speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

There are many changes to the details this year, so I am making a new thread. (since I cant edit the old one) https://www.rx7club.com/west-rx-7-forum-193/so-cal-auto-cross-thread-fontana-794234/

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 many 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.




*** 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 seconds 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 driver 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). You will rarely leave 2nd gear. (vehicle dependant). Top speed is roughly 60MPH or so. Again, the point is driver skill and chassis setup, not so much horse power. If you want to measure your horse power, go to a dyno or drag race. :-)

For those of you not wanting to mess up that pretty paint on your 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.

There are 3 things you do at an auto cross.
1)Work
2) Race
3) socialize

1) working means you do your part to pick up the cones. During your run group there are people out on course picking up the cones you or anyone else in your group kill. Well, you to need to pick up cones when its their turn to race. Working can be a lot of fun if your working for a cool class, and can suck when your working for a boring class. Also after an hour in the sun (or rain) it can get a little old. But all in all, its not THAT bad. And like I said, its fun sometimes when a A-Mod car comes screaming at you and your 30 feet from them.

2) Race… kinda obvious

3) Socialize. It’s a whole lot more fun when you have friends there, your chatting shooting the chit. Auto cross people are very friendly. Again, you will almost never get that sense of “I don’t belong here”. Have some fun, make some friends…. Get involved.





Auto Cross is usually broken up into two days on a weekend

*** PRACTICE
Saturday is generally Practice, this cost roughly $60 and you get to run all day, they limit the number of entrants at 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.

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.

On a practice day you can have ride alongs. it really makes it fun to take a friend along with you. Its also fun to catch a ride with some of the really fast guys! Minimum age is 12 for a ride along (also, go to solo2.com and read all about minors)




**** RACE DAY
Sunday is usually a “championship” day, or race day as I call it. 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 halves. A morning half and an afternoon half. Every month the time of day you work and run rotates. 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. If I run in the morning, then I would want to be at the track around 7:15 or so. If my class runs in the afternoon, then I would want to get to the track about 11:30 or so.







*** COST
A race day can have different cost depending on how you go about it. If you’re a one timer, meaning you want to test the waters before diving in. then you can just show up on a race day and expect to pay the following:
$15 weekend SCCA membership
$40 entry fee
- Total $55

OR

You can pre register for the race online and pay when you get to the track.
Go to https://axwaresystems.com/axorm/calendar_main.php and create and account. Once you create the account add your car to your “garage”. You can now register for the event. In this case your cost would be:
$15 weekend SCCA membership
$35 entry fee
- Total $50

OR

You can pre register for the race AND pre pay online.
Go to the same website and register just like you did above…. But this time click “pay online” (or what ever it says… maybe “checkout”) you will make a payment through Paypal. In this case your cost would be:
$15 weekend SCCA membership
$30 entry fee
- Total $45

(they are really trying to get you to register and pay online, it really speeds up the onsite registration process)


now if you decide you want to do this on a regular basis, then I suggest you get the full SCCA membership. ($90) (go to SCCA.com) and stop paying the $15 weekend fee. Now the good news is, you can enter your weekend membership receipt numbers up to two times, and get $15 per receipt discounted from your full membership. Meaning, lets say you try it for two races, you have given the SCCA $30. they will apply that $30 to your full membership. (pretty sweet) So make sure you keep your SCCA weekend receipts.

Now you can save another $15 by entering me as your referral. (Casey Brier 378186) so your membership is now only $75. another advantage of having the full membership is you have to have it to do some of the bigger races like the Pro Solo, or the divisional.

so lets say you got the full SCCA membership, and you pre registered online and you pre paid online. then the total cost to race when you show up at the track would be:
$30

I know it seems a little confusing, but you’ll get the hang of it.


now just to confuse matters more. lets say you want to run most of the year (you of course should get your full SCCA membership), you can / should get a CSCC membership. (solo2.com). this is the local membership that allows you to run for points / championship. it also gives you an assigned number. like how I am number 806. if I didn’t have an assigned number I would be assigned a 600 number when I got to the track. you can worry about this more next year, but if you want to "take the plunge" you can get that and run for points. the cost of this membership is $20 a year. Advantages are:
- The ability to accumulate points toward the year-end championship competition - winner gets a jacket
- A "permanent" car number for the year (no taping 6xx numbers to your paint)
- Guaranteed entry into Championships (for those times we run out of 6xx numbers reserved for non-points card holders)
- Priority entry into some practices. This is up to the club hosting the practice.


