i want to say that i am checking this thread from time to time and im still impressed of what you have done to the car favorite mod is seats i love them i dont have anything smart to say so i usually sit back and just watch :P

Everything is looking good Brian. I'm curious to see how much the car weighs now also.

The first part is true, but the second isnt.

You dont have to be worried about an alignment changing the clearance of the tire to knuckle, since its the ball join that gets adjusted (therefor the knuckle moves with the wheel).

The top part of the tire does flex, particularly in the opposite direction of the contact patch. For example, taking a hard right turn, contact patch on the outside (driver side in this example) flexes inward, the top flexes outward. This is due to the steel belts in the tire. The inside wheel (pass wheel in this example) isn't seeing the forces that the driver side is seeing, so the flexing isn't as severe.

Most autocrossers that have talked about this like to keep 1/4" of space between the knuckle and tire. Thats 6.3mm.

Hmm. Gonna be hard to get an exact measurement with the car on the ground. Is there a better way to measure it? According to this ruler in front of me it seems like I have 1/4" clearance.

Can you fit a hand back there? Measure your finger and see how well it fits. Its archaic but will give you a close number.

I actually tried it with a colored pencil and the end of a paint brush. From that it looks like I am at 4mm clearance.

I am at shop now waiting to get it aligned.

Umm yeah, if you want to get all technical about it











j/k, i learned something new today. thanks for clearing that up

Pictures do not do this car justice. Its amazing how clean it is. Im very jealous that you bought it brand new too. Hopefully we'll have one more CL at the Nat'l Meet next year

Thanks. It was nice meeting you. I am already thinking of what mods I want to have for next year. I want a trophy damnit. Don't think it is possible without a lip kit or lowering my car more. Keep me posted on ur
cl mods. I am very interested in the outcomes.

Here are my plans for next year. Lip kit, xlr8 stoptech bbk, autopower race roll bar, new axles, new clutch, omnipower rsx master cylinder, more camber dialed in, drop it a lil more, remove moonroof and make a cf plug, gauge pod above steering wheel, etc. That is all I can think of so far.

Sounds like a pretty good list. Did you make it back in time to run at the track?

Agreed. It is unbelievably well done. Brian you have an awesome car. Great to meet you and I hope to see you next year!

Sounds like a pretty solid list!

I like these plans.

I also ordered the Omnipower quicklutch. I ordered the S2K one though.

Will be deleting Hardlines with the Karcepts tucked SS clutch line for the 94-01 Integra. Long enough to reach from the Master to the Slave.

Good luck buddy.

No I didn't attend the track day, I stepped out awhile ago when i decided to go to the meet instead. My group said they had a blast and they are already scheduled to go back on August 6. I will make it then for sure. Gonna try and find some local autocross events for now.

Thanks. Was nice meeting you and hope to see you next year also.


Thanks. Interesting, let me know how it works out for you.

Thats alot of work nice car

Thought I would post the pics tyler (oaktree) took of my car at the national meet. Thnx again for the pics.

These are in a parking garage.





This is rolling shot driving to the racetrack/casino.


These are from the meet at the dealership.

I kept track of the mpg on the trip to kc. I basically averaged 25 mpg on the highway going 75-85. Since you have constant momentum the weight loss should not be a big factor. Driving around the suburbs, during non traffic hours, while keeping the rpm's pretty much at 3k or up to redline I get 22 mpg. I don't think that is bad considering the aggresive driving. I would expect probably around 10 mpg on track going full out.

Here are 2 pics of the oil I drained from my catch can after approximately 1250 miles driving to kc and back.



I haven't really touched the car since the trip besides just driving it. Felt like I needed a break after working on it almost everyday for over a month.

The one thing I have done is make a purchase. Thanks to loweredCL for selling it to me. Here are a few teaser pics.

Front lip just mocked up to my extra bumper.



