Spec Miata Racing

Wow...is rubbing THAT common, or are these just some choice vids? I have some friends who race SM, and hopefully after this summer I can join the fun while surviving on a college kid budget. What's your opinion - racing 125cc karts or SM - to better driving skills? I know "driving skills" is very general, so feel free to specify. And I'm of course comparing them since they have similar entry costs (read: VERY LOW). Here I am at No Problem Raceway...
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I'd say 125 is much better, however, only if you are ready for that level of competition. SM you can be a beginner, but Shifter kart are NOT for the beginner.

125 shifters require amazing hand eye coordination, extremely quick reflexes and teaches great car control, and how to drive at and sometimes beyond the limit

Going 0-100-0 in 9 seconds in a swedtech 125 is intense.

If anyone is in the tristate Ny/nj/ct area, my friend used to own the west hampton kart track on LI, but its sold(as of just recently), and they are making a new track. If anyone is interested let me know, someferrarichat publicity events once the new track opens would be nice, they can probably use the money and exposure to get the new place going

Nothing better then shifter kartsin my opinion...well maybe Formula sae

 

I too looked into spec miata after a few years of DE's with a 993. I ended up going the kart route due to less of a money and time commitment (single day races, local tracks, fractional cost, etc). The above is true though, starting with a 125 shifter would be just about the worst place to start. Most people that start that way don't last long. They either get scared, or are overwhelmed. If they do stick with it, they are usually permanent backmarkers, from my experience. I started recently with a 100cc single speed, and it is more than challenging. It's considered a "momentum kart" and is a great training ground. The level of competition is very good too, atleast where I am. Just be aware that driving a kart is far more demanding physically than a track car - no suspension, and cornering forces around 3g's.

 

Spec Miatas are a great deal of fun with a very high bang for the buck. You have also hooked up with a good guy in Ara. He and Keith are always near the front of the pack here in TX. SM's along with the SRX7 do have a bit of a reputation for having more contact than it should but this year I believe there has been some progress made in reducing the contact at least in TX. These cars are nearly bullet proof and as Keith said you can really abuse them and they just keep on ticking. At a driving event you will be shocked how many high dollar cars will not be able to keep up with the SM.

 

I've read articles on how 80/100cc shifter karts give you the edge to improve in the 125cc class. If you don't correct the fundamental mistakes in the beginning, you'll just be pack filler in the faster classes and won't be able to fully develop.

I've never been to a kart race, but how popular are the smaller classes? Especially in the Houston area? I know that different areas are more conducive to certain classes, so what's the low down on Texas karting?

 

Unless you have formula/open wheel car experience, you WILL be overwhelmed by a well built 125 shifter.

I would suggest if you just want to have fun, get an 80cc Swedtech powered Shifter kart. That way its less expensive,less power (about 32hp) and you can still have lots of good experience and learning time without going crazy.

Shifter karting is NOT forgiving, bumps/bruises come with the territory, and if you run 125 shifters, broken ribs are pretty often, and a good rib protector is very important...important enough to spend well over a couple hundred bucks on

100cc rotax (single speed) are very popular now, and very quick, on smaller tracks they'll keep up with shifters if driven well.

Most importantly you want to have fun and as least problems or potential problems as possible. get a solid reliable chassis, and if you decide to go with a shifter, get a mostly stock engine that wont need to be rebuilt every weekend, not only pricey but inconvient.

 

if you look at enduro results from last year at tws (november 2005), in the top 10 there were 6 spec racer fords (srf), 2 mazda miatas & one datsun 240. fastest lap time for srf were 1:55; fastest lap times for miatas were 2:00. (5 seconds faster is a lot.) srf bodies are fiberglass--easy and cheap to repair. you can get a good used one for 18 grand. they are rugged like tanks also--going off-track at high rates of speed rarely hurts them if you don't hit anything solid. plus, the sound the miata makes is kind of irritating in my book-like a mosquito. srf have a deeper, gutteral tone that i like a lot better. i have been driving one for a year now and am thoroughly happy. i highly suggest you check them out too.

