FITT Miata Tuning Challenge

Congratulations @Onboy123. Getting a second place in a Miata event against MCH is like getting second place against Usain Bolt in a 100m dash. If it were me I would consider it a first place.

Wait, I got 3rd? Doin' my happy dance!

I like Praiano's idea of a GT500 shootout. But it would nice to run another class for newer tuners at the same time.

And yet I'm still drawn to the idea of rally cars. Ahhhh, too many choices! D@#& you PD! How dare you give us so many cars.
 
Ronald6
Congratulations @Onboy123. Getting a second place in a Miata event against MCH is like getting second place against Usain Bolt in a 100m dash. If it were me I would consider it a first place.

Wait, I got 3rd? Doin' my happy dance!
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Congratulations on your podium finish too…unless I'm mistaken, it's a podium on your first time out? If so, I sadly have to request you leave the garage, because clearly you're not "clueless", from what we can see. :P Only way is up for you…well, there's not a lot else above you, but still. :lol: Great resut, and if it's your first, even more so.
 
Great job everyone! And I'm surprised that Onboy didn't play the more "mature/senile" card towards Hami with the 1.0 oops.:sly: I don't want to count my chickens yet (anxiously watching the clock waiting for it to countdown) but it looks like 3 is my lucky number. So far only 2 FITT shootouts under my belt and it's 3rd places all around. Never the bride, not even the maid of honor, guess that makes me a bridesmaid! It's been great fun and can't wait till the next shootout.:cheers:
 
I would like to join you guys. I'm out of practice on most tracks and haven't even driven most of the new ones. Any idea what tracks you will be running? I'll buy a miata tomorrow and tune it up a bit. Sounds fun.
 
kapnk006
FITT Miata Tuning Challenge by MCH - Roadster Touring Car Class Testing Results
Track: Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit 3.66 miles
Tester: kapnk006
Controller Setup: Logitech GT Pro Steering Wheel, 200 degree rotation, manual transmission
Controller Sensitivity:4
All aids off except ABS: 1
Test Methodology: Qty (2) x 12 lap sessions per car, 24 laps total per car

@donpost Time - 2.06.644 DC - 9.1
My favorite car of the test because it's closer to fitting my driving style. Its works better in high speed corners than all the rest. My data analysis (see end of this post) suggests that I was able to get it to accelerate 2nd fastest during it's fastest recorded lap. Able to steer a bit with throttle which I love but wished for a tiny bit of trail brake ability. I was able to predict and recover from rear tire kick-out with ease in the slow corners. Loved the ability to take it out of the Vale chicane in a four wheel drift with no loss of time..... an awesome sensation! I struggled to figure out what the best gear was (2nd too short and 3rd too tall) in the Luffield carousel. In my 2nd session of 12 laps I was getting much more confident to really attack lap times. It needs a taller 5th gear on the long back straight going into Stowe which may have given it 1-2 more mph. Pushes a bit on mid speed corner exits, but a joy drive, congrats!

@iainoflo85
Time - 2.06.373 DC - 8.0
This car just does everything well. My data analysis (see chart end of post) shows that I was able to pilot it through corners faster than the @praiano63 car during it's fastest lap. Seems to under steer at bit in mid speed corners. BLOR was smoother than others with not as much of a pronounced "jerky" steering re-direction at the point of car rotation like some other cars in the test. Able to throttle hard out of slow speed corners and recover from the tail kicking out as well. I'd like to have even more power to the back wheels to steer with it a bit more but that's just me. The gearing and shift points matched the track better than most of the other tunes which contributed to it's high speed corner rank during it's fast lap. Brilliant tune, congratulations!

@kapnk006
Time - 2.05.973 DC - 8.0
This car fits my driving style, and it should because I selfishly tuned it for me….! After driving the other 8 competitors cars it is easy to understand the low DC scores its getting, but I expected that. I knew it's learning curve would be longer and not realistic to learn how to drive fast within the time frame of this test. I like to trail brake and steer with throttle (and my deceased father whom I dedicated this car to loved to watch me from behind do that!) so that's what I created. I have at least 100 more laps with my car at Silverstone than any other in this test, so if my placement here prevents someone else onto podium spot, I am happy to withdraw my testing report for this car class.

