1st gen, best starting class for beginner
 

looking to race a 1st gen and was wandering which classes would be the best choices to start in. trying to keep the budget low. pre-thanks. looking to race scca sanctioned races.

Spec-7 or Pro-7 depending which class is popular in your region - The Spec-7s remain Streetable (in fact full emissions controls are required) but the Pro-7s are fully stripped & caged Race cars.

Low budget? Solo II. Once you get real good at Solo II, then move up to ProSolo. The 'real' sanctioned SCCA events cost more money ... to run and to make your car competitive.

already autox. looking to get competitive, door to door action. spec 7 was one, but was looking at something with more of a mix of cars too. not sure what the itb or its encompasses but was looking at these too. i'm a little ignorant past the solo's and speedvision. thanks for helping guys.

If you already have a first gen 7 set up for SoloII you should be able to build it into a spec-7 for $2K or less - any of the IT classes will cost significantly more to be competitive. SPEC (single car) classes are set up for LOW Budget racing. Also in most Spec classes a local chassis builder will have an Arrive & Drive car rental program so you can try out the car before actually building one. - Sevens Only Racing out of Buttonwillow (CA) has a program for PRO-7.
Also the SCCA requires a compitition Licence for any wheel to wheel racing - takes a couple SCHOOL events and you have to pass an on track driving test.

know all about the schools. planning on going in april. however i did a little research o spec7 and could only find them out west, not around kentucky.

There was the key word, where are you at? Spec 7, IT7, Pro 7, PS7, all are 1st gen classes, but depends on your region.

At minimum, ITA is available to you, pretty much no matter where you go. You'll be fighting with Honda CRX's, Nissan 240SX, and various other types of cars.

PaulC

IT7 is active south of you. It was being talked about but just got killed in CenDiv and MidDiv.

ITA is the only other "cheap" choice for a 1st gen.

They are definitely fun cars and can be competitive. If you're just into it to have a good time, they're great cars.

Stop by if you ever get up to Gateway.

Oh... you need a cage built for your 7? Check out www.pfmracing.com and shoot us an email!

thanks scott. ita is probably where i'll end up. need to order a rule book etc. i just wanted to get some advice from the guys already in.

I have an IT-7 car. It's a great class to get in. You can build a car relativly cheap. But to be competitive it gets pretty expensive.
I built my car for around $2500. Thats with a lot of used parts and me doing all the work myself.

I crew cheif for a guy who is a front runner in the SE-DIV. He spent about $24,000 last year. That was with buying a 24 ft enlclosed trailer and setting up the car with the best of everything.

I think we have spent around $15,000 this year. But that is with a $5k Engine/intake/exhaust.

I don't have that kind of money. I plan on spending about $6k to run my car next season. I won't be running every race though.

It's a very competitive class and seems to be getting much bigger every year.

Only GSL-SE's can run in ITS. They usually don't seem to do too well in that class from what I've seen. The second gens do very well though. It's also a LOT more expensive to run.

You can run ITA but RX-7's don't seem to be doing too well in this class anymore. The handas pretty much rule the class now.

IT-7 is the same as ITA. So you could run both classes with the same car.

If you have any specific questions about ITA/7 I can probably answer them.

Good luck,
Mike

There is also ITR up here. I was going to get into either buying another first gen to race or build mine up for racing. But couldn't find a good racecar 1st gen for the right price. And building and trying to set up your car while also trying to learn the driving side of it is alot to deal with your first year. So some people I know found me a car to buy. It's a GT-3 colt that was run many years ago by a guy who I crew for that now runs GT-1. But anyways you may want to look into a Co-drive or buy a pre-set up car if you don't want to deal with all the set up stuff while learning to be a good racer. Just thought I'd throw my 2cents in. Good luck on whatever route you take man!

thanks guys. any links to it7 or ita rules or assorted info?

Do a search for the IT forum. There is an Improved Touring website. I will post the link when I get home but you can probably find it with a search engine.

Mike

http://www.improvedtouring.com/

Jeremy,

Where in Kentucky are you? Where do you plan to race most of the time? If you go North into CenDiv, Spec 7 is available to you. There are always people at Mid-O in Spec 7. IT7 was run as a class within a class in a somewhat informal manner. The IT7 guys got together and had their own series within the ITA grouping. There was a good turnout, and hopefully everyone has written to Phil Kiern to let him know that they want IT7 as a recognized class. It will be decided at the CenDiv Roundtable next week.

I am in the Cincy area and would be happy to help you get going if you are near me. Otherwise, I know a few other people in Ky that would be happy to help you.

Good Luck!

db

i'm in louisville but my girl is the one that has been pushing to get into racing and has me with the bug. autox only goes so far. i might be moving to lexington for a new job. hopefully that is since that is the only way i'll be able to get in. otherwise i will just be helping her.

thanks for the link mike. i searched and couldn't come up with it.

correct me if I'm wrong, but IT7 is simply a car prepared to ITA rules, just running in a separate class (with their own trophies :))

Pro 7, Spec 7, those all have more or less restrictive rules, but vary by region, so you have to talk to the local region to find out their rules.

PaulC

Your right about ITA and IT7.

From what I understand about pro 7, it's pretty much the same as ITA/7.

Spec7 is pretty much a stock car with a cage, wheels/tires, and some shocks IIRC.

actually, for this coming season, spec7 has pretty much a new set of rules which include:

removal of cat
gutting of interior (expect dash and consol)
back to stock plugs
removal of fuel pressure regulator
and some other things.....

--eric

Jeremy,

IT7 has been accepted as an optional class in CenDiv for the coming year. Check it out on:

www.improvedtouring.com

There are a number of IT7 prepared cars in the Cincinnati area and the owners would be more than happy to discuss the cars and the construction with you. I am working with a couple of 3rd Gen owners right now to buy a car that is already built.

I would be happy to help in any way to get your car prepared. Feel free to ask or call.

db

These changes get Spec-7 alot closer to the PRO-7s here on the west coast.

thanks dave. i'll keep you in mind. i've been looking at a lot of the 1st gens in the for sale section there. complete ready to race cars for 4g's. can't beat it with a stick.

ITA is the class that FB's with 12A's run in. If you're around Michigan, Waterford Hills has an "ITR" class that's pretty much for RX-7's that fit in ITA.

Second Gen (and 13B first gen's) run in ITS.

Everyone else says "spec 7" or something like that, I don't have any experience with it, just know about ITA.