Convertind 94 SM to ITA

[BillH]

I am in the process of converting my (used to be) SM to an ITA car. It is a 1.8l (1994). So far I have installed a Racing Beat header and intake, along with a fuel proessure regulator. These items (and removing the restirctor plate) got me about 15 added peak horse power and shifted the power band up. Evrything else, including the suspension is still SM trim. I am planning to have the rev limit raised to about 7200 to take advantagew of the higher rev power it is now making.

Does anyone have suggestions for what I should do next, probably during the winter off season here in MD? Suspension? Engine work within the rules? Other stuff?

Thanks for your thoughts, Bill H

[lateapex911]

Yes...Personal Message "Andy Bettencourt" from this site...he's got a crackin' fast ITA Miata.

[Greg Amy]

The very next thing for you to do is contact Andy Bettencourt. He's about a year-and-a-half ahead of you, and doing very well...

[Marcus Miller]

I think someone should tell him about Andy Bettencourt :dead_horse: :birra:

Marcus

[lateapex911]

When TWO guys post the EXACT same thing at the same SECOND, it's gotta be true! ;)

[ddewhurst]

I think the very next thing you should do is buy the Andy Bettencourt Competition Proven ITA Miata. :cavallo:

[Andy Bettencourt]

Not for sale! :D

I have returned Bill's PM - hope I can help - lots of pressure now!

[ggnagy]

Didn't Bret have the MARRS ITA lap record in the last year at some point? IIRC the car was for sale up until the point he did that.

[JamesB]

Brett's car was a 1.6L

[BillH]

I love the dead horse thingy. I took the hint and talked to Andy. He was very helpful. Thanks to him, Brett and a couple of other folks I have quite a list of go fast stuff to do to my car. Coming form SM, I am finding it fun to have things (other than to wish for a pro motor) to do to make my car better.

Brett does hold the Summit Point track record for ITA, set in a 1.6 Miata. When he was advertizing it for sale, he pointed out that it held the record, had won many races and the ITA MARRS championship. I remember mentioning to him at the time that all those achievements were fine, but the one critical element that made them possible (Brett doing the driving) would not be included in the sale. He agreed, but said that if someone bought the car they would at least be able to know that it was their driving, not the car, that weas holding them back. If I manage to build a fast ITA car, I fear I will have to confront that ugly truth. :(

Bill H

[ddewhurst]

***I fear I will have to confront that ugly truth.***

Bill, as long as your having fun who cares. :023: There are a lot of ugly truths at every race track. ;)

[BillH]

Thanks for the encouragement. Actually, I am having far too much fun to get bothered by not running up front. And, I am looking forward to building a good car so I can see where I do stack up as a driver.

I know a couple of guys who quit because they could not make the top 5 in the very competitive SM fields in the MARRS series at Summit. Seemed a real shame to me to miss out on the fun for a reason like that.

[JamesB]

Bill, You still have lots of potential and your already doing well this season. just look at the list and set the priority level. you have been racing long enough that you should have an idea of what will help you shave the time.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Bill,

Give yourself some development time and then you and I can shoot it out at LRP where the Miata' shine! Beer on me.

AB

[JamesB]

Free beer, theres motivation for you.

[IPRESS]

Bill,
I am doing the same thing (converting my SM to ITA) down here in Texas. I am also using the "Bettencourt Plan". I am staying with the SM specs until after the ARRC. After that I plan on giving the car the "Bettencourt Treatment". I have already found some of the new parts that he suggested and am just waiting for our short offseason to turn the miata into a total ITA machine.
I ran mine at Texas Motor Speedway last week in the ITA race and had a blast just like the old days of small SM fields mixed with IT and SRX7 cars. Keep us up on your progress with the conversion.
Good Luck

[joeg]

Go where the SM Rules are restrictive--.040 over, lighter wheels, Hoosiers, fancier shocks, ECU mods, etc.