@krenkme
Time - 2.07.510 DC - 7.0
Seems like it has a bit of oversteer on low speed corner entrance. I looked for inspiration when driving this car and found it fun to try and find where to shave more off of the lap time. With throttle applied it has noticeable under steer just about everywhere. I really had to work hard to discover where it can be fast and finally figured out that you can use 1st gear to help rotate, then get on the throttle earlier than most in 3 or 4 of the corners. A short shift to 2nd gear seemed to improve acceleration. This is a safe ride with lots of white laps.

@Otaliema
Time - 207.126 DC - 7.0
A Solid Safe Tune. You can really accelerate out of the low speed corners more than almost any other car with confidence. Had some understeer on mid speed corner exit. BLOR was not as effective as others but it was smoother and a bit more realistic nonetheless. I'd prefer more trail braking and throttle steering but that's just me. My data analysis suggests that I was able to brake this car better than most during my fastest recorded lap with it.

@praiano63
Time - 2.05.859 DC - 9.0
This car is good. This car scares me. I feel like I am playing a video game when driving this car. The BLOR is so pronounced and seems so unrealistic. If your able to BLOR the car into Copse (see map), even there the car rotation is somewhat violent, even at that high of a speed. Pushes a little bit in the Luffield carousel but applying throttle steered it back into shape. I had a harder time steering this with the throttle than @donpost 's car because this cars tires broke loose with less warning which also needed to be accomplished higher in the rpm range. Gearing worked together with the Track better than most as the car always seemed to be making best use of its powerband. My data analysis (see end of post) during it's best hotlap ranked #1 in acceleration but lacking a in top speed. This car just doesn't fit my style of driving even though it's the fastest around the circuit and one of the easiest to drive fast. With some experimenting on my part it may end up being my favorite 500pp car of all time. Wish it had more trail braking and throttle steering like some other competitors had. But I will use this tune as a learning tool for months to come. Congrats Mr. P !

@xande1959
Time - 2.07.571 DC- 7.0
A solid tune with the ability to steer a little bit with the throttle which I like. The gearbox was the biggest challenge....I just didn't know what gear to be in in some cases. But surprising enough my data analysis chart shows I was able to get it to accelerate better than most during it's best hotlap. This tune has a longer learning curve than many of the others because of the gearing. I know I can drive it faster than if I had more time behind the wheel.

@Motor City Hami
Time - 2.06.289 DC- 8.0
An easy car to pilot that does everything well. A small amount of understeer just about everywhere. The sound of of the tires slipping on corner exit is an odd thing during many corner exits, but it gave me good feedback and the perception that I was always operating in the best part of the powerband. My data analysis chart shows it was 2nd fastest in top speed during it's best hotlap. I felt like 5th gear needed to be a bit taller because the rev's were at redline a moment too long on the long backstretch going into Stowe. That may have yielded an additional 1-2 mph there. I think I could contend this car for the #1 fastest lap if I could trail brake a bit and maybe a click more throttle steering ability to better fit my driving style. I came close to nailing a mid 2:05 lap time but pitched it in the last chicane. A solid performer!

@shaunm80
Time - 2.07.845 DC- 6.0
I really struggled to find speed in the mid and high speed corners. Even though there is understeer in low speed corners you can can stomp on the throttle full max on exit earlier than almost all others. It just has understeer everywhere and an unusual gearbox to make a run at a fast hotlap impossible. A safe ride but wish there was at least some trail braking and throttle steer to keep it interesting and more fun to drive.


fitt-miata-touring-car-data-collection-001.gif
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That's one hell of a review! Excellent work! Those are some stupendously quick times too :bowdown:
 
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@Michelin Did you save the fast lap replays when you tested. It was not a requirement, but many testers do. If so, I would like to review two of them: Bowtie-muscle and Harks100.

Thanks
MCH
 
If I can assume results for Improved Touring are final, a 5th in lap time and 4th in DC is pretty good for my first challenge. I believe I have thanked all the testers after their review, but allow me to thank you all again. To my fellow tuners I say congrats and thank you for a fun challenge......... @Motor City Hami will you be posting results for SPEC Miata? And will you post YOUR tune, curious to see how you built yours.
 
