My AutoX setup isn't working - what do I change?
 

Went to practice today. The rear end was loose, all over the place even did 360's. I changed the coilover settings to +15/F & +0/R which stop the 360's but she still is too loose over 6krpms'. I'm having a hard time how to figure out how to drive on this kind of course with my single. In my CRX I wouldn't ever use the brakes and keep it close to redline. With my 500R once rpm's drop below 3k, then there is no power to recover. My spool delay kicks in when it's time to brake. I tried riding the clutch and no brake keeping rpm's around 5k but my tires just won't hold. I know my rear Pirelli P6000 suck but i'm buying time untill I can get track wheels instead of using one set for both. The go kart looked so much more fun!

Anyhow, the top two cars were
1. (Silver) Ferrari Modena 60.1
2. (grey) Corvette Z06 60.2
(approximate, rounded off)
& I ran mostly a 78.3 D'oh!

you need more grip, buy some r compounds tires

Get rid of the p6000's! That should cure most of the problems:D

The tires are not ideal but you should work with what you have and work on your driving. To a point a driver can make up for a lot of ills by changing driving style. Have a good driver from your area with a fast FR car try yours out. You should get within a few seconds of the fastest stock class cars before you make drastic changes.

Without knowing your alignment settings it is hard to say. I would go get it checked and make sure it is close to what you want. I would try a touch of toe-in in the rear or more camber in the rear to fix the oversteer. Also turn the boost down and work on being smooth.

are you running different tires in the front and back?


ALso if you can adjust shocks. You could soften them up a little.

IS your rear end coming loose on hard breaking?

But mostly.... You should work on your foot work. ON singles You HAVE TO! learn how to floor it when bogged and ease of gas when you feel boost kicking in.

To my it sounds like you cant handle the power. Try turning the boost down. U might get better lap times since you will be more comfortable and will be able to go WOT a bigger % of the track.

chris.

Seriously the p6000 is that bad. I had them on my car when I finished my ls1 swap and the car was all over the place when driven hard. I replaced them after a couple thousand miles with some cheap falken 451's and the difference was night and day! The only good thing I have to say about the p6000 is they were quiet.

I agree with junito1, it sounds like you have a great drag racing power band but not good for auto-x. Beyond that, have you tried left foot braking while having your foot on the gas in a turn? That way you can keep some boost built up without having to have such high RPM's.

Track alignment allready done.

Coilovers allready adjusted. 15 licks hard front and 0 clicks soft rear.

Turning boost down won't help, most of the track doesn't even go past 5krpm. I may switch to a smaller A/R snail. I don't want to change gears. I may change them in the future but only 4.33 or possible 4.44 but not 4.77.

I haven't tried left foot brake or that techniq where you hold the gas and brake together. THat may helb cause comming off the brake out the the turn it's boggy with no power then sling shot when it's time to brake again.

Yeah, those tires suck but those rims are supposed to be my street set. I thought I would have got my Buddy Club track wheels allready but I can't get 10 people. I still ahve alot of other things so I have to be conservative on my budget. Those tires have like 1/2 life left.

Well I failed tech inspection today for my battery relocation. I needed that 2nd race for Mazdacomp. I will got there monday and see if they will still let me in conditionally.

Just turn the boost down man.... why are you even talking gearing and diff turbos for...

You just cant handle the car. My suggestion to you.... EVery time it rains where ever u live.
Hop in the damn car and go all the way to 4th gear with out over spinning. ANd do this till you have mastered that crap! Once you learned this. U might be ready for fast laps. A bad ass car is worthless without a good driver.

18seconds off???? I think it's the driver....mebbe you're overdriving a bit. Tires and suspensions usually gain you a couple of seconds on a 60s course. How do you place against other class?

Get an experience driver to pilot your car to see what it can do then you can gauge where to starting fixing. I run a GT40R and it's laggy but I don't have that much problem. Good luck and just have fun for now....oh yeah, get rid of the P6000...for sure.

air pressure?
spring rates?
how long have you been autocrossing?
go to evolution autocross school.
does your region give free instructors? use them.

It's not overpowered. No need to turn the boost down, it's only at 10lbs. Why wouldn't I be mentioning gears (there's no low end)? The guy that won the last 3 years in the carbon fiber caged RX7 ran a GT35R and 4.77 gears. He doesn't list what size A/R though.