Still need to decide what I want to do. I need to get my rear passenger fender cleaned up, so the decision will be based on options my body shop gives me. It is just whether I clean up that one fender, or decide to do work on all the fenders for a wide body (which would be a lot more work plus require different wheels).

I also need to decide whether to mold the kit or just do the normal procedure.

Since I have a TL front lip already plus the extra bumper I might do one with the RJ lip and another with the TL lip so I can swap between the 2.

I was also thinking down the road for aero mods. I think the RJ front lip would work best for using a splitter because the bottom is flat. I will most likely make a detachable splitter for the front. It also seems like the RJ would be better for airflow to the radiator and fog light area ducts.

I will maybe shave the trunk emblem off and decide if I want to keep stock spoiler, switch to lip spoiler or go for the ricer wing.

Nice dude! You should consider selling that TL lip to someone with a similar colored CL...

Thnx. We will see maybe. I have to see if it even lines up with the RJ sides. It might not match and look awful.

On a side note another thing I need to do is clear the headlights.

Damn, making moves, I see

25mpg on the highway seems kinda low IMO. Even when I still had the 3.2l, driving with a/c at 70-85mph netted me 31mpg on multiple occasions.. Obviously that was at full weight.

How much did you like the seats after 1250 miles ?
My friend has the stock recaro's in his svt focus, I find them comfortable but they are leather not cloth .

Yea thought this would be the last chance to buy a rj kit so went for it. I was hoping for plus 30 mpg but something must be limiting me.

How comfortable they are comes down to mainly how padded they are and how well they fit your body shape. My recaro driver bucket is surprisingly comfortable. The only part of discomfort was my butt getting sore, but that happens in stock car seats also especially after 8 hours. I did find myself hovering above the seat once in awhile for a minute at a time to relieve this.

damn your car is clean... its need some more low though did i say already that i love the seats and the way how you mounted the gopro ? good job

Thnx. I want to go lower, I just don't want to scrape. Think I will drop it to a 1 finger gap, just gotta make sure tires don't rub fenders or suspension parts.

I wanted to say I am very pleased with these new tires. They grip alot better than my rs-2. My cars balance seems very neutral, no understeer or oversteer. I tried to induce oversteer going around 90 degree corners at the limit, but the rear end never came out. I did get the whole car sliding sideways a few times tho.

Everytime I drive my car it puts a smile on my face. I don't think I will ever tire of driving this car.

I also never mentioned how much the reduced weight plus my brake mods have improved the braking. It stops so effortlessly.

I love driving at 4-5k rpm in 2nd and 3rd gear and flooring it to redline. What a rush. I did some stop watch tests today in 3rd gear from 60-80 mph. The time I got was 2.5 seconds. I wonder how that compares to other cars.

I notice when I pull up at stoplights a lot of the cars next to me look over laughing pretty loud. I get some weird looks also. I love when people ride my bumper when a road is straight, then when we get to a corner I leave them in the dust. I always find that amusing.

Since removing the carpet, my foot position has been too low on the pedal to properly heel toe. I installed a PCI race spec aluminum floor plate. The position is perfect now. It raised the floor approximately 1 inch.


I also added a mugen reservoir sock just for the hell of it.

Good call on the floor plate.

RE: 60-80mph times. Looking at a video of my car, it was right around the same time of 2.5s. Thats not a scientific measurement though, Im just looking at the time line and not going by frame.

Did you start at 60 then hit the gas, or did you start at lower speed and start timer when you hit 60?

Is this with your over 300whp?

I should point out it was 77 degrees and it was on a flat road. I started accelerating at 55 and started the timer at 60.

I started at 60mph then floored it. The video was with the old exhaust and headers, I put down 294/275 at the wheels untuned with that setup. It was in the 60s that day according to the almanac.

I dont think I have any videos starting below 60mph, but Ill check.

I dunno how I forgot the most important update. A new sticker. This is the bigger version handed out at the national meet.

