Lifting Wheels

Getting ready for some testing

I wanted to share some of my thoughts regarding my current handling issues with the RX-8. For those that have not been following the past few races, I've been experiencing some odd behavior with the car. When going into a corner, the car will start to oversteer slightly, then understeer, followed by sudden oversteer. In transitions, the car will feel great and solid, but then will suddenly oversteer, instead of increasingly starting to slowly become more and more loose. It is as if the car cannot make up it's mind! Let's take a closer look into all the facts and see what we can come up with.

Springtime Coneage

Getting ready to battle

After becoming more comfortable with the car after Saturday's event with the Renegade Miata Club, I was confident in being faster this event. I was really able to keep the power on the ground, while staying "mostly" in control. I was hoping that with R compounds, the "mostly in control" part would change to "100% in control". John and I had decided to run with the similar settings that I had put on the car at the Renegade Miata event. With it being a bit warmer out (73°F), we went with the following:

• 37 PSI front
• 35 PSI rear
• 8 clicks from stiff front
• 10 clicks from stiff rear
• Front swaybar full stiff
• Rear swaybar full soft

The results were interesting, to say the least.

Renegade Miata First Points Event of 2012!

Tech inspection line

With the rain letting up early this Saturday morning, we were able to have a dry first event. Today, I was planning on running on street tires to really feel out the natural behavior of the differential. I want to understand it's behavior a little bit more so I can drive the car at it's limits more comfortably. Kaizen Tuning adjusted the rear alignment a little bit, bringing the camber from -2.6 to -1.5. This should help in keeping the rear planted and allow me to feel out the rear wheels more.