Well my car is put in (Super Modified) SM2. I may look in to other classes. There were going to let me run in CST I think it was today. I'll have to see if there's another class cause the two top drivers are the Ferrari and the Z06. I know the Z06 is SM2 but i'm not shure about the Ferrari. That thing looks so easy to drive with traction control and clutchless paddle shifter.

I may just have to get rid of the Pirrelis if I can't get my track wheels. The car is just too loose. There is no oversteer. I did have an instructor drive my car last race and he got the same time I did this week, about a 78 and my best was like 94.

SM2 = Street Mod 2 (2 seats) Andy (AMRX7) runs a GT35R and 4.77 and he can drive so he smokes most ppl. :( There's no CST class...CSP would be all those Miatas running about. The other non-mod or prepared class would prolly be ASP...but not with a big turbo on there.

Anyhoo, if you're "loose" you have to have oversteer...unless you mean push which is understeer. Are you not getting power down? Laggy of exits? Just plain lack of grip? Mebbe you're too aggressive with the steering inputs...try to make quick both smooth turns. And preturn to get the tire to bite...I never really needed to preturn in our local lot since it's concrete but when I ran Packwood @ the Nat Tour, I learned I'd better else I'll be late for most cones.

I can't connect to solo2. I thought she said CSP, somethign starting with C. It was the 4th group so I should be able to pick it out. There was another turbo RX7 class but it was by year, so only 2nd gens. I guess the Ferarri is in some kind of stock class cause his engine was stock.

It's not oversteer because she isn't turning in too soon and counter steering, right? I'm being too agressive out of the turns and she's drifting a bit. The front end is is strait or on target, just her ass is dancing like Shakira. No push either cause i'm turning instead of going strait in to the cones. I can even finish the 180 in to a 360 and finish the course but all that dancing costs me too much time. Oversteer would take me in to the cones then i'd have to counter steer, correct? I tend to brake late and use all of the track but i'm not on streetbike and I shouldn't try for the wholeshot off the line either "lol". If I can't get my track wheels before the next practice i'll ditch those Pirelli's.

The Z06 is running slicks but I can't remember what the Ferrari was wearing. Well if that carborn fiber RX7 is still racing, there's no way I could beat him even if I was alot better then I am but I don't think he's in the same class. The time guy told me to slow down. There's alot of loose gravel crap and you can see it stuck on the slicks.

Hedgehog - your GT40R should be pretty close to my 500R. what is your setup? coilovers, what size tires and brand, you running 15lbs, you stay in 2nd or hit 3rd on straits.

10/10kg (and set full stiff front and full soft rear).

legaly, 2nd time out. 1st race no practice. 2nd time practice no race - failed tech. Use to canyon run in MR2, CRX and street bike (allegedly), aslo some dirt bike motoX and desert.

Trying to do NASA school but they require race license and haven't done my medical yet.

Yes, had instructor drive with me the 1st race. he races an RX8. he didn't give me any pointers though. i should ahve asked to do several runs with him but he just wanted to drive my car "lol".

Anytime you're 18 seconds back it's not the car.

Quit trying to drive over your head and get one of the experienced locals to ride along with you and explain what you're doing wrong.

Don't drive the turbo, drive the course.

I agree with Damon. It's the driver, you need more experience. I went from a fwd car to now my FD, and it took me a while to get use to the totally different feel of the FD compared to a fwd that pushes. I was actually faster in my eclipse than I was my FD at first. Finally last event I got FTD(locally), after about 15 events in the car. And I would have never been able to do that in my eclipse.

I was also faster on lower boost at first because it was easier to control the rear end from kicking out.

Ferrari and Z06 will be SS or ASP...iirc. Unless they're majorly modded.

Anyhoo, from my beginner days...all corner entry understeer (especially what's deemed massive understeer) is driver induced. Brake earlier and smoother so the car is settled and not abruptly transferring weight from back to front. Don't whip the car into the corner. I find that FDs like a bit of trail braking to get front traction and it also likes a steady state corner. That funky multilink rear adjusts rear toe too much if you're on/off the gas during cornering. And WRT exit oversteer, you're gonna get that running P6000 w/ a 500R. Just patient and gas as much as the tires can take.

I'm only running 1bar and on our courses, we stay mostly in 2nd. I may hit the rev limiter on occasion (rare). I find shifting is a waste of time and increases the chances of a boo boo. I run rather soft...650F/350R...I think Andy runs 1000/800 (yikes). But a large sweet spot is prolly better for a lousy driver like me. Tires are V710 @ 38psi. For you, try running 38-42 psi. I found street tires feel more crisp on high pressures. You may want to soften the front dampers a smidge to get more traction...some dampers (like Konis) closes the valve when set at full hard, reducing its effectiveness.

