gte024h Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I am thinking of ditching my street car that I use for HPDE and getting a track prepped car, possibly a Spec Miata. I don't have a tow vehicle yet, so I was wondering if it is possible to make a SM that passes tech but is also street legal (enough to not get pulled over). My plan was to continue doing HPDE's and eventually attend a racing school. In the mean time I would get a tow vehicle and trailer, but until then I could at least drive the car to the track and back. I would not be planning to drive it anywhere else. I could just get a Miata and slowly turn it into a SM, but I have heard that it is cheaper to buy one that has already been prepared. Thanks for the advice guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZipZap Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Lots of variables. Once you get past a certain point, the car will not be very street friendly. Things to think about: What tires would you run? What would you do if you broke down? Being a convertible, it would need some kind of roll bar immediately. Do you want to do the whole cage? If you want to continue doing HPDE, why wear out your SM gear? I would recommend buying a prepped car when you're ready to commit. If you want to HPDE a Miata in the meantime, get one cheap and you can beat it up pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gte024h Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 Very good points. I had not considered the tires, and the car isn't big enough to put a spare set in the trunk. Maybe I'll just keep doing what I am doing and work towards getting a tow vehicle first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcmmotorsports Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 You could get a small trailer to tow your gear (race tires), but the biggest issue about running a race car on the street is the cage. Without wearing a helmet on the street, that cage is a head injury waiting to happen. There are a few that do drive their race cars to the track though, so it can be done, just not recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbrew8991 Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 I would put the SM suspension on a "street" Miata with a rollbar, use a tire-trailer to bring my SM wheels/tires with me, and hang onto that Mazda6 as my daily-driver Should drive close enough to a real SM that you'll be able to carry over that experience while not breaking the bank too badly. though if you stop beating around the bush and just go big you'll probably come out cheaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 My first season running AI and also the first season running CMC were done in a legitimately street legal Pontiac Firebird. I found tire wear on the street with the Toyos to be small enough that it didn't warrant the cost of an extra set of wheels. I drove the car to/from events and occasionally drive it to work to test out work that I had done on it prior to going to events. (I used the rains for street driving, just in case.) The car was exceptionally stiif, noisy and uncomfortable on the street. Every boy racer in a Honda with Altezza taillights thought it was race time... This was amusing more than anything else. It was all good with one huge exception. To maintain street legality, the car weighed 100's of lbs more than any other competitor. This made a decent finish all but impossible. I don't know the SM ruleset but if a Miata struggles to get to min weight without being street legal, then I have to believe that a street legal one will be Porky Pig and very unlikely to run upfront. This was the only meaningful drawback that I saw running 2 years in street trim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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