Matt U

A quick search of the 2024 SCCA rule book, and I am coming up with zero hits that would disqualify the vehicle. Even though I am an SC member, I am sure that one of the safety stewards can chime in and issue a final ruling. This is just my feedback from scanning the rule book for a few key words and reading through the vehicle safety inspection (section 3.3.3).

Goodyear Assurance MaxLife. In stock and can be delivered in 1 business days from Tire Rack. 😉 Go with the 660's again. Good tire life, you know the tire and what it likes, and you can flip it on the wheel if needed. I got good life out of the A052's, but they did seem to get far less forgiving as they wear down.

I will add one more shop to the list that will take Tire Rack orders and will mount autocross sizes for us south valley folks. Firestone Complete Auto Care, 922 S Val Vista Dr, Gilbert, AZ 85296, (480) 845-6406. I ran across them because I needed a patch on our other car and there was a stack of A052's and RPF1's among others, so I asked.

@David 2 so I know that Justin Metz has been running his GR86 with the factory Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. He hasn't been out this year so far, but he is a pretty good driver to compare apples to apples. Last year his overall PAX was 928,949,932. For the last event here is a breakdown of PAX score to DS raw time for comparison. 850 => 47.765 900 => 45.111 950 => 42.737 1000 => 40.600

Okay so here’s my $0.02, but later in the post. Chris Groppi had mentioned my name and the A052’s on an STX BRZ. The last set of tires on it started to actually heat cycle out a bit. The front to back balance stated to degrade after about 90 runs and the setup really needed a lot of changes to regain some balance. The tires were not corded but they were on the wear bars. Please keep in mind that when I can string a run together, like the last event, I happened to finish 4th just behind Rouse and Peters while running in A group. I say that to emphasize that I am really pushing the tires hard the whole run, every run. The car is running a ton of camber, way more than stock so I can keep the tires happy. So there is my post on A052 STX tire life. Here’s the option list that I see for you @David 2. 1) Get a good set of 300-340 tread wear tires like the Continental extreme contact or Michelin Pilot 4s and learn how to drive those fast. I do agree with @Manfred, proper 200TW tires will mask and compensate for bad habits especially on a lighter weight car. Have someone that is properly fast set a time in your car like 1 or 2 times a year on those tires so you have a gauge on what a fast time on those tires can be. You will spend years getting the gas/braking/turning balance right and consistent, that’s why I say a good set of tires. If your on some sweet set of Arizonian tires, don’t laugh they are a discount tire special, the balance of the car and the car control habits won’t translate very well. 2) Get 200 TW tires that are symmetric. So 660rt or Direzza ZIII are your choices. Don’t get the Hankook ones, they heat cycle out way too fast out here. You will want to be able to flip them on the wheels to get more runs out of them. It really doesn’t matter which ones, they are both way more capable than you will know what to do with. The general favorite is the 660rt’s, plus a lot of people out here run them. Oh yeah you’ll get all the exciting “I’m a serious race car” vibes like more road noise and every little pebble getting hurtled at your paint and fenders at the full highway speed. For those that say you’ll get way more runs out of the 340TW tires, well technically yeah, but you’re still going to want to budget for about a set of tires per year if your running every event and TO’s, we all like that big round brake when we are learning (steering wheel). Well my 11 month old says rant/advise over. Chew on this post for a second time and remember that the game of cone dodging is about the learning, not the tools.

Jeff, For setup there is a little more detail that would be nice to know. What is the current ride height compared to the factory ride height? What are the spring rates that you bought with the BC coilovers? What sway bars are on the car? What is the toe of the front and rear? I looked up the run groups and I can work with you a little during the TO's. I myself am at a plateau that I think I know how to get over, but execution is everything. So for the competition runs, I don't think I will be game for a ride along even though we are both in B group.

Just my $0.02 Nick, unless you are competing nationally or at the tippy top for the regional class that you are running, you would probably be fine staying in the street class. I know that I wouldn't mind it. There is going to be an ever-so-slight performance advantage removing the cat, but shouldn't be more than a tenth of a second on the last course. Just a guess and my opinion...

So Grassroots tested it and found it was worse than the RT660 when hot lapping but better on first lap pace. Also, Hoosier mentioned in an interview that they were working on a different Extreme Contact for the autocross market. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/continental-extreme-contact-force-200tw-tire-test/

Looks good Nick! I usually enjoy the "don't get greedy" sections, and I'm seeing 3 of them. Should be fun!