But just remember, 1st rule in autox is having fun. Keep it up and get seat time. Don't worry about beating people. You'll soon find out where to make changes...car setup, mods, or driving habits.

Oh, the CF car sounds like Jeff Kiesel's (sp?) old car...BP Nat Champ. Don't bother chasing that...not gonna get close.

10/10 Kg spring rates? I agree some of it is your technique, but it sounds like you're also a victim of japanese equal coilover rates to some extent... and a big turbo that you haven't learned to work with yet.

I don't seem to recall it going that way :dunno: ..... If you chose not to listen to what I said that is up to you. I find it very disappointing that with almost two months between events you did not bother to fix the battery that you slipped by with the first time. Before you do anything else you need to give your car some TLC, battery, door panel falling off etc are all things that are not safe and you should not be allowed to run your car in that condition.

That said the single biggest improvement you can make to that car is R compound tires. Go to 7parts.com and read up on the SM2 RX7's, Beth's and Andy's. Some 18X9 to11 wheels with 285-30-18 would help to tame that beast. While the race tires will make the car faster and your experience more enjoyable, you still need to work on the driver more than anything, hit all the practice and races you can.

btw your time from the previous event can not be compared to this event, as the courses is completely different every time.

Yikes! I run 10 psi less than that. They feel better to the driver at higher pressures, but they are definitely faster at lower ones.

I run 35 on my tires, haven't raised them to 40. I don't want the car to push from too much air.

UllLose - No dissrespect intended. I did very much appreciate you helping me out and as I said I should have asked you to do more then one run and watched your techniq or driving style. You were over 15 seconds faster in my car then I was, so it shows it can be done. You were very agressive but never lost the rear end and not in the turns. That day I needed help finding and understanding the entry and direction cones. I got lost in between sections. I just wanted some points. I've spent about $70k to date including the car itself and it's no where near 7parts.com's cars! So i'm really frustrated and need the Mazdacomp membership. I didn't think the battery was a problem. It's in there solid, just not mounted to the body floor. The door panel I threw on because I had to put my stock mirrors back on and lost the screws. I've allready bought the mag and read the 7parts site weeks ago. He runs 513 or 335 slicks on 16 rims. It has a tube body with a carbon shell. The only similarity is the engine and turbo.

So anyway, yes I need to get some things fixed (A/C, battery tray wlded in, AST, 2nd oil cooler, etc). I don't go under it as much as I used to as it is now my primary car since my 4x4 gets 12mpg. I would have sold it but i'll easily loose $20k and would still need a backup car. I allready gave my CRX to my nephew.

It would have helped to watch you in your car as I watched the Ferrari and realized he brakes alot sooner then I do and is not agressive at all. I realized the double cones are the entry and exit. I do thnk the clutchless paddle shift is an auto like advantange, especially with alot of torque.

Don't be discouraged, bro. It looks like you've built a very powerful car, but need to make some suspension adjustments. Autocrossing is different from most other forms of racing; in addition to learning how to drive fast, it takes a while to get used to seeing where the course goes because it's made of cones.


I'm sure you've noticed that things seem to happen much faster in autocrossing: the speeds might be lower, but the distance between corners is shorter as well. The biggest improvement you can make is usually to "fix the nut behind the wheel." Check out www.turnfast.com for some great driving advice. Since your car tends to oversteer, you might want to try "late apexing" in most corners.


For someone who doesn't have a lot of track experience yet, I think your overall spring rates are too stiff, and the rear springs are too stiff. My FD tended to oversteer with stock suspension, stock tires, at stock power levels. You've added a lot of power, stiffened up the rear (which will make the car tend to oversteer), and you're still using tires that aren't much better than stock, in terms of grip. The car is going to oversteer. On my car, I added newer tires, and the extra grip made the car feel better, but it still tended to oversteer. A stiffer front swaybar has made the car much easier to drive fast.