Bowtie-muscle
If I can assume results for Improved Touring are final, a 5th in lap time and 4th in DC is pretty good for my first challenge. I believe I have thanked all the testers after their review, but allow me to thank you all again. To my fellow tuners I say congrats and thank you for a fun challenge......... @Motor City Hami will you be posting results for SPEC Miata? And will you post YOUR tune, curious to see how you built yours.
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Nothing is final until I post the final results for each class tomorrow morning.

I will post my tune. I have two Spec Miata remaining to test tonight. So far, I ran faster with one of the posted tunes than with mine. Three others are within 0.5 seconds of mine. Not bad for a bunch of rookies. :cheers:
 
Motor City Hami
Nothing is final until I post the final results for each class tomorrow morning.

I will post my tune. I have two Spec Miata remaining to test tonight. So far, I ran faster with one of the posted tunes than with mine. Three others are within 0.5 seconds of mine. Not bad for a bunch of rookies. :cheers:
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ha now thats just teasing!

I'm really glad (as a beginner) that I overcome my apprehension to take part in this. A great community and a really well organised event.
 
And that's how it should be. :dopey:

I really enjoyed the closeness of this one. Made it hell to nitpick DC scores but it was interesting to see the different serious and how they ran in comparison on the same car.

Also impressed with the "rookie" class as the Spec series was very fun indeed.
 
SCCA Spec Miata

I am impressed with our new FITT tuners. As I sat down to begin test driving, the idea was in my head that I would be doing these beginning tuners a huge favor by providing pro level feedback that would bring all of their tunes up to par. What an ego. Then I started ripping through the tunes and thought, uh oh, some of these could beat the practice tune that I built. One did and five others are right on my bumper. This group can no longer be called rookies… just call them new to FITT. I think this is my favorite FITT shootout so far. I have a blast driving these cars. We should get together this weekend and race at these Spec Miata tunes.

Below is my feedback. All tunes tested with G27 wheel with NIXIM brake pedal mod. Feel free to ask for clarification or additional help, though most of you won’t need it.

DaBomm4 MX-5 (NA) '89
127.626
DC 9.5

This is a really great tune. It does have a bit of late entry/mid-corner understeer, but a perfectly behaved corner exit. The car kind of turns in well, then gets a little lazy but comes back to live on exit. The braking zone is also a little bit longer than the other entries.

Suggestions: Higher brake balance, drop front damper comp to 3 and/or rear damper ext to 4.

Chipmonk77 MX-5 Miata (NA) '89
127.997
DC 8.8

This tune turns in really well. You can get the car down to the apex quite easily. I had to be a bit careful on exit. There was a bit of exit oversteer when hard on the throttle. The braking zone seemed longer than the other cars tested.

Suggestions: Brake balance 7/8 or 6/8, LSD accel may be too high so try the 10 to 12 range and maybe add some positive rear toe.

bread82 MX-5 J-Limited (NA, J) '91
127.977
DC 9.4

This tune has touch of instability under braking followed by a loose entry. You can use this to your advantage if you hit your turn in point spot on. But, there will be no corrections in late corner entry if you miss. Once you turn in, you are committed. This condition is probably ok for a time trial where you are looking for one hot lap, but for racing, I would want the entry calmed down a bit.

Suggestions: Add some LSD decel and try brake balance higher front than rear.

killerjimbag MX-5 J-Limited (NA, J) '91
128.664
8.0

The two strengths of this car are the aggressive brakes and the speed that it can carry from mid-corner through exit. The tune’s shortfall is that it is difficult to get the car down to the apex. I had to trail brake really deep into the cornet to get a quick enough rotation, but it was difficult to carry the momentum enough to take advantage of the car’s exit ability.

Suggestions: Lower LSD decel, brake balance 5/6, softer front springs, lower front damper comp to like 3.

backnfourth MX-5 S-Special Type I (NA, J) '95
128.136
DC 9.7

This is one of my very favorite cars in this class. It has the best corner feel of all of the tunes. Let me try to explain. The car has a corner smoothness where corner entry, mid-corner and exit all feel like the same corner. There is no wheel sawing. This is a very comfortable car to drive. This is the car that I would take to an endurance race. It did have one issue that slowed it down a bit. It is a little lazy mid-corner. Maybe find a little more turn in combined with a little more mid-corner and we would find that 0.5 seconds of lap time?

