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PostPosted: November 6, 2023, 10:58 am 
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Joined: September 16, 2009, 9:36 am
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In the planning stages of my build. Have NA/NB Miata corners but according to my research the Miata uses a square setup while the Super7 uses a staggered track front to rear. It is also narrower overall. Front is ~7.5" narrower and rear is 4.5". What is the hot setup?


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PostPosted: November 6, 2023, 11:55 am 
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Joined: July 7, 2011, 12:17 am
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I believe early Miata's have a slightly narrower front track. Regardless, I'm running same rear track as NA Miata and the front is about 3/4" narrower than the rear. If I did it again I would have made the front as wide as possible while still being able to use the stock tie rod's (or equivalent), which would be roughly an inch wider than currently built. If you're building the car for aggressive turn-in don't shy from a wider front track.

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Last edited by RTz on November 6, 2023, 1:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: November 6, 2023, 12:45 pm 
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Also, earlier Sevens have a slightly wider front track (aligns with the transition from S2 to S3 when a new, stronger donor axle was sourced that happens to be wider). A narrower front track promotes understeer which is more forgiving/safer in recovery. A slightly wider front track is preferred.

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PostPosted: November 14, 2023, 3:36 am 
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For the vast majority of builds, the "hot setup" for track width is simply based on whatever the donor vehicle(s) used. For street cars, it's more a matter of convenience than performance. But if we're talking race cars, then wider is generally better.

Up front, the 'typical' Miata build tends to either use a stock rack, or a rack narrowed (up to 6 inches, if I recall) to match the front suspension box width and associated geometry. Out back, the 'book' frame was always wider than an original Lotus 7, probably based on the original Escort donor axle. I seem to recall the standard Miata track being a good fit for up to 2" wider of a frame. You won't be able to narrow the track much without narrowing the chassis too.

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