Stock springs:
Front: 263 lb/in
Rear: 195 lb/in (about 25% softer than the front)


Your setup (10kg/mm front and rear):
Front : 560 lb/in (about twice as stiff as stock)
Rear: 560 lb/in (about 3 times stiffer than stock)


Erik Strelnieks' 3-rotor RX-7 (SM2 autocross-prepared, plenty of money in suspension parts)
Front : 950lb/in
Rear : 750lb/in (about 25% softer than the front)




Just for kicks, you might try swapping your stock suspension back in, to see how the car handles. You might like it. Go back and review this thread on springs, Howard Coleman shares a lot of experience there: https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/new-apexi-coilover-market-398544/


-s-

I just wanted to emphasize that last sentence. Realize that Howard's not trying to sell anything there. It's likely that the Buddy Club representatives you spoke with were just trying to sell the product that was already sitting on the shelf.

-s-

how can you make a thread entitled:

My AutoX setup isn't working - what do I change?

when you also say


it ain't the car. its you. denial ain't a river in egypt. keep at it and listen to the experienced people. don't be a know it all.
don't get R compounds yet. they will mask your rookie mistakes. when you are 3 seconds off your instructors time, then get the R's.

Do not compare your car to Jeff's ex BP RX7, different class and different mods, forget about it. The SM2 cars are what you need to copy, Beth and Andy's cars are the only ones you need to look at.

If you call Mazda and let them know you have done one event and when you plan to do the next one they will take care of you.

By the way, CSM (California Street Mod) is a local "run what ya brung" class in the Los Angeles region, for cars that don't fit well in other categories. From what I remember, the only major rule is that you've got to run street tires, not race slicks.

The cars in that class are usually an odd group of cars that are over-prepared for other classes: turbocharged Datsun Z's, supercharged Honda Civics, a supercharged Miata, a 1967 Sunbeam Tiger, and there was a 93 RX-7 in the class as well. Other cars in CSM included a 99 Corvette and a 2006 Evo9.

-s-

Actually I was hoping U’ll_Lose would have been there on practice day but I was told no instructor requests on practice day, only race day because the instructors wouldn’t want to loose seat time.

Yes I could out drive the CRX but the RX7 outhandles me ...for now. :squint:


Hmm, Hikaru is in my class Avg’d 70. I can’t believe that Supra got below 70 it looked so incredibly slow. I can’t find the Z06, don’t know his name but didn’t see any 60 Z06 times, so not sure of his class. Yeah, I go there to have fun but like Donald Duck in the drivers ed cartoon I change behind the wheel and get competitive. I only used Jeff Keisel as an example because we both spent $70k on our cars (including car itself) but look at his compare to mine. :(

Yeah, what I was told by all the company’s that have equal rates is it’s all in the damping. I can make the rear bounce on soft but can not budge the front on hard. I would prefer 8/6kg or at least 10/8kg, so that may be something I can change.

Let me rephrase as you didn't read my othe thread where I praised you :worship:

I didn't get what I wanted, which was how to read the cones or as much time as I needed to learn with only "one" lap. I know I could have learned more and I did appreciate the help as I told you on the track. Anything else you said prolly went out the other ear (my fault). I couldn't see the pointer cones but learned in practice there are entry and exit double cones, so now I look for those instead and stay on course. I still don't know how to read the pointer or apex cones though. I also did ask for you on saturday and would have again on sunday but didn't get to race.

My battery is fine but not up to code, so that's why I let it go and let them fail me. I allready missed my class anyhow because I looked at the previous race schedule by mistake. The first guy was going to pass me just as the others did because the battery does not move and you can't pull it out either, they tried. If you held the car upside and shook it, it won't fall out. It is secured in the bin well. It just is not secured to the metal body nor in ametal box (as per rules). The guy that failed me asked me to get a bungee cord to go over the top and I would pass, wtf? :scratch:

LMAO, that was a good reply. thanks. :rlaugh:

They aren't the only ones. All that have equal rates said the same thing. "It's all in the damping". Rotary Extreme was able to special order their Buddy Clubs in 10/8kg though.

Well that's easy, my driving can change as well as anything else on the car. Also, if there is something on the car that would be better for my style or if it's only my style or techniq then I found out here as you pointed out, right? I've only done one even and one practice session. I'm not expecting to be within 3 seconds of someone that has been racing for 15 years (I think he said).

The only reason I compared with his car is because in the magazine article it states he spent $70k (including car) which is exactly the same as I spent. Now compare the two cars and who got a better deal? I know he did the roll cage himself and i've wanted to learn welding so I don't have to rely on fabricators ripping me off. I'm trying to learn the engine as best as I can, so I don't have to rely on mechanics either

Looking at the schedule I beleive she was going to let me run is CSP. I don't see CSM listed. WOuld I still be is SM2 with slicks?

