Spank

iTrader: (1)

Guys I need all of your help. If you have a modified 7 at all you really need to look at the SM2 class this year.

If you want to do some searching do this. Go to SCCA.ORG and look at the different in times between ASP and SM2. Look at the National Tour since it was not a national class in Pro Solo last year.

I have raced against Gary Thomason and lost. My car had about 100 hp less to the wheels, and did not have the tires I should have. Look at his times compared to the SM2 drivers.

I really feel that we could dominate that class if we made an effort to do so. If you look at the winning times and the cars you will see what I am talking about.

If you are really interested in autocrosing then respond and I will tell you what we can do to dominate the class.

I am serious about this guys, the class is open for our cars in modified form. In stock form it would take an exceptional driver to place, however in modified form "you can be a contender".

I will place this notice in other places on our forum. But if your serious about racing do the search on the SCCA.ORG and look at the difference in times.

Any questions just ask.

Allan

DamonB

Not to take anything away from the SM2 drivers, but the times don't reflect the true competition as the "more established" drivers are still running in Stock and Street Prepared.

People have yet to fully develop their SM2 cars and I don't see the FD having any more advantages/disadvantages to its competition here that it does not already have in other classes. The possible exception being a 3 rotor FD, but even then I can't see that being a silver bullet that slays all comers.

You offering free driving lessons to everyone?

adam c

iTrader: (2)

Gary Thomason has been around a long time, and is an exceptional driver. It will take more than a fast car to beat him.

alwan16

it's difficult to compare a long time national champion's times to the lesser drivers in SM2. but i do agree that SM2 might be a decent place for well modified RX-7's that don't want to compete in ASP anymore. forget about SS we are toast. i think a well sorted out single turbo could do some major damage in that class...just look at BP. of course the rest of the cars can be just as wild. i plan on staying in ASP while the competition in my region is good. usually 8 or 9 drivers in porsches, rx-7', and corvettes are all within 2-3s.

DamonB

2-3 seconds? Here we call that getting your butt firmly kicked (I should know).

dantheman

iTrader: (4)

I drive my crx in SM2. It is a very interesting class. The crx is supercharged, and only has about 200 at the wheels, but the short wheelbase is GREAT and it screams around the corners. Of course, you are there with 300z tt, and all sorts of cars, but its fun. Alot of fun.

Coulthard Fan

Allen:

After a year off autocrossing, I'm going to come back and run SM2 this year. With non-stock turbos and boost control, its the only class you can run AFAIK. To prep for the season I'm going to do at least one, maybe two Evolution schools. Still, I think I'm still only going to be marginally competitive because of 1) driver skill 2) tires. I just refuse to buy tires specially for autocrossing even though I know that is what it takes to become really competitive. I see you have 275 Hoosiers all around. Maybe some year. The main advantage I have over other cars is having 99 turbos - with instantaneous throttle response at any RPM that really helps me rocket out of ALL the corners.

Good luck!

Oh, here are my relevant mods:
99 turbos and Y pipe, PFS intake/IC/downpipe/PMC/clutch/LW flywheel/shocks/springs/sways, Apexi Dual N1 CB, Pettit pulley/toe links/trailing arms, 235/40/17 and 255/40/17 f/r Toyo RA1's on light Rial wheels. I have Jspec rear seats too - can I run SM1

HedgeHog

SM2, like most mod class, can be quite the unlimited category. It's open now but wait till it attracts attention. There's already Z06 peeps planning to ***** up SM2 due to the lack of competition. Not to mention supercharged Miatas and stuff.

Tom Delegram

Allen,

I see you are up to your usual shenanigans, stirring up the SM2 pot this time! Did you get that pig back from dyno-tuning yet? As for SM2 question, I think to run competitive in SM2 the best mods are going to be $$$$ and cents. Based on out earlier conversations I would say your going to need a set of M2 or BNR stage III twins running sequentially in order to get the kind of power your going to need. In addition, some high dollar rubber, real race slicks with perhaps some warmers of some kind (I don't think slicks will heat up fast enough on their own). I think weight and balance is going to play a significant factor. I see allot of folks here saying I removed this and that and it totaled 200 pounds. That is great but did you finish the job by corner weighting the car or did you just upset the 50%/50% weight distribution and gain some marginal acceleration at the cost of handling? Finally, you'l need to send me your existing wheel/tire combination! Call me at my office tomorrow, for further discussions.

Tom

DamonB

I just went and compared the SS, ASP and SM2 times once again from Topeka. I don't see what Spank is trying to tell us? The times to me just seem to confirm where the fastest drivers are. I say that with the utmost respect to everyone; I would have offered them no competition at all.

Here's the entire finishing list from Nationals:
2002 SCCA SoloII Nationals

Just for fun here's the top 3 times from each class:

SS
Strelnieks 94.973, Ames 95.518, Sipe 95.882 (all in Z06's)

ASP
Thomason 94.743, Popp 95.385, Lamkin 96.452 (Z06, Z06, Z3)

SM2
Gunn-Wilkenson 94.844, Wentzel 96.160, Cardenas 97.513 (C5, C4, Z06)

TailHappy

I'll be moving from ASP to SM2 this year, too. Not so much due to the competition, but from what I could gather, an RX7 with a single turbo doesn't have much other choice. Maybe A-mod, but we had some indy car looking things showing up to that class, and I don't see a RX7 being too competitive against that....

I like the openess of the class though. Finally lets me do what I please to my car (since it's my daily driver) without paying the consequences in SCCA classification.

Spank

iTrader: (1)

Most of you have picked up on the lack of real competition in SM2. Yes at the nationals it was very close. However look at all the other events! We can run head to head with Gary in ASP, (not good), you can run with Eric in SS (really poor choice), strip your car to the bone do lots of mods and run slicks in BP or AP, or
you can build your car the way most of us have, and compete in a class that is new and yes do not have any big names in them yet.

