Spec Rio

cheapest stock sized tire on tire rack is 44 dollars. at a $100 cap you could have the fronts be new, and the back be junk yard specials.

okay... cap on tire spending, have a spec suspension setup on it (do they even have springs for rios?), just imagine the bump drafting going down the back straight at road atlanta...

Stock suspension. Why bother with anything else? Make the only modifications safety related.

CarKid1989 wrote: I have seen Rios pop up for pennies on C-List. Worth getting? At all?

Considering the cheap price of entry for a relatively new car, you can't go wrong. Pull off the muffler and go terrorize small children and rallyx courses.

http://nh.craigslist.org/cto/1008997804.html

maroon92 wrote: cheapest stock sized tire on tire rack is 44 dollars. at a $100 cap you could have the fronts be new, and the back be junk yard specials.

Pep Boys has 19.99 whitewall tires.

Tommy Suddard wrote:

maroon92 wrote: cheapest stock sized tire on tire rack is 44 dollars. at a $100 cap you could have the fronts be new, and the back be junk yard specials.

Pep Boys has 19.99 whitewall tires.

Oh god... so EPIC.

Could you imagine a bunch of these things screaming around a race track at maybe 40mph with crappy tires, and GREAT brakes? Hilarity would ensue.

If this becomes a reality, count me IN.

Maybe a Grassroots Challenge Spec class? Buy the car, spend $2000 on driving lessons and see who can drive it the fastest?

the only mod to the brakes is high temp brake fluid - nothin like going into a hairpin with the petal against the firewall and nothin there, other than that, stock is the way to go!!

I think tires and suspension definitely need to be restricted. Like when replacing struts/shocks...seems there should be some sort of economic factor that could allow us to freshen up the car with "replacement" type parts. To have to run oe stuff would be silly. However, how do you alow alternates without opening the floodgates to Bilstein, Koni, and the likes? I guess you could spec an aftermarket alternative, or a few alternatives. Like "You can replace shocks, but you have to pick from this list."

Unfortunately "spec" classes usually have silly costs associated with them. I'd suggest having a "spec" class that is also a "stingy" class. The point would be the lowest entry (car purchase/prep) and maintenance possible.

I'm projecting my wants here, but I really think if you picked the right platform and kept the rules simple and cheap...it would be a lot of fun! It's all hypothetical...I can't imagine there would be enough driving force to actually make it happen.

Clem

thats why i want to start it, to buy a turn key spec miata or e30, you are already lookin at $8-10K (what ive seen, dunno about focus havent looked too much into it) or to build could equal something in the line of that price. You could pick up a used rio,cage it, fire bottle it, lexan it, take the license plate off and go rubbin on the track. Oh how i would love to go spec miata but to be competitive, i couldnt afford it. Plus rio spares are so cheap!!!

I'm with you until you say lexan. Is this a safety thing? It's definitely an expensive thing.

But yeah, cage, harness, and other requisite safety gear. Then just keep them as stock OR cheap as possible.

No LSDs, no different springs, no different wheels, no alterations to the engine management. "~If you can't get it off the shelf at the local auto parts store for less than a dealer/oe replacement...it's not legal." ;)

I wish stock classes could remain stock (in w2w road racing).

Clem

Replace with stock or Duralast(TM) equivalent. Lifetime warranty!

Would be hilarious to see Kias circling the track with Monroe, Duralast, Peak antifreeze, Proline oil, Harbor Freight, etc. stickers in place of the common Bilstein/Hawk/Brembo.

Come to think of it, that would be a pretty good livery for a Spec E30 car...hmmmmmm.

Not stars driving a reasonably priced car.

All replacement parts have to come from NAPA.

That means you have the choice of Sensa-Trac or KYB GR2 struts. Brake pad choices are "Tru-Stop", "Ultra-Premium", "Safety Stop", "Ultra 8" or PBR.

Any NAPA accessory affixed with double-sided tape is legal.

Keith wrote: All replacement parts have to come from NAPA. That means you have the choice of Sensa-Trac or KYB GR2 struts. Brake pad choices are "Tru-Stop", "Ultra-Premium", "Safety Stop", "Ultra 8" or PBR. Any NAPA accessory affixed with double-sided tape is legal.

