Well i am pick up the gem for $190 on sunday and am undecided on the direction i am going to take it. Three options come to mind (only really one of which i am asking for info here on) i can A. sell my mazdaspeed protege and rock this as a beater for a while to save up cash on something else (yeah sensible but if i was sensible i wouldnt be here in the first place) B. Build the car for the $2008/$2009 GRM challenge or C. Build the car for STS auto-x competition.

Being that this is not the Si it will be no where competetive in that class...HOWEVER due to the rules i can update/backdate the car since the Si was on the same chassis. After searching (most of which didnt work out since of the number of letters searched for filter) i cant find the differences between the Si and...well the other problem is i dont even know what model this is lol. Obviously the engine was different d16?? and i have been told the brakes and such are different. My question is can somebody give me a run down of the differences or at least point me in the direction of where to look.

 

Update/Backdate rules are not allowed in STS since 2003.

However you can do it for DSP...and of course SM and XP allow anything.

Based on the intake, its most likely a 'STD' or 'DX' model.

 

hmm halfway through writing that it crossed my mind that i had seen that somewhere

 

if you want to build it for sts you would have to completely upgrade it to and si including adding a sunroof. if you want to go the sts route you just need to prep you dual point engine. i could still be competitive locally, i think it only has 10 less hp.
if you are good with turbos and know how to rig up a home made turbo i would go the GRM $2008. otherwise i would just stick to the sts plan. if you went the turbo route you could run SM in scca classes. its a tough class but regionally the set up could be competitive.

 

yeah it looks like its going to be a challenge car. I have a bare B18 block and a t25 turbo sitting right next to me so i guess i need to start hordeing some cheap parts