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Prepping as dedicated track car

297K views 735 replies 78 participants last post by  CanyonRider 
#1 · (Edited)
This seems to have become a popular thread and it has gotten pretty long. So for quicker access to key modifications, I figured a list of links would be nice. So here ya go:

Adding Lightness (gutting the car) starts here

Relocating battery to the trunk

Rollbar, race seats, harnesses

First track day & blown engine

Adding lightness to the hood

Solid front subframe bushings

09 Fusion motor swap

Adding mechanical gauges

Adding front tow ring

Poly bushings in front control arms; eccentric upper control arm bushings

ARP wheel studs, new wheel bearings, SPC adjustable ball joints

Side exit exhaust

Bilsteins, Eibachs, SS brake lines, adjustable rear swaybar v1.0

Brake cooling ducts

285/30 on 18x8.5 +50

Weigh-in

DIY Alignment

Adding more rear camber

Adjustable rear swaybar v2.0

Dyno Pull

2nd track report

Pedal covers

3rd track report

Speed6 brake upgrade

275/35 on 18x10 +40

Limited slip differential install

Adjustable rear swaybar v3.0

Fender Flares

Adjustable rear spring perches

Solid rear subframe bushings

Converting Bilsteins to coilovers and modified upper shock mount

Rear Subframe Swap

Setting Corner Weights and Ride Height

Track Report 4/5/14 @ VIR

SPEC Stage 2+ Hybrid Clutch

RamAir Induction

New Axles and JointShaft Bearing

New Motor Mounts

Fender Flares v2



It has been over three years since I started a thread, so I figure I’m due.

I’m not sure how other people buy cars, but when I buy a car it is with the full knowledge that one day down the road it will be a dedicated track car. So it was, when I bought the ’03 Mazda6 as a daily driver – relegating the SHO to track duty. I still remember walking into the Mazda Dealer in February of 2003 with my race helmet and asking to test drive a 6s with no sunroof so I could check the headroom.



With the exception of the occasional autocross, the 6 has been a daily driver. Well the 6’s day in the sun has finally arrived. The SHO track car is gone and the Mazda6 has been replaced as a daily driver by yet another future track car. We will now prepare the 6 for full-time flogging. Having done this before, I will share a couple lessons learned:

1. You can’t turn a pig into a race car, but you can spend a lot of money building a really fast pig. This was true with the SHO and I expect it to be true with the 6. I don’t expect to run with the Shelbys, M3s and 911s, just to be one of the fastest FWD-4Doors on the road course.

2. Before we spend money on two-piece carbon fiber rotors, double adjustable shocks, UDPs, and coilovers, we need to shed as much weight as possible – making the car less pig-like.

So here is the starting point:
2003 Mazda 6s, 5-speed, 190k Miles
Mods:
2006 engine – 70k miles
Long tube headers
CAI
Lightweight Flywheel
Kevlar clutch
Battery in trunk
Not a bad start.

Current Weight analysis – 1/4 tank of gas, no driver:
Total weight: 3160lbs
Front weight: 58.6%
Left weight: 50.5%
Cross weight: 48.9%

The total weight looks to be about a hundred pounds below the published curb weight - I attribute that to the elimination of the cast iron manifolds, pre-cats and the light flywheel. I’m surprised the left and cross weights are so close to 50% - I’m sure moving the battery from the left front to the right rear had a significant impact.

Goal – including driver:
Total weight: As little as possible - hopefully under 2500lbs
Front weight: 50%
Left weight: 50%
Cross weight: 50%

I say “Goal” as an ideal target – we will not likely achieve. FWD cars are always weight biased to the front and most of the weight we shed will be behind the front wheels. We might be able to hit the 50% L/R goal by moving some weight around. Cross weights will change as we shed lbs, but afterwards they can only be adjusted with coilovers.

Let the stripping begin! If you are in need of any interior parts (or anything else you see come off the car), shoot me a PM and I’ll get you a price. I plan to sell or Ebay as much as I can to fund my habit.




