We have a car there in STL. Some of you may remember this car as the Rental, later renamed Super when we caged it. It's actually running a 1.6L becaue we done blowed up the fancy 1.8L we built for it just a few weeks before the event.

Last qual session is tomorrow. Race Saturday in the morning. Oscar Jackson Jr is driving it. We're not quite making the power we had hoped so he has his work cut out for him. The handling however, is fantastic. Probably the best balanced Miata I have ever driven. One last tuning adjustment tomorrow we think will find us some oomph. If we can find another 12whp, we'll be in the hunt for the top step I think. I'm back at the shop so hopefully other folks that are there can post pics.

A few details on the car (that we can share): 6 spd x 4.875 OS Giken diff with our SuperMiata tune, MS3 Pro ECU, Xida double adjustables, 15x7 6UL with 205/50/15 BFG R1-S tires, APR SCCA spec GTC-200 carbon wing and some DIY front aero, Racepak IQ3 dash, Carbotech XP12/XP10 pads on our SuperMiata/Wilwood 11" big brake kit, awesome orange stripes and splitter that make it look just like a million dollar WEC LMP1. Original nose got tore off in a testing accident 3 days before the event, thus the unpainted/striped nose

 

Good luck!

Also:

 

Aha, despite many protestations and advice to the contrary the old 1600cc is not quite pointless yet!!!



Best of luck to all involved.

 

I guess 15x7 to save points vs 15x8 ?

 

Still pointless. We blew our trick 1.8 up about 2 weeks ago. Oscar had the 1.6 already built so we decided to give it a shot.

Ha, no. No "points" in SCCA. Basically its "These are the specs, make however much power you can."

 

15x7 because as far as the SCCA is concerned a wheel larger than 7, or sometimes 7.5, should never go on a car without a v8. :v

 

Wait...


...


WHAT?!?


For years you've been saying you have no interest in STL because you wouldn't want to drive a car "that is no fun to drive" (I'm paraphrasing). Now you're saying an STL car w/ ZOMG 7" wide wheels and tiny 205 tires has fantastic handling and is the best balanced Miata you've ever driven?

I haz confused.

Did you drive it at the 1.8 weight or the 1.6 weight? The 1.8 race weight of 2635 lbs seems like it would tough to manage on 205 tires.

I was bummed last year when Oscar was registered to race the Runoffs in STL but then couldn't make the race. Good to see he's out racing this year. My old team mate is driving an '06 Si this weekend. I think he's currently P4. I'm surprised how "ok" he's done so far. We thought the civics wouldn't fare so well at Laguna.

What caused the 1.8 to blow, if you don't mind me asking (I'm sure you do...)? Drago had one blow at road Atlanta in March and I think his was a rod failure from too many revs for too long.

Wish I was out there...oh well. First time in like 4 years I haven't raced at the Runoffs... maybe next year.

 

Good luck to you guys down there!

 

Also, why did Oscar miss the qualifying session yesterday?

 

1.6 runs much lighter. It's 100% those R1-S tires. The fastest DOT tire I have ever driven. Combine those with double adjustable Xidas, a smattering of downforce and the rest of our suspension bits and you have a good handling car. I have run 205 Hoosiers on 7's. They feel like crap compared to the same tire on a 9. 205 NT01'a on 7's are even worse. The reduced weight on the nose and lowered PMI are more noticeable than I thought they would be.

The other half is the close ratios at race speeds and that great diff combined with zero torques. So you're either threshold braking or WOT everywhere like a Spec Miata but with real suspension. The lack of power makes it easy to plant the car super early in every turn. Add 100whp and it would be a handful I'm guessing.

Lots of people break 1.8's when they try to spin them to 9k with certain combinations of parts. We figured out why but ran out of time to get a new motor built. Drago may or may not have figured it out.

Our car is far from optimized. It was sort of a last minute thing mixed in with several other projects at our shop. Given another 8 weeks to develop the 1.6 we could pull another 2s out of it, 12 weeks for a 1.8 an that would stretch out to 4-5s. Mostly moving weight around and engine development.

So yeah, I'm kicking around the idea of running STL in 2015 myself with a 1.8. COTA looks to be a power and aero track though, not so much mechanical grip (our strength).

 

Yea the R1-S are the best DOT I've ever driven on, but I haven't tried the A7s yet. Apparently the fast Integras running at Laguna this weekend are qualifying on A7s but not sure if they'll last the race.

I realize the 1.6 runs at a significantly lighter weight in STL (~355 lbs!). I imagine with the same tires/aero/suspension those extra 350 lbs are going to change the handling characteristics pretty significantly (obvious statement is obvious?). I wonder if a 1.6 STL Miata is a well balanced fun to drive car and a 1.8 STL car is an overweight miserable pig.

Do you know what engine the provisional pole sitter is running? His car is registered as a '92 but that doesn't mean much.

2015 Runoffs are at Daytona, I doubt any Miata is going to be competitive there. K20 powered '99 Honda insight would be the car to have there. 2016 Runoffs are at Mid-Ohio, miatas will be back in the fight then.

 

"2015 Runoffs are at Daytona, I doubt any Miata is going to be competitive there. K20 powered '99 Honda insight would be the car to have there."

Haha, indeed. Maybe an 2.0 MZR powered NB

 

Good luck! Get some good footage! Very interested in how this class continues to evolve.

 

What power do you think an MZR could make under the STL ruleset?

I know (I think) about what most k20 cars are making but I haven't a clue about the MZR.


The weight of a rwd 2.0 car would be a bit of a problem though. A MZR powered NB would have to race at over 2800 lbs...

 

Dunno, maybe 210whp?


Anybody got a link to qual results? I only see live timing, nothing being recorded and posted that I could find.

 

Racehero.io

 

Great site/app, thanks.

 

SCCA official results page -> The Sports Car Club of America Event Results

If you click on "qualifying 3" it will show the composite results / provisional grid

 

How much are you allowed to mod an engine in STL?
The MZR / Duratec 2.0L is capable of good power in NA form, I want to say they dyno ~300 in FA trim.

 

Clif Notes:

Blueprinted
Forged piston/rods
11.0:1
.425 lift cams
OEM TB & manifold
exhaust free
ignition free
spec race gas (no magic gas)
wet sump