so for me personally its:
$90 SCCA membership (year)
$20 CSCC membership (year)
$30 to race (assuming I pre register and pre pay online)






*** X-Runs
Now lets say you want to run more runs then the normal 3. you can purchase 3 MORE "X runs" at the additional cost of $25. this is nice because you don’t have to work again. These runs are taken RIGHT after you do your "normal" 3 runs. the cost is $25. you can pre register for these as well by adding a 2nd car to your garage. when adding that 2nd car you will see a box titled "PAX", in that drop down menu you will see X-Runs. thats what you want to select. at this time there is no way to pay for the X-runs online, so the extra $25 is to be paid on site.






*** CLASSING
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

(Take a look at the Classing summary at the end of this post.)





*** RACE DAY TIME ONLY RUNS
There is another choice for those of you that don’t really care about the class you run in, but more about WHEN you run. I suggest you run “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 SM class, but SM 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. Its that easy.





*** LAST THOUGHTS
On race days, NO ride alongs. though I do not know if this stands in X runs or time only runs. I believe I heard you CAN have a passenger on those.

if you’re a newbie (Novice, Rookie) you can ask for an instructor run. This can mean one of two things: I highly suggest you do one or both of these:
- You have the instructor take you around the track in your own car and show you how its done. This lap does NOT count against your 3 laps.
OR
- The instructor can sit in your passenger seat and guide you along.

If you start doing well in your class, you might start to earn trophies or Solo$. If you have more then 5 (I think) people in your class and you place 1st, you earn a trophy. If there are more then 10 (I think) and you place 2nd, you get a trophy…. Etc.
If you want, Solo$ can be earned instead of a trophy. These a $10 coupons towards a race entry fee.

You need to wear a Snell95 or newer helmet to compete. The good news is if you don’t have one there are loaners available at the track free of charge. The bad news, is they are a little used and abused. But if your just testing the waters, there is no need to go buy a $100 helmet.

Tech – you need to have a safe car. This means no loose items flying through the car. Batteries must be tired down, no cracked windshields, no missing lug nuts, brake pedal must feel good, no excessively sloppy steering, no major oil leaks…. You know. Common sense stuff.


I know all of this info is a lot to take in at once, but not all of it needs to be digested now. Really what you need to know is:
- Show up with a safe car
- Bring $55 if you want to just show up and drive (you can lower this cost by looking above)
- Ask for help.


Well, I think that’s enough info for now, (besides my fingers hurt) 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. Jesse, Rob, Damon, Jason and myself from this forum all come out on a regular basis. It’s a lot of fun.




















*** CLASSING (continued)

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.


Stock –

HS


GS


FS

ES

DS


CS


BS


AS

SS












(ST), (STS), 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.

ST 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)

STS 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

STS -


STS2 -


STX -


STU -





vvvvSINGATUREvvvv

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

Street Prepared – (SP) 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 Prepared -

FSP

ESP

DSP


CSP


BSP


ASP












Street Modified – (SM) The top of the “street” categories, Street Modified allows
anything from Stock, Street Touring, and Street Prepared and just about any
engine and drive train 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. Carbon fiber
hoods, cams, turbo/supercharger kits, etc are welcome, too.

Street Modified –


Street Modified 2 -

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

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

Prepared –

FP


EP

DP

CP


BP


AP

XP














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, drive train, 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.

Modified –

EM


DM


CM


BM


AM

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

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.
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.
California Street Mod -









California Street Touring - (CST) is essentially our local CSM class on 140+ treadwear street tires. CSM is our "Run What Ya Brung" class. You can read about it in the Supplemental Regulations published on the Solo2.com site in the left column.







Super Street Touring - (SST) is a local class, also running 140+ street tires, but operating under the National STU rule set









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

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

WOW, nice work.

The only thing I would correct you in is the class letters... There is no correlation as you move from Stock class up. BS does not equal BSP. While a number of cars do keep the same first letter, this is not the norm.

Examples, most first gen RX-7s and 1.6li Miatas are ES cars, but go to CSP. Then moving to Prepared they can end up in DP or FP.