Suggestions: More negative front toe like -10 to -15. You could also try the ride height glitch around 115/110 or 115/100.

JackWilson MX-5 S-Special Type I (NA, J) '95
127.865
DC 9.8

I really like this tune. This is one of two cars that I could really push hard. There is a slight late entry to mid-corner understeer, but it is manageable.

Suggestions: Lower rear damper ext, increase negative front toe to -10 to -15 or softer front springs around 6.25.

Bowtie-muscle MX-5 SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
127.426
DC 9.9

This is a fast car; almost perfect. It can get loose on exit with a little outside wheel spin. I only have one suggestion to try and that is lower LSD accel.

HTR Tuning MX-5 SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
128.151
DC 9.8

This is another car that I really liked. I could push it very hard. The braking zone and the high speed decel area hurt the lap time. Nothing looks out of place on the tune. Maybe it has something to do with the even dampers all at 4? One more click of rear damper ext might have helped to stabilize the braking zones and made all of the difference to lap times?

Harsk100 MX-5 SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
129.918
DC 5.0

You entered a tuning competition yet did very little tuning. The car has a lazy corner entry, then a burst of steering as the soft springs collapse, followed by exit understeer.

DozUK MX-5 Miata SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
127.861
DC 8.0

This is a comfortable car, but I wanted more mid-corner to exit steering. The brakes were also a little bit tame. The damper settings look great, but some other settings must be offsetting the damper benefits?

Suggestions: LSD initial torque from 10 to 9, 8 or 7, more negative front toe, less positive rear toe and lower front sway bar.

Ridox2JZGTE MX-5 Miata SR-Limited (NA, J) '97
128.981
DC 6.0

Since this tune started as a replica tune, let me know if you would like more suggestions for improving it. There is an abundance of understeer. The front tires are just screaming in every corner. I tried to adapt my driving style make up time and I did get the lap times to drop a little, but there is lots and lots of understeer. I even tried flicking the wheel like a rally driver. I ended up grabbing a large hand full of wheel in each corner. I went faster, but could easily turn the outside front tire red and the inside front tire yellow.
 
Thanks for the review @Motor City Hami. I took a look at the results and you entered your test result for mine as 127.260 but your review says 127.626. I just want to make sure everything stays fair. Glad you enjoyed the testing.👍
 
@Motor City Hami : Thanks for the review, I will fix that understeer and update the one on my garage :) Have you watched my co driver replay that I uploaded on this thread ? It's surprising how my friend drive differently :D
 
@Motor City Hami : Thank you very much for your detailed review and for organising such a well run competition. I had a blast and can't wait for the next one!

Also, many thanks to all the competing tuners. Well done to everyone who took part and big congratulations to @Bowtie-muscle @backnfourth and @DaBomm4 for achieving a podium finish!

Many many thanks to all the testers, your feedback and time put into this is most definitely appreciated. It couldn't happen without your dedication to the competition.

On a personal note, I've had a wonderful month watching over and taking part in this thread. It's been great getting to know you all through your posts and I've really felt a part of a fantastic community.

Thank you all

Doz
 
DozUk
@Motor City Hami : Thank you very much for your detailed review and for organising such a well run competition. I had a blast and can't wait for the next one!

Also, many thanks to all the competing tuners. Well done to everyone who took part and big congratulations to @Bowtie-muscle @backnfourth and @DaBomm4 for achieving a podium finish!

Many many thanks to all the testers, your feedback and time put into this is most definitely appreciated. It couldn't happen without your dedication to the competition.

On a personal note, I've had a wonderful month watching over and taking part in this thread. It's been great getting to know you all through your posts and I've really felt a part of a fantastic community.

Thank you all

Doz
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Thank you sir, It's been a blast for me as well:tup:, now we need to both stick around for the next challenge and keep improving. Some of those tuners in the other classes........:scared:..........Think they will put us "rookies" in our places. I plan on driving several of these tunes according to their reviews. Yours is tagged as 1 I want to drive.
 
