What car to run in SCCA that is cost effective?

In formula cars. The tube frame FMazda is great bang/buck, or FVs still cool. In passenger cars, the Miata rules.

 

I have found that the answer to this question is really based, in a large part, on why you going racing. Meaning are you looking for the fastest lap times in the loudest car there or the thrill of close door to door competition, or are you looking to test your building, testing, fab and engineering skills or to learn how to set up a car with wings. Are you looking to use it as an way to advertise your business and if so what car would fit the best. Do you want to run sprint or enduro races, national or regional races. What is your personal risk tolerance for injury and what kind of $ hit can I afford to write off if you total the car on your first weekend of racing? There are as many reasons that folks will go racing as there are classes to race in. I have been racing in the SCCA for 7 years now after 10 years of DE events and I have tried a bunch of different types of race cars during that time, I am currently running a spec miata. For me, I like the spec classes as they fit my need for close racing in very large groups (around 50 cars per weekend in the class) so no matter how fast (or slow) you are, you will always have a few folks to race with. This car also fits my driving style very well and that is something to think about, if you are use to driving big hp cars on the track the SM will take a while to get use to and drive quickly. That is not to say that they are slow in any means, it just takes a lot more than stepping on the loud petal to get them around the track quickly. As I now have a family with me @ the track I like this class more and more because the car almost never needs work on it during the weekend, (good prep at home helps a ton) thankfully my wife likes the track but not for 14 hours in Mid July with a two year old in tow, while I am changing heads on a car, get my drift? I would rent a few different types cars during test days before sinking any cash into your own ride, it is a much better way of finding a good fit, after all it is suppose to be fun, right? Hope that helps.
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Martin,

I agree with Chris, Spec Miata is a great class. Different people race for different reasons but if you want close racing (no matter where on the grid you end up) and minimal hassle (read maintenance) SM is a great class. A decent car runs around 10-12K and top flight one in the 15K range. You can pay up to high teens for Pro Cars but you get diminishing returns for those dollars.

As Chris pointed out if you are used to high hp cars (like the a 355 C which we both have run) it takes some getting used to. I started out in Spec Racer Ford which are also momentum cars. I quickly learned where I was lacking and had to push the envelope to catch the fast guys. The two things you have work on are not overbraking and getting on the throttle early (stems from driving 3000 pounds cars at DE's), and car control. The latter, car control, is something you have to master because driving a momentum car fast means driving at or over the limit frequently to get the last quarter second out of the car.

You could also look at classes like ITA (where I race) and ITS (a bit pricier). However in both those classes skill isn't enough as you also compete with your checkbook to run up front. I believe that in SM you can get further up front with talent even if in a less than top flight car. In ITS and ITA this is much harder to do as the checkbook goes a long way (along with skill).

Good Luck and welcome to racing !

Regards,

JPK
www.flatoutracing.net

 

Martin,

Contact "WCH" here in Ferrarichat as he is racing a Mini in SSB/SSC at the National level.

One thing to be carefull of in those type of classes is that the car which is competitive today may not be competitive tomorrow either because newer cars enter the class or because enough people ***** about one car over another and the rules get changed.

At least in SM and SRF you know the rules won't change and the cars will remain the same.

 

Body repair on street style racers can get expensive.

The FM is not well represented in all regions.

FF2000 (FC), FF1600, and the SRF are good classes and you can easily do race weekends for less than $1500 and, if a good enough driver, win races. But I'm biased b/c I raced FF2000 cars for 4-years and FF1600 for 1-season.

 

If the MINI you are looking @ is not a US spec car, the good folks in the SCCA and your fellow Showroom stock racers are both going to have a real problem with you trying to put it on the track. Only US spec cars are legal in that class, and yes they will catch it, the little things are a big deal to the folks in that class. On a side note, I have a friend who has been running a SSC MINI for the past few years, mostly in enduros and they have to reset the Error codes on the ECU with the dealer reset tool or else the ECU starts to dial back the fuel map because of all of the error codes the car sets off during a typical race. They learned this the hard way @ the Glen a few years ago. They are a MINI Dealer so it was no problem to re-flash the ecu wirelessly with a factory reset tool from their service department, I am not sure how others who run the car are dealing with this or if it is even a problem with sprint racing.

Good Luck,

Chris

 

If I were to go racing I'd take a long look at the Spec Fords. Purchase price for a used model is under $20,000, and you can sell it for about the same money when you want to move up. They're easy to drive too. I like the driving position in them. Some of the formula cars require the driver to lay nearly flat out. Formula Ford comes to mind in that area. Also, if you do a little rubbing you do not usually go for an air ride like you do when you rub tires. Since the body panels are pretty straight they're easy to repair after you do the rubbing. Wait, that's NAACAR. Actually, there's an ocasional rub in all forms of racing.

Bob Wassam

 

Bob I also agree with you. I run an Audi A4 in ITE just because the car is so neat but really uncompetetive with the big HP that is found in that class as well as with its peers because mine is 2WD with some history. The advantage of your suggetion and the Miata classes are also the ARRIVE and DRIVE facilities that are offered for these. But one advantage of the SRF is that most drivers have had some racing experience before they embark on the class whereas in the Miata groups I have seen a large amount of metal to metal just because the drivers believe this is what it takes. I personally do not "fear" the meatl to metal but it wastes so much time arranging repairs and transporting to and from the body shop. The modular bodies of the SRF lend thmeselves to fixing this stuff so much more easily too.

But as for bump drafting...another story.

 

Not even 3 days! Impressive--can't wait to hear the stories...

 

Welcome to the club, let me know if I can help in anyway.


Chris

 

Congrats on the Spec Miata! We routinely have 45-55 car fields at VIR. Great, cost-effective racing.

-Peter (love my Sports 2000...)

 

Deleted what I said. Didn't read the rest of the thread before I posted.

 

Congratulations on your purchase, and after reading some of the responses there appears to be some very knowledgeable SCCA racers in the group. I have a question maybe they can help me with. I will be taking a Mazda RX-8 to the Daytona event for my first "real" race. I have done some BMW and NASA races, but would also like to participate in SCCA. What class would a Grand Am Mazda RX-8 be in? Grand Am allows modifications to suspension, air intake and exhaust, but specifies rims and tires as well as hp to weight ratios. No permanent modifications are allowed to the rotary engine. Our last Dyno put the car at 275hp to 2650 lbs. Any help would be appreciated.