 

What a great thread to revive. Really sucks this season is over because I have a bad itch to race now.

 

I really Like DEs and track days. I have been to around 10 of them in the past 2 years driving my Viper. We have a track day event called road warriors at Heartland Park Topeka. Where it is $50 for about 3 ten minute sessions on the track. Definatly the best bang for you buck.

Another thing I do is race indoor carts. We have league races for $300 a season. You race 10 races and are rank accordingly. The top three receive trophies in the end.

From what I have heard car racing costs good money no matter what you race. If you are going to compete with even just spec miatas think of the travel time, time off work not to mention the money your going to spend. It's just way too much of an investment at least for me right now.

 

I don't have any experience with indoor leagues, but if you're going to go for karting I'd say try something like Sr. Sportsman (100cc yamaha, single speed, low speed clutch). Pretty simple. About as fast as the momentum karts get. Usually have pretty big classes, and costs are quite low compared to other forms of karting. Once you get into the TAG/ICA/Shifter level of karts it can be less "fun." ie, bruised ribs, your wrists are paralyzed after a full weekend (sat practice, sun races), etc. And the costs move up, especially in the shifters.

The obvious draw to karting is 1) you don't need an entire garage to house the kart in, and 2) you don't need a full-sized car trailer and tow vehicle. That alone accounts for a huge separation btw SM and karting. That, and even the "momentum" style karts make SM look slow.

 

Do not underestimate karting. There is a whole class structure, and certainly shifter karts are NOT the class for beginners.
I have been racing karts on and off since I was seven year old.
I have races with people who had made it all the way to Champ Cart and they say that the "felling of speed" in a kart is only equaled by the time you get to classes like Atlantic of Indy Lights. One of the guys is racing Pro Mazda and he says that the cars "feel slow" He says that you are way busier in a shifter karts than in an F-Mazda. It is all about scale; karts are slower than an F-1 but the track is also smaller. The turns come to you really quick. After a 15-20 minute race you are totally exhausted.
Another thing karting is not that cheap. If you are serious about racing, it can cost up to 10K a year.
Stop by you local track and see what classes are popular. Ask a lot of questions and go racing.

 

I have raced all three types of vehicles talked about here, 100cc Yamaha karts, SM and SRF. I ended up doing it a bit backward really in that I raced cars for a few years and then after my first son was born went over to karts because it was a lot less of a time commitment during the weekend. We could practice, qualify and race all in a single day. For me, karting was not really much fun, you end up working on the kart a lot during a day, the thing always needed something. The racing was fun but not really huge class #s (10-12) And lets not forget the karting is far from risk free, I fractured my wrist in a roll over. So my wife sat me down and said she would rather me in a car with a cage than the kart, the kart went up for sell the next day.

SRF and SM are both a ton of fun but it is my feeling that they each attract a different type of driver, I will not stereotype them but check them out first and see which one you are going to have more fun in. After all that is what it is all about really.


One note on the SM class. Get the best cage you can afford build for YOU, take the time and spend the $. This is what happened to a teammate during a 12 hour race, he hit the rear of a stopped car @ around 100 mph and walked away from it. A great cage and a HANS are the two reasons that we are still able to hang out today.

Chris Kellett
Sync Speed, Inc.
Racing Communications
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Firstly I want to apologize to the 'old thread' police, first beer is on me haha. Secondly the reason I bumped this thread is because I just acquired a '99 Miata and I'm kicking around the idea of racing it a MSR. The next race will be Dec 3rd 2011 so I hope to meet with some local yocals.

Thanks,
Gregg

 

Seem's I need to join the SCCA (should have done that many many years ago anyway) and acquire my SCCA license + logbook yet thankfully MSR offers a qualification course. I spoke with a rep just a few minutes ago and let him know that at this time I do not want to go full Spec Miata and that I would like a class that allows me to compete in a virtually stock class and he said yes they also have those for 'wanna be weekend warriors' (my words not his) like me lol!

You know I'm a tad giddy looking forward to this adventure.

 

+1 on a great cage and HANS !!!! See pics below of about 100 mph impact
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