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Mazda Spec Miata Penske Racing Shocks Upgrade On Way To NASA, SCCA
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Mazda Motorsports and Penske Racing Shocks have teamed up to produce a new, spec shock package to enhance the Spec Miata (SM) racing experience in the coming seasons of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and National Auto Sport Association (NASA).
Both NASA and SCCA have approved the new Penske shock for SM competition beginning Jan. 1, 2019. It is anticipated the new shocks will be available starting November 2018 through Mazda Motorsports, although they will not be immediately required for NASA or SCCA competition. Both sanctioning bodies will communicate with competitors at a later date regarding a sunset timeline for the shock package currently in use.
Several race-engineered shocks were tested in a recent dry- and wet-weather session at Carolina Motorsports Park.
Results show the new Penske shocks to be similar in qualifying lap times compared with shocks currently used by the SM field. But on overall pace, particularly starting on the fifth lap, the Penske product was said to have shown “brilliance.” And on 30-minute to hour-long runs, where the current spec’s lap times slowed by three-plus seconds on the high-wear track surface, the Penskes never fell off to even two seconds compared to qualifying lap times. An in-depth look at the test findings is available at the Mazda Motorsports website.
Josh Smith, Mazda Motorsports Technical Specialist, noted that the “street shock” currently used in SM is not entirely ideal for racing. The off-the-shelf shock, while cost-effective, was not initially designed to handle the spring rate on race cars and sometimes has trouble “dampening” movement. This causes the suspension to bottom out, which impacts wear-and-tear on other components of the car, including tires, hubs, bearings and subframes.
(Photo courtesy of Mazda Motorsports).
Both NASA and SCCA have approved the new Penske shock for SM competition beginning Jan. 1, 2019. It is anticipated the new shocks will be available starting November 2018 through Mazda Motorsports, although they will not be immediately required for NASA or SCCA competition. Both sanctioning bodies will communicate with competitors at a later date regarding a sunset timeline for the shock package currently in use.
Several race-engineered shocks were tested in a recent dry- and wet-weather session at Carolina Motorsports Park.
Results show the new Penske shocks to be similar in qualifying lap times compared with shocks currently used by the SM field. But on overall pace, particularly starting on the fifth lap, the Penske product was said to have shown “brilliance.” And on 30-minute to hour-long runs, where the current spec’s lap times slowed by three-plus seconds on the high-wear track surface, the Penskes never fell off to even two seconds compared to qualifying lap times. An in-depth look at the test findings is available at the Mazda Motorsports website.
Josh Smith, Mazda Motorsports Technical Specialist, noted that the “street shock” currently used in SM is not entirely ideal for racing. The off-the-shelf shock, while cost-effective, was not initially designed to handle the spring rate on race cars and sometimes has trouble “dampening” movement. This causes the suspension to bottom out, which impacts wear-and-tear on other components of the car, including tires, hubs, bearings and subframes.
(Photo courtesy of Mazda Motorsports).
