blkbrd69

I am thinking VERY hard about buying & building a Miata to run a time trial class that allows me some room for modifications, not SM!

What I would like/need is a day or weekend in a race Miata of any type. Priced out weekends in them, they seem to be all supported arrive and drive type operations & are 1/3 the price of a car for 2 HPDE days?

Florida volunteers, offers, rentals? I will wrench & insure?

Reasoning; Consumables are killing me. I want to go 11 tenths with a full cage, fire suppression & cool suit.

As an ex racer, Motocross, Pro AMA CCS motorcycles, dirt track including winged sprints, off road buggies & trucks, shift carts, NHRA Super Gas & Comp. ext. I get the race bug a lot.

While fairly quick in my stupid fast C6Z the expendables are killing me & there is 10% on the table i'm not willing to lay down due to the risk & cost of my pretty street car.
Lets face it the quick lap is on the edge of disaster in corners, that whole momentum friction circle thing.

My thinking; As someone who just loves to tinker & build stuff that used to build "real" race car tube frame chassis & has machined or turned wrenches on things from space shuttle parts to the planes you fly on. Do I need another project?

Pretty sure I can drive 3 times more laps in something like a Miata? 180 at Daytona is fun, but would love to work on that "perfect" turn 17 at Sebring.

Please don't mention E30, I cant get over the ugly. And if you think a Miata is a "girls car" you probably shouldn't be in the road racing section.

Should I?

redtopz

Go for it! I have one that I race and I'm not afraid to admit it. I love hearing people say how they could never drive a 120 hp miata at the track. Then they get silent when they find out their 500 hp vette is turning slower laps.

Scooter70

Go for it. My dad had a few caged Miatas of various prep levels that I drove a weekends over the years. It can get boring waiting for long straights to end but everything else is a blast. If you're looking for competition, it's definitely there. Run that for a while and then maybe step up to an ASA/GTA type car when you want to go faster.

parsonsj

I hear ya on the pretty car thing. It's always on my mind too. Worrying about resale, being able to put the car back to stock, hiding the data recording wires and mounts, spending hundreds of dollars on brake pads and tires, dealing with air bags, 3 pt harnesses, hours and hours spent cleaning the car after each event, etc. etc.

I'm tempted to do something similar... or just make my car a track only car.

naschmitz

Lots of Miata rationalization reasoning out there:

• Consumable costs are better
• Safer
• Lots of competition
• Just as fun, right?

All true. But why is the rationalization step necessary? I like E30s but you don't and that doesn't change my mind about E30s so why do you care what we think of Miatas?

GT Racing Tires

Go for it!! Just stay away from the big tracks, Road America, Daytona, etc. Let me know if you find a rental/arrive and drive in Florida. The Wisconsin winters get long and I need a fix sometime in the winter.

acroy

Go for it. There's a reason more Miatas are racing than any other car.
The Miatas rule small tight tracks where the Vette can't lay down it's power and size is a disadvantage. On larger tracks, the Vette will wave buh-bye to the Miata; but at 3x the cost and 5x the risk.

Nowanker

Do it!
I own a BMW shop, so therefore race one of those... my neighbor with the Porsche shop races a Miata. He's out on the track twice as often for half the money. And I still spend twice the time on prep.
He's a moron!

argonaut

I have C5 and Miata track cars and really enjoy them both. They offer a very different driving experience but each are fun in their own way. The difference in consumable costs is dramatic. For example the cost of fuel: in the Miata I can run all day on one (small) tank and still have a 1/3 left. In the Vette I burn thru 6-7 gallons per typical session.

When all is said and done I do have more fun in the Vette - I love the power and steering the car with my right foot. Plus in the Miata it gets really old pointing by all the time (depending on track of course). But the running cost of the Miata is cheap, cheap, cheap and its still lots of fun as well.

Bill32

A lot of guys like Miatas, that's fine.

I've never driven one on the street but have about 2,500 miles in them on the track including 2, 25 endurance races.

Personally............I think they are boring. , JMO.

But, while I've owned Corvettes since I was 17, I don't race or track them either other than taking students out when I'm instructing.

dizzy8085

This looks like fun to me. K series honda motor in a miata chassis. A k24 with a good head on it easily makes 250 wheel.

Couple that with a 2300 pound chassis and some aero and you've got a fun car.

Suns_PSD

Miata and S2000s are awesome track cars and consumables is one of the reasons why.

If you really want to compete and go ***** out, it makes perfect sense.

bigmackloud

I just sold my turbo Miata to buy my C5. That said, the Miata was a blast on the track. It's just you and the car... there's something special about that. You already know all the benefits. And I can assure you that a 225/45/15 is cheaper than a 315/30/18 haha.

This should seal the deal...

Also, check out the Exocet. All the fun of a Miata, but 1500 lbs. They bring one to the UTCC at VIR every year. Owning one is on my bucket list. Not sure what class that would put you in for racing though.
http://exomotive.com/exocet/

johnny c

i'll talk to you about miatas.
500hp JB Racing Engine. it's a 5.7l out of a 1997 C5.
2400lbs.

my c6 is for street driving. it's such a great street car.















i have some very special parts that can take the abuse of 500hp but operating costs are still low.
i go threw brake pads once every 4 events $140
rotors have lasted me the last 4 years. $200ea
tires cost 245/40r15 maxxis $175ea
that is really about it.

bdanyluk

If you do, you are dead to me.

parsonsj

[hijack]

Love the hood props!

[/hijack]

John Holmes

Might as well get matching shoes and purse to go with it.

johnny c

Nowanker

but at least those would be cheap too!

blkbrd69

Only took 17 posts.

No offense to the BMW guys. E30 has fantastic field counts, is faster than a Miata and apparently easier to work on. Just Now E46 they are nice, just expensive.

Something wrong with this photo?