Gregg's street/track genpu

Mr.Gregg

Mr.Gregg

Greenie N00B Member
Greenie Member
Current mods, 9/3/20:
Sure SRI, COBB(?) TIP, autotech HPFP, CP-E RMM, Accessport (stock tune still), KW V3 coilovers, corksport camber plate, Massive speed systems camber arms & toe arms, whiteline rear swaybar, Hawk HP+ pads, motul 600 dot 4, re71r 225 width tires on stock wheels, -2.5° camber all around.



Well as I dive deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole of modding my 2012 speed3, I figured I should start a build diary. And Imma start back in May of 2020, when I decided to take my mostly stock speed3 to my first ever track day at Nelson Ledges. I really wanted to get on track this year, either with the 'Speed or my motorcycle, but the community garage that I was repairing my motorcycle at closed temporarily for COVID. Plus car racing is less likely to end in bodily harm than moto racing; I work a job that requires me to be in good physical shape so I chose to track the 'Speed.


So, I attended my first HPDE through Autointerests; the only mods on the car at the time were SRI/TIP, rear motor mount, and a whiteline sway bar. It was a super fun event, I felt that I did alright, and was able to keep up with some more experienced drivers with more capable cars simply by trusting my instructor's directions and being more daring than other drivers (which may have also played a role in braking too late and running off a corner once...)


The car felt just "okay." With all-season tires, it didn't grip terribly well and was kinda an understeer fest. I did not monitor coolant temps, but after each session the engine bay 20200628_160210.jpg 20200628_163303.jpg felt HOT and it consumed loads of fuel, possibly running rich to stay cooler? Anyhow, I had a ton of fun at the event, but didn't really feel as though I had learned a ton, so I decided to attend a full weekend at Mid-ohio through NASA.
 
Nice! Sounds like you have a good starting point. Not sure if you took at look at my build but you might find something useful in there
 
Just a few days after visiting the track for the first time, I found a little puddle underneath the car, turns out one of my rear shocks had had enough and decided to check out. At 95k miles, it was probably about due, so I chose to refresh the suspension all around with some KW V3's, camber plates, camber arms, and toe arms. Working on the passenger side camber arm suuuuuucked and whatever Mazda engineer that put that little cover there deserves to be shot. It was also a b*tch and a half getting the front coilovers fully seated, but not much you can really do about that. I finally installed the second hand autotech HPFP I had been procrastinating on for months. Really should've had it on before my first track day, but ran out of time. Tossed on some re71r's, flushed through some better brake fluid, and got an alignment. Lastly, I wanted to be able to rip around track feeling confident that the car wasn't going to overheat, so I got an accessport monitor all the important stuff.


Just a few days ago, late August, I visited Mid- Ohio for a 2-day HPDE through NASA. It was a fantastic time, I'd 100% recommend them to anyone who wants to learn the basics of track driving. They first teach you the basics in a classroom setting, and then go on track to apply what you've learned. It was great, and I'll be doing it again in a month, and hopefully qualifying to move up to HPDE-2.




The car did very well, it felt pretty great after all the changes I'd made, and a couple times the tail end even came around a bit. I'll have to experiment more with that, have never owned nor really driven a rwd car so it's a foreign feeling. I feel as though I did fairly well, but definitely was nowhere near the fastest car out there. I feel that the next step to make the car quicker would be to increase power, and fit a wider set of wheels and tires. While I'd like to increase power mostly just for fun, I don't think I can justify wider wheels quite yet, that may come in the future after I have more experience.
20200830_090138.jpg

Personally, I again feel as though I did fairly well. I had nice smooth inputs, a good line, and good track etiquette. But I absolutely need to get better at keeping my eyes up and on my surroundings, predicting the track rather than just reacting to what I see, and especially need to create reference points for where to start and end braking, turn in, apex, where to aim leaving the corner.

Most of the weekend was lead-follow with an instructor, which makes it easy because you can simply brake and turn where they do. But in the last session, they released us onto the track like a bunch of baby birds who'd been shoved from their nest. I entered corners way too hot and as a result had a poor line. I was just braking where it felt like I should, I hadn't really created any reference points to guide me. If anything, that is what I will focus on improving in the future.
 
gotovato said:
Nice! Sounds like you have a good starting point. Not sure if you took at look at my build but you might find something useful in there
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Definitely man, you've got a ton of good info on there, I gave it a quick scan through but I'm going to have check it out again and take some notes


Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you do a little write-up on brake ducting on there?
 
