Why I Race An Underpowered Car

I've always need a fan of little Datsuns - always a fan of these - (random picture from the web)

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

As someone who race an A-series power cars I love them all; from 1200s to B210s to 210s.

In reply to wspohn :

As I mentioned; sure it's fun to pass faster cars but that's more of a distraction.

As has been mentioned on this forum numerous times the level of track day cars has risen exponentially. 10 years ago I would pass alot of cars with the Datsun at Porsche Club track days, now days the vast majority of the cars in the intermediate group are going faster than I am.  

A funny thing happened with that; I discovered I still loved driving the car even as slow as it is. I have more people come up and say "wow you are on the absolute ragged edge with everywhere". It's incredibly satisfying to know you really are 10/10ths.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :

As someone who race an A-series power cars I love them all; from 1200s to B210s to 210s.

I follow your threads and comments.  You are one of my heroes. 

Has anyone else who's been driving a Miata/etc.for a while noticed that everything else has gotten faster?  Not talking autocross here - I think Miatas/etc are great for that - but on track the HP/weight ratio has changed a bunch over the last twenty or so years.

In reply to jwagner (Forum Supporter) :

Yes the general speed of cars, including Miatas, has gone way up. An MX5 now does a 14 flat 1/4 mile. The cornering capabilities of cars as gone up exponentially as well.

A fellow instructor was behind me in his Cayman recently with a student on board and told the student to watch what I was doing in the Datsun. He told the student "your about to see a classic 4 wheel drift". The student talked to me later and was just blown away by my " amazing" car control.

What I found both amazing and hilarious is they were cruising around in the Cayman at probably 60% of the car's capability.....while I was driving like a fiend.

The level of performance increase in the last 10 years is amazing.

I could probably do a seperate post as to why I race vintage; I'm also blown away that people are amazed by the amount of slip angle we attain in these old cars.

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Having raced possibly the most underpowered car possible (H-Prod Fiat 850) I have lots of thoughts on the fun and frustration that comes with the lack of horses.

In reply to L5wolvesf :

The Datsun would barely walk your HP 850 down the straights.........1171cc of pure torque. LOL

In reply to Tom1200 :

I had a fairly experienced driver in a Viper follow me in my NC for about 5 laps.  Talked to her after the session and she "wanted my line through 3-6".  Then she blew by me up the main straight.  Still, a proud moment...

My new vintage race car is an HP Triumph Spitfire with the 1300cc fire-breathing monster under the bonnet! It will be the slowest thing that I've ever driven on track and likely slower in a straight line than the Jeep Gladiator that will be towing it! That said, for the purchase price and operating costs, it should be LOTS of fun to race in "small-bore production" with other LBC's. Can't wait for the 2024 season.......

I race an underpowered car because I like the lower cost of the consumables and the racing is close.  I can't say that I find it more or less fun than the big HP cars I've raced but the cost/per fun units is significantly more favorable.

In reply to lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) :

I typically end up diving with the Spitfires...........you will have a blast.

APEowner said:

I race an underpowered car because I like the lower cost of the consumables and the racing is close.  I can't say that I find it more or less fun than the big HP cars I've raced but the cost/per fun units is significantly more favorable.

And this is exactly where I am at.

With the small bore car I can afford to do any event that my schedule allows...............with the faster car I typically had to choose more carefully.........the weekend budget was 70% higher.  Most of that down to fuel and tires

With the small bore car I'm not worried about managing the tires from a budget standpoint.

I find it all very liberating and relaxing.

Tom1200 said:

In reply to L5wolvesf :

The Datsun would barely walk your HP 850 down the straights.........1171cc of pure torque. LOL

MY 850? It’s been a long time so I don’t recall that.

One thing I do recall regarding the Dat 1200s in HP was the first time I ran against one. There was a guy who worked for Datsun/Nissan – I believe his name was Ron Johnson. I could mostly stay with him thru turns but on straights he ran away.

The short story is: the 850s had an odd cylinder head made for economy. There was no real intake manifold just an adapter for the single carb. Nothing of much consequence could be done with the head because of how it was cast.

Going up against the 1098cc spridgets wasn’t easy but possible. The 1200s had roughly 40% more cylinder volume to work with than the 850s. When SCCA would not allow a different head (even with severe restrictions) myself and the other 850s drivers I knew of parked them.

you race an underpowered car because you choose to

I race an underpowered car because I can not afford a high powered car

We are not the same

EricM said:

you race an underpowered car because you choose to

I race an underpowered car because I can not afford a high powered car

We are not the same

So I was once in this position and then suddenly I wasn't.......so I bought a fast car.

When I started running the faster car I discovered something; the increase in spending didn't correlate to the increase in fun, in fact it became less fun. The car was far more serious and it took a far more serious approach. My ego loved the fast car but the rest of me wasn't on board, it was more expensive than I liked and to much work. I want a relaxed approach to racing; I pretty much treat it like I do going dirt bike riding with my friends. 

I now have two cars the Datsun and the Formula 500. The F500 doesn't require a lot of maintenance at the level I run it. The maintenance needed for both cars combined is still less than the fast car required. 

In reply to L5wolvesf :

Well my 1200 is making about 80whp so it's not anywhere near what Ron Johnson's HP car would have been. His was probably making about 100whp.