chris101

iTrader: (7)

good deal

FWIW: we noticed a 2 to 3 second difference going from 205s to 225s on the g20 *(but I'm not allowed to use 225s on the Miata so no real comparison there.)

I also have no 1st hand experience with Nitto NT01s. Some people swear they are just like RA1s and others told me they are just like R888s and then others told me between RA1s and R888s so those darn tires have me totally perplexed!

I've managed to draw a blank on SM weight but I believe it is 2285 for a 90 to 93 IIRC and mine is a 'pig' at 2340 :( (It was 2380 before removing the passenger seat so that darn pass seat with belt is 40 freakin pounds!!!)

I can only wonder what advantage (or disadvantage) the 6spd transmission you have would provide as only the 5spd is allowed for SM.

So have you ever considering joining in on the SM fun and doing some w2w racing in SM class?

Splitime

iTrader: (24)

No to SM. Insanely cheaper to just keep it a hobby for track days. I'm to polite on track to run into people like a typical spec miata race.

The seat I removed was a bucket, non-oem. So it was just a smidge of weight. The car is not gutted really, just missing front/rear bumper supports. Otherwise its just missing PS/AC, rest of the car is basically complete.

The 6spd felt more like an problem than a helper on track also. With my 4:3 or 4:1 whatever FD and the 6spd gearing, I was geared oddly for the track. I would have preferred the 5spd. Now with the turbo back on... I can leave it geared up and not care as much... but I needed everything the motor had without the turbo.

chris101

iTrader: (7)

For me it has to do with having someone to chase down. I tend to have the slowest times when no-one is around me or I have no one to chase (like I need a goal of trying to catch someone to pass and then if there is no one ahead to pass again, I slow down :( )

I've gotten some great times in HPDE chasing down typically higher HP cars like Caymens, Vipers, etc. for sheer fun of doing it in an SM but also worked my butt off keeping up with better driversr in SM and surprise myself at the end of a race when I review my lap times (the nice thing about having someone to chase in an SM race is you tend to realize the car can handle stuff you normally might not try -- at least that is the case with me anyway!)

There is something to be said about having a slightly more disposable car on the track vs. something you have a ton more invested though *(that much is very true!) ...and that is the whole reason I ended up in SM instead of continuing to DE/track my 993

chris101

iTrader: (7)

Funny you mention this because I'm convinced my 10+ years of DEing has made me too soft and typically not a 'front runner' in SM because I don't want to get smacked up every single race :( *(to me this IS my hobby and it isn't worth getting to 1st place at the expense of bouncing off a bunch of cars! <-- not that I'm at that level yet anyway!)

That being said, I've managed 3 contacts so far (1 per year out of typically 20 races per year) and only one of them was with another spec miata (unprovoked on my side and totally unnecessary as he had 2 car widths of room to pass and he was disqualified for it and we had some dents to pound out again!) Too many male ego's race 'out of class' for no good reason IMHO! (got hit by a BMW and an RX7 -- both of which technically should have been faster than any SM but weren't in both cases :( )