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Mr.Gregg said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you do a little write-up on brake ducting on there?
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Yea I have some info regarding brake ducts on my thread. They made a massive difference and definitely help keep the oem calipers part of your car for much longer. They are definitely not weak.

it sounds like you have a pretty good base, and are starting off better then I did so that’s great. Biggest track related mods that I think helped me the most would be the camber plates, a proper track spec alignment, white line rear bar, and my Bilstein coilovers. Also brake pads. I ran the hawk HP+ for 2 seasons then I started turning them to dust(took an almost new set off and they just crumbled). Moved up to the gloc r12’s and those have done amazing for 7 events so far but I am also reaching the limits of those. If you have any setup questions let me know! Happy to help
 
gotovato said:
Yea I have some info regarding brake ducts on my thread. They made a massive difference and definitely help keep the oem calipers part of your car for much longer. They are definitely not weak.

it sounds like you have a pretty good base, and are starting off better then I did so that’s great. Biggest track related mods that I think helped me the most would be the camber plates, a proper track spec alignment, white line rear bar, and my Bilstein coilovers. Also brake pads. I ran the hawk HP+ for 2 seasons then I started turning them to dust(took an almost new set off and they just crumbled). Moved up to the gloc r12’s and those have done amazing for 7 events so far but I am also reaching the limits of those. If you have any setup questions let me know! Happy to help
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Yeah man, one thing I'm really debating right now is the brake pads I've got (hp+). They've done well for me on track, but they dust like crazy and squeal like a school bus when coming to a stop. This car is my daily driver so it's kind if a big nuisance. Did you notice the same? I'm thinking of maybe adding ducts and switching to a less track oriented pad, but idk. Do you daily drive the glocs, or switch them in before track events or what?
 
Nice thread! I know a few instructors. Marlon is amazing. Has a herd of mazda.
 
Raider said:
Nice thread! I know a few instructors. Marlon is amazing. Has a herd of mazda.
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Ah yeah, I haven't personally met Marlon yet but he's pretty active on the local Mazdaspeed Facebook page and has given me some helpful tips
 
Mr.Gregg said:
Ah yeah, I haven't personally met Marlon yet but he's pretty active on the local Mazdaspeed Facebook page and has given me some helpful tips
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He and I go back nearly 20 years. He and his wife Lauri are great people.
 
Mr.Gregg said:
Yeah man, one thing I'm really debating right now is the brake pads I've got (hp+). They've done well for me on track, but they dust like crazy and squeal like a school bus when coming to a stop. This car is my daily driver so it's kind if a big nuisance. Did you notice the same? I'm thinking of maybe adding ducts and switching to a less track oriented pad, but idk. Do you daily drive the glocs, or switch them in before track events or what?
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I don’t daily the car, but I street drive it often. The reason I ditched the HP+ is because they are NOT a real race pad. I was cooking the shit out of them. If they bother you, I can tell you it only gets worse the more aggressive of a pad you go lol. You should consider swapping pads for the track. I’m use to it and it doesn’t bother me so I run around with my glocs only, no pad swaps.
 
Small update and question.

I was back on track at Mid-Ohio today, the car did pretty great again, although the only thing I'd done was reduce rear camber to -2°. I'm also partway through getting the car tuned. My instructor and I noticed that 3rd gear really seemed to lose power up top, but 4th and 5th didn't have this problem. As per my instructor's instructions, I basically just stayed in 4th even in places where 3rd would've been more appropriate, and it definitely seemed to get me around the track faster. Is there any reason power would be cut in 3rd specifically? I know the car limits torque in 1st and 2nd, but thought 3rd was free. Could this be down to the tune?
 
Mr.Gregg said:
Small update and question.

I was back on track at Mid-Ohio today, the car did pretty great again, although the only thing I'd done was reduce rear camber to -2°. I'm also partway through getting the car tuned. My instructor and I noticed that 3rd gear really seemed to lose power up top, but 4th and 5th didn't have this problem. As per my instructor's instructions, I basically just stayed in 4th even in places where 3rd would've been more appropriate, and it definitely seemed to get me around the track faster. Is there any reason power would be cut in 3rd specifically? I know the car limits torque in 1st and 2nd, but thought 3rd was free. Could this be down to the tune?
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Sounds like it may be tune related. I’d ask your tuner. Also 2* of rear camber is still a little much to me!! Less rear camber, less rear corner grip, better rotation better exits!!
 
gotovato said:
Sounds like it may be tune related. I’d ask your tuner. Also 2* of rear camber is still a little much to me!! Less rear camber, less rear corner grip, better rotation better exits!!
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Hmm alright, last track it was at 2.5° which was %100 way too much, dropped it down but didn't really have much time between runs to check tire wear other than pressure.

