The kit is very well engineered. I've now got the subframe back in the car and it was a piece of cake to get the diff installed. Plenty of clearance to get to all of the fasteners.

Maybe one of these days I'll post a picture with the engine mounted in the engine bay on its temporary mounts. :)

^ need to modify the front subframe for the engine?

There are several modifications to the subframe, steering rack and some other stuff to fit the engine. But it's in, and the steering rack (MX-5) clears (barely) and fits in the stock location. Stock-type engine mounts will work. Oil pan will need to be custom. ABS pump will need to be relocated. front ARB will need a spacer block. Nothing that is too crazy.

I was wondering about how much firewall modification you are allowed in SM to fit an engine...

There's a lot more ambiguity in the rules than I expected except with firewall modifications for engine clearance.

I wonder if a Ford Cyclone V6 (CX-9, Mazda 6, all manner of other Ford/Lincoln products) would have an easier time at the firewall and cowl... also fit without firewall modifications.

Edit: just saw your post in the MZR swap thread.

Looks awesome, if I ever do a V8 car, I'll be looking fondly toward that RONIN kit. May I ask why you don't like the PPF?

It's heavy and I think it contributes to wheel hop.

ABS module relocation to facilitate installation of the intake manifold, and the only belt-driven accessory I plan to run.. an alternator.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yV...=w1382-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2b...=w1382-h777-no

New S2 LCAs with spherical bearings, upper arms with delrin bushings, and threw the Penskes on to mock everything up.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a-...=w1382-h777-no

Pimpy spherical bearings. Yum.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/S9...=w1382-h777-no

Couldn't resist throwing the front fenders back on and seeing how it looks. Ride height is a few inches too high, but it still looks badass, I think!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OH...=w1382-h777-no

those are some meaty tires

315/30/18 Hoosier A7s. They fit relatively well at the 4x4 ride height the car is at right now, as the wheel travels in the wheel well it impacts the pinch weld behind the tire with steering lock, so that will have to be cut out and reinforced.

I always thought the diff cradle bushings had a lot to do with that, though that is a bit assumptive from my experience with other cars that suffered wheel hop in the past.

Have you run other coilovers besides the Penskes? I'll be adding coilovers to my car down the road and want something that I can soften up for daily driving, with good high-speed dampening due to the dirt roads I find myself on, and yet will serve well in AutoX and light roadcourse play too. So far I keep seeing the KW V3, Ohlins, and Penske units pop up in discussion, with Tein getting dogged more often than not (which surprised me).

I've driven an RX-8 on Teins and thought it was terrible, but that was ten years ago.

With wheel hop, I don't expect to have any issues. The rear diff is solid-mounted to the subframe, which is solid-mounted to the unibody. The loss of the PPF was part and parcel with the 8.8 install and the transmission change.

Teins are pretty terrible in my experience. I drive a lot of student Miatas with Teins and have been underwhelmed every time. "I've driven on worse, but..."



KWs are decent, but need frequent rebuilds to the point that you need 2 sets in rotation. For the $5K that costs, you can do much better.



Ohlins are excellent, but supposedly need to be rebuilt every 10K miles. That hasn't happened to me yet, so I can't contribute any knowledge. If you want to do any serious track work, be sure to opt for higher spring rates with appropriate re-valving. IIRC, Goodwin and Sakebomb offer more race-oriented solutions. Seriously. Ohlins has nailed both low speed and high speed damping to a mind blowing degree.



Penskes are obviously great, as are Motion Control, if you have the coin to spend.


Also look at Feal. Podium finishes are piling up in several disciplines.

Mustang
 

Why not choose a diff. from a Mustang,,easier to find and maybe axles could be used with spindle change?

The 8.8 diff from an Explorer is nearly the same as in an IRS equipped Mustang, just with a different rear cover for mounting purposes. The newer IRS Mustangs have the Super 8.8, which is a beefed up and refined version of the existing 8.8. Explorers are incredibly common, especially with stock shorter gears (4.11's) compared to Mustangs which usually have 3.27's, 3.55's, or 3.73's if equipped with the Track Pack.

The Ronin diff is designed for the Explorer diff with two front mounting ears. They're plentiful, cheap, and very easy to find.

Just an idea, always good to have other options.

I know some guys that have done it in the Miatas and it works fine.

Options are good, if they fit. In this case, not a good option :)

I haven't posted in quite a while, but work continues. A while back I made some engine mount brackets for the car. It took me longer than I'd like to get these done but I wanted to make sure that they wouldn't interfere with the turbo, manifold or exhaust plumbing. It also took some work to position the engine as low and far back as possible without interfering with the firewall, the steering rack, the subframe or the steering shaft coming from the column. I did have to notch the cowl but the rules committee confirmed that this is a legal modification.

Driver's side:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6a...2=w583-h777-no

Passenger's side:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/58...=w1036-h777-no

The subframe needs about eight pounds added to it to match the weight of the stock subframe, so it will get an additional tube under the near-side of the engine mounts in this picture. I'll add some gussets to the engine mount brackets as well once the turbo plumbing is in place. Space is tight on the passenger's side so I want to wait until all of that is in before bracing things up.

I have a trans mount mocked up with bracing for the unibody, but a buddy is going to come over and use his 3D scanner on the car to see if we can CAD something up that could be useful to the community. Once that's done I can get a driveshaft ordered. The rear suspension should be back pretty soon from being converted to spherical bearings. I had the fabricator convert the rear toe and camber arms to turnbuckles so I can eliminate the cam adjusters which always slipped on us back in the stock class days. Anyway, more to come in time...

Glad to see an update - I know it was said awhile back - but I'd like to add to that comment on the Teins... I bought a set Tein Coilovers for my 04 RX-8, and it was the biggest waste of money, even after a GOOD alignment, and a bunch of other new suspension parts, they still handle poorly - Car was much faster, and much more balanced feeling on the original 90,000 Mile old stock shocks... Car feels twitchy at highspeeds, and has alot less front grip at low speeds - Ride is pretty terrible as well, and I am running them at a near stock ride height, I can't imagine how awful they must be if I were to slam the car like some people do.

Yum.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/v1...=w1036-h777-no


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ZO...A=w583-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rG...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/n-...=w1036-h777-no

Looking so very good.

When is the maiden voyage?

This looks amazing so far. It's gonna be a monster out there!

My plan is to run it at the first local events I can to shake it down, and then throw myself to the wolves at the NJ ProSolo in May. I love ProSolo too much to miss a season, so I have a backup car to drive in case this one isn't ready. But if it runs, I'm not above showing up with an untested car and getting my ass kicked.

I finished up a trans crossmember a month or so ago. I'm way behind on posting pictures of progress, but maybe I'll catch up over the holidays.

My welding is still not great.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Jl...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/up...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_I...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0K...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Wg...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rr...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/94...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pq...=w1036-h777-no

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/62...=w1036-h777-no

Simple plates to lock out the cam adjusters.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/P_...w=w583-h777-no

My motto as I learn to weld:
"Grinder and paint make me the welder I ain't."

Your welds look perfectly fine. No, they aren't Instagram quality but they get the job done without being embarrassing.

Just noticed that you ran your battery cable the same way I did.

Yes, those fuel line hangers work great for 2AWG battery cable. I did remove the vent line to the gas tank as well since that picture was taken since I don't exactly need it and it was taking up space.