It’s really hard to tell at this juncture, but based off of our few races, it seems like given both of our shortcomings for ST2, our cars sort of balance each other out for now. You guys, i.e. the Maza GT cars, lack a little power given your CW (competition weight), and you guys are running RA1/R888/NT01 tires. On the upside, the Mazda GTs are a good 1,100 lbs lighter than my car, and are significantly more efficient on the aerodynamic side of things. In comparison, currently my car is severely underpowered given my CW (I was underpowered by a good 50-60whp at Big Willow), and is a good 1,100 lbs heavier than the Mazda GTs. My car is also extremely front heavy. On the scales, my front wheels carry a total weight of almost 2,000 lbs. So, at around 3,200 lbs, my car is about 62% front-heavy. Beyond that, from an aerodynamic perspective my car is more like a giant square block. And as a 4-door, a great deal of air gets trapped in my car which causes it to behave like a parachute in high-speed sections. On the upside im running Hoosiers, and if I can save enough money, I can upgrade my turbo so that I can make the power I need to maximize my w:p for ST2 (weight:power ratio). Because right now my adjusted w:p is somewhere around 10.33-10.03. So if I can get my turbo upgraded, I will be good to go with power. But there isn’t anything I can actually do to make my car as aerodynamically efficient as the Mazda GT, or the Vette and Viper.

If you guys can drop a good 2 seconds by running Hoosiers/Hankooks, that would make sense. Because once I get my w:p sorted, I should be able to drop a good 2 seconds also. Beyond that adjustment, I suspect it will be pretty challenging for me to drop more time, because all that is left for me to perfect on my car is aero, weight distribution, and some other minor modifications. In the end, both of us will still have some shortcomings, but overall, my car needs a significant amount of development before it can be a Nationally competitive ST2 racecar. You guys have a much better chassis given your advantages of aero and being significantly lightweight, but you guys lack the HP the Vettes and Vipers have. In the end, all we can do is to get our adjusted w:p (weight:power ratio) as close to 8.7, and cross our fingers.

Mark, thanks again for responding. It makes a big difference to get feedback from an actual Mazda GT driver. Feel free to supply more feedback/info. Also, let me know if you have any questions.

First, nice blog. I am one of the those MazdaGT car drivers. Thought I shed some light on our cars as I see you reference them in your blog.

Our cars are a blast to drive, and durable. We only have 215-219 rwhp and most of the newer cars weight about 2100 or so w/ driver. The 265 Hp at the flywheel that is advertised was a WAG by the mfg and assumed 20% loss to the rearwheels. It’s probably closer to 235-245 hp and a 10% loss. We only have a chassis dyno, so who knows what the motor Hp is. The car was not designed for ST2, so some of us, like myself, with heavier cars are down on power for the class. The car lacks acceleration (or torque) like your car, so at the green flag a car like yours can make up 10 grids spots pretty quick..not to mention we only have a 4spd so our 1st gear is 1.8 and probably comparable to somewhere between your 2nd and 3rd gear. On the plus side, we are easy on brakes and tires, and can out brake most cars and carry a lot of momentum through corners. We also run a 245 Toyo RA1, or comprable Nitto. We could run DOT Hoosier or Hankook, and stay within the rules. That is worth about 2 to 2.5 seconds, on #13 at Brp and about the same at WS. However, we run a spec series to make the racing close, so we are not maximizing the rules in ST2 in an effort to keep costs down. Anyway, just thought I’d share some insights. I enjoy the blog.

Mark