Miata Racing

[jdehaan]

I am considering buying a spec miata race car. does anyone here race them, or own one? How much will a nice one cost. Does anyone know of a good builder in the midwest?

[andy]

It's a great way to go. I bought a miata a few years ago to build into one, but ended up building the ti instead to race the SJGP. Several friends have them though, and they're reliable, inexpensive to run, and can be made to put down very fast laptimes.

If you register for the Mazdaspeed competition program, you can get parts very cheaply as well, just post race results twice a year.

[jdehaan]

how do you register for it? is it an online thing, or something to sign up for at the races? This sounds like a fun, and inexpensive, time. I dont really want to race my TI after all the money i've put into it, so this sounds like a good alternative.

[mohaughn]

Several of the instructors at the driving school I went to over the weekend race spec miata's. While they definitely look like fun cars to drive, I think that is a very competitive class. The cars are low powered so it is all about driving skill. Although I did notice that the miata guys were able to drive much better than the other instructors out there in higher powered cars. The definitely had a knack for maintaining momentum and hauling *** through corners.

I would think that the car itself would be about the same amount of money as a Ti to get decked out in race trim. You are probably looking at about 16k. The nice thing is that they are popular so you can probably pick up a used one for a lot less. You can also find places on line that sell spec miata's that are ready to race.

[IndianaTravis]

I looked relatively hard at this a year or two ago.

The cheapest you could realistically get on track looked to be about $10,000 plus expenses for the appropriate driving schools, etc.


Figure $15,000 for a more competitive car, and over $20,000 for a car that could win races.

www.specmiata.com has basically everything you could ask for.

[andy]

Go to http://www.mazdamotorsports.com to register. You have to post results in 2 different races each year to maintain your membership.

Note this is just the parts & stickers deal, you still have to join scca and/or nasa, get your license, etc.

[jdehaan]

awesome, thanks for the info.

[AlaskaBlue]

Another series that is relatively cheap is spec e30. It is also put on by NASA and to me it seems like a cheaper alternative than spec miata.

[jdehaan]

how do you mean cheaper? As in cheaper to build a car, cheaper to enter a race, easier on brakes and tires? That was the other option that I was considering. Can i find info on this series at the NASA web site?

[AlaskaBlue]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spec_E30 There are links to all of the above there. I mean the cars are cheaper just to buy one. It is slightly less competitive so you don't have to have some blue printed and balanced engine. I think weekend was 255.

The basic spec suspension (bilsteins and H&R race springs) costs about 900 dollars. The engine is pretty much stock. IIRC you can change out bushings, add camber plates, changes sways, and change diff. Then you have to do the misc other things like a cage, fire extinguisher, seat, steering wheel, and etc. I think I could build one of these cars for about 5k dollars.

[pdxmotorhead]

Ok'

I'm going to type real slow and use little words.....

R A C I N G IS N O T EVER CHEAP

Especially if you plan on winning.

The car is the cheapest thing in the equation you will buy.
Say you spend 10,000 on a nice not fancy race car.

1. Entry Fee (Per Weekend) 175 to 500 dollars.
2. Tires 500 a set, youll use a set up in 2 or three race weekends unless driving a car on slicks then a set a weekend is average, at about 800 dollars.
3. Tow to the track call it 2 dollars a mile on average.
4. Trailer for race car 1200 to $$$$$$$
5. Safety gear, Suit- $350 , Helmet-$300, Gloves 30 to 100, Shoes 90, Nomex Balaclava/Headsock 50 to 80, Nomes socks 40.
6. If the car is tuned very high youll need race gas at about $8.00 per gallon. Average of 5 gallons per 20 minute track session.
7. Membership dues in SCCA or NASA , MY family member ship is 175 a year.
8. Extra set of rain tires and wheels if you live in a area prone to liquid track enhancement. 800.
9 Replace belts in car every two years (They are dated.)
10. Brakes both ends sometimes twice a wekend in a really fast car, 250.

And it never stops.....

Dave

[mohaughn]

The cars are pretty similiar in weight so I would imagine they would be equally as hard on tires, rotors, and brake pads. The cost for a weekend of driving school, and the cost to enter the events is usually the same regardless of the class of racing. Probably has more to do with the track costs.

The driving schools around me that can get you the experience you need to get a road racing license all seem to cost between 250 and 350 depending on the track. Probably have to do several weekends at a minimum depending on your experience level.

[andy]

Originally Posted by pdxmotorhead

1. Entry Fee (Per Weekend) 175 to 500 dollars.

I paid $1000 + my sponsor put in more to enter the USTCC SJGP last year

Originally Posted by pdxmotorhead

And it never stops.....

That is most certainly true. There are no 'done' race cars that are being raced.

I'd guess a spec e30. a Spec Miata, and (for that matter) a nicely set up track 318ti would run similar money to keep running as a minimum:

Any of them will run fine on stock rotors (~40 a pop) 15" RA1s tires (~120 each) and decent brake pads like Hawk Blues (~120 per end of the car) -- overall not a bad cost on the things you expect to replace all the time.

[jdehaan]

how do you go about getting a sponsor?

[andy]

Originally Posted by jdehaan

how do you go about getting a sponsor?

Ha - good question. Just meeting, talking to, and selling yourself to the right people really helps. The main thing that USTCC had last year was a good high-profile local event (downtown streets of San Jose) it was easy to go to a few local businesses and get them excited about the race, and grow support from there.

The closer you can relate the business to the actual racing, the better. That's one reason most club racers don't really have sponsors...who really cares about a race team rockin' beautiful Buttonwillow, CA? Downtown SJ, that's something else. Unfortunately, it looks like USTCC won't be at SJGP again this year, so it's a bit of a setback on that front, from my standpoint.

Most people that race a lot have some sort of business tie-in, and more or less are able to reach toward breaking even while still racing. Still not there myself.