Really? Another Miata thread....

[Kaan]

Kaan, couple bad assumptions. The motor in my M3 was a $2800 motor with $500 in rod bearings and gaskets. Expensive fabrication and custom pieces is what drives the expense in that class.

The motor in my Miata is $7200-8k but will have no problem doing 120-150 hours (Nasa weekend is less than 4!). $1500-2k for a refresh and good to go for more. Everything else has lots of hours replacement and is relatively cheap. Penskes are $1100 new on spec miatas FYI and cheap rebuilds and are sealed.

The main cost savings of spec Miata is zero fabrication, all bolt on and long replacement hours.

The only reason spec3 is cheaper is because it is not competitive. You get a field of more than just mid Atlantic and more than 20 cars and you’ll see the prices skyrocket.

I just used your price... but your M3 motor cost as much as my ITR motor... GTS and H2 are power and weight classes, not spec.

"back in the day" when Evan was being accused of cheating (with actual junk yard motors and transmissions) the rule of thumb was a "new" Rossini/Sunbelt every two years. No one felt they could afford the .5hp loss ... maybe that has changed, but as competitive as SM is, I doubt it... I'm betting folks are blowing smoke. Racers lie... period. I mean I don't, but Im not doing a whole lotta race'n ;

Spec3 isn't cheaper. The top 3 are guaranteed to be building motors to the top of the rules. The series leader pushed the rules so far YEARS AGO at nationals... it only took 2 years before someone was offering a "spec" E30 motor... I'm sure there is a game being played for Spec3 by now. It might not have a huge market, but I am sure there are people doing it.

I brought all of this up because Taylor was all worried that engine internals would push people away... these are all examples of engine internal work (Rossini/Sunbelt build balanced motors within the rules)... and its not pushing anyone away!