I used to drag race an RX-7 (long story), then moved to auto crossing an RX-8 in BSP when I realized how much fun it was. This year I sold the RX-8 and built a dedicated CSP miata. Recently I have had some RX-7 club buddies from the San Bernardino monthly rotary meet decide to come play with us at the local autocross track..... it seems they are hooked as well.

This thread is to give us a place to chat about the autocross and convince other RX-7 (or other rotary vehicle) guys to come join the fun. it will also be a place of good information about Solo2 (auto cross). The idea is very simple, but there are lots of details to be learned.




First off what is Auto Cross? (check out my youtube page in my signature for an autocross video)
Well, Auto Cross is a form of time trial racing that your average Joe Blow can race anything from a Volvo station wagon (seriously) to a full blown dedicated race car. The track is comprised of a very large (in our case California speedways west) parking lot lined with cones to make a track. the point is to get from point A to point B without hitting a cone. for every cone you hit they add 2 second to your time. In a world of racing where the difference between 1st and 2nd can be 2 thousandths of a second, 2 full seconds is the last thing you want. The average course is around 1 mile and it takes roughly 60 seconds from start to finish. Tracks change from race to race. This keeps the tracks fresh and requires a drive to learn something new every time. No mastering a course like in road racing. Sometimes a track is more open with higher speeds (we call these corvette tracks) and sometimes its real tight and technical (we call these miata tracks).

For those of you not wanting to mess up that pretty paint on you beautiful RX-7 (Rob)….. I have creamed, clipped, nailed, plowed, mowed, and slammed into cones more times then I can count and it has yet to damage the paint more then leaving a battle scar that is removable with some wax. (tip: wax your car every 6 months to REALLY help the cone marks to come off). If you are STILL worried about that pretty paint of yours, put some blue 3m painters tape on the front end and poof, you have a paint condom for your car.


Auto Cross is usually broken up into two days on a weekend.
Saturday is generally Practice, this cost roughly $60 and you get to run all day, they limit the number of entrants to 60 to make it so you get 12-16 laps. Enough that you are tired and wore out at the end of the day not to mention you will have put a serious dent in the life remaining in your tires. (see the “how do I get in” section below if your interested.
Sunday is usually a “championship” day, or race day as I call it. A race day cost from $25 if you’re a member to $35 if your not (more on this later) you get 3 laps to show your stuff. (ok sometimes 4, but that’s rare). That’s it, it’s a 3 lap shootout to see who is the best in your class. A race day is broken up into two halfs. A morning half and an afternoon half. Every month the time of day you work and run rotates. (more on working in a minute). So if my class runs in the morning this month, it might end up running in the afternoon next month. It just depends on how they set up the day. This information can be found on their web site at www.solo2.com by clicking on the days event.


anyways, should you want to race you need to know what class you fit into. here is a short description of each class. most classes (except the street touring classes) are broken down into letters not described below. for example when I had the RX-8 I ran in Street prepared, the RX-8 is a “B” car. so it was B-Street Prepared. (BSP). the miata I now have is in CSP because it’s a “C” car and I have modified it to meet the “Street Prepared” class rules.

If I ran in stock, it would be C-Stock (CS)

The N/A RX-7s (all) are a C car,
The TII is a B car
And the FD is a SS (super street) car in its stock form


CATEGORIES

Stock – This category includes mass-produced, common vehicles that may be
“daily drivers” (cars used for normal, everyday driving). Stock Category cars
compete in their “factory” configuration with a minimal number of allowances (not
requirements) such as:
Removal of spare tire and tools
Front anti-roll bar(s)
Suspension/wheel alignment using standard adjustments
High-performance DOT tires (including competition R-compounds)
Shock absorbers/struts (2 external adjustments maximum)
Competition-type seat belts (no shoulder belts in open cars)
Brake linings (pads/shoes)
Air filter element (the “throw-away” part)
“Cat”-back exhaust systems
Wheels of standard size (diameter, width, and offset within ¼”)
Roll bar/cage
Gauges, indicator lights, etc.
Please refer to the SCCA® National Solo® Rules for more details and specifics.

(STS2), Street Touring® Xtra (STX), and Street Touring® Ultra (STU). This is the
only category that does not allow competition R-compound tires – only high
performance tires with a UTQG treadwear rating of 140 or higher.