Here’s what is coming out:
Trunk liners
Seats
Console
Carpet & pad
Headliner
Trim
Radio
Speakers
Dash
Airbags
Door panels
Window motors
Glass (except windshield)
Trunk lid reinforcing (keep the skin)
Trunk hinges
Rear doors and hinges (except skins)
Exhaust (behind headers)
Sound deadening
Heat shields
A/C compressor, evaporator, accumulator
Bumper bars (keep bumper covers)
Hood reinforcing
Front fender reinforcing

After it is striped, we’ll weigh again before adding the roll cage, fire suppression, transponder, race seats, harnesses, etc.

I’ll post pics along the way for your viewing pleasure.

 
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4
#660 ·
OMG why does everything take so long?! The team worked hard Saturday & Sunday - Checked a few things off the list and added a few more.

Still working on the plinth boxes. One done, others started.



We cut the crossmember down where the front of the seat rests. Made a new cap, welded nuts to the back to hold the new seat down. Still working on the rear cross member. It was alot easier when I was the only driver - I just bolted the seat where I wanted it. With 4 drivers ranging from 5'-10" to 6'-2" we have to have sliders. Admittedly, with the full containment seat, you really need sliders to get out of the car.



We also decided that since we're doing team endurance racing - the typical race being 14hrs - we need to make a few mods to improve the longevity of the engine. Namely, a 3-row radiator and an oil cooler. So the front bumper came off AGAIN and the radiator w/fans were pulled out.



Since we're adding an oil cooler, we decided to relocate the oil filter to get it away from the long tube headers. We'll also be adding an oil temp gauge.

Here's the pathetic 1-row radiator.



Stay tuned - lots of work still to come!
CR
 
#661 ·
Another busy team workday on Sunday. Four of us all day long. Again, not as many pictures as there should be.

We got the rear glass out - in one piece so we could use it as a template.


Anybody need rear glass with cool vinyl?


Trimmed the lexan to fit and temporarily attached with a butt-load of Clecos.


Then we removed the lexan and painted a black strip around the edges like the OEM glass - gotta keep it looking good, ya know! After the paint dries, it'll get attached with 3/16" rivets - black of course. :cool:

The first of many fittings of the seat - still too high and needs some rake. Working on it. :(


Meanwhile, one of the guys worked on mocking up the radiator that is on order - it'll be a 3-row race radiator for a Subaru WRX-STI. He built a 2.5" thick wooden box of the radiator dimensions and hung the stock fans on it. It fits nicely in the opening. The hose connections aren't ideal and the power steering reservoir will have to move. Stay tuned - this one will require some ingenuity.


Not pictured:
Work on the oil filter relocation and oil cooler.
Cool-suit system with ice chest, pump, hoses, fittings - nearly done.
3rd attempt at seat brackets, sliders, etc - I think we got it this time.
More welding of plinth boxes and plates in prep for the cage.

So much still to do. Aaaaggghhhh!
CR
 
#662 ·
Minor updates from last weekend:

Lexan installed in place of the rear glass - still have the rear doors to do.


Finally done with the seat. Lower with a nice amount of rake - compare it to the prior picture. Sliders work great. Was way more work than expected.


The STI radiator is back-ordered to we switched our order to a 2-row for an Acura NSX. Dimensions seem right and the hose connections are a little better. It is shipped and on it's way. Fingers crossed.

CR
 
#663 ·
Another team work day in the shop - only a few pics.

RS spent the day making mounting brackets for the new 2-row Mishimoto radiator. It's almost ready to go in the car. Here's a comparison to stock. The Mishimoto is 2.5 times thicker.


CH cut out lexan for the rear doors, plumbed the oil filter relocation kit and worked on removing sound-deadening material from the floor.

VK mounted the fire system bottle and the cool suit cooler and helped with the radiator.



Note the hose connections.

I spent the day making another plinth box for the roll cage - only one more to go.

CR
 
#664 ·
Hey Race Fans!! Another very busy weekend in the shop - all day Saturday and half day Sunday. RS & VK got the NSX radiator installed and the hoses rerouted. Had to relocate the power steering reservoir. They did a great job. No pics yet. Still waiting on new radiator fans and the oil cooler.

CH & I worked on removing sound deadening from the floor using the dry ice trick. We bought about 10lbs of dry ice, crushed it up, spread it over the floor and covered it with aluminum foil to keep the cold in.


After about 10 minutes we start beating it with a dead blow hammer and the sound deadening just breaks up and pops off the floor. Very cool! Haha! Here's the final result.



