November 30, 2010 - A big adventure for the MG!
I drove the car to work today. Intake air temperatures of 25F tells me two things: the air filter location is picking up nice cold air and, and baby it's cold outside. The heater works but there are a few holes in the firewall for wiring and the like that let in a cool breeze.
The suspension is working quite nicely from a ride standpoint. The car is now absorbing bumps well and shows good composure. No word on how it handles yet, I'm withholding judgment there until all the wheels are pointing in the correct direction. But the car feels right. It has 300 lb front and 225 lb rear springs at the moment.
I took the interstate on the way in to see how the car deals with highway speeds. Answer: pretty darn well. No evil habits showed themselves at high velocities, up to 75 mph based on other traffic. There are a few rumbles through the body that I suspect might be the exhaust leaning up against the frame - there's one point where the piping is really, really close. A cleverly placed dent will solve that problem. I'll check the bottom of the car to see if there are any rub marks. I'm hoping that's what I was feeling, it didn't quite feel like mechanical vibration. The near-solid motor mounts were certainly adding a bit of buzz.
This was the first chance a number of my coworkers had to check out the car. Bill, my boss at Flyin' Miata, was impressed with the exhaust packaging and can't wait to drive the car. I asked him to wait until I had the alignment done. Lots of commenting on the packaging to make the engine fit. Adam stood to one side, looked at the wheel well and said "I can see the headers!"
So far, so good. Now, how will the drive home in the dark work out?
tags: testing |
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