Few of you that have been following my "project cheap autocross" car have read about my trials and tribulations...

There is one guy that I have used to guage my performance... I started earlier this year 5-6 SECONDS behind this guy.... then the next month 4 seconds behind....2 seconds behind, then within 1 second...

Today... we had a close day.. This guy kept edging me out bit by bit.....until my last run! Last run I knocked off a full second and that was enough to take 1st place!!

I ended up 2 tenths faster!!

Here is a video clip of the winning run!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIyeyU55O2Q

 

Very nicely done. It's nice to see more than one FB beating up on the Miata's.

 

nice job, man i need to start auto crossing, looks like a lot of fun.

 

Awesome job man! Welcome to the "I Eat Miatas for Breakfast" club.



.

 

yeah it is kinda nice...especially when people say it can't be done!!

 

nice

 

Well done, buddeh!

 

it can be done it just takes had work and a well set up car. it depends on the miata too... I took me all year to beat the Miata in my class, got him by a full second in the last race of the year. His car is set up as a full race Spec Miata. I finished 2nd in class for the season.

 

Cool!

I love seeing those Miata guys taken down a notch.

 

It sure is fun.... next year I will be rolling on Panasports and Hoosier A6's.... Hope to pull ahead even more...

 

I wonder if I could get JoeCartoon to draw up a fb humping a miata?

 

That would be great for a t-shirt....



now Miata owners....don't get your panties all in a bunch...

 

You just don't have fast miata in your region... There I said it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsWwx...eature=channel

 

lol. I dunno about anyone else, but I'm up against a supercharged Miata on Hoosiers. They run with three drivers, so basically I'm up against three s/c Miatas. This was the first year I've been able to lay my hands on them.

But yeah, the Miata in that video looks like he's got some serious power....

 

I agree... there are some fast Miatas in the Austin area that would hand me my ***!!!

Hey I see you are running 255 Hoosiers on 10" wide rims.... what offset are you running? Which rims are you running and do you have pictures of your car with 255's on it!!??

 

How is this possible? A supercharged miata would likely be in SM.

I know its argueable, but more or less if you're beating miatas that means you don't have the fastest miata around. Historically FB's are always behind miata's on the National scale. In minnesota there are only 3 CSP cars, even though we are a large club. All three are miatas that compete at nationals, two have which have had podium finishers. I don't see how I could ever really catch up with those guys, even with awesome driving and lots of money.

However, that does not make your achievement worthless. You improved and showed up a miata. I would like to say that the RX7 is capable in CSP but it really hasn't proven itself to be. Technically it should be possible, as the FB has more power potential and can get to the same weights.

 

^ That's the point we have been trying to make. That Miata is in a higher class, with more power, more grip and a better chassis. The 3 guys driving it are very good drivers. VERY good. Kentetsu is also VERY, VERY good. With a car prepared for a slower class on $50 215 width tires, he is only a set of slicks away from getting FTD over a very capable field. 450hp Lotus Elise, supercharged Mustangs on slicks, and the said Miata. While it's not an easy task, he is still able to beat them. With practise and a properly set up car, you can beat up on pretty much anyone. Keep in mind, he has also been autocrossing longer than some of us have owned our cars. While I'm positive if Kentetsu went to nationals with this car he wouldn't be getting FTD, he certainly would be able to hold his own in CSP. It's 90% driver, 10% car

 

You are correct, he is in a higher class than I am, but I still use him for comparison. Beating CSP Miatas isn't much of a big deal for me anymore, so I set my sights on cars in higher classes as my goal.

The owner of the s/c Miata I was speaking of has decades of racing experience. In fact, I attended a training session earlier this year, and he was my instructor.

And, as Orion pointed out, if I did attend the Nationals I would not be expecting a win. But I think I could avoid embarassing myself at the least. Mid pack at a National event while driving an fb (in my opinion) would be a fine feat to accomplish.

I'm hoping that with this year's tax return, I'll be able to talk the wife into allowing the purchase of some wider race wheels (currently have 8" wide diamond racing wheels) and run the new Hoosier 255s. I'm sure that would make a big improvement over the 215 Sumitomos I've been using.

And if the new tires don't do it for me, I've still got the tri-link/panhard setup sitting on the shelf awaiting installation. But honestly, I don't think my car or it's setup is holding me back at all. She does everything I ask of her in such a flawless manner, I really can't ask for anything more than she's already giving me. I think I've got the tools necessary to do this, the only question is whether my skills as a driver are up to par.

 

I beat Miatas too--just on the race track where HP comes more into play (see pic below, Kentetsu should recognize this car).

Congratulations on your achievement. I do not have the paitence to go to autocrosses anymore. I used to go with my FC, but the standing around waiting kills me now.

On a side note, hate all you want on Miatas (most people do), but they are awesome cars. I used to have a high-hp FD single ball bearing turbo (about 400hp) and a well modded '92 Miata with a '00 1.8 engine in it. I hate to admit it, but on the twisties, I would prefer the Miata any day.

 

Thanks for the compliment...yeah I know Miatas are very capable cars... I just enjoy my old school RX!!!

Still trying to figure out the backspace I need to put a 255 wide Hoosier on a 10" wide wheel.... any ideas???

 

I wish I knew. In the pic above you can see I put the widest tires I could fit under the stock fenders (rolled), they are only "9.

 

lol, I do remember that car quite well. My old nemesis! I'll miss having that car around at the races, but at least I know it went to a good home....

 

Well, as you can see it is a somewhat different car now. It is at the tuners this week getting some fine tuning and the boost turned up. Hopefully I can pick it up before the holiday. Maybe one day I will make it back up there and hit the autocross--a homecoming of sorts.

 

Damn, I didn't even see that you had got the turbo conversion done already! That was fast work!

Now you absolutely have to bring her back for a race. I'd love to run against her again, especially now that she's got so much power!

 

High horsepower rear driver on a coned course..... Leaves me with visions of smoking donuts and Vipers slamming into/flying over curbs. Good luck.