26 replies to this topic

[Keith Novak]

That's what they want you to think. Nothing to do with the big miata shops having tons 4.3 open diffs left over from torsen upgrades and no way to get rid if them.

[ralt12]

OK, so I called Mazda to ask about ring and pinion pricing and whether there was any special allowance for the notion that some people would rather not go through the expense of changing out r&p's for what seems to be a heavy-handed attempt at parity (there's other ways to get there without the significant expense). And the fellow at Mazda said--Huh? I think we would have heard about that. I thought it was optional.

So I call the SCCA, and no one is back from the nationals yet, so no comment from them. The rules, though, are contradictory; one spot says "Transmission and final drive ratios must remain stock for the year of car. " and another spot says "Must update to the 4.30:1 rear axle ratio as found in the 99+ cars. "

There are lots of ways to create parity, but if you say all the years must run the same rear drive ratios, would you not also change out the RPM limit to be the same? They already have restrictor plate size and weight to goof around with, why create a substantial expense? A r&p set is $498+, and that's without any setup or r+r, and the days of cheap open diffs on ebay are over.

[Bench Racer]

ralt12, you have a pm.

[Ron Alan]

OK, so I called Mazda to ask about ring and pinion pricing and whether there was any special allowance for the notion that some people would rather not go through the expense of changing out r&p's for what seems to be a heavy-handed attempt at parity (there's other ways to get there without the significant expense). And the fellow at Mazda said--Huh? I think we would have heard about that. I thought it was optional.

So I call the SCCA, and no one is back from the nationals yet, so no comment from them. The rules, though, are contradictory; one spot says "Transmission and final drive ratios must remain stock for the year of car. " and another spot says "Must update to the 4.30:1 rear axle ratio as found in the 99+ cars. "

There are lots of ways to create parity, but if you say all the years must run the same rear drive ratios, would you not also change out the RPM limit to be the same? They already have restrictor plate size and weight to goof around with, why create a substantial expense? A r&p set is $498+, and that's without any setup or r+r, and the days of cheap open diffs on ebay are over.

Did you not read this thread from the beginning? Or didn't think the rule maker was accurate(JD)? Welcome to the NA 1.8 world
This ship has long sailed...though I still like to bring up the rev-limiter non-parity! California has a lot of these cars...unless your in a crunch a 4.3 will show up on CL in your area or on car-part.com with a yard near you. I picked one up a few months back for $265 in Nor Cal when I was picking up some other stuff at a local yard. To my surprise when I got home(at the yard I didn't look at it when they threw it in my truck)I pulled out the plugs and it was a torsen! Now I'm hoping to win the lotto

[Ron Alan]

That's what they want you to think. Nothing to do with the big miata shops having tons 4.3 open diffs left over from torsen upgrades and no way to get rid if them.

If this is true Keith you better find them and hoard them(then contact me)...I could sell 1 a week!

[davew]

Ralt, as someone else said, "This ship has sailed". This rule went into effect several years ago and had at least a year from approval to requirement. Mazda has no input on rules, they only sell parts.

It is an excellent parity item in that it puts all cars equal in drive trains.

It is also a cost savings item as many people had 2 cars for different tracks. The 4.10 works better at some tracks and the 4.30 at others. Now everybody has the same.

As the proprietor of "a big SM shop" and former chairman of the SMAC, I can tell you that no rule was ever made in an attempt to bolster mine or anyone elses bottom line. Admitedly, most of the SMAC are financially invested in Spec Miata. But we/they are also the experts in the class. If you ever where in one of our conversations you would discover that the SMAC members care more about the health of this class than they do their own bottom line.

Dave

[Keith Novak]

As the proprietor of "a big SM shop" and former chairman of the SMAC, I can tell you that no rule was ever made in an attempt to bolster mine or anyone elses bottom line. Admitedly, most of the SMAC are financially invested in Spec Miata. But we/they are also the experts in the class. If you ever where in one of our conversations you would discover that the SMAC members care more about the health of this class than they do their own bottom line.

It was meant to be tongue in cheek... But the way you can tell a sure fire conspiracy is that it's: 1) Implausible making it unbelievable. 2) Would take a lot of people to cover up. and 3) The conspirators deny it. All 3 bases are covered here. I rest my case.