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@Motor City Hami A big LARGE Thank you being thrown at you for "controlling" this awesome and fun challenge. I learned alot and where I need to improve, LSD seems to be my biggest area of error. I give you credit for my tune as I refer to your tuning guide for LSD help, still gotta figure it out. You suggest lowering LSD ACCEL, how much lower? And if you and some of the other tuners, Lionheart, DB, Praiano, Onboy, just to name a few, were in this class it might look alittle different. Thanks again for organizing and helping the community here:cheers:
 
Bowtie-muscle
@Motor City Hami A big LARGE Thank you being thrown at you for "controlling" this awesome and fun challenge. I learned alot and where I need to improve, LSD seems to be my biggest area of error. I give you credit for my tune as I refer to your tuning guide for LSD help, still gotta figure it out. You suggest lowering LSD ACCEL, how much lower? And if you and some of the other tuners, Lionheart, DB, Praiano, Onboy, just to name a few, were in this class it might look alittle different. Thanks again for organizing and helping the community here:cheers:
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Yes @Motor City Hami his LSD portion of his tuning guide is pretty much my bible. I studied it back to front for GT5 and I'm very happy that it didn't change. When mucking about with the LSD, I change it in increments of 2 at a time. Especially the accel. That way it's a little easier to see a difference (lowering the tire quality can help as well) From the sounds of it, you only need a little bit to get both wheels to turn red/orange at the same time on acceleration. Should help on corner exit.
 
suspension
Is GARAGE YOKOMICHI too late???
:(
PS3 is finally working...
Maybe next time...
SORRY
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There's always next time…which, if we're anywhere near as effective as we used to be…should be within this week, if not the next. Keep your PS3 alive for that, always good to have more competition! 👍

(oh mai god someone from japan *fangirl screams echo in mind as anime freak inside goes nuts*) :lol:
 
Bowtie-muscle
@Motor City Hami A big LARGE Thank you being thrown at you for "controlling" this awesome and fun challenge. I learned alot and where I need to improve, LSD seems to be my biggest area of error. I give you credit for my tune as I refer to your tuning guide for LSD help, still gotta figure it out. You suggest lowering LSD ACCEL, how much lower? And if you and some of the other tuners, Lionheart, DB, Praiano, Onboy, just to name a few, were in this class it might look alittle different. Thanks again for organizing and helping the community here:cheers:
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Your tune is the one that actually beat my test tune. It does not need much of a change; like one or two numbers lower. There are two places where you can find more speed on the Streets of Willow Springs. The first is in turns 4, 5, 6 and 7, the right, left, right, left combo that increase in size with each turn. With just slightly lower LSD accel, I think I could go completely flat out through that section. I had to lift just slightly if I wasn't lazer smooth on the first corner's entry point or the back end would start to kick out. The second area is the last corner, turn 14. With many of the other tunes I could mash the throttle way earlier in the corner. With your tune I had to ease into the throttle to keep the rear from stepping out. I am not sure how much time it would gain, but any time you can get back to the throttle earlier than your competitors leading onto a long straight, it will feel like you have 5 extra hp by the braking zone.
 
Motor City Hami
Your tune is the one that actually beat my test tune. It does not need much of a change; like one or two numbers lower. There are two places where you can find more speed on the Streets of Willow Springs. The first is in turns 4, 5, 6 and 7, the right, left, right, left combo that increase in size with each turn. With just slightly lower LSD accel, I think I could go completely flat out through that section. I had to lift just slightly if I wasn't lazer smooth on the first corner's entry point or the back end would start to kick out. The second area is the last corner, turn 14. With many of the other tunes I could mash the throttle way earlier in the corner. With your tune I had to ease into the throttle to keep the rear from stepping out. I am not sure how much time it would gain, but any time you can get back to the throttle earlier than your competitors leading onto a long straight, it will feel like you have 5 extra hp by the braking zone.
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Thanks for the feedback. ALL REVIEWS and feedback are good if used to help improvement. That's why I appreciate all the time the testers put.
 
Congrats to all the tuners and testers, especially @Motor City Hami and the rest members for inviting in and helping out us newbies. Taking part has changed the way I look at these little cars when I see them in real life now. Instead of making fun of how tiny it is, I'd much rather gut it, stick a roll cage in it, tune it up and race it.
I'm really looking forward to the next event:cheers:

Oh! And I feel confident enough to tune with thw big boys next time. My girlfriend thinks I need it to bring my head/ego back down to size:lol:
 
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