Quote:
Originally posted by klayfish
Dan,
Anyway, is it really cheaper to run a spec FFR than a spec Miata? I thought a spec Miata could be picked up cheap. Do they break parts that much? How often does bumping happen during a normal race?
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Yeah. That has been somewhat amazing to a bunch of us. I think there are a couple of reasons. First, we don't have any bumping. No one likes fiberglass work and you just don't see any bumping with the Cobras. Except for Bob Bondurant and my encounter with the wall during the VIR enduro, my only taps come when I race SCCA. The Miata guys tend to bump a bit more, but not as much as the RX-7 guys.
There are three things that have really helped the Spec Cobras. First, the tires (Victoracers) really do a nice job with heat cycle resistance. My Dad and I typically run the car twice as much as anyone else during a weekend since one races and the other instructs. Even with that, we can get close to a full season on a set of tires. It really helps keep the costs down.
The second advantage is that the brakes are cheap. We run the stock Mustang rotors (about $40) and Hawk pads. With the car doing double duty (and usually giving some rides too), we can get through 3 weekends or so. For normal driving, figure two sets of pads to get you through the season.
Finally, because it is a spec series, the parts really aren't on the bleeding edge. We're running an engine that puts out about 225hp. It's the same block that some guys can get around 400hp out of. The tranny is a stock t-5. The car weighs almost nothing. The bottom line is that we just don't see the kind of wear and tear that you get on a typical race car. The Miata engines, by contast, need a little more baby-sitting. (They're great, just not as low maintenance as these 5.0L.) In many ways, I am embarassed at how little maintenance work we do. For VIR, we pulled it (dirty) out of the trailer from last fall, checked the lug nuts, and promptly ran off a two lap lead over the BMWs, NSX, Corvette, and others (before I went into the wall). We try to be disciplined and at least check for loose bolts, but we find so few that we tend to be slack. Bottom line: the stuff isn't taxed and it just lasts.