multi21

I meant "sealed" as in a technically more restricted environment. When I used to race Rotax karts, the engine was a true seal with a passport number for each engine. The seal could only be opened by an authorized Rotax service center and reauthenticated.

I spoke with Tim yesterday and other guys as well and it seems the POC doesn't have the true spec and are more open with chips etc. In essense, one would have to run two different type of chips to be eligible to run in both as the POC rules give a little more leeway to make additional HP.

Still doing my research and I'm putting the feelers out there if there is a car that comes up. I know it's the middle of the season and more will probably come up in a few months or so.

M758

NASA 944-spec rules however call for stock engine management.

One thing to consider is a true spec class is in fact quite expensive. Properly sealed motors require building by shop XXXX at a cost of $$$$ for example. This prevents a guy like me from building a motor in my garage for a fraction of the cost. It also allows me to repair the motor at home for any condition rather that needing it rebuilt for something minor.

So you need to balance how tightly controlled the spec is vs allowing flexibility to reduce costs. So far 944 spec motor rules seem to do a good job to allow a guy a home to build a good strong motor just like a pro-shop. So then it becomes the choice of the racer to either built it at home or have shop do it. I comes do convience vs needing to have trick pro-built motor.

Last year I lead 33 other cars for 1/2 the National championship race in a car that has not seen a shop in 6 years and using motor I build at home the came out of a $330 e-bay 924S with unknown mileage. Also it ran crank that came out of broken 944 turbo motor when the original was scored from a spun bearing. (don't worry the NA crank and 951 cranks are identical).

Point is what is making the difference in 944 spec is the driver. Not how much money you put in the car or who build your motor. You can build a 944 spec for 7k if you are smart and resourcfull. That car will go to to toe with a 18k shop build car all day long if the drivers are equal. Some guys demand fresh parts and pretty paint. Others make due on 20 year old wheel bearings and a fraction of the budget.


The good thing is that we all respect each other and each othesr abilities. We also respect each other enough to know we are in it to have fun and to win at the expense of others. We drive hard on the track, but fair. If you make a mistake expect the guy behind to may you pay for it. If you pull off a great move you will be congratulated. It really is not about winning, but how we play the game.

CAM14

There are pros and cons to any race class and rule set. Spec Miata has a large following, great vendor and aftermarket support, and Mazda makes buying big to small parts easy. The rule set is pretty good and getting better as some of the more creative gray area prep become widely known. Despite all of the complaining and pro motors and such, it can be a very cheep class to race in and still be competitive. But if you rather just farm out the work, there are many vendors happy to help for a price. Three points that I really like about SM, (1) the suspension is adjustable enough to learn about set-up but not so adjustable that you get lost in the details (IE adjusting shock joust and rebound curves can drive you nuts) (2) It is still a drivers class, the guy with more skill will beat the guy with more expensive parts (3) Miatas make surprisingly good endurance cars. I've been racing SM for almost 10 years and still have all of the original body panels. Sure contact happens, but it is close wheel to wheel racing and most contact are tire donuts and minor fender repairs. If you want to stay trun to P cars, then spec Boxter looks promising. The main thing is to get out there and race. Hope this helps

htron435

Go with whichever class has the biggest fields. I run SM here in Ohio -- 20-30 cars every race in NASA vs 5 944's and 6 E30's. If you only have a few cars in your class, you're essentially running by yourself most of the time as in a DE. It's all about the competition. And around here, SM is not too brutal. Plus, parts are dirt cheap (and available at the local parts store vs specialty retailers) and the cars are bullet proof.

gums

those E30s just don't look like proper race cars. And whenever I come up to pass one, they look downright scary to drive. Unless body roll and big slip angles are to your liking....