Chuck

Wow, super fun to drive course. Nice Job, Steve, and those who helped him tweak it. Really really liked the challenge of the offsets going into SW lot corner and then the awesome feel of going around the corner sweeper before the final slalom. Whoo-eee! Getting my braking timing and the car's brake bias just right for the LH corner into the showcase turn was interesting. Tried 2 different brake bias settings and felt I really needed to be in between the knob detents. Flailed around a bit during the 1st 6 runs getting my new (as of this event) aero package sorted. Almost undrivable with too much oversteer on some runs. Wuz getting close, but not quite there yet on 6th run. 3 cars on course doesn't leave much time back on grid for making extra adjustments past air pressure and engine cooling where you have to loosen 4 nuts and bolts (and don't drop any under the car!) to change AoA of 2 front wing flaps. 4 nuts and bolts to change AoA on rear wing too, so that had to be after next run each time. By 3d and 4th TO, was pretty much there on Aero adjustments (some tire pressure and AFR changes too) and then just learning to push myself more.

What will be the workaround since the AMP agreement with Luke is that no one can even leave their car at the site overnight, let alone stay in motorhome overnight?

Did you guys go? Maybe just to watch, even? I asked Harry to bring along the diagnostic tool to return to Mark--but I don't see you guys in the results today on Monday.

Just buy GOOD quality very high load rated trailer tires, keep an eye on them, and don't worry about having a single axle. Started doing this while I was in the Army- every time I stop, I walk around the tow vehicle and trailer and look at the tires and feel them and the bearing caps. Same thing again ('cept bearing caps) before resuming driving if it's been a long stop. Been using single axle trailers since about 1994. This is my heaviest car yet, but only weighs about 840 lbs. and all the equipment including which has about 16 ft of alum ramp, bring the load to about 1000 lbs. in a 900 lbs. V-nosed box single axle trailer with a ramp door in back. Before I got too old, I used to go to Topeka for the SCCA Pro Finale and Solo National each year from here. Never had a second thought about single axle. Never ever had an issue. About a 23 hour tow, and in hot weather too. Finally, I did have a humdinger of a blow out that threw the tread about 3 years ago on way to Marana Airport from Prescott. I left at 3:30 am and it was so dark I didn't notice the tire had gone soft. I replaced it in Anthem and still made the event. No different than having a tire blow out on a dual axle. The tire really came apart. It wasn't a "soft" failure. The flap flap flap noise of the tread leaving is really what alerted me- the trailer didn't do anything really funny that I felt in the tow vehicle. Another tactic to make any trailer towing more reliable is to use remote tire temperature and pressure senders (screw on) and stand alone programmable alarm display in the cab. Tire-minder is one brand I have one now and it has enough channels so when I start using my little (single rear tire, no dually) motorhome to tow with, I can monitor its tires too.

Looks like some wide slicks were fitted to it at one point. Sports Racer Renault used threaded street tires. Here is one Solo idea since it looks like a little heavy, but well-constructed chassis. It could run SCCA Solo B-Mod as a sports racer using wide Solo compound slicks and an upgraded motor. BM allows up to 3 L at 1275 lbs. (includes driver's weight). Bear in mind, no forced induction Since it was set up for a transverse FWD motor and transaxle, a modern high factory HP drivetrain might retrofit. Another possible use is for SCCA solo D-Mod since it might work out better for weight. The driving position would need to be offset a little to one side or the other of center. It currently has a pretty wide cockpit, so that might be practical. Driver's hips just need to be one side of the centerline. Then could run a fully built (300 HP?) 2L NA or up to 1438 cc turbo with restrictor (Chevy Cruze turbo motor for example) could in place of the Renault. 1400 lbs. min weight including driver. The current bodywork would have to modified or another fitted to look like some sort of recognizable production car that had a rear or mid-engine- like a Lotus Europa (Bodies can be bought from Banks) Karman Ghia, or Porsche 356 perhaps. Fiberglass Porsche 356 bodies are available from Beck. These are just ideas with no guarantee there wouldn't be a lot of work involved. One would have to measure the chassis for motor swaps to see just how much.