Looking good Brian! I think that you should lower it just a tiny bit more like you are saying. Will def improve the look and overall lower the center of gravity. I am always seeing that pic of our cars nose to nose and mine is just a little lower than yours. I'm sure if you take all the necessary precautions, you shouldn't have any issues rubbing or things like that.

What happened to your name.

I have been looking into local autocross events. I am planning on doing some with the windy city miata club on aug 11 and 12 in schaumburg, IL. For the first 5 events I can be in the novice class, then I would need to move up to the non-miata 2.5L or more N/A class.

I also want to make it to the NASA-X event at tire rack test track in Indiana on Aug 18th. The CL is listed in NXE class, but with my mods I would be moved up 2 classes to NXC. They penalize alot for weight reduction, way more than any other modifications.

Some other cars that are in NXC class would include(stock or close to stock) S4, NSX, M coupe, M3, Cobalt SS, Mustang GT, S2000, RX7, RX8, Evo 8, and many more. I don't stand a chance. Guess I would do it just for fun cause I cant compete with those cars.

I am also looking into doing a track 2-day event at Road America on Oct 13-14. It costs $375 plus hotel etc. so gets pretty pricey. Autocross events cost around $25.

If anyone local wants to go to any of these let me know. Would be nice to go with others since I am a noob.

Sh*t, I'd go if I was local.

Don't sell yourself short with the CL, you have done enough to 'raise eyebrows' on some of those other cars.

As General Maximus Decimus Meridius commanded in 'Gladiator', Unleash Hell!! hehe

Good Luck!

As long as your suspension is set up properly youd be able to keep up with those cars. You wont be outgunned on the straights unless they have a lot of power. Its the corners where you may have a disadvantage, specifically against the S2k, NSX, M coupe, and RX7/8.

Im thinking about joining the Porsche Club of America for a two day event in September at VIR. Its $375 as well, which is four 30 minute sessions on the course both days, and you can have an instructor ride along as well. I need to get my alignment in check, possibly new tires, and two sets of brake pads before I commit though.

Well the NASA-X event is an autocross that I would compete against those cars in, so there won't really be any straights it is all cornering and braking.

The track day events aren't competition events.

I ordered ingall's full arms for the front and ordered a pyrotech open face helmet.

Haha, I completely missed the X part of the NASA name

Added some grip tape patches to the floor plate for better heel grip.

This name fits better, Brian!

Yes it does.

I made a short video of my drive today. Nothing too special just me taking turns and some 2nd gear pulls. Gives you an idea of the sound inside the cockpit. I didn't want to go crazy since it is sunday with a lot of cars, some bikes and cops out on the roads.

Im stripping the CL this winter.

BTW good song at the end

You have the scion for that.

The song at the end was just a coincidence, I didn't plan that. That was music playing on my phone while I drove.

I will get some more footage, hopefully of me sliding the car sideways, and at the auto-x events. I am thinking of mounting a go-pro on my front bumper also, maybe on the front fender looking down at the wheel/ground also.

I did my first auto-x yesterday at Alexian Field in Schaumburg with the windy city miata club. It was a lot of fun. The first session I was over driving the car. I messed up recording the video for the first session, but got video of some of my 2nd session runs.

My best time was a 56.384. The best time was a miata with 48.914. I know my car can do a lot better then the times I got. I need to clean up my lines, not over drive it and use brakes more.

I actually think I enjoyed watching the other fwd cars more than the awd or rwd cars. There was a pretty fast neon and civic that would tripod one of the rear wheels around all the corners. There was a mini that was one of the fastest cars also. I was faster than the rsx.

My front tires took a good amount of abuse.

Here is a pic of the course layout. I kept it in first gear for the first section and the peanut/figure 8 part then shifted into 2nd exiting the peanut and kept it in 2nd for the remainder.


Here is the video I made.


Here are some pics I took with my iphone.










Here are some pics I took while working the walkie talkie at corner 1.






Here is the results board. I was number 465 in run group 2.