Yup. SCCA rules almost double the cost of the car but the fields are much bigger. There is a tradeoff. If I didn't dislike the amount of crashing and the way the car drives so much, I'd try SM. Jealous of those big fields, looks like fun. STL is getting some good fields all over the country now too. Top tier drivers in both.

Luke gets most of his seat time in a chump car these days. Cost is always a central factor in deciding where to race for every driver. I did the $120k/yr thing for three years. Had fun, won some stuff. Now I spend $25k/yr and buy the entire field dinner at every race and am having more fun. I don't miss PT one bit.

 

Eh, I take issue with

People are gonna spend what they are gonna spend, but I don't think the rules force a minimum expenditure if I am reading your comment correctly. I don't see how the comparison holds up for National-level builds either. That TC Design PTE Miata you posted is a serious piece of art even compared to a JPM STL Miata build.

I'm stuck with a stock NA 1.6 engine (+Megasquirt) from my donor car, so I chose STL over PTE. From what I've heard if you don't have a 1.8 in PTE, you may as well go home. At least I know a 1.6 is competitive at my local tracks in STL, especially after watching the Runoffs at Laguna Seca last year.

For either class I spent less than $6k over the period of a year to build my car...a total DIY implementation except for the work Tony C did for the rollcage.

And IIRC there's another thread for this debate already so apologies if my comment belongs there.

 

<p></p><p>There is a difference between &quot;building a car for a class&quot; and &quot;building a <em>competitive</em> car for a class&quot;.</p>

 

2014 This.

Having built both the fastest 2013 rules PTE Miata in the country and the fastest 2014 STL Miata in the country, I can offer, with some veracity, that a nationals level build costs more in STL. Power caps go a long way towards controlling costs.

 

Obviously people like myself can build an uncompetitive (but perhaps regionally competitive and certainly more fun than SM) car for the same amount of money in either class.

I only took issue with the use of *double* the cost of a competitive STL Miata because of SCCA rules versus NASA PTE. I just don't see double after viewing the TC Design PTE build as it looks like at least a significant percentage of the engine costs have shifted to other areas of the car in some ways that can't be done in STL.

Tires are a whole 'nother ball of wax and I think that is where STL fails.

As an aside to Emilio, I found it interesting that your Miata during the Runoffs weekend was faster than Laughlin's through the trap even though it was down on horsepower. Proof that the SuperMiata nose job is the most slippery! I was at that race to spectate and took peeks at both cars to help with some ideas for my build.

 

More to it than just aero but yeah, the cars was slick.

 

Proof?

 

Successful troll is successful.

As alluded to in wagnerov's post, speed trap at Runoffs. On that particular day, we had a nationally competitive STL Miata. Then it broke :(

 

Luke, fastest != quickest.

 

My apologies...I missed the part about the trap speed.

Sorry, back to adventuring in PTE/TTE


Mazda 323 GTX for PTE?

 

How much do you like waiting for parts from Japan?

 

I had a GTX. Trans was very fragile. Mine broke doing a half throttle roll out from a light, dealer replaced it. Archaic, basic full time awd system. 6" ring gear on rear diff, same as NA6. All three diffs open, wheel spin everywhere. They all had the short nose crank. Mine snapped at something like 49,600 mi, just a few hundred short of the warranty. Dealer put a new crank in it. Porky at 2680#. Rated 132whp. After all the drivetrain losses maybe 115whp. You could lock the center diff to make it a fwd but it would bind up the drive train something fierce and generate lots of understeer. Fun car but much slower than an NA6 unless you dumped about $20k into it.

That all said, every now and then I find myself browsing Craigslist across the country for one.

 

Same era, just as goofy, but I have a huge love for the RT4WD Civics. Archaic/awful 80s AWD in econoboxes has a really strong appeal for some reason.

For actual content: I was talking with FatKao and Seefo's Lexus might be PTE eligible (it'd be completely destroyed, though).

 

What about a points built V6 MX-6?

I'm still trying to build my miata for PTE so that's just daydreams...

 

If I were building a PT car from scratch, I'd be taking a Fiesta ST home with me.

 

Even as a PTE** car?

 

Shocks/springs +5
205 Toyo RR +0
Big pawr reflash +0

Car would be fast.

 

Not quite the same, because I was asking for a TTE no asterick reclass, but this was my quote from Greg a couple months ago:

"141 rwhp with a VVT motor '96, would put you at 2610 lbs Min. Weight for TTE (no asterisk)---so not happening."

Coolsuit doesn't count as ballast, right? I weigh in at 2315 with me in it and 3/4 tank of gas, but I'm only 140lbs fully clothed. 250 pounds of ballast, coolsuit, radio, speakers, carpet, softtop, and I could probably get to 2600lbs. If I did that, could I say to Greg- "no, it can happen."?

He ended up giving me a TTE* reclass at 141whp and 2455lbs.

 

149whp 2610lb PTE* NA classed as a 99 is an existing car.

 

^^ Does that happen to be a silver NA6 PTE car? ^^

Is his argument that he's not willing to make a 2610# TTE car, or that you won't be able to reach 2610#?