Roughly 700 lbs. heavier than the Elise design it is based upon. Not an Elise with an EV conversion. 2" longer WB. 2WD and only slightly more stock rim+ tire width didn't make up for the ground "hugging" weight difference. I used to run with the Golden Gate Lotus Club while I lived in CA and only saw a few of these run stock class with mediocre results. Not to say that possibly using a LOT more tire and suspension in another class it might be competitive. Being an old Europa D-Mod guy from the 1970's, the only Elise-like car I truly lust after is the S1 with Rover K-series (properly built and pumped in HP to around 200). There was one fellow who ran GGLC events who was very fast in stock class using a Rover S1. Said it only weighted 1650 lbs. from the factory. That's what a stock iron block Europa TC used to weigh. The Rover K-series engine is actually a beautiful, advanced design that was lighter than the Toyota that came later and a lot lighter than the Honda K20 retrofits into S1's. A few S1's that came into states early on were fitted by the importers with Konda K20's to become fully emissions certified road cars. A more exact weight comparison of Elise engine options: All of this tends towards an engine that weighs in, as standard, fully dressed at 96.5kg. (212 lbs) Compare this to the Honda S2000 engine similarly equipped with standard manifold clutch and fluids at 158 kg (348 lbs) and the Toyota 1.9 VVTi engine at 137kg.(302 lbs) The Rover engine’s compact size and weight are a significant advantage in a lightweight race/sports car of the Lotus 7-type or the Elise. Note, a full race K-Series weighs 78kg including 7kg of fluids. (187.4 lbs total). A fully built Rover K 2L is about 293 HP. To be fair, a Honda K20 can be built to similar NA HP and a lot less than its stock weight by removing balance shaft and variable cam timing, etc. but still be quite a ways from being as light as the Rover. Forced induction and it's a whole different engine story. There is a U-tube video of a street rat in the Phoenix area with a turbo K-20 with sequential 6 or 7 speed in a Toyota MR-S that has over 900 RWHP and easily blows off all super bikes on I-17 🙂 "Hmm couldn't that run in SCCA solo XS-B class?"

Very good course this time. Lot more fun than previous ones that had awkward slaloms lacking a satisfying feeling of getting your rhythm right. Broke the entire left side of my diffuser on 4th timed run and missed 5th. Got all broken pieces out by TOs (had to pull the LHS wheel off), but car had more oversteer and just a little less grip overall w/out the underbody working as it should, so car was about 0.55 s slower. Had to back off quite a bit to make the finish gate. Possibly some of that was just me not being gutsy enough to trust that I could make it.

Note price reductions

Thanks very much for the info Clifton. Unfortunately, even the Bell address is not close since that's about a 2 hr. drive from Prescott!

It's probably correct that Ruth is still involved in Solo PAX. I reread the other forum discussion and it was that National office took over Pro Solo PAX from him several years ago.

There are some perhaps not so obvious reasons to have access to a specialized race tire/wheel shop's, a friend's tire machine - or own your own. I recently put together some 3-piece rims where unbeknownst to me, the outer halves were made wrong by the mfg. and about a tenth of an inch too large at the bead seating surface. Discount Tire had a real fit over not being able to get the rubber to push out and seat on these wheels. Said they went up to 90 lbs. air pressure in the cage. They gave my $16 back and told me they wouldn't do my wheels anymore because Discount (and perhaps other companies?) have a corporate policy against working on 2 or 3 piece wheels. I evidently had gotten away with having 100's of tire changes done there at that one convenient Discount tire about 1 mile from my house because nobody there had read their policies. Anyway, at least the wheel mfg. admitted their mistake and new spun outers are on the way.

Rick Ruth doesn't publish any PAX anymore. SCCA National Office took over PAX. I was informed of that about a week ago on another forum where I mentioned how years ago, I contacted Rick because I wanted to understand why B-Mod had taken a large increase in Pro Solo PAX factor. He told me "I don't have a lot of data on B-Mod, I just figured I'd increase it because they seem to have big rear tires".🤑

Sorry Ted, the rear driveshafts ,CVs, and Torsen plus Rack sold within minutes of me posting the ad.

Parts left now with reduced pricing as well: Complete carbureted Honda CBR600 F3 600cc with 4-into-1 header that looks to have been modified for formula car chassis. 100+ HP at 12,000 RPM with 4 carbs. Estimate 75-85 HP with FSAE restrictor and a single carb. Could be increased to 700 cc and probably over 90 HP now with latest FSAE rules. (All figures are for 100 unleaded, but probably no different for E85) Factory carbs and factory airbox with new air cleaner. Vance and Hines ignition electronics, complete harness and Autometer Tach. Includes chassis mounts/braces/rear chassis bulkhead for motor which allow it to sit upright on a flat surface. Was $400, now $250. Note $250 is about 50% of typical Ebay cost for this particular motor. I'm not up for crating and shipping- now has to be a pickup or nearby by delivery by me.