I also spent most of my time making the main hoop of the roll cage and the forward bars that follow the roof down to the floor.. Here is the main hoop just sitting in place on the plinth boxes.


So much work left to do - but we're making steady progress.

CR
 
#665 · (Edited)
Had a great team work day. Made some progress on the cage. Build your own cage - they said. How hard could it be - they said! LOL!











Tack welded. Still some work to do, then drop it off the boxes so we can fully weld all the joints.

Making progress!!

CR
 
#666 ·
Well sadly we didn't make the race this weekend that we had set as a goal for ourselves. But the work continues - we will get this thing on track!!

So with the main cage tacked together, we dropped it down into the boxes to allow access to the top. Rules require all tubes to be fully welded all the way around.







Next the rear stays get welded in.



Here's a view looking forward - sitting back up on the boxes.



Not pictured, but I've got the front dash bar tacked in place and the steering gear hung. Next is door bars.

Meanwhile, the radiator is done and the oil cooler is just about finished. Man, so much work!

Stay tuned!
CR
 
#667 ·
Holy Crap! What's been going on CR?!

Well, I've been busy. Took a vacation in May and then was invited to drive for another team last weekend at NJMP. Friday was practice, 14hr endurance race on Sat & Sun. I've never driven the track or the car, but got up to speed during practice. The car was quick - I think we had 2nd fastest lap in practice. Sadly with 5min of practice left the transmission let go.

Here's the car Sat morning with the transmission out - we tried locating a replacement but no luck.



We watched the race Sat then headed home.

As for the Mazda, I'm working on the door bars in hopes of wrapping up this cage very soon! I'll post some update pics this weekend.

CR
 
#669 ·
Great day to be working in the shop!! Passenger side door bars done! There will be a pair of taco gussets where the two tubes come together in the middle.





That is a tight fitting notch right there!


On this side the bars are straight, but on the driver's side they will bow out into the door cavity to give the driver more room.

Here I bent the bottom bar away from the driver so we can still access the seat bracket bolts.


Lots of hours on this cage but we're getting close! Stay tuned.

CR
 
#671 ·
The seat and 5 point harness that will keep him in that seat.
 
#672 ·
Yeah, I take safety very seriously. The Mazda (as well as the other track cars I drive) has SCCA/NASA compliant roll cage, FIA/SFI compliant seat and harnesses, Fire system with discharge heads in the engine and driver compartment and emergency kill switch. For personal gear I wear Nomex socks, underwear and balaclava, FIA/SFI fire suit, shoes and gloves, Nomex lined helmet, Hans neck restraint.

I feel much more safe than in my street driven car with its airbag and 3-pt seatbelt.

CR
 
#673 ·
Driver's side door bars done!!





With all the door bars done and fully welded, we are closing in on a completed cage. Next we'll final weld the cage to the mounting boxes, then add the diagonal to the main hoop and finally the horizontal harness bar. Getting there!

CR
 
#675 ·
Wow! What a busy summer. I've been driving other people's cars and still trying to get the Mazda track ready.

I shortened and modified the factory dash bar so we can reuse the steering mount and unbolt the entire thing if we need to. I still don't like the brace that comes down to the tunnel - it;s too close to the knees. I'll probably cut it off and add a brace on the other side of the tunnel. You might also notice that the cage is now fully welded to the floor via the plinth boxes. Its in for good now!



With the cage permanently welded in place we can add the diagonal brace to the main hoop.






Starting to look like a race car!!

Next we need to re-install the seat so we can locate the horizontal harness bar.

I'm hoping to have the Mazda back together by mid-October for testing at VIR. If all goes well we may be doing a race in late October at Loudon, NH. Fingers crossed.

Stay tuned.
CR
 
#676 ·
Work continues! Cleaned up all the wiring in and around the cockpit.



Making Tacos! Gussets that is. LOL!



Bent & Tacked in place.



Horizontal harness bar installed.





Need two more tacos for the drivers side. We might be getting paint on this cage soon!!

CR
 
#677 ·
Cage complete and final check of the seat. Next we pull the seat out AGAIN and paint the cage.





Wow - the longest cage build known to man. Hahaha! I'm glad to be moving onto something else - hopefully the remainder will go more quickly.