The only problem with that is I don't think NAPA sells nawz

Keith said: Brake pad choices are made of peanut butter and brillo pads.

fixed that for you.

dude this could be a very cool class, you should write nasa and talk to them about it. it might be worth the laugh and the cost would next to nothing. and add in the fact that everyone has to get the motor sealed unitl you blow it and if you replace it from a junk yard it is sealed also. add a list of parts from autozone and napa to run along with a couple of sets of cheap tires that everyone runs, you would need to leave the car totaly stock and only this list of parts you can use would be great. the biggest cost would be getting someone to offer cage as bolt in to off set the cost of it.

maybe you could get autozone to sponcer this? All replacement parts must be from autozone with paperwork to prove it, or oem from a dealer also with paperwork. Add a cheap, but not completly crappy spec tire that could last a full season on one set, mounted on only oem wheels. Does autozone sell tires? It would be difficult to make this next idea work, but it would be fun if does; all competitors in spec rio must keep reciepts for all expenditures on the car, including oil, filters, brake pads ect. At each event the cars will be staged at the start according to the amount invested in the car, with the least expencive car on the pole, progressing back to the most expencive car in the back of the field.

could you sell the heroin you found in the shifter to recoup costs?

Who is going to do all the track clean up for all of the fallen/broken crap that falls off? I'd hate to be the guy responsible for causing someone to crash or DNF with a real race car. If I don't have to clean up after myself, count me in!

nah...wont be that messy. What strings do i have to pull at NASA? Obviously i need to do ALOT more research beforei present such a circus act before them...

Ok...this really throws a wrench in the works...but would it be appropriate/possible/sensible to open this up to be a "Spec Econobeater" type rule set? Maybe pick out the lowest of the low end cars.

It might be too much headache, but if you used some sort of criteria like an "as new" MSRP for each model year or something. That way you could use Rios and accents as well as some other cars-that-I-don't-know-what-they-are. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a good way to do it other than an MSRP cap--and I don't think that's perfect--but there might be something else out there too. Maybe HP rating plays into the equation to. Maybe weight and EPA MPG ratings or something. What other cars would be similar?

Think of it like CMC or A-sedan (which are not unlike the original TransAm concept that was a "pony car" class/series) except more stock and instead of "pony cars" you've got Economy cars. It adds complication, but it also widens your participant base significantly. May not be worthwhile, though.

(and to reiterate, I'm completely in bench racing mode, here)

Clem

ddavidv wrote: GRM-TV presents... Replace it with a Rio and Per as the Stig's Krispy Kreme devouring US cousin. First celebrity can be Leno. For added fun, give Tommy the remote for the nitrous.

+10

N2O at the Hammer head?

ClemSparks wrote: Ok...this really throws a wrench in the works...but would it be appropriate/possible/sensible to open this up to be a "Spec Econobeater" type rule set? Maybe pick out the lowest of the low end cars. It might be too much headache, but if you used some sort of criteria like an "as new" MSRP for each model year or something. That way you could use Rios and accents as well as some other cars-that-I-don't-know-what-they-are. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a good way to do it other than an MSRP cap--and I don't think that's perfect--but there might be something else out there too. Maybe HP rating plays into the equation to. Maybe weight and EPA MPG ratings or something. What other cars would be similar? Think of it like CMC or A-sedan (which are not unlike the original TransAm concept that was a "pony car" class/series) except more stock and instead of "pony cars" you've got Economy cars. It adds complication, but it also widens your participant base significantly. May not be worthwhile, though. (and to reiterate, I'm completely in bench racing mode, here) Clem

I guess that would be a better platform to run it as. With Rios, Accents, Aveos, gotta think some more what other cars would fit in that catagory. Im trying to think what restrictions would have to run for different cars, if any. This is something ill probably grab a coffee saturday morning and start researching and writing things down. If I can get it to work, it would be a fun series!!

Since there probably wouldn't be an immediate "run group" sized following in any given area...a good way to promote it would be to keep track of times and then post them to a website. Compare those times as a percentage of the quickest time for another car (a spec miata would seem an appropriate target) and rank yourselves nationally. That way you've got someone to "race" against until the competition at the regional level grows to fill the field.

That is, if the winner of Spec Miata (for example) rand a 2:00 time at any given track and the "Spec Econo" ran 3:00, you'd be it would have an index of 150%. Compare percentages with other folks and go virtual-bench-racing ;)

(Far from perfect...)

Clem

wasnt there a Daewoo Lanos Cup in Australia a couple years ago?