Guys I know what from what my car was last year to now, I would kick my own butt. We have a car that with the mods most of us do, along with the tires and yes the driver we can be very competitive.

I honestly feel that comparing cars my car in its current state of tune can outrun a 400 or 500 maybe more hp corvette. Maybe I am wrong, however you tell me, if you look at all the classes, what class do we have the best chance in?

SM2, so come on, lets do it in force.

Surley some of you that have poured money into your car can spulrge for a set of good race tires for the chance to win money and tires from Hoosier or money from Kumho?

So lets make this happen. We have the car to do it, now do we have the driver?

Allan

jeff8932612

Hey would a Power FC bump you out of ASP and into SM2? I plan on autocrossing in the future, but i want to do so in ASP. Thanks for the help.

-Jeff

spyfish007

I have already heard of several RX-7 owners headed to SM2 next year. These people went to nationals in ASP and did well. I think SM2 will be fun next year. Hopefully my car will be ready .. single turbo and all.

TailHappy

jeff8932612, the way I read the rules, a PFC will knock you out of ASP, and even AP, if I read it correctly. But that's one of those ugrades that were so worth it for our cars, I couldn't see not doing it just because of autocrossing....

Spank

iTrader: (1)

Jeff the PFC places you out of ASP because you can manipulate the boost. You can run an ECU without the fuel cut, however you cannot run anything that will allow you to manipulate the boost.

Good luck in your racing, its a ton of fun.

Allan

Spank

iTrader: (1)

Get your car ready spyfish, hope to see ya at the races.

Allan

Spank

iTrader: (1)

Tail happy the PFC will not nock you out of AP. The turbocharger is unrestricted, however you must run the same number of turbochargers as that of the original configuration.

Allan

enuttage

I haven't any idea what he'll do for nationals this year, but if by Erik, you mean Strelnieks, he was running SM2 by the end of last season with his FD.

I ran against him then, and unfortunately will continue to.

-E

jeff8932612

Thanks for the help. THis kinda sucks...i wanted a Power FC since they are so great...but i also wanted to race in ASP where driver skill is still what wins races. I dont like races where the winner is always the one who dumped the most money in his car. Decisions, decisions.

-Jeff

Solidus

Allan,

I think you are correct about the RX7 being a good choice for SM2. The RX7 has both size and weight advantages over the Z06 and can catch up in the power and tire departments. With the amount of power available, both the RX7 and the Z06 will be traction limited most of the time so speed maintenance becomes the issue. That said, I think car setup for optimum handling will be the key to success. You have a lot of good parts on your car, but the real challenge is to make the right adjustments that will enable your car to make the most from your tires. Never forget that your tires are the only component on your car that generate the forces for turning, braking, and accelerating. All components like springs, swaybars, and dampers only work to improve the way the tire does its job. Do you have the eguipment and a place where you can do testing and tuning? What range of adjustability do you have for camber, castor, and ride height? Is the 4.77 gear your best choice for national SOLO II competition? I would suggest that you should gear the car to have a top speed in second gear of 65 mph to minimize shifting. Weight is the enemy, so do anything you can to legally remove weight. One pound off a wheel is like three pounds off the car. One hundred pounds off the car can mean 0.3 to 0.5 seconds on a sixty second course. If you can get a driver like Gary Thomason to co-drive your car at a national tour you will find out if your car is capable and learn what area to improve.

Best regards,
John Ames

redrotorR1

Unfortunately, Dr. Strelnieks is also building up a SM2 RX-7 .... all told, it was supposed to be a 10A 3-rotor monster. But, with the new classification in SM2 this year, well, we might be seeing a 20B FD3S in competition soon. Nevertheless, none of us will have the luxury of not having to compete against him.

FWIW, I think the trick for SM2 is to have DEEP POCKETS. High-boost applications generally won't see the benefit in SoloII; so the BNR twins or a big single is probably not the answer. You're better served by quick spooling turbo(s) and having little to no lag response. Moneywise, I'd say it's a half-way split between spending on the power adders (ECU, CAI, IC, DP) and upgrading the suspension stuff (stiffer springs, bushings, bigger wheels, HOOSIERS!!!!). Dammit, I am so poor ... V700's are hurting my wallet.

enuttage

Do I hear an echo? With the addition of the info. on the 20B.

redrotorR1

Waah ....

Spank

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the feed back John. Many of the guys on here may not know who you are, however I do. I appreciate your feedback. Yes I would love Gary to co-drive in an event however as you know he is usually driving himself.

You know Hoosiers are the tire to use. For camber this year I will start at neq 2.5 and go from there. I will use a pyrometer to check how that works. I will only have one event before San Diego so I will do what I can before the season.

Gears are stock now, however it appears by my tires and wheels that 4.77 will give me about 60-65 in second. Weight reduction as you know in SM2 is limited. Currently the car weighs 2725 in race trim. By changing seats (save 20lbs each) then running 2-3 gallons for fuel vs 16 I should save another 80-90 lbs then steering wheel change (5lbs). I hope to reduce my weight by 125lbs approx so it will be 2600. I do not think I can replace the rear with fiberglass and lexian.

As the season progresses I hope to very quickly have the car sorted out. However as you probably know as with many drivers, the car may be able to do better however I do not know how to adjust correctly for better performance. As you know Eric is outstanding in the suspension dept and it shows, I am lacking in that dept.

I have had Jerry Hodge co-drive however in my car I was faster, and as you also know, Jerry never adjusted his suspension from when he purchased the car.

I would be open to any feedback you may have for adjustments.

Sincerely,

Allan Densmore

P.S. Might be time for you to come back with the 7?