I just had Mufflers and More do some work for me and they did a really good job. So another point to them, but they are in East Gilbert and the waiting area is 3 pop-up chairs in the shop.

So I will kick things off for the videos. Pretty happy with the run, though there was a bit more time left in the back two corners around stations 4 and 6. Still good enough for 3rd overall. As we are looking for 2022 to come around, I did a quick top 10 PAX comparison to see where things will move next year.

I am going to have to second Nick on this one. People can also change a lot in 16 years. A quick Google search shows that Phoenix Raceway is still under the same ownership since 1997, if anyone's interested. Anyways, it never hurts to ask and explore the potential options. I also did some research into the new Gilbert Public Training Facility off of Power Rd and Pecos Rd, and the skid pad is small. Like 500x350 feet where AMP is 800x800. So area wise the Gilbert facility is 27% the area for the skid pad. Yes there are small tight roads as well , but a lot of them have signs right off of the road. Probably won't work out very well. In all honesty, the old Fiesta Mall site might be a better option to explore. The mall is effectively closed and may re-develop at a later date, but nothing is announced yet and the site lost the Amazon bid. Plus, there is a 2 story car park on the West side. SSS's would probably never approve a 2 story autocross, but that would be fun. Just think of it @Kim, nations only 2-story autocross region! https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3889417,-111.8606493,1065m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4 Dimension Financial & Realty Investments currently owns the site that was Fiesta Mall. Mesa Marketplace Swap meet might be another idea. https://www.google.com/maps/@33.3822296,-111.6034768,725m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4 This may sound odd, but the BNFS auto distribution center may be a possibility. It's not like they are super busy yet. https://www.google.com/maps/@33.6161507,-112.319272,367m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4 Tempe Diablo Stadium https://www.google.com/maps/@33.401065,-111.9688868,291m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4 Okay, last idea that I had written down. The Nissan Technical Center.https://www.google.com/maps/@32.9520529,-111.9800031,611m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e4

Honestly, because those cars look like they would be a blast to drive.

I’m going to paraphrase what Jay Leno said about the EV versus the ICE cars. Our main transportation will eventually be some form of EV, but our weekend hot rods and toys will be ICE cars from the years past. I think in 10-20 years the SCCA classes will be split between EV an ICE/hybrid cars, the NSX is already winning in SS. Meanwhile, the CAM classes will expand to account for ICE cars that were phased out of competitiveness. Don’t worry Monte Carlo owners, there will still be a class for you.

Justin, So I know of you from your Youtube content and I have a competitive STX car that I would normally not have a problem with you co-driving. The only issue is that the tires on it have the possibility of chording at this next event, maybe. So I would feel bad if your ride for the event was cut short due to tires reaching the end of their life. They are a 70 run set of A052’s including a Fontana Champ Tour. Have you had any offers for a co-drive yet?

Chuck and Scott, I think your both right in the EV classing issue, it’s a bit all over the place. A good argument for EV’s being placed in the normal street categories was Nationals 2019. A Tesla Model 3 won in B street just beating Daddio by 0.070 seconds after both days, so the Model 3 in BS makes sense in that argument. Then at the ProSolo Finale, same drivers and cars are separated by 1.367 seconds. If that Tesla was in either SS or AS, David (Tesla) would have finished 6th in either. So in this case, the Tesla is a wringer in BS but may not be top level competitive in AS or SS. All in, I think an EV class, wherever that eventually leads was the best solution within the SCCA classing boundary for now. I believe that is due to the only real EV people are currently considering is the Model 3 Performance.

Nick, I trust your not designing courses for your own gain, and yes it was meant as a bit of a joke. Mostly it was a bit of a swipe at myself for not learning to down shift properly, leaving me hunting for a gear while coasting around track. So, there maybe some Tesla envy on my part as well. In all seriousness, I really liked the course and your designs.

Definitely a good course. Maybe I should have bought a Tesla without a 2nd gear rev limit instead of a STX car. Or I suppose I should learn how to shift properly. Either way, good course with plenty of ‘don’t be greedy’ sections, which I always enjoy.