So what's the schedule you ask?
Virginia International Raceway - Full course - October 13, 14, 15 driving with the Camaro team posted above. Yeah the one we broke the tranny in NJ back in June.
Carolina Motorsports Park - December 3,4 driving the Mazda (fingers crossed)
and then the big one . . .
Road Atlanta - 14hr endurance race December 10,11 driving the Mazda (assuming we don't break it at VIR or CMP) otherwise driving for the Camaro team.

Lots of work to do!
CR
 
#679 ·
Super fun weekend at the track! I am so fortunate to be asked to drive other people's cars on occasion - it has provided some great experiences and resulted in some great friendships. Over the years I've driven the Radical SR1 & SR3, the Formula F4.






Thursday I was given the opportunity to drive a track prepared BMW M240i at VIR. I got 90min on the track at speeds a bit over 140mph. What an amazing car - much better than I expected it to be. The confidence this car gives you is remarkable. I felt even if I missed a mark or needed to make a mid-corner correction, it would say: "No worries, we got this."



In the afternoon, I was given the 718 Cayman S for an hour. I expected to love this car since I've been lusting for one but had never driven one on the track. I'm surprised to report that I liked the BMW better. The Porsche brakes were amazing and that PDK transmission is unbelievable. But it didn't inspire the confidence that the Beemer did - in fact it seem to demand smooth precision and would punish you for any mistake near the limit.



I find myself casually searching for a CPO M240i. ;)


On Friday and Saturday I co-drove the Team Camaro as we test and tune in preparation for the Atlanta race.



The car is fast but we have an oil consumption problem. It got worse over the two days and by Saturday it was down on power - not alot, but noticeable. We are currently investigating but I think we will go ahead and swap in the spare motor and rebuild the old one over the winter. Kind of a bummer.

Enough distractions - I need to get back to work on the 6!

CR
 
#680 ·
#681 ·
Very busy weekend trying to get ready for CMP on December 3rd.

I'm very sad to say that the Momo seat I bought is just not going to work. I've modified the mounting 3 or 4 times and had the seat in and out more time than I can count - it just won't work. The primary problem is it uses side mounts only - I didn't realize this when I bought it. The side mounts make the seat even wider.



The tunnel in the Mazda6 forces the seat to be bottom mounted so the mounting structure is below the seat. So I borrowed a seat from a racer buddy and made bottom brackets - it will work.



Here I've completely removed the cross member from the floor. The spots I've grinded clean are where the pads for the seat mount will weld to the floor - two small ones in the front and a long one in the back.



Notice the cage is in grey primer now - time permitting I'll be doing a black gloss coat.



We mounted the fire bottle up under the dash on the passenger side. We had planned to put it behind the seat, but the tubing runs got too lengthy. We need two heads in the engine compartment and two pointed at the driver.



The radiator is nearly done - just one fitting and some hose clamps to finish. We also got the oil cooler installed which also includes relocating the oil filter.





Will be more busy nights to come!

CR
 
#682 ·
Very busy weekend in the shop - three of us worked Sat & two of us on Sunday.

Finally finished the race radiator and oil cooler along with a new heavy duty radiator fan.





Polished and installed the headlights, installed the bumper bar - also plumbed the engine intake.



Also made progress on plumbing the fire system and some other odds & ends. Gotta keep pushing if we're going to make CMP in December!

CR
 
#683 ·
With only two weeks to go, the team has been in overdrive working on the Mazda.

The fire system is done with two nozzles in the engine bay and two pointed at the driver.




The cage and seat brackets are painted - also notice the revise harness bar that is offset to the rear. Also installed plexiglass in the rear doors (they have some dust on them).




New switch panel - Still some wiring to do.




CR
 
#684 ·
Woohoo!! I think we are track ready!

Running this morning - but not quite done.



Dirty, but back on the ground - finally.



Switch panel done.



VK Approved - he's our tallest driver.



Loading up on Thursday - heading to the track Friday!

CR
 
#685 ·
Holy Cow! It has been a super busy couple of weeks. Here's the run down.

I realized I needed a back brace for the seat so that was a last minute fabrication.



Finally we were ready for a weekend of testing, tuning and practice at CMP. So we loaded up the car into the race trailer and headed for SC.