What would I be looking for ideally, wear right up to the indicators on both inside and outside? And manufacturer's recommended pressure once tires are hot?
 
Mr.Gregg said:
Hmm alright, last track it was at 2.5° which was %100 way too much, dropped it down but didn't really have much time between runs to check tire wear other than pressure.

What would I be looking for ideally, wear right up to the indicators on both inside and outside? And manufacturer's recommended pressure once tires are hot?
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Pressure depends. It’s driver feel, and making sure you’re not rolling over the tire. This also depends on camber.
Ideally in the rear you want less camber, maybe 1.5* at most. Last year I ran about 1.75. This year it’s been at 1.25 and the difference is there. Rotation is so so sweet. That being said I have my white line rear bar and suspension setup to help with rotation. I use tire pressure to finely tweak the cars handling. If I find im loosing the rear too much, drop the pressure a bit. If I find I’m pushing too much? Drop front pressure, raise rear. It really all comes with experimenting and seat time. Knowing what you as the driver like, and what the car likes.

a good trick for tire roll over is bring some chalk with you, and mark the tires draw a line from the wheel all the way to the tread. As you drive the chalk will wear off and that’ll show you how far you’re rolling over.
 
gotovato said:
Pressure depends. It’s driver feel, and making sure you’re not rolling over the tire. This also depends on camber.
Ideally in the rear you want less camber, maybe 1.5* at most. Last year I ran about 1.75. This year it’s been at 1.25 and the difference is there. Rotation is so so sweet. That being said I have my white line rear bar and suspension setup to help with rotation. I use tire pressure to finely tweak the cars handling. If I find im loosing the rear too much, drop the pressure a bit. If I find I’m pushing too much? Drop front pressure, raise rear. It really all comes with experimenting and seat time. Knowing what you as the driver like, and what the car likes.

a good trick for tire roll over is bring some chalk with you, and mark the tires draw a line from the wheel all the way to the tread. As you drive the chalk will wear off and that’ll show you how far you’re rolling over.
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Thanks man I'll give it a try
 
Not the fun type of update. I was at mid-ohio last weekend, and my instructor and I noticed that in the top of third gear the car lost power. 4th was fine, but in third it seemed like it was pulling power.

Today, I am at Autobhan country club near chicago, and am finding that the problem has worsened. Rather than just being down on power, the car bucks and surges, the datalog I took shows the rpm going up and down rather than a steady ascent. Once again, 4th is perfectly fine. Not sure what's up, it doesnt always do it, and if I stick with it from roughly 4500-6500 it cleared up and pulled hard from 6500 to redline. As it only affects 3rd and I am midway through getting a tune, I have to wonder if its tune related. I'll send datalogs to the tuner, and switch back to stock map tomorrow to see if it helps.
 
Mr.Gregg said:
Not the fun type of update. I was at mid-ohio last weekend, and my instructor and I noticed that in the top of third gear the car lost power. 4th was fine, but in third it seemed like it was pulling power.

Today, I am at Autobhan country club near chicago, and am finding that the problem has worsened. Rather than just being down on power, the car bucks and surges, the datalog I took shows the rpm going up and down rather than a steady ascent. Once again, 4th is perfectly fine. Not sure what's up, it doesnt always do it, and if I stick with it from roughly 4500-6500 it cleared up and pulled hard from 6500 to redline. As it only affects 3rd and I am midway through getting a tune, I have to wonder if its tune related. I'll send datalogs to the tuner, and switch back to stock map tomorrow to see if it helps.
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That is a very strange issue. If you caught it in a log you can post it here and we can take a look at it for you
 
What is your fuel pressure doing when it starts bucking?
 
I took a log with the problem occuring and without, I was having trouble getting it to happen on the street but just about every single time I was above 4500 in third on the track it would struggle. I'll post some logs in a day or two.


Hpfp pressure seemed similar in both logs, fluctuating from 1600-1800. Some noticeable differences are that with the problem occuring, AFR was much lower, sitting at 8.67 with zero fluctuation. That seems awfully rich, right? Without, AFR was 11.17 with slight fluctuations. The other noticeable difference being wastegate duty was stuck around 60% with the issue, without the issue it gradually increased from 60 to almost 100.

I hope that helps, like I said I'll post a couple logs in a day or two, and I'll try one of the cobb OTS tunes for a session to see if it makes a difference
 
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