Originally Posted by icemang17
without a doubt there will be a spec series for these cars. Its just a matter of when and what the "spec" parts list is?
That is my goal, I fully understand that a "real" race car safety system is required, that's required no matter what. The variables are MANY after that...SO many things that affect cost and performance....
Since work got in the way of finishing my original post I will continue
Exhaust: I'd say stock headers and anything after that is free, but will require some type of cat bypass electronics so the ECU doesn't go crazy. Of course sound limits are an issue?
Driveline: All stock, must run stock flywheel and stock clutch or an approved version. Must run stock driveshaft and rear diff with stock ratios.
ECU: Must run stock calibration, with only the cat bypass mod....
Alignment: This also depends on the suspension package. Use as many stock parts as possible, but might need aftermarket parts to get a good range of adjust-ability.
Ride Height-track width: There will be limits to both, something lower than stock, but not silly low, riding on bump stops all day isn't the goal.
minimum weight: Another variable, figure a 200lb driver and 20lbs of fuel, plus all safety equipment without having to insanely gut the car....so this is still pending
Electrical: I like the idea of a minimum weight battery to keep costs down, we don't need 4lb Ion batteries....must run stock alt, starter, ignition etc
Aero: None pure stock only, BUT that means the BRZ wing can be ran on the FRS or no wing on BRZ etc.
Fuel: Must run 91 octance (or 93 if 91 is not available) unleaded. No race fuel or fuel additives
Oiling system: No dry sump, This gets complicated, but I would say any oil cooler and accusump system are allowed. Since the goal is reliability.
Cooling: Must run stock radiator. With near stock power levels its fine.
Other: I know lots of people are going to want all kinds of upgrades to the car...carbon fiber this and that, but that is not the point of a spec series. Spec Series are popular because of LOW COST with low running costs. Its not about the speed of the car, but no matter what it will be much faster than Spec Miata or Spec E30.
An example, Spec Z (350 Z) is not really taking off. Why the "spec" is too expensive, big tires, big brakes all equal huge running costs and a FAT car doesn't help either.
Bottom line is this, most racers that aren't married to a certain "marque" don't want to spend more than about $20-30k tops. That means a built competitive car, our cars are not there yet. They need to depreciate more to build a fun to race in field. The other HUGE variable is running costs....our cars should have low running costs due to huge volume of parts shared across other platforms.
My goal of this thread is to start discussion of suitable parts combos and reasons behind it. I have connections to NASA and can easily help develop an approved FT86 class with them, since their only goal is one thing "how many cars will race"
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