Here is the best clean run that I did all day. It's in the TO section, but was still a 40.222 in STX and more importantly clean. I can see multiple seconds where I am on the limiter, especially at the finish. Still pretty happy with it though.

I'm about 95% sure that the countryman is not legal to run. Because all the street/stock class's don't allow anything that would lower the car or widen the track width, we usually go off of the OEM specs. So on that note, the manufacturer states that height is 61.5" and the track width is 61.1" in the rear and 60.0" in the front. An example of a on the edge of legal car is the Ford Fiesta ST with a height of 57.2" and a track of 57.7" front and 57" rear. The regular Fiesta is not allowed to run. There have been Fiesta ST's that have rolled over, more than once. I know that you want to run, and that's great to hear, but having fun with autocross isn't supposed to include a chance of a roll over... Another option to consider for cheap autocrossing, is a Miata. No not some lightly used 2017 or something. A mostly sorted NA or NB Miata. Parts are cheap and they are scattered everywhere. Plus they can be super easy on tires, unless you pull a Kevin and flat spot a new set of Rivals... I guess it depends on your personal situation if you can add another car, mostly dedicated to autocross.

You pose an interesting question there Banner. If you are driving into work or to a store, you can still practice looking ahead to where you want to go. We all should be looking ahead on the road anyway but bad habits are easy to form. The more tricky thing with autocross is fine adjustment of your line is done with your peripheral vision. If you are looking for more seat time and have a little bit of money to spend, Octane raceway is an option. Karts don’t translate into car driving techniques very cleanly, but getting comfortable pushing harder without making mistakes will translate. I’m talking about systemically pushing a little harder into a turn, or carrying a little more apex speed. Looking a little further ahead at slow pinched corners (more important than looking ahead on fast corners lap time wise). The way I have stayed sharp is mostly studying my previous runs. I save all of them and watch them section by section. There is some good reeding on this and other things at Beyond Seat Time https://www.beyondseattime.com Hope that helps a little.

Bill, sometimes there are little things written in the factory service manual that allow for smaller diameter bolts on the lower part of the strut. A quick Google search and it seems that the lower strut mount on yours is a ring style, so there’s no adjustment there. Regarding the rules, basically the lower spring perch to the wheel centerline on a strut can’t be anything different than O.E. So the Koni and Bilstein are the right choice. There is also a rule that droop travel needs to be 1” or less difference from the O.E. shocks. Just because I did the research on this a while back, I figured I should share. Now, Koni makes the Str.t (street pronunciation apparently), and the yellows. The Str.t is a non-adjustable version of the yellow at full soft. The yellow have a “rebound” adjuster only. I say “rebound” in quotes because there is what is called cross-talk in the yellow’s, so about 40-50% of what you add in rebound will also be added in compression. Now on to the Bilstein camp. There is the B6 and the B8 that are both viable options that are class legal. Now before you say that the B8’s are designed to work only with lowering springs, that’s not really the case. I talked with a few shops that rebuild them and they all agree that the B8 will work with stock springs. The biggest difference with the B8 is that the amount of droop is 1” less than the B6, which is legal, and the B8 is slightly stiffer. One big thing to note on the Bilstein’s is that they are mono-tube shocks, so they will flex less. The other thing that may influence your decision is that because the Bilstein’s are mono-tubes, the nitrogen pressure in the shocks actually acts as a bit of additional spring rate. I have heard about 10-15 lb/in in addition spring rate just due to the shock alone, for both the B6 and the B8. This can help a softly sprung car be a little bit better in the roll rate department. Lastly the Bilstein’s are non-adjustable, but there are a lot of shops that can re-valve them if you need it. I know there’s a lot to digest, but I figured I would put it out there.

I’m going to second Scott’s advice to ask lots of questions at an event. Most of us still remember our first event and the drinking from a fire hose that came along with it. Just remember to be a sponge for at least the first few events, there’s no one here to try and impress. Autocross is reasonably different than road racing, so most forum advice you’ll come across on the internet needs something a little stronger than a pinch of salt for this type of racing.

So, you may be asking yourself, what does it look like to be right there on a really good run just to through it away at the end? Well, glad you asked! Here is what it looks like side by side the top PAX of the day. The sound is from the right window.

Okay, here is my fastest clean run. It was a 42.681, though there was a lot left on the table. The next post will show that...