BMW Z4 or newer Newer Miata

nlevine said:

I made the "BMW mistake" (albeit a Z3, not a Z4). On paper, I thought it looked great for SCCA ITA and thought it would be an upgrade from my Honda. I even bought an ex-Showroom Stock car so I wasn't starting from scratch in terms of cage and seat. Found out that the platform was totally unsupported in the aftemarket for race parts, and transmission ratios were abysmal for my primary track. Car was slower than what it replaced and used almost 2x the consumables due to higher weight. To make it competitive would have cost many cubic dollars for me to develop stuff from scratch...  and I'd still likely have lost to a Miata.. Takeaway - go with the platform that has the most support, especially if you're new at the game...

Thanks for sharing that.  I more than most know what falling in love with a particular car or brand costs.  
 You find all its strengths and potential.  Then locate sources of parts and upgrades.  
   Maybe the Mustang couldn't corner as well as a BMW? So that's what they " invested" their hearts in.  
      
   I know with me I started down the XJS path  and have a lot of the preliminary work done on it.  
      Once I realized I had the makings of aV12 XKE  I allowed  myself to get distracted.  
 But now I need to finish the XJS  first to justify building an XKE

I'm still confused about what "racing" these guys are actually going to be doing?

Are they just driving on track? Lemons? SCCA? NASA? 

It's always been SCCA.  No other group was mentioned. 
   That doesn't mean they won't ever do anything else or even succeed at their goal.  
   Up here SCCA  is sports car racing.  Yeh there are other vintage clubs. And IMSA dhows up once a year. 

frenchyd said:

It's always been SCCA.  No other group was mentioned. 
   That doesn't mean they won't ever do anything else or even succeed at their goal.  
   Up here SCCA  is sports car racing.  Yeh there are other vintage clubs. And IMSA dhows up once a year. 

Many BMWCCA chapters have a club racing program, dunno about the Minnesota one.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

For wheel to wheel stuff I think they'd have to go to Elkhart Lake.  Rumor has it they've stopped autocross. Here in Minnesota. 

They should go to an SCCA  race weekend, talk to racers and look at cars. I find that people getting into racing can have different motives:

- racing a particular car or marque that they idolize (usually Porsche or BMW)

- being a "winner" which often involves wallet racing uncommon cars in small classes

- taking on a new challenge and trying to be the best driver they can be, which often involves racing a spec car in a big class, has less to do with the particular car and more to do with coaching and data

They should be clear on what they really want to accomplish. The two cars suggested indicate option #2. 

I wonder if this is the car they grabbed then, the only Z4 in the last SCCA results at Road America.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Larry Webster (then at R&T, now at Hagerty) used to race Spec Miata. He was a midpack driver and had a fantastic time mixing it up with the bulk of the pack. I got the impression he wasn't looking to win, he was looking to have maximum fun and that's exactly what he was doing.

I kinda hope "we" (GRMers) can organize a field trip to Frenchy's to help him finish the XJS so he can run the challenge. Not this week but maybe in time for next year. Probably be quite fun. 

In reply to johndej :

I don't think it was local.  That's just a guess,  just something they said.  "We can fly free". ( their dad is a airline pilot)  why else bring that up?  Stillwater is on the other side of the city, not exactly a flight trip away. 
   I've washed my hands of them. Wished them well.  But obviously they aren't listening to anything I have to say. 

OHSCrifle said:

I kinda hope "we" (GRMers) can organize a field trip to Frenchy's to help him finish the XJS so he can run the challenge. Not this week but maybe in time for next year. Probably be quite fun. 

 I'd like that and welcome anyone.   I'm taking a break this summer. Focusing on getting the Jag finished.