Well thanks for all the replies. I feel better now. :bigthumb:

I don't see how spending 70k means much of anything. It may take cubic dollars to win, but just because you spend it doesn't mean you will win. Sounds like you need waaaaaay more seat time before changing anything on the car

How much someone spent, or said in a story that they spent is really stupid way to compare cars. btw talk to Jeff some time about how much stuff those guys got wrong in that story. Again Jeffs car is a purpose built race car for BP, your car is nothing like that. :wallbash: You need to look at the solo rules and figure out what class you want to run in. Cars are not classed by how much money you spent, it is by the type of mods. Your car is not legal in CSP, that is for Miatas and CRXs. A stock FD is in SS. One with suspension mods, big wheels and tires is in ASP. Single turbo, 3 rotor etc in SM2. All of those classes allow DOT race tires, which is the thing you see on cars at the events and mistake for slicks. If you want to gut your car, have a tube frame and run real slicks you are in XP or EM.

You guys are misunderstanding me with the money thing. It simple really, with the same amount of money he completed his car but mine is no where near complete and will cost more. Make sense now? I never said money will make me go faster. I did say the only reason I compared out two cars is money spent. I don't want a track only car. That was never my intention. I will have A/C back in no matter what the cost or weight dissadvantage. I never said anything about being classed by money. The only reason other classes were brought up was because my class was 1st on sunday. I read the previous event schedule and thought it was 4th after lunch. They tried to help me by running in another class. Sure I wanted points but I thought I needed both races for Mazdacomp. I called them and they let me in with the first race even though I couldn't race the 2nd, so i'm good.

Sure I could have easily mistaken the tires on the Z06 but I saw no tread lines, they looked like slicks to me. They could have been worn down DOT. I didn't go up to the car and read them or ask the driver. I hadn't planned on running slicks, it was just a question.

Whats the deal with comparing my car with Jeff's? I don't get it. His car is complete and looks and performs well. Mine is not complete, does not look good and does not perform well. I have an oil leak and have to fill it with water every day. I picked my car up with the clutch not adjusted, low oil, low water, etc. We both went through two engines and changed setups allong the way. We both spent the same amount of money. ...ALOT of money! I have a right to be frusted and pissed about it. I have no intentions of converting my street car in to a race only car. The comparison is money only. One car completed and one car not. :dunno:

Like I said, don't sweat it. Jeff Kiesel, Andy McKee, and Erik Strelnieks have a lot of experience building autocross cars. Their RX-7's are NOT the first racecars they've built. They were all beginners once.


You might want to talk to the guy who drives the brown Supra, his name is Aaron and he won BSP on Sunday. He's been autocrossing for a year or two, and his car was very loose and difficult to drive when he started. Like you, he had a single turbo making lots of power. In addition to becoming comfortable looking at cones, he's made a few changes that have made his car easier to drive fast, and some changes that made the car easier to drive.



-s-

I guess you just dont get it. :pat:

^ are you serious? ...you're joking right? ...pulling my leg? ...messing with me for fun?

OK, since i'm offending by comparing my ride with Jeffs. ...
Turbo Magazine May 2007
Street built RX7
$70k spent
car is complete. car is finished. body kit installed and painted. stereo complete.

He didn't start with a $30k 3-rotor and convert to a 2 rotor like (censored) did. No racing experience mentioned. Same turbo as mine. Same money spent as me. My car is not complete. My engine is not finished. My stereo hasn't been redone and not complete. My A/C is not done. Now i'm not offending by comparing myself to a legend or to a fully prepped race car compared to my street car.

There's no reason to keep explaining the same thing over and over. If you still don't understand you never will. If you are still pissed off at me after I appoliged and mentioned I praised you in my other thread, then so be it.

Thanks Scotty, you've been alot of help with me getting started in this and is much appreciated! :bigthumb:

I beleive I rode aith Aaron on Sat. Is he a skinny soft spoken guy? He talked me through a run and helped me with my line and told me to brake alot sooner. A very nice guy. I had a kid ride with me as well. He wanted to ride in a rotary. Hey, I was a kid once to so ovcourse I said yes. I told him to ask the Ferrari or the Z06 since they had the fastest times that I saw. He rode with the Z06 guy. He was trash talking the Ferrari guy (politely teasing). That was the last ride along he did. I bet his stomach got queezy "lol".