[BillH]

Mac, I have been running my car in ITA in the MARRS series this season. I started out with the car in strictly SM trim running both SM and ITA, figuring ITA was just a way to get extra seat time and more fun. As it turned out, even in SM trim the car did decently in the ITA races. They were so much fun I decided to start the conversion and focus only on ITA. Based on how my car did without any mods, I think the 1.8 Miatas have the potential to be pretty competitive as ITA cars. Also, as I mentioned above, it's fun to have some things to do to make the car better.

For this winter, I think I am going to do a new suspension along the lines Andy has worked out, get the head worked on, and rasie the rev limiter. Get some lighter wheels, too (I have already been running Hoosiers for the ITA races). Those seem like the things that should give me the biggest bang for the buck after what I have already done.

Thanks to all for the good advice. Bill

[cam]

OK, what is the "Bettencourt Plan" or "tretment"? I tested some 4-2-1 headers on my 1.6 and lost a little power. Seems like to largest advantage for the 1.6 in ITA is that we can run lighter than in SM.

TIA for any shared insights

[ldp82]

i would also like to know the Bettencourt Plan

[tnord]

i dunno exactly what the bettencourt plan is, but i know what i would do first assuming a full SM build already exists.

1) get down to weight
2) oil cooler
3) proper springs/shocks

as you have found out, you're not going to gain a whole helluva lot even with a big $ header.

[JamesB]

Well the SM suspension isnt that bad afterall. Bill managed to qualify 3rd.

[lateapex911]

If you guys keep talking about the Bettencourt Plan, we're going to have to use a dart to deflate his big head, LOL. ;)

Gotta admit though, he's running pretty well. But then SMs are going 1:02s around lime Rock.....

[Fastfred92]

Baugh humbug........ Andy B. is sandbagging regardless of the results :P He knows the Miata 1.8 was got it good in ITA and does not want to have that change..................... Can't say as I blame him

[lateapex911]

Ummmm...Fred...it's "Bahhh" not "Baugh.." ;)

As for the rest....i dunno.

[IPRESS]

After getting some very good direction from Andy (almost step by step) I described his info as "THE BETTENCORT PLAN". It is very nice of Andy to share his development stuff with others. Being an "ITA Dummy" getting the info on where to find the right add ons saved me a bunch of time and money. The miata is hard to get much out of in the HP/TQ department, but doing several things together should help a little. You couple that with improving on the SM suspension (which is pretty decent to start with) and I think you can compete at the right venues. My first ITA race in 5 years was at the TMS oval/ road course combination. I was a star on the road course part of the track and dead meat on the oval! Either way the miata in ITA trim is fun to race.
I will tell you this about the guys who keep throwing the SM lap times out there, Andy is dead on when he says SM times don't transfer to ITA. The deal of SMs not holding each other up in corners and being able to draft together is so true. Put the miata out there with no help drafting and let it get held up by the high HP cars in the corners and it creates problems for the ITA miata. Even so I think ITA will be a great place for my former SM.

[tnord]

Put the miata out there with no help drafting and let it get held up by the high HP cars in the corners and it creates problems for the ITA miata. Even so I think ITA will be a great place for my former SM.
[/b]

don't i know it! :cavallo:

my "IT traffic" pace is about 1/2 to 1 second off my "SM traffic" pace.

[JLawton]

You guys will get no sympathy from us ITAers in the Northeast that have to run against Andy!! I've already sent my letter in to have an SIR added to the ITA Miata's!!

[BillH]

With the mods I have already made (header, intake and fuel pressure regualtor) my '94 Miata is faster now running in ITA than when I was running it without those mods in SM. I gained about a second. I am still running the SM suspension, but was just persuaded to lower the car so i am now cornering on the bump stops. Seemed to help make the car quicker in the corners, especially the slower ones. I still think I will try to upgrade the suspension with stiffer springs/shocks and sway bars this winter.

I would suggest anyone who wants the benefit of Andy's experience/plan to contact him via pm. He was quite helpful when I did that. Bill