SCCA is adding a class just for us!

[Whiskey11]

I have to call you on that. You in your '67 Camaro finished 29th at the Solo Nationals yet the best finishing S197 Mustang was 53rd. You did indeed trophy in class at the Pro Solo Finale in 5th (congrats by the way) and there was no S197 Mustang competing in STX in that event.

Comparing results from national competition to what happens at most regional (local) events isn't fair. The guys running at the pointy end of any class aren't going to abandon their class to run a local class, there's no incentive.

I figured because my car was being brought up I should jump in and provide some perspective on the disparity in prep level between J-Rho's car and my own. J-Rho maxed his car out to the best of the class rules for live axle cars. I don't think he could have tweaked it any further within the framework of STX to max it further but only he can truly comment on that.

My car? My car looks meaner and faster than it actually is!



My car had at Nationals:

-Ground Control Coilovers - 440lbs/in front springs, 200 lbs/in rear springs -3.0º camber, -0.10º toe and +7.0º caster
-Strano Performance Parts 35mm front sway bar
-Fays 2 Watts Link
-Cortex Racing Torque Arm
-265/40/18 Hankook RS3's on Enkei PF01 18x9's
-Rebuilt Traction-Lok Rear Diff with the Carbon Fiber clutch packs (stock diff with different clutch packs)

The car weighed 3425lbs with an 1/8th tank of gas and no driver at Nationals. Unfortunately for me I made some substantial changes to the car 3 weeks prior to Nationals and while I got a ton of runs in with the two test'n'tunes, a divisional championship and a local event I could not get rid of the push in the car and fought it all through Nationals. To add insult to injury, it was my first Nationals (even though I run on that site all summer long with the Nebraska Region) and I was nearing the end of my third year of autocross. If you look at the results I coned away all 3 runs on day 1, and the day 1 course was the only course I was going to have an advantage over the rest of the class with the big braking zones and dragging the car out of the slow corners. Even without the cones my final position in STX would have been the mid 40's.

In terms of STX rules the only things left are going to fall in driver comfort (seats, harnesses), weight reduction (battery, seats, exhaust, other misc items), power (CAI + Tune, full catted exhaust, underdrive pulleys) and a better rear diff. In final trim it would put the car about 3300lbs with about 300 RWHP, 320 RWTRQ.

At the next local event after Nationals we ran the west course again (verbatim) and by adding my heavier rear swaybar and changing the stock rear lower control arm bushings out for poly bushings I dropped enough time that with clean runs on day 1 of Nationals I would have been 41st overall. Because I am a glutton for punishment I handed the keys over to CSP Winner at Nationals, John Hunter to toss my car around (he's been asking all year to do it) and the times he ran were consistent with folks in the mid to upper 20's in STX at Nationals. With all the caveats associated with different day comparisons, I don't think the car will ever make it to the trophies Nationally in STX trim. There is simply too much weight and not enough tire to make the car work correctly to do well.

If you are curious about my STX build, more info (the entire build log) can be found on my blog: http://stxs197.blogspot.com/


Back to CAM. This is one class I really look forward to because it allows me to do what I want with the car and stay on streetable tires. I know I'm not the only late model owner looking forward to CAM's SM like rules without the slicks against similar build and make cars.

What will really turn me off to CAM will be model year restrictions and weight balance restrictions that bias cars forward too much. My car as it sits has a 52.6/47.4 weight distribution and adding weight to the front of the car is a non-starter for me. I'd rather bump up to ESP and fight there or run SM locally on street tires and CP Nationally on A6's. I would support aero restrictions similar to CP though. The idea of huge wings is a bit of a turn off even if they are functional.

At the end of the day, I'm still not sure where I will end up with my car next year. A huge part of me wants to jump to CAM, part of me wants ESP and the remainder of me wants a 2015 Mustang which would mean putting my current car on hold.