Yes, it makes sense now. He started off building a class specific car with a budget and a plan. You started off by throwing gobs of money at the car. You expect it to perform the same because you have an equal amount invested. You need need to reevaluate yourself and your program. You first need to understand how to drive. You need to understand vehicle dynamics (what the car is doing and why) You need to be able to compensate for the vehicles weak points. Then go home and fix them so they become strong points. You cannot learn chassis setup up overnight or online. It takes years of experience and time. You need to come up with a R&D plan. Make one change at a time and learn about it. You need to build a car that is safe to drive at the limit. If tech tells you the battery is not installed correctly, don't show up at the next event with the battery holddown in the same condition. Your safe and race safe are two different things. From the sounds of it the best thing for you to do is buy a Miata for a couple grand. Race it in stock config to learn how to drive. Slowly make changes and learn. After a couple years take on your current car. By then you should be done throwing money away try to compensate for your talent. If you think I'm picking on you or I'm way off base, maybe you should take up ping pong. I hear you can get a really nice paddle for 70k.

That sounds like Aaron. I really wanted to be at this weekend's event, but there's a big deadline at work so I don't have as much time as I'd like to lately. I had to take care of other things. Hopefully I'll see you at next month's race.

-s-

I am not pissed, I could care less what you thought of the ride you took. I was trying to explain how the classes work with mods and you do not get it. When I say your car is not in the same class I am not saying it is a POS, they are in different race classes. :wallbash: It seems no matter how many people try to explain it to you it just does not sink in.



Good luck. :wavey:

That's what I heard but emprical data sez otherwise. I ran with 26-28psi but it was not working. I bumped it up to 38 and took 1.5s off. I did drive more aggressively with the higher pressure...but that's only cuz I was able to after the increase in pressure. It felt too sloppy w/ the low pressure. Mebbe it's our concrete runway...mebbe it's our cooler temps up north...dunno.

GoRacer: This prolly has been said many times before in other forums and other threads....best mod for the money: Driving School! Take Evolution 1 and 2. I had the privilege of Ron Bauer instructing me. That day, same car, same layout...3.5seconds improvement...zero adjustments on car...all on the nut holding the steering wheel ;)

Oh, and I concur w/ the masses...don't compare cost invested. It's how you spent and where per the class you're running. SM/SM2 will always be a spendy class but it's still smart spending to max out the performance. I've spent enough including car to pay off a 997GT3 and it's still nowhere close to the leaders (sucky driver notwithstanding).

Let me start by saying I'm with Damon again on I run 28-30lbs in my Hoosiers. I also ran about the same last year in my RA-1s which I found I gained over 3sec on a 85sec course, which we have once a year as a special event, by droping the pressure from about 35-36 to 28-29. I did try dropping it more but it started feeling sloppy.

Now from what I get you say you have AutoX'd your CRX and are better in it. If so why haven't you tried to learn to read the course with that car?? How were you faster in it but you can't really read the course??

Also top dot legal autoX tires(V710s, Hoosiers) Look like slicks except for they have 2 groves around the tire that slicks don't have. But any Dot AutoX tire when worn down far enough will show no signs of any groves.

My suggestion is to do like everyone else says and work on the driver. You say you were 15sec behind another driver in your on car?? When you gain those 15sec then start worring about making the car faster, comparing your times to other REGULAR drivers(as in comes to 90% of the events) is the easiest way to tell improvement. Above all DO NOT buy true AutoX tires until you learn the feel of the car, they do not give you the feed back like a street tire does. They make no noise, and they go from full grip to sliding without much of a sign, especially if you aren't use to them.

It definitely feels "sloppy" and steering response is slower but grip is better at the lower pressure. It took me some time to adjust. I didn't like it at first either but stuck with it. In the end I'm running 29 psi in the front and 26 or 27 in the rear.

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=140

https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=144

My budget is allot lower than $70k, and I think I'm pretty close to being competitive in my region. I ran my first year in Solo on crappy street tires, and some time later, I figured out how I could take advantage of the lower grip to "slip" around pylons.

Of course, nothing can replace good ol' R-compounds, but I wanted to make sure I was comfortable racing first. Once you calm down behind the wheel, you'll take off 5 of those 18 seconds = $0 mod.

Oh yeah, I need to "paint" the tires...

One more thing, try having someone else who is faster than you drive your car.

