Hi fairly new to this site well actually new owner to the site I just purchased a fully converted for 10 years car that was a Homebuilt kit. The guy really knew his stuff times and tons of posts on the other miata site. anyways I've gone to a truckstop and it has about 54% front weight distribution I love driving my BMW so I'm trying to find a better 50-50 balance and trying to figure what I can move to the trunk. It's "only" 100lbs or so. How hard can it be? ...


a ford, ally heads, and no ac, no ps, edelb carb and intake, no windshield reservoir, there isn't much left. I figure I need to move as much to trunk as possible, but not much there.

To Trunk or further back:
Rad fluid reservoir.
Windshield reservoir to trunk. Ballast is ballast. It doesn't have one at all.
Horn. Hey every bit counts....

Lighten front:
Headlights to?
Front bumper to f/g $250
Car has reinforced and modded front frame. 10-15lbs going to $800 v8 roadster frame. Hmm next year. Align issues, mounts, etc, etc.
Tubular front control arms. Few lbs. $250
Wildwood kit. Few lbs. $800.

Really it looks like if I care, just swap to a lsx....have any done a good fr to rear weight comparison with one? Or am I just chasing paper?

I want to road course hpde days as much as possible. Snows here, so 2 times a month from may to September.

It's a 90 NA, with mostly stock suspension but ford 5.0, t5 (maybe r), and a 7.5". And dual exhaust.



Newer photos, thought I had better engine bay shots....

 

I'm really surprised at your numbers. I would have thought the numbers would have been closer than that already with the way the car is set up. My washer bottle is in the trunk only because I have so much junk under the hood it would not fit. I like the radiator fluild idea too but it would be such a long hose it would probably never turn over the fluid in it.

My first thought was go buy a set of hole saws from 3/4 to 2" and go to town on the front end. But looking at these photos there might be a better way.

What's the goal? When you say you love the feel of the BMW what is it about it you love exactly?

I think you would make a much bigger improvement to the feel of the car by putitng wheels and tires on it. If you put some 15x8 or 15x9s with something like a 225/45-15 Rival or RS3 it would completely change the way your car feels and I bet it would be better than the BMW. If you want more of an all season tire use an 8" wheel with something like a 205/50 BFGoodrich gForce super sport all season tire. With either one you won't believe the difference over the tiny daisy’s you are running now. Tires are you direct connection to the road and for sure will make the biggest impact on performance of the car.

It looks like your front sway bar is stock too, what are you running for suspension?

 

Also something to consider is the accuracy of the info you have. I don't know what you used at a truck stop to get these numbers, but I really don't think their equipment was designed to measure a 2600 lb car. Before you go too far, you might want to double check those numbers on a proper set of corner scales (if that is what they did, then never mind, carry on) Maybe at a local race shop or something similar.

 

You will never be able to notice the extra 100lbs. Use the money that you want to spend on "improvements" & spend it on some sort on high performance driving lessons. After you learn to drive it at its limit, you can invest in the areas that need improvement such as tires, brakes, suspension....

 

54/46 is actually very good. I wouldn't go overboard trying to lose weight off the front end.

As said above, spend a little money on improved suspension and track time.

 

I would not trust those numbers. Most conversions usually end up around 52/48. If you do feel that it seems nose heavy I'd try the following if they have not already been done:

1.Wheels that are at least 8" wide and at the narrowest some 205/50 tires. Better would be 9" rims with 225/45 tires.

2. Matched aftermarket adjustable hieght coil overs with at least a 450 - 500 pound front spring. FM's VMAXX track pack is very afordable at under $900 shipped. Fat Cat could hook you up with something completely custom for about twice that.

3. Thicker frint sway with stronger or reinforced mounts.

4. Frog arms, door bars and or frame rail stiffeners.

Remember that things as simple as having a full tank of gas or even whether the top is up or down can throw the front/rear numbers off. Rather than attacking the front/rear wieght try some other ways of making the car feel as you think it should first. A perfectly balanced car without proper springs, shocks, sways and wheels/tires will still not feel as good as a car that has those areas addressed and has a few percent to the front.

-Jason

 

Sorry for any errors above, I typed that whole thing on my phone with my right thumb.

-Jason

 

Just checking. Thanks guys. It's -5f so I am bench/paper racing and dreaming of warm weather.

I just got the car so I am a little at odds where to start. I have tons of track days. My 99 e36 m3 was one of the best feeling cars and it was also the most stock. I find most mods if not done well, and most weren't for a weekend warrior before the Internet and lap timers, etc, are a performance detriment. I will start up a build blog shortly but I too can't stand thumb typing.

My problem is the the po made the front suspension about 1" taller and rear about the same. This means I can't just put on a stock package....

 

I'm not following why this would be the case but even more so why you would want stock suspension. Anything decient you would put in the car would be coil overs that are ride height adjustable so you can set each corner to any height you want.

I know your BMW is a great car and I have run with several like yours. But the fact is if you put good suspension and tires under your Miata it will kill your M3 on any track you pick. It's ligher, faster and probably is better balanced too.

 

The ride height in a Miata is entirely set by the coil over which is removable. If the springs are too tall you could try a shorter spring or an entire adjustable shock/spring set (coilover).

-Jason