STS consists of sedans/coupes with four seats minimum and normally aspirated
engines up to 3.1L (very few turbo/supercharged cars are allowed).
Stock category allowances
No limited slip differentials except for standard viscous-types
Pedal kits and other interior trim
Front seats (15 pounds minimum weight each)
Rub strips, emblems, and mud flaps removed
Body kits, spoilers, and wings added
Tires up to 225 mm wide, UTQG treadwear 140 minimum
Wheels up to 7½ inches wide, any diameter/offset
Shocks/struts
Drilled/slotted rotors (standard size) and braided DOT brake lines
Anti-roll bars, front and rear
Lowered suspensions using standard-type springs
Suspension bushings (non-metallic)
Camber kits, plates, or bolts
Traction bars, torque arms, panhard rods
Strut bars, 2-point only
Battery relocated
Air filter systems up to throttle body or compressor inlet
Headers, emissions compliant
Engine computers (PCM/ECU) reprogrammed
Shifter kits
Accessory drive pulleys
Motor mounts (non-metallic)
Example of included cars: Audi A4 1.8T and TT (non-quattro), Mazda 323 GT
and GTX (AWD), Volkswagen Golf/GTi/Jetta/Beetle/Passat 1.8T and TDI,
Volvo S40 (except T5) and V40
Example of excluded cars: Datsun Z 2+2, Honda CRX, MGB GT, Porsche
(all), Triumph (all)

STS2 is for sports cars with 2 seats and normally aspirated engines up to 1.9L.
STS allowances
Included cars: BMW Z3, Honda CRX and del Sol, Mazda Miata (1990-97) and
RX-7 (1979-92) (non-turbo), Toyota MR2 (1985-89) (non-supercharged)
Excluded cars: Lotus (all), Mazda Miata (1999+), Toyota MR2 (1991-95,
2000+)

STX is for sedans/coupes with four seats and engines up to 5.1L normally aspirated
or up to 2.0L turbo/supercharged.
STS allowances
Tires up to 245 mm wide, UTQG treadwear 140 minimum
Wheels up to 8 inches wide, any diameter/offset
Limited slip differentials allowed (including aftermarket) for 2WD cars
High-flow “cat”
Larger brake calipers and rotors
Excluded cars: Audi S4 (V8 engine), BMW M3 (E36, E46) and M5, Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Mazda RX-8

STU is for sedans/coupes with four seats and normally aspirated engines of any
displacement normally aspirated or turbo/supercharged engines up to 3.1L.
STS and STX allowances
No wheel restrictions
Tires for 2WD cars up to 275 mm wide (245 for AWD)
Example of included cars: Audi S4, BMW M3 (E36), Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge
SRT-4, Ford Mustang, Mazda RX-8, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Pontiac
Firebird / Trans Am and GTO, Subaru Impreza WRX STi, Volvo S60 R,
Toyota Supra
Excluded cars: BMW M3 (E46) and M5 (E39)
Refer to the SCCA® National Solo® Rules for full details and specifications on
the Street Touring® allowances.

Street Prepared – The original SCCA® “street” category, Street Prepared allows
any carburetor/fuel injection system and any ignition system. Turbo/supercharger
hardware has to remain standard, but aftermarket boost control
systems/programs and intercoolers are allowed. Exhaust manifolds and systems
are free. Emission controls are not required for competition, but no internal
engine or transmission modifications are allowed beyond factory specs (no cams,
hi-comp pistons, ported heads, etc). Some cars are able to update/backdate
components like engines, brakes, etc (See Solo Rules for details and specifics).
There are no limits on wheels sizes or DOT tires; racing springs and shocks are
the norm.

Street Modified – The top of the “street” categories, Street Modified allows
anything from Stock, Street Touring, and Street Prepared and just about any
engine and drivetrain configuration as long as the engine manufacturer matches
the body manufacturer (see Solo Rules for details). Four-seaters (BMW, Corolla,
Civic, Integra, Neon, Supra, Talon, VW, etc.) run in SM and two-seat sports cars
(Corvette, CRX, M Roadster, Miata, RX-7, MR2, etc.) compete in SM2. Carbonfiber
hoods, cams, turbo/supercharger kits, etc are welcome, too.

Prepared – These cars are not for the street; they are virtually race-prepared
vehicles for dedicated Solo® competition. Gutted interiors and racing slicks are
the first visual characteristics of these cars and when they crank up, you can tell
these engines weren’t built for bringing home the groceries. Convertible cars are
required to install roll bars per the Solo Rules.

Modified – Except for D and E Modified, these were never ever “street” cars.
They are special built competition vehicles and most of them resemble an open wheel
Indy car or a closed-wheel LeMans sports racer. DM and EM cars may
have started life on the streets, but just about any engine, drivetrain, or
suspension is permitted. Supercharged rotary engines and V-8 engines are seen
in 1700-pound EM machines and powerful 4-cylinders are common in 1300-
pound DM lightweights.








These are brief description of the rules for each SCCA class. Should you want to really build a car to the limits of the rules you need to read the full rule book found on www.SCCA.com

There are a couple of “local” classes. This means that locally there was a demand for a class that did not go with the classes above. And example of a local class is California Street Mod (CSM) this is one of those catch all classes that people run when they have done something to their cars that takes them out of almost every class because of something they have installed on their cars.

