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The high of winning double national championships is fading. It is time to start thinking about next season.
The 0pt motor is coming out. Back in will go my old SpecMiata "cheater" head motor, Racing Beat header, a squaretop I've been hoarding, and maybe a new SuperMiata Organic Twin Disc clutch now that we have a new supplier for organic discs. While it's out, I should toss in some valve springs and an oil pump for safety/reliability.
It should make nearly about the same power(still on e85), but won't fit into PTE/TTE on a points-only build anymore.
That leaves me with a couple options:
A. MaxxisCup SuperMiata S2:
Pros: Local series, ran by us, better competition than NASA, cheap, relaxed/social atmosphere, combined towing logistics with 949 crew.
Cons: Local series only, minimal national exposure, minimal contingency prizes.
Requires a diff swap(No Giken allowed), airdam and rear spoiler fabrication, ECU map, 225/45 Maxxis RC-1s
B. NASA PT/TTE or D on a dyno reclass:
Pros: Cheapest "build"/conversion cost. I enjoy the class(build theory/tinkering) a lot, contingency prizes, another shot at Mazda's Roadto24 shootout 2017, another shot at more National Championships. I get to continue using the $free Hoosier R7s I have won, which are crazy fast/fun. Free tires and free brake pads(if I continue winning)
Cons: SoCal region is weak in attendance AND competition, higher cost entries, higher logistical costs.
Allows aero mods, less weight, and/or more power depending on E or D class.
C. NASA ST/TT4 with an Ecotec swap or lots of investment into current engine package.
Pros: Fastest option by far, therefore more fun? New class, lots of freedom in modifications. Plus the same Pros as option B.
Cons: Most expensive option by far. Same Cons as option B.
Requires more power and less weight. Allows aero.
D. Sell the whole car as-is and maybe do something else motorsportsy.
Pros: No need to buy a truck and trailer. Less spending, more saving for property purchase.
Cons: No personal racecar, would need to buy seats in rentals and find co-drives.
Seriously if I was out there and had the means to make it to those events, that's the way to go. As far as "national exposure" goes, who cares. It's not like pro teams are scouting NASA events.
Also the "minimal contingency" thing. RC1's last forever and are dirt cheap. If you get some of the Maxxis credits every once in awhile you'll still be spending a pretty minimal amount on tires. Also will take the least amount of work to prep the car, and you'll probably progress much faster as a driver competing with the people there versus just about anywhere else.
For 2016 we offered three overlapping programs, all funded by Maxxis.
$50 prize for 1-3 places, limit two prizes per weekend. The prizes then roll to the next finishers. So most weekend 3-4 drivers that didn't make the podium still get "Superbucks".
Those Superbucks get put into a bank. Drivers can then use those credits towards the purchase of new tires. We also had a flat $20 per tire rebate. We also gave the top 7 drivers in attendance ( not finishing position) a free set at the end of the year.
Most drivers ended up with a $130 refund on every set of tires and got another free set at the end of the year.
Oh yes, rookies got a free set when they enter their 3rd race weekend.
We brought 40 tires to hand out at the series final last weekend and didn't come back with any.
The more we talk about all our customers' ~300-450whp cars, the more I want to own/race something Fast.
Emilio and Sonny will both be in S1. I want horsepowers too... :(
Racing something fast is cool but a tight field is way more fun. I'd be in SPM S2 in a heart beat if I lived in socal, love watching those standing starts and inverse grids.
Not much happening over here. Car hasn't been messed with much since we unloaded after Champs other than putting on some junk rollaround wheels/tires and investigating the oil smoke.
Essentially, we've discovered nothing wrong.
Leak down and compression tests are perfect. It still made the power once the oil got pumped out of the cylinders.
The best theory we have at this time is that the lateral grip my car produced on the fresh tires eventually overwhelmed the factory crankcase venting system and dumped a bunch of oil through the pcv valve at sustained 1.5g+ lateral.
That motor is lowkey for sale. Fully legal "zero point" NASA PT/TT motor. Oil pump, valve springs, forged/blueprinted bottom end. Easy-power-cap on OEM manifolds and fuel system w/e85. Email if seriously interested.
Back in will go my 'regular season' SpecMiata plunge cut motor and Racing Beat header.
I'll toss my squaretop at it as well and hope for a ~160whp high power map on e85.
Because the car will likely see some Supermiata S2 action, I'll go back to a 4.3 Torsen for legality in that series.(4.77 OsGiken for sale!)
S2 also requires a 7krpm limiter, to deter against 'requiring' valvesprings. Good for my pocketbook. I would very much prefer not to mess with my pro-built SM head.
If I commit to the whole season in Supermiata S2, I'll fab an airdam/undertray and toss on a Blackbird Fabworx trunk spoiler.
I may also throw my NASCAR CoT wing at it for funsies at lapping days and RoadsterCup.
So it's looking like my car will be cross compatible in NASA E/D and MaxxisCup Supermiata S2.
Something like:
2150-2450lbs depending on fuel/ballast
139-160 depending on map
airdam/spoiler or airdam/splitter/wing depending on event
Ultimately, I can run an S2 legal car in E or D on a dyno reclass for #alltheoptions
Racing something fast is cool but a tight field is way more fun. I'd be in SPM S2 in a heart beat if I lived in socal, love watching those standing starts and inverse grids.
Where is buying property on the priority scale?
I have been beaten into submission in favor of S2.
Property was high on the theoretical Before We Got Here List.
Wife is currently in Not Yet Ready For That Kind Of California Commitment phase.
Right now its: Buy a multi function tow vehicle/national park exploration rig plus racecar hauling trailer and split a rental house with somebody next year.
The tinker itch bit me this week so I started working on the Aerocatch and Singular Motorsports Louver install.
This is a special #FivePieceBroNuggetMeal like Sean has on his time attack car. I don't think it works substantially better than the typical three piece, but I am a ricer and needed to have #AllTheLouvers.
Problem is, the NB center section is actually spaced a few inches wider than the NA to fit the different under-hood bracing web. This doesn't leave enough room on the outsides for the extra louvers. So I had to customize the layout and essentially say fuckit to the hood bracing. Fingers crossed that 5 riveted in louver panels add back enough rigidity. I also plan to retain, hopefully, all four OEM rubber hood bumpers to minimize bounciness.
Before:
Chopped:
Corners marked before chopping, then moved inwards 1.5" on each side with a full width of painters tape after chopping:
Center section laid, left side aligned with marked corner and bottom edge of center vinyl:
Kicking around options on how to maximize a car for double/triple dipping Supermiata, WRL and NASA PTE/D for myself and anyone interested elsewhere in the country as Supermiata goes National bro!
(I didn't wanna clutter up the E or D threads with this, but I may chop bits into each relevant spot if desired)
The same build could run all three classes with only map changes, ballast and tire swaps.
I would be making a couple optimization compromises in Supermiata spec, like stock sways, stock brakes and no ELBJs, but those are needed to fit into PT.
I would also be making optimization compromises in PT spec, like the spoiler instead of wing and a 4.3 Torsen instead of my 4.7 Giken, but that's required for Supermiata.
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