Then you'll have a better understanding on where your vehicle stands.

Wow, it's so simple but no one gets it. I only compared money, that's it! I never said my car should be in BSP because of what I spent. My car was purpose built - street built! I made another comparison to another street built car same money spent, did anyone read that? I was only make a point of me being upset from being ripped off so many fucking times, damn!. If you read Jeff's magazine article he mentions the same thing (duh), which is why he finished his car himself. Oh my I compared myself with Jeff again. I must think I should race like him now. wtf

I spent X amount of money. it doesnt matter if it was a penny. Two other people spent the same. One of them is a track car one is a street car. Both of their cars are complete. mine is not. I now have 6.7:1 compression on another brand new rebuild from Mazdatrix. Oil pan is leaking like crazy, etc. Now anyone get it? ovcorse not, so nevermind.

Tech's never told me my battery did not pass they passed me first and second time. there is nothing wrong with my battery. it is secured. it does not move. you can not even remove it. the 3rd tech person tried to remove it and could not. One of the techs said it was passable but the other one there said it's not according to rules even though its passable. it should be in a metal box or attached to the car body but he was willing to pass me if I used a bungees cord.

I don't know what the deal is. You guys are taking me completely wrong and judging me as a stuck up ass that thinks he can buy his way to the finish line or something. wtf is up with that? I was not bragging about money, i'm fucking PISSED! that's my point. I don't give a crap about being in BSP. I never compared myself to Jeff or the RX8 driver. The only reasons I mentioned the 60 second track times was because they were the fastest but neither is in my class. The fastest in my class I think was Hikaru at 70 and I did 78 with my shitty driving.

I have only done two sessions: One race day and one track day. Both days passed my battery with no problem. I even had a sticker for the 3rd day. I didn't even have to go to tech but I did, i'm not an asshole as you people are percieving. I played by the rules and went to tech every single time.

I have not raced cars legally before. I have only had one race. I have canyon raced my MR2 and CRX as well as drag raced my RX7. None of those have been legal sanctioned racing. I also raced motorcycles street GSXR750 and dirt 125 and have steel holding my spine together, road rash on my arm and a cut on my face.

1. You are running shitty tires.
2. You are running equal spring rates. A few of us in the suspension forum have been preaching against this for YEARS. It balances the car too far towards oversteer.
3. You are running a larger slightly laggy single turbo.

Even if you were a really good driver, I doubt you would be anywhere near competitive, just given those three factors. But as with the others, you just need more seat time with your car.

With an 18 second gap you shouldn't even be discussing the car. A man on a bicycle could close that gap. That's not rude, that's the truth.

Good news is that the driver is much cheaper and easier to make fast. If the car has gas in it and isn't falling apart then you're done with the car for now. Work on the driver. Nothing else matters much.

I just want to let you know the classes for the FD are:

SS
ASP
SM2
and I think BP and maybe some other mod class.

Also in all honesty canyon running or drag racing doesn't help you hardly any at all on a an AutoX course. Really the only thing to help on an AutoX course is an AutoX course.

It's been said a good AutoX driver makes a good road course driver, but a good road course driver doesn't make a good autoX driver. My uncle can attest to that from when he raced 20+yrs ago. He won his class nationally on the track but will tell you he was never any good at AutoXing. Just practice that is the best you can do.

On a related note, last weekend I brought my FD to a local Lotus club fun run through some twisty roads.

One of the older guys there was bagging on my car in an offhand way, saying "Yeah, my elise is classed above the RX-7 in SCCA. That's an old car, no one races those anymore."

Needless to say, I was pretty floored. I don't know much about auto-x classing, but I told him I was pretty sure the elise and FD were classed the same, and that numerous modified FDs won their national classes last year.....

About that in an unrelated way. I saw a guy with a 2 foot long smoke stained beard on the second latest episode of Hot Version. Appraently they modifiy Elise's, well this guy has A048's and a supercharged Honda ITR motor in it. His lap time was 1'01 and was only beat by the Mine's Skyline at 1'00 it romped a modified Porsche 911turbo 1'04 and many other "fast" cars.

Must not have been much of a car guy, more like an old guy in a cheap exotic that thought he new everything. Most true car guys love FD's from what I've found, and know that they are at the least a pretty quick car. They just don't have a v-8 so most don't want one.

It's hard to get in much higher stock, street prepared, or street mod class than the FD since they don't go any higher.:wallbash: