Sean F

I'm thinking about getting another race car to race in SCCA (there really isn't a good class for my car). I want to get more local races in than just with PCA and NASA next year. SCCA seems like it might be a good choice. I want a class with lots of cars and tight racing with a car I don't mind banging around so I was thinking spec Miata or maybe an ITA car. Any of you guys racing two cars? What about BMW? Maybe an E30 that I could use in BMW, NASA and SCCA.

993inNC

you wanna beat and bang around.........the miata guys are complete a.......nimals. I got out of SCCA racing prior to the miata getting its own class because they all seemed to drive like it was Nascar.

Ron Earp

ITS is booming right now and ITA is strong as well. A few of us got together and got ITR, the newest IT class, passed eariler this year and your 911 would be classes in ITR as I recall at 2630 lbs. Actually pretty light for ITR that includes a host of other cars like the late model NA Supra, 300Z, 944 S2, 968, and so forth. I'm considering a 944 S2 for ITR.

I sold my Spec Miata eariler this year but not because of the racing, the racing is great in my opinion. I just wanted to concentrate on my ITS car (260Z) and get a good solid year out of it in ITS. Spec Miata is a good class, lots of fun, and I'd think you'll find it rewarding. The cars are extremely easily and cheaply maintained.

Be aware though, one thing about Spec Classes is not everything is as Spec as you might think. Be prepared to see some top prep levels now the class is National (was just up at VIR a few hours ago at the National) and there were some extremely nice cars in SM these days. While I could certainly drive my SM at mid-pack, I was going to have to spend $5-$10k to get the car to the pointy end, including more driver seat time.

Improved Touring (IT) where I race and where you could race your 911 is good too. However, don't expect a lot of engine mods in IT - it is mainly a suspension class with engines being blueprinted to the 9s to get everything from them. A lot of people don't think the power levels are possible that happen in IT based on the limited mods, but they do happen and attention to detail here is paramount. Miatas can also run in IT and are doing very well there, both the 1.6L and the 1.8L. Good solid cars, inexpensive, and really make good race cars.

Ron

mrbill_fl

have you taken a look at the SRF (spec racer Ford) class in your area. See if there are many running regional races in your area... national races are normally well attended, but would require more travel.
-I think its a reasonable alternative to SM, with the national option.


its a lot harder to win in those big classes.. and another problem with IT is as cars age they become slow, when newer, faster cars are added to the class. So if you race long enough you will want to replace the car model every 5-7 yrs or so.... IF you want to win races...

Ron Earp

I'd agree with Mr. Bill there, SRF is a good class too. You'd need to see if it is strong in the NE, but it is strong in the SE and Florida. Robust cars, easily maintained. I'd like to drive one.

That said, I dislike running with them - but only because they are low, hard to see, and they frequently grouped them in the SM run groups during race weekends. They were faster than a SM in the corners, just by a bit, but the SM's were faster in a straight line by just a bit. Seems those things were always around and sort of difficult sometimes to see, especially in the 13 hour enduros we do at VIR that has about 5 hours of night driving.

But SRF is not spec either. They have sealed engines. But, that means the big teams buy five, dyno five, keep two good ones, and sell the rest to the less fortunate of us. That said, the differences are minuscule but you know in racing every edge counts. Engines last forever in that class too if you don't have a huge budget.

I'd disagree on IT being slow or aged out as newer cars come in. 240/260/280Zs are still at the pointy end of ITS, as is the second generation RX7s and some others. IT doesn't have a huge number of newer cars added to the class and the ITAC group makes sure that things remain competitive. IT cars have to be at least five years old, to pick up cars from Touring classes. Fast ITA cars are still Integras, Miatas, 240sx, and others many of which are 15+years old now, some ITS cars that are doing well are 30 years old.

There was "disaster" in ITS a couple years back when the BMW 325i got classes at too low a weight, but that was fixed, the car got moved to ITR and things have never been better in IT. Lots of cars competitive in the IT classes, just don't pick poorly like I did with my first one, an ITS Jensen Healey!

If you want to learn more about Improved Touring then go here:

http://itforum.improvedtouring.com/f...ex.php?act=idx

And Spec Miata is easily found:

www.specmiata.com

Ron

Ron

Sean F

Thanks for the info. Ron, I thought about running in ITR but my car doesn't look very competitive in that list and I thought the fields would be pretty small.

Ron Earp

ITR fields are small and about non-existent right now. But, it is going to be a big class. There are a lot of ITR cars under construction and there is a 911 in the NE if I am not mistaken. I don't know enough about 911s to pass judgment on competitive or not though. I don't think it'll win the ITR hp shootout, but it is one of the lightest cars in the class and that is a good thing.

If you are open to a new car there are certainly lots of places in SCCA you can race for less money than a 911 in ITR. I can't imagine development will be cheap there for sure. IT is good racing though, huge fields, and it foots the bills at races despite being a regional class. A is really strong where you are in the NE and if you kick around on the IT forum you could get some good IT advice.

Best,
Ron

lowside67

E36 M3 $20k buys you a well sorted out car with a cage and race-prepping done.

Veloce Raptor

SRF

Geo

You can race a 944 in ITS. It will take some serious prep however if you want to be competitive. That includes the chassis. The JME 944 IT prep pamphlet is essential. There are some other issues I know about from discussions with Jon.

The older Z cars are interesting ITS cars, although they are old tech and difficult to find donors these days.

The Gen II RX-7 is an awesome ITS car.

For ITA, if you don't care about FWD, the Sentra SE-R or NX2000 is a fantastic car for the class. My buddy Greg Amy won the championship in a NX2000. Lots of torque and the engine is absolutely awesome. The Integra is a good car as is the CRX, but I don't think either can touch the SE-R or NX2000 with equal prep.

A.Wayne

BMW or any Honda .............

joey bagadonuts

Have you considered racing with NASA? Spec E30 seems like a very interesting option and seems to be growing in popularity.

Sean F

I am racing with NASA in GTS Challenge with my current car. I like the Spec E30 option though because I could race BMW club and SCCA as well as NASA.

joey bagadonuts

The E30 also seems as if it would be a fun platform for a race car. I've been to a number of DE events with the local BMWCCA, taken rides in various E30's--including a real M3--and seen how wonderfully these cars handle as they're tossed around the track. Now that looks like fun!

95m3racer

I know of a sweet SCCA GT2 car for sale. Toyota Celica based shell, tube frame construction by a topbuilder, 1.6 and 2.0motors, 2480hp, 1700lbs, hewland sequential, extremely fun and pretty cheap.

Gt2 can be a great class, but its dying down in some regions. I see you are in NY, and I think there are a bunch of guys in the NE, but eitherway its a very fun car, and if you want to make the jump to the speeds these cars can go, its a great way to get into this style of class/car.




Otherwise, you can't go wrong with a BMW E36/E30, solid, reliable, cheap to run, and loads of fun.