Every car takes its own path as it leaves stock class, and every time you step up a prep level there are less classes for the cars to fit in.

Battle Cat

iTrader: (78)

looks like i wont be making it out this weekend. i have a few things i must attend to.

fc3s91

iTrader: (23)

Also maybe update that SM2 is now SSM.
Thanks Robert

Michael Knight

iTrader: (1)

Very nice Casey! But if anyone wants to see a true SM car please see sig below. JK!

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

Thanks Jason. yeah I knew that, but I couldtn think of a way to put it (I didnt want to confuse matters more)..... you pretty much hit the nail on the head.... and now of course I cat go back ad edit it.

another example: An S2000 is in A Stock, but moves to B Street Prepared.

Rob.... yup... I shoulda caught that..... all well. i cant go back and edit it.


ZeroX7... that sucks.

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

Hey, here is some other good info on Auto cross!

http://www.rmsolo.org/rmsoloschool/index.html

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

Some other good tips: http://www.dmvrscca.org/topten.htm

Michael Knight

iTrader: (1)

Good links. Looks like I have homework and will be quizzed on Sun.

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

HA HA HA. YUP.




also, more info I forgot to update in the first post.



SM2 becomes SSM,
STS becomes ST
and STS2 becomes STS.

digitalightkenz

will be coming this sunday,

and ready to lay it down with my new set up!

So exited to rape my car!

KEn

MaczPayne

iTrader: (5)

So BSP is the same right?

SM2 = SSM correct?

Michael Knight

iTrader: (1)

Yup^. Sounds good Ken!

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

I just bailed on Sun... I guess I have gotten spoiled by all the events at El Toro, so looking at the wind in the forecast I think I will pass.

Plus I am supposed to be "working" next sat-mon at the track, and have another project the following weekend. I must be getting soft, I think two weekends a month are enough.

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

he he he... yeah, what happened to the die hard?
nah, its understandable.

digitalightkenz

hey guys,
i heard that the competition was cancelled ,

i assume this does not affect us

we still run right?

who is down for x runs? and at what time do they usually finish?

1.ken aka digitalightkenz

Michael Knight

iTrader: (1)

Good lookin' out Ken. It looks like the whole thing has been cancelled due to the wind jacking w/ cones, timming lights, and worker safety. without those things there will be no runs I'm assuming. Looks like ULLOSE beat us to it!

Michael Knight

iTrader: (1)

Looks like Rob and I are going to grab some chili cheese burritos then go a canyon cruise to see how some of the new equipment behaves. We'll be meeting in Rancho around 12:30. If anyone is interested shoot me a pm for details.
Damon

dkwasherexd

iTrader: (8)

Are events every weekend? Can you just show up and with $60 and drive if the list is not full for practice? What class would front wheel drive go in?When you practice, is it timed, or is that only for sunday championship events? I have a Toyota matrix 4spd auto w/90whp that I want to give a run with.

Michael Knight

iTrader: (1)

Unfortunately no you can not just show up for a practice day and ever expect to get on the track. About 2 weeks before an upcoming practice day you must check the message board/forum on solo2.com. In the events section of the forum they will announce when practice has opened and then you send a check for $60 to however it says that day or the next if you want a chance in. They fill up pretty quickly so you have to be on your game. Not that tough to check a forum once a day and mail a check though.

Not sure of the top of my head what class you'd be in ........Casey?

Yes practice days are timed laps.

And it looks like you'll have some Matrix competition. There's another guy out there running one against some other stockers like a Prius and such.

Hope this helps

Almost forgot! ^ Congrats on getting your car into "Can't remember the magazine name". You got 2 shots, one in the table of contents page and another pretty big pic in the 7stock coverage article. That's sweet!

Michael Knight

iTrader: (1)

Descent links for suspension newbs and understanding trouble shooting.
http://www.wtrscca.org/tech.htm#suspension
http://www.advancedracing.com/chassissetup.php
The second one(advance racing) is a very good read.

speeddemon32

iTrader: (3)

the whole event was cancelled. we run rain or shine, but then the wind blows the cones around, we dont have a track. (also if it is REALLY heavy rain and the lot floods, we dont have a track)


what Michael NIght said. you have to send in a check to get into a practice. but you CAN just show up on a race day with $55 and get in.

I wouldnt worry about your classing at this point. just show up and do fun runs.