Any comments on the competitiveness of an RX-7 vs 240Z, 280Z and BMW 325i in ITS?

Thanks
D

 

The ARRC results have just been posted. The ARRC is the defacto national championship race for the IT classes. It's held every year at Road Atlanta. Not all of the best in the country are there but the guys that do run up front are very representitive of the best you'll find anywhere. There are some pro racers that make token appearances every year. This year Chet Wittel was on pole in ITS in a 325 with an RX-7 4/100th back. Wittel won the race by 2.5s over the same RX-7. In Cen-Div an RX-7 won all but three races this year. There were a couple well prepped BMWs from the East that came to play with us at Mid-Ohio and we mostly sent them home with a case of butt hurt. One did manage a win late in the year however. The RX-7 is near the top of the game again IMO with the restrictor that was added to the Bimmers. There is scuttle-butt that the 325 will receive additional weight over the off season.

The 240 is a dying breed. Very old, hard to find rust free tubs, and the ones that are are worth too much to make a race car out of.

 

I've got a 280Z. Wouldn't recomend it for racing. It's fun in the corners but I wouldn't classify it as a racecar. Too much work needs to be done to stiffen up the chassis. They are 30 years old by now. It's actually for sale, but that's another story.

Greg

 

Darrin - ITS is less subscribed than EP. I dont know what results you're looking at, but every race I was at this year there were at least 4 EP cars, sometimes as many as 8 (going from memory... one or two of those 8 may have been DNS). In ITS the most cars were 2. Granted, the last race at TMS there were 4, but that's an overwhelming number compared to all of last year.

There are several RX7's running ITS here, and I can't think of a single ITS car (save for a couple of Datsun's all owned by one guy) that are anywhere close to "fully prepped". I think if Ludwig or one of his pals came down they would trounce the field.

SWDiv, save for a few exceptions, is not a fast or best-of-the-best division. We have had our share of National Champions, but probably the only division with fewer would be whichever one(s) Alaska and Montana are in.

 

OK - I race an EP 1st gen Rx-7, and Mazda has made it's products the staple of several racing classes for many years. Don't erase history though, because Datsun held that position before Mazda came around and there was some pretty good racing between them during the overlap. Anyone who thinks Z cars are not raceworthy simply hasn't been around racing enough. A well prepared Z car is still a contender in EP. Especially at the regional level Z-cars are still potent ITS performers with some examples having been continuously developed for over 30 years. There are a bunch of both tub and tube GT2 Z-cars sprinkled generously over the country that still win in regional competition. Reasonable modifications can produce a lot of horsepower out of those straight sixes!. I think ITS HP over 200, and GT HP over 300 is pretty commonplace for those cars. So - while I think rotary power is the way to go, don't blow off those Datsuns like they don't exist. There are tons of shells and parts still available, and they are cheap too!

PS - This isn't even counting the huge numbers of racing 510's that are still screaming around tracks.

 

If you are referencing my remarks then read again. I said they're a dying breed, in ITS, because you can't find good tubs for a reasonable price any more. Some parts, differentials come to mind, are also rather scarce. The ones that are running strong can be competitive. One just ran 4th at the ARRC and Wittel won two in a row with his 3 and 4 years ago. A good ITS Z car puts around 160-170 to the wheels.

 

Maybe it is substantially different in other parts of the country. There still seems to be a reasonably good supply of Datsun Z cars, parts, and shells here in the Northwest although some things are getting a little harder to find. Rust was ALWAYS an issue with these cars, but they seem to repair fairly well especially when they only need to look like a racecar! Believe me, I am a Mazda racer through and through, but I am really looking forward to running the GT-2 240z we have been prepping for the 25 hours of Thunderhill.