There is another choice for those of you not really caring about the class you run in, but more about WHEN you run. I suggest you run X runs (or time only runs). This means that you are simply there to have fun, you don’t care about points or scores, your there to have fun and get a time. In this case you can run when ever you want. So lets say you are in a TII RX-7 that is heavily modified (Rob) and you would fit into the SM2 class, but SM2 does not run the same time CSP does. (my class) and you want to run when I do, you can simply run a time only (put an X as your class) and run with me. no you can not say you are in CSP when in fact your car is not even eligible for CSP. (a TII would never be in CSP even if it were stock… its not a C car…… Rob…. Damon.)

I know anyone interested in racing with us will wind up giving a description on the mods on your car so we can worry about your class when you post below.




So where do you begin? First off feel free to ask questions here. Second, check out www.solo2.com for more details. This is where you can get the dates for when we run and pretty much all other info you could want.

If you want to run a practice day you need to watch www.solo2.com pretty close, If you see in the list of upcoming events “(Incomplete flyer, more details to follow)” this means its not open yet. There is nothing to do at this point. If you keep watching it every other day or so, a couple weeks before the date you will see it “open up”. At this point you want to go into that link and follow the directions. Usually you will have to mail in a check pretty quickly to a specified address. Then you wait. On the solo2.com forum they will post a list of people that got in. (first come first serve). Should you not get in they will destroy your check. That’s it.

If you want to run a race day, you simply show up the day of the event. Again you will either show up in the morning group or the after noon group depending on when your class runs. It will cost you $40 to race. ($35 to race + $5 for your weekend SCCA membership.)


Now if you decide you want to do this more I suggest you get your full SCCA member ship ($45 and good for a year), and get your CSCC membership ($20 and good for a year). With these memberships a race day will cost you $30 and you will have an assigned number for the rest of the year. You will also be counted in points for your class. (at the end of the year they add up everyone’s points in every class. The winner of each class gets a jacket.


Well, I think that’s enough info for now, like I said, the concept is really simple, and it is….. but once you get into it there are a lot of details that need to be learned. Luckily everyone that races there is very nice and very helpful. Newbie’s are very welcome to join. I promise you wont get that sense of feeling like you don’t belong. Rob, Damon, and Jason from this forum all came out to the last race and had a blast! They will be back for more. (and I am sure you will see them post a bunch below!)

 

well written. makes me wanna give it a try one day.

i guess i belong in the stock category.

does that make my FC "BS" category? since it's TII & stock (as far as mild performance mods go...)

 

Yes. Do you have other mods that could throw you in another class though, such as aftermarket shocks?

I'm Jason and I have been running CSP in my N/A FC. My dad will start running B stock in his S2000. We've done two races so far and will be signing up with a full membership and points cards next year.

 

Hey Speedemon,
Do you feel much of a difference with the new coilovers, bushings, and agressive alignment? I'm thinking about doing bushings next and was wondering how the difference felt on the track. BTW, AutoX FTW! I always thought it would probably be kind of boring driving around cones. Man was I wrong! I think I had a bad opinion of it because of the lame autoX demo's they run at Motorsport events. I had no idea my car would behave as nastily as it did. I felt like I was drifting every corner. Great way to learn how your car will handle on the street under extreme pressure. My guess is that if one can master the fast/tight turns in AutoX, that the lessons learned will translate into any other autosport style.

 

corect, assuming you are within the stock catagory, you would be in B-Stock.

which B-stock is mostly dominated by RX-8's. its a very competative class.




Jason, what numbers did you get? when I had the RX-8 I was 804. I chose that because I had an RX-8 and it was an 04.



Damon, number one in autocross is tires. no ifs ands or buts about it.

number two is shocks

number 3 is springs, (which should match the shocks),

number 4 is everything else. sway bars, bushings, wheels, and what ever else your class allows.


to answer your question, yes the coilovers made a change. it is now much stiffer with MUCH less body roll. get a quality set though. rule of thumb, stay away from bling brands like Tein.

 

Man...this sounds cool. Kent let's do this, ellner how about it???

 

Oh Casey fine I'll run with my own class ( SM2 ). I was just giving you some love. J/K . Auto x is alot harder than time attack. I think most of the rx7 guys will enjoy it and its cheap. Hey Casey Im looking for 17-9 1/2 +32 and 17-9 + 25 rims. I can fit 285/35/17 in the rear and 255/35/17 in the front ( stock fenders ). Right know Im running 275/35/18 RA1 in the rear and 245/40/17 RA1 in the front. If I can get the that size of rims I think I can pull off a 49-50 sec lap. Great Thread!!!
Rob

 

Here's some pics of just a few cars out there last week. Another nice thing about AutoX is that if you car is not bulletproof you can feel better about not blowing it up because of the short timeframe of hardcore abuse. Next race Sundays are Nov. 9th, Nov. 30th, and Dec. 14th.