The weekend was a bit of a challenge. VK spun on his out lap - no damage. He stayed out for about 6 laps then came in for a check. He reported the car was darty - more on this later. I went out and after about 4 laps until we lost power steering. Came back to the pits and there was PS fluid EVERYWHERE. Turned out this was a self-inflicted problem. We had mounted the PS reservoir in the center, front of the engine bay. You can see the cap in this pic - right above the radiator.



Unfornunately this places the reservoir directly above the red-hot long tube headers. We were boiling the PS fluid. Which then resulted in killing the PS pump. Those with a Gen1 6s will remember the factory reservoir location is to the left of the radiator. We had to move it when we installed the new race radiator.

So we spent about 3hrs replacing the PS pump and moving the reservoir over behind the headlight and re-piping everything. We zip-tied a rag around the cap to see if it was leaking and to keep it from spraying all over the engine. Problem solved!



Unfortunately now it was raining. I went out mostly to test the PS - the track was pretty wet.




That concluded Saturday. Sunday we were full of optimism that we would get some long runs of testing in - remember we are trying to prep for a 14hr race! VK went out for 30min, then me, then CH, then RS. The car was still darty - which made me suspect a CV axle might be the problem. I was right. During our last 30min session, the right axle broke. :-(
So we got home Sunday night and got to work.



Pulled the axle. Monday morning ordered a new one and had it over-nighted. Put it in Tuesday night.



We had a handful of other minor improvements - installing the radios, enlarging the fuel filler, fixing a coolant leak. So tonight we think we are ready. Tomorrow we load up again and head to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Practice will be Friday followed by 14hr race Sat & Sun. Fingers crossed!

Random pic in the pits at CMP


Wish us luck!
CR
 
#686 ·
Track Report!

Showed up at the track Thursday night, setup the camper, unloaded the Mazda, fired up the grill and had a couple of cold ones. I love camping in the paddock.



Friday morning was wet in fact it rained all day - some times quite hard.



Schedule for Friday was morning practice then tech inspection. We each went out in the wet for about 30min to get familiar with the track. I've raced Road Atlanta in my sim-rig, but the simulator does not do the elevation changes justice. Especially the hill coming down onto the front stretch - holy cow is that scary the first few lap - completely blind as you crest the hill.

We passed tech (Yay! I'm officially a cage builder!). They felt the car was cheaty so they put us in A-Class (the fastest class) and gridded us 94th (of 101 starters) PLUS made us start a lap down (OK - maybe the car is a little cheaty. HAHA). We parked and waited for the green flag on Saturday!



Saturday morning the track was damp but no rain so it quickly dried. The car was fast and handled great and we quickly moved up to 28th position.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Cars/Mazda-6s/i-BSCnKrc/0/88eb8f4f/1280/PXL_20221210_162744447-1280.mp4

Unfortunately, after long runs of an hour or more, the car developed a sputter like it was fuel starved. It got worse the longer we stayed out. We made several extra pit stops trying to figure out the problem. We finished Sat in 52 position.

Saturday night we pulled the fuel pump assembly. It was a little dirty so we cleaned it and put it back in and crossed our fingers. Restarted the second half of the race Sun morning and the car was still developing the sputter after about 45min on the track. They stop the race for 1hr of quiet time on Sun so this gave us time to work on the car. We pulled the FP assembly again and decided fuel was not entering the bucket fast enough.

Here's a pic of the assembly (not the one in our car - this is a pic from several years ago when I got a bunch of crap it the fuel tank and ruined the FP) so ignore all the debris.



The fuel pump sits in the bucket and the little red valve lets fuel into the bucket and keeps it from going back out. For street driving this works fine. But when you are driving at wide-open throttle for hours, the rate that fuel can enter the bucket is slower than the rate you are burning the fuel so the level in the bucket slowly goes down until the bucket is empty (even though there is plenty of fuel in the tank). Then we'd come into the pits, giving the bucket time to refill, then we'd go back out and it would run great for another 45min - it was maddening until we finally figured it out. So the track-side fix was to drill three 3/4" holes in the bottom of the bucket - and Viola!! it worked!

Unfortunately, by then there was only a few hours left in the race - and it was raining again. So we went back out and did a 3hr run with a driver change in the middle. The car ran great! We finished in 56th position, but for me having the car finish a 14hr race on its first time out was a total win.

Next race - Barber Motorsports Park - early February.

CR
 
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