Good morning!

[decay]

The K swap is another idea that I've tossed around. But then I just don't feel right not using a BMW inline.

the only reason i hate miatas is i don't fit in one because i'm 6'3"; i'm looking over the windshield, not through it.

well, and maybe the fact that a couple of them stuck on my ass like parasites in canyon runs. even in my E36M project, i'd gap them on the straights, but all it took was a few corners in a row and there they are in your mirrors again with that half-ton weight advantage.

K-swap an NA or NB chassis and breathe on the engine and it'd be insanely quick.

[Mattbled]

Nice car

[Mattbled]

Nice color

[ForcedFirebird]

the only reason i hate miatas is i don't fit in one because i'm 6'3"; i'm looking over the windshield, not through it.

well, and maybe the fact that a couple of them stuck on my ass like parasites in canyon runs. even in my E36M project, i'd gap them on the straights, but all it took was a few corners in a row and there they are in your mirrors again with that half-ton weight advantage.

K-swap an NA or NB chassis and breathe on the engine and it'd be insanely quick.

There's a drop floor kit that's legal for racing. One of my friends (6'4") has an NB with a Rotrex on it. Makes like 250whp and totally dominates the Time Trials.

Yes, they are awesome at mid corner speed, but lack power. When driving one, gotta be aware of any extra braking, and make sure you have an out so the person in front doesn't hold you up. The e30's have similar lap times, but they have a lot more, and require a lot more braking.

First time I drove a Miata, was doing coaching for a track group. My buddy had a few Spec cars there and told use instructors to take them out for some laps. I almost pulled it in after the first lap because I thought the car just plain sucked. Then coming down the front straight at Sebring, remembered "it's a Miata, don't brake" just before pulling in hot pit, puckered up, lifted in 4th and went through turn 1 with just an accelerator lift. The thing stuck like glue! In an e30 you are going about 115 for t1 entry, and have to brake hard and maybe carry 80-90mph. The Miata is only going 100, but will stick at that speed.

[varg]

AbsorbantNut back in town?

[decay]

There's a drop floor kit that's legal for racing.

i need to find out if there's one of those for a Z3. i fit in this car but it's, uh, "cozy". the original owner chose the power/heated seats and there's probably close to 100lbs i could lose just with that.

[ForcedFirebird]

Can just look at the design fab one up. It's just 10ga sheet metal, and you slice the frame rail the long way and reinforce.

Might have to be like Cleetus McFarland and just bolt a race seat to every car floor haha. That dude has an Aluminum Kirkey bolted the floor of his c7 rofl

[decay]

after having girlfriend and friends complain about the fixed-back corbeaus in that white ITB'd vert i built and having my own back problems, i am not about that life anymore. some of their adjustables look okay, but i'm keeping at least some measure of comfort in this car, so fuck a go-kart seat. not doing it.

[Panici]

Passionate? Yes and no. It has become a "job". You know, "old hat" status. Then I go through pics, or take a look around, and realize just how blessed I am. There's SO much stuff we worked on over the years that never even had a single photo snapped. In 2013 there was 2 techs, me and another office person to do sales/shipping etc.
...
Near death 2x.

You've worked hard over the years to support your family, mad respect for that. Glad that you have been blessed with owning a performance shop.

after having girlfriend and friends complain about the fixed-back corbeaus in that white ITB'd vert i built and having my own back problems, i am not about that life anymore. some of their adjustables look okay, but i'm keeping at least some measure of comfort in this car, so fuck a go-kart seat. not doing it.

Let me know if you figure out a comfortable seat option for back issues.
The original seat in my E36 along with the slammed suspension are taking their toll on my back.

Have resorted to using one of these on top of the seat:

http://www.bakerprecision.com/backsave.htm

Would definitely be worth it to swap something else in that car.

[lukeADE335i]

I have lower back issues and found my Recaro LXs better than I expected on the last long road trip I did in the e30 - the massive brackets for the seats place them lower than sports seats (I’ve actually raised you seats 30mm with spacers as I found them too low).

[decay]

Let me know if you figure out a comfortable seat option for back issues.

if you want to stay OEM, i'll happily ship you the power seats out of my Z3 on the cheap once i swap them out; they are comfortable as hell, but they're also heavy, so they gotta go. thinking recaro as it fits with the OEM+ theme i'm going for. i've only owned one E36M so i'm not sure if they bolt up? never tried that.

[Panici]

I have lower back issues and found my Recaro LXs better than I expected on the last long road trip I did in the e30 - the massive brackets for the seats place them lower than sports seats (I’ve actually raised you seats 30mm with spacers as I found them too low).

More comfortable then the E30 sport seats?
My E30s sport seats are the most comfortable of any of my vehicles. I just need to add a little foam for lower back support for them to be perfect.

if you want to stay OEM, i'll happily ship you the power seats out of my Z3 on the cheap once i swap them out; they are comfortable as hell, but they're also heavy, so they gotta go. thinking recaro as it fits with the OEM+ theme i'm going for. i've only owned one E36M so i'm not sure if they bolt up? never tried that.

Thanks for the offer, but I imagine shipping heavy seats would be very expensive.
Would also like to try before I buy so local would be best. My E36 is just a winterbeater anyways.

[ForcedFirebird]

Talking about seating position. In the race car we ran an HTE-R. We did 14hr races, so each driver would be racing for 2hr straight - and even though we dropped $1.2k on the seat, our backs would be killing us, and took several races before I figured it out.

Many people try to try and install a hard back seat with the bottom parallel to the ground. This makes you sit with your legs straight out - so the tall drivers would be against the cage reaching for the wheel, short drivers uncomfortably against the steering wheel. I sat in a sports racer (think Formula 2) and realized that knees should be bent. I leaned the seat back about 20° and instantly cured all the problems. The tall drivers were ~3" off the main hoop, the short guys could reach the pedals without being mashed in the steering wheel, and by golly it was like racing in a recliner. Back never hurt again! In fact would doze off when waiting in grid for 45min!

[decay]

Thanks for the offer, but I imagine shipping heavy seats would be very expensive.
Would also like to try before I buy so local would be best. My E36 is just a winterbeater anyways.

yeah, probably, they're 65lb each so total ship weight probably 150lb? i'm gonna have to figure out something to do with them because you can't put two more seats in a Z3 as cargo and drive them back home.

for a beater, i'd like to again suggest looking at corbeau. cheap adjustable options that won't have you doing the pop-and-crack with your neck-and-back when you wake up in the AM.

[ForcedFirebird]

Freight isn't as bad as you think.

Seats sitting on a pallet (full MK1 Rabbit seats/cards etc) was $120 to ship from Miami to NJ using LTL from Fregihtqote.com. Shipped a 300lb m20 to NH, think it was $280. Didn't use lift gate on either.