BTW, the green bug eyed Sprite used to have a 20b, now it has a GT35r 13b. Wicked fast!

 

Some more....

Hey Casey, Watched that youtube vid of your run. That was quick man.

 

Here is a pic of my car courtesy of Casey's wife.

 

Casey,
Do you know if the compound on Kuhmo V700 and V710 are the same.

 

I think v700 is the street version ( DOT ) and the v710 is the slick version.
Thanks Robert

 

thanks for the comliments!

to the new guys, if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Rob, I will keep my eyes out for ya.

Damon, the 700 are the old tires. the 710s are the new one. the 710s are better in every way shape and form. as for treadwear, the 710s are 30.... yeah I said 30.

 

v700-
The Victoracer V700 represents KUMHO's DOT approved race tire for use in Sports Car Club racing. The tread compound and asymmetric tread design maximize grip, handling and treadlife. The rayon carcass plies and additional sidewall stiffeners provide quick steering response and high temperature durability.

v710-
Ecsta V710 radials are DOT-legal competition tires developed for drivers who want Kumho's highest level of performance for dry track conditions. Compared to Kumho's VictoRacer and Ecsta V700 tires, Ecsta V710 radials are designed to provide quicker "turn-in" response, as well as increased traction and cornering speeds. In addition to looking like pro-level racing tires, Ecsta V710 tires perform like them as well, trading longevity for performance. Achieving the best performance requires that fresh Ecsta V710 tires be used, as their performance level will drop off after a typical race weekend's use.

On the outside, the Ecsta V710 tires mold a high-grip tread compound (that runs with tread temperatures of between 210 and 240 degrees Fahrenheit when pushed to the limit) into an asymmetric tread design utilizing a "slick" tread surface with just two circumferential grooves on the inner half of the tread. This maximizes the rubber-to-road contact to increase grip. Beginning with a tread depth of 4/32-inch, they will not require shaving, however they will benefit from heat cycling before competition. On the inside, the Ecsta V710 features radial construction that uses two slightly angled polyester carcass plies (with one ply wrapping around the bead and returning high up the sidewall to provide three actual sidewall plies). The belt package consists of twin lightweight steel belts reinforced by a spirally wrapped circumferential nylon cap ply under the tread.

NOTE: While Kumho Ecsta V710 radials meet DOT requirements, they are not appropriate for highway use as the expected miles of wear from their racing tread compounds is greatly reduced.

Thanks Robert

 

hmm, as far as suspension mods go, just tokico adjustables with some eibachs. strut bar in the front (not like it'll do much).

old school turbo RB exhaust, 2.5" DP, street port?

not sure if that makes a difference. i highly doubt it.

 

why not. i'd love to learn the limits of the car.
i guess before goin autoX, i wanna try driving in an empty lot.
i can confidently say that i've never taken tight turns before.

so maybe a warm up before hitting the course would be a good idea for me.

 

I haven't registered yet, I need to get around to doing that.


I agree. I also feel its important to note that I shift once every autocross race. I'm in second gear the whole time, and unless you have a very long first gear, or have racing slicks, you too will probably be only in second gear. Theres not much wear and tear on the transmission. You even get rolling starts, so don't feel you need to burnout and chirp the tires.

Once my brother is old enough to drive, my dad and I will be throwing him into his RX-7 and letting him learn how his car performs at the limit.


Adjustable shocks will put you in street prepared. If your front strut tower bar is braced to the firewall, you're in street modified (1 step above street prepared). Classes are tricky. I have similar mods as you and I run C street prepared (I'm N/A). Also, don't mention your street port or you're in the all out *****-to-the-walls category.

 

I recommend to anyone let an instructor drive a lap in your car with you in it to show you what your car is capable of. I was blown away at how late he braked and how he drifted out of corners. Gave me alot of confidence and let me know I was no where near the loosing control. Then do a lap with him/her as passenger and get some solid tips. You'll be rippin' it after a couple laps.
Damon

 

well, it's mild, ported by Alan from Rotary Shack... i don't know how much of a difference it'll make from stock.

it's been a while since i've seen the size of the port though.

the strut bar is not braced to the firewall, so i guess that's 1 less from street modified.

i believe that's it for me.

 

that's awesome. somebody needs to host a local instructional AutoX event here in the South Bay - AutoX 101.

 

Ok, I'm in the same boat as you. I'm not very competitive, so I'm not mentioning my mild street port to anyone. Just run BSP if you're in a Turbo FC.

 

^werd
Rob- Here's some pics of that starion w/ 275's at all corners w/ no fender mods. 17X9 mustang rims w/ some spacers

 

wheel hoppin' yo.

 

sounds good. =]

 

I've seen pics of your car, very nice T2!

This sight has some good rotary coverage of Nationals Solo
http://rotarynews.com/node/view/844
Damon