SCCA Enterprises doesn't have the ability to produce enough sealed SM motors? The real issue is the attitude towards toeing the line, crossing it and then saying F it all some more. You really think the SRS BZN guys won't find a way to cheat a sealed motor in SM? There was a shop in Austin that figured out how to replicate the factory goop that sealed the 1.6L air meters because there was power in messing with it. The rules were later changed to open it up, probably because it was getting to hard to tech shed the cheaters.

Yeah, I've talked to a local circle track racer who says that the sealed motors in one of those series are a complete joke -- everyone knows how to open and reseal them.

--Ian

I'd like to think that SCCA enterprises would be better about it. I know the Spec Racer Ford guys don't seem to complain about the sealed motors, or that people are tampering with them. Then again maybe it's just not as much of an arms race as SM.

That's why I think you go with the SuperMiata formula and just provide a target power/torque and let everything else be done with. If you worried about switchable maps, maybe you provide a "spec" standalone that the tune can easily be downloaded and checked for dual maps.

That is exactly the correct answer. Spec the power not the parts.

I'm sure they would be able to figure it out. It's just a crate engine with a few tamper proof bolts/seals added.
What kind of penalty are the guys caught with the illegal cylinder heads facing?

Other sanctioning bodies take tampering with seals on a sealed engine very seriously:

Another series, seems YOU could buy the unused seals 1 year after the "sealed" program started. This is hear-say and but I don't doubt it. Heck, given enough interest (money), I bet you could get anything knock-off replicated thru a China manufacturer.

You are seeing the end result of getting caught right now. Babies (those with legal plunge cuts are now illegal) are thrown out with the bath water. The whole issue started back in 09 with illegal heads and the attempt to codify the illegal into ok. The only ones coming out ahead in this situation are the guys that cheated first, sold motors that contained the illegal work, codified such, sat in positions of power to change it but did not and now are fine with everyone going back to "stock". From the outside, the whole of SM might not be rotten but the core really seems to be. Even if that isn't the case, rampant cheating IS the culture. I know when I first looked into building an SM, the comment was made to me (by a couple then racers) that you can only be a solid mid-packer unless you are cheating. :jerkit:

There is a reason I've decided to build a X Prepared race car instead of a Spec Pinata (and it isn't a hatred of body work and painting).

I saw suggestion on another forum of switching to sonic intake restrictors and was surprised I hadn't seen it suggested before. My understanding is that they do a much better job of limiting peak power than a simple plate restrictor. They leave room for improvements below the choke point, but it seems like combining an SIR with the current SM rulebook would only allow for very small gains to area under the curve. SCCA already uses/allows SIRs in some of their higher classes, and it seems like pretty much every pro series except nascar uses sonic restrictors instead of plate restrictors. The raetech options aren't that expensive, and I'm sure custom SM-specific units could be made even cheaper in the quantities that would be needed.

What am I missing? I've tried to research testing of sonic restrictors vs. plate restrictors, but my google-fu has been weak so far.

There is a little bit of discussion here:https://www.miataturbo.net/race-prep...a-61720/page2/