FLT-A2s.

i usually run 42F/31R on my stickies and the same on my street tires (which lasted through an entire winter autoX season, autoX novice school, a trip to the Tail of the Dragon and 22,000 miles of driving).

i haven't had a chance to get underneath this week, but is the rear bar adjustable at all on the 3rd gen?

the biggest thing i noticed about the Pro was how well it transitions...it took me a while to work up the nerve to throw it through a chicane as hard as it could go. i'm not in love with the shifter (on those instances when a shift back to first is needed) and the steering is a touch slower than i'd like, but the brakes are great and the balance is rather good for a straight stock economy car...my WRX driving friends are always impressed the first time they ride along.

my favorite thing is the visibility...my old car was an RSX-S, and while it had more power and better balance, i actually prefer driving the Pro b/c i can SEE out of it so much better.

 

Very good point, i have also noticed that the Protege is probably one of the best visibility friendly cars out there.