New Miata series??

There is a new miata series coming together. With more and more V8 miatas showing up at the track it was only a matter of time. I believe they already fall into SCCA IT class. I know of a few cars being built in Florida as well as a few in Texas and N. Carolina. Quite a few guys are coming from Spec Miata. Essentially the idea is to be able to take a Spec Miata convert it to an L33(5.3 version of the LS1), bigger brakes, and a little aero and go racing. What do you think? Spec miata w/ 340-350 whp!

http://www.v8roadsters.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=90

http://www.v8rspec.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=7

Those are going to be fast cars, but it looks expensive!!! To prep one to the limits, I'm guessing they will be 50k+

Expense is all relative. If you shop around and do the work yourself I think it's possible to do it for half that or less. I should be into mine for $20k or less. I have found some excellent deals on my NB($1600),L33($450), T56($100 in gas)etc. If you want someone to build it for you than yes you can spend alot. But look at it from a fun-performance/dollar aspect. To match it would cost ALOT more.

You found a T56 for free??? That's a smokin' deal.

Those are great deals, but isn't the concesus on the m.net engine conversions forum that even if you do shop around and do the work yourself, you are looking at 10 grand for an lsx swap.

Things like suspension and brakes being open is what will make it expensive. All it takes is a few people to show up with 5k shocks and some light weight super brakes to make it a requirement to be competitive.

I personally think (And I'm not going to be competing anyway so my opinion is essentiall worthless) that you need to spec much more of the car and parts if you want it to catch on. There's just too much potential for mega dollar parts being required for anyone wanting to be competitive.

How much will a good Spec Miata engine cost you? 10 grand for 120 not-quite-legal hp, or 10 grand for 300+?

Its just destiny-miatas are gonna become rarer, and demand more$. Still, modern cobra sounds good. Stock drivetrains might get cheaper. Hard to believe lots of people still call it a hairdresser's car.

As it is, you could probably race a V8 Miata in SCCA ITE and SP or one of the NASA PT and ST classes. No point in creating a Spec series for such a low volume car that isn't nationally available.

That's how a spec series starts, though. You could have raced a FFR somewhere before the spec series as well, and they were really low volume.

I haven't looked into Spec V8 yet, although I'm aware of it. Unlimited suspension and brakes doesn't sound completely thought out though.

To see what will happen to the Miata market in 20 years, witness the MGB. You can barely give away a stock drivetrain and they're certainly not rare.

Keith wrote: I haven't looked into Spec V8 yet, although I'm aware of it. Unlimited suspension and brakes doesn't sound completely thought out though.

It's not unlimited. Shock and spring are open but must be monotube. Control arms are open as of now but must still fit under the factory fender. Brakes must fit inside a 15" wheel. These are guidelines. A competition committee will be formed once there are more cars. Until then this is the initial direction it is going. As suggestions come in and testing is done things can change. I know cost is a primary issue being considered. They are trying to keep it affordable. More things are likely to be spec'd as they find out what works the best. Right now they're trying to garner interest and see if this can happen.

"Must be monotube". So that's basically open, as long as you avoid certain solutions. That's a weird rule. I suspect it's commercially motivated. There's absolutely no reason to outlaw twin-tube shocks unless someone has a reason to require monotubes, and that reason is probably because they make money selling monotubes. Just like the control arms. They're open because, well, V8 Roadsters makes control arms :)

Specifying a wheel size and saying the brakes must fit inside makes a certain amount of sense, it's easy enough to enforce. It does leave that area open for some really expensive options, but it would be interesting to see if a megabuck Brembo setup really would outperform a set of Wilwoods on home-made brackets.

Based on the little information in those two threads, I think it has promise. The T5 requirement isn't one I completely understand as I didn't think they were as strong as the T56 (nor were they ever available on a car mated to an LS motor, were they?) but Shandelle knows his GM parts.

These are just guidelines for now and I'm sure some things will change before all is said and done. I posted to see what kind of interest and suggestions come from it. As far as the T5, I'm not completely sure of the reason, I lobbied for the T56. I know the T5 has a significant weight advantage over the T56 and shouldn't have any trouble holding up behind an L33 if built right. I believe they are readily available for much less than a T56.

dyintorace wrote: You found a T56 for free??? That's a smokin' deal.

Kinda, I traded for a 4l60E I couldn't find a buyer for. But a good deal none the less.

What's the cost of a built T5 with an LS bellhousing vs an F-body T56? I'm curious, I don't actually know. There's definitely a weight advantage, but everyone would have the same advantage/disadvantage so that's not compelling.

Suggestions: either make suspension open (potentially with restrictions such as "no external reservoirs" to limit things a bit) or specify a particular setup. A halfway rule such as "monotube only" doesn't serve anyone well as it's not cost or performance based - unless that's a sneaky way of trying to outlaw double-adjustable setups, as I believe a monotube requires a remote reservoir for that. If you want a bit of openness in suspension, you could specify a particular setup but make springs free. Make the damping on the spec shock adjustable so people don't have to revalve if they choose to change springs.

I do like the wheel restriction, followed by "brakes must fit inside". Seems like a good way to keep brake spec open. As a slight variation, you could simply say that all front brakes have to be a Wilwood Dynalite and rears must use stock 1990-00 calipers. That leaves a number of options currently on the market available if you don't want to tie things down to a certain vendor. Of course, I know what V8R will want...

I wouldn't spec a certain wheel. Give maximum dimensions and a minimum weight, then let people run what they want. Spec Miata has it right there. There's at least one 15x9 coming to market that will offer a different weight/price tradeoff than the 6ULs for those who want it.

I have spoken to the guys at V8R and monotube is what was said at the time but not necessarily meant. The guideline will probably be cost based along with no external reservoirs. The idea is to keep things affordable and competitive. More discussion to come.