6 replies to this topic

[Justin Casey]

Hello everyone, Ive been growing more and more fond of the spec miata community and my dad finally agreed to give it a go.
Im totally new to the engine's as well as chassis over the years but a lot of controversy I here is over which motor to get.
Ive heard that the 1.6 comes in the early 1990's models and the 1.8 comes later. Do you guys have any recommendations of which
one to choose and the pros and/or cons of each. Any and all help is appreciated!

[Johnny D]

A little reading....
http://mazdaracers.c...?showtopic=1191
Good luck,
J~

[Dan Cooper]

Calling Drago...can we make it impossible to start a new thread on this topic from now on??

Just kidding Justin - There are a couple things to consider.

I think the first thing to understand is there isn't really such a thing as "budget racing" if you want to win. While yes, there are exceptions if you want to win be ready to spend. So you must determine how much you can/will spend and build the best car you can.

The 1.6L cars (1990-93) are not forced to use a restrictor plate or carry ballast weight
The NA 1.8L cars (94-97) use a restrictor and carry ballast
The NB 1.8L cars (1999) use a restrictor and carry more ballast.

SO, another thing to consider is your body size/weight if you are a bigger guy you will have a harder time getting close to the minimum weight in a 1.6 so therefore a 1.8 may be the car for you (DISCLAIMER: not saying it's impossible to make weight in a 1.6, just more difficult)

Once you decide the car you want - Do you want to build new or buy Race Ready?? Either way, get Dave's book and study study study so you know what you've got. Would also be a good idea to head out to a local track during a race weekend and get chatting to some of the racers and just get a feel for the weekends

[Justin Casey]

thanks for the quick feedback guys, I really appreciate it! Looks like i might be getting a 99 since i weigh 200lbs and I am already coming from Kart Racing where I had my weight disadvantage from their too hah. I cannot wait to get to race a spec miata! after all of the driving school lessons of course...

[dmathias]

Justin, you don't say what part of the country you're in, but here's an unsolicited endorsement (no financial interest) - if I were starting fresh today I would have a turn-key '99 built for me by Ti-Speed Engineering, Mooresville, NC (look them up).

[davew]

Same answer I give everyone who asks this question

READ READ READ, make friends

Read the GCR for the sanctioning body you plan on racing with.
Read this website and Specmiata.com
Read my book
Read all 3 again

Make friends with local racers and the local shop. You will need friends both on and off the track and having a good relationship with the local pro shop will pay dividends in the long run.

Go back and read everything again!!!!!!!!

Dave

[Tom Hampton]

And then read it all once more for good measure. You won't find that little bit of info you need until at least the forth pass through it all.

I'm still building my car (but, I'm getting pretty close), and I've probably read everything 20 times each? And THAT is a conservative number.

I probably read Dave's book and the car portions of the SCCA GCR 10 times in one sitting. Just to make sure I THOUGHT I'd picked up every point. Then I took them out to the shop and literally looked at each part on the car and re-read the relevant sections while staring at the car. I made sure every word could be lined up with the appropriate part, and each part could be aligned with some words on some page. Only then, did I begin to think that I could attest to knowing something.

Then once you've done something with that information (fixed something, etc), come here and try and answer someone's question(s) about that thing. Explaining it to someone else is where the real knowlege comes from....well, that and F-ing it up real bad.