Gents,
I started mocking up a bare block and trans. The engine oil pan and transmission is placed to have 4" of ground clearance. I started playing with the idea of lowering the engine even further, however the thought of a sharp bump in the concrete ripping a hole in the oil pan would be horrible.
I'll most certainly need to buy more wood and strenghten the table as well as build appropriate stand-offs to locate and support vital components.
I took apart the uprights, and pounded out the lower ball joint. Considering how much load goes to the ball joint support on the upright, (essentially accelerating, braking and cornering a 2600 lb car) it really is amazing how little material there enclosing it. About a 0.25"x0.5" cross section of cast iron. I guessing Honda must have had some form of FEA back in the late 1980's.
I took a few measurements of the CV angle using a 13" wheel vs. a 16" wheel, and the differences were astounding. With a transmission output shaft centerline at 9" above the ground, the CV angle for a 13" wheel was 4 degrees:
Attachment:
CV angle with 13 inch wheel.jpg
With the 16" wheel, the CV angle is 15 degrees:
Attachment:
CV angle with 16 inch wheel.jpg
I'm fairly sure there are a few ASME or SAE articles characterizing spin loss and efficiency of Rzeppa CV axles as a function of angle, speed, and torque. Needless to say, 13" wheels it is. Does anyone know if NB miata spindles can accept 4 piston wilwood dynalite calipers under 13" wheels? I tried to search for a willwood bracket which allows for the stock miata rotor to be used with wilwood calipers and have found nothing.