What Autocross class sould I be in?
 

I recently purchased a 2001 coupe that has some track mods from the original owner. Can you help me class my car for local events. I think it should be ST(U or P) depending on tires. I'm looking at running Z06 18x10.5 front and rear with RE71R 285/30R18.

Other mods include

Simpson 5 point harneses on driver's and passenger side (factory belts still usable)
AZ Speed and Marine harness bar and Brey Kraus clip mount for outboard lap belt
Pfadt Camber plates, -1.8 deg front and -1.5 deg rear camber
Hotchkis front and rear sway bars with adjustable heim joint end links
Updated tie rod ends front and rear
Magnaflow muffler and X-pipe, it was a CA car and passed smog so I believe the cats are functional
The motor does some sort of tune, but again it meets CA Smog
Callaway Honker cold air intake, Granatelli MAF, Callaway Billet throttle body, CA smog legal
160 deg thermostat and throttle body coolant bypass
Front brake ducts, stainless steel brake lines, StopTech DOT 4 hi temp brake fluid
Kirban billet short throw shifter
Underguards, side sill underbody protection rails with jacking pads
Skid plates to protect radiator mount under nose of car
CCA aluminum pedals great for heel and toe shifting
Oil catch can inline with PCV valve
Pfadt nose mounted oil cooler


Thanks
Don

Definitely not STP, maybe STU but the throttle body may kick you out. CAM-S for sure.

ST rules are here: https://dk1xgl0d43mu1.cloudfront.net...pdf?1484692402

Yup looks like cam-s to me unless you change the throttle body back to stock.

The MAF and throttle body would have to go back to stock to run in STU, technically. For locals though, I'd just check with the other STU competitors, and if they're OK with it, run STU. If you're new to autocross, it's not going to matter what class you're in, so run in the most appropriate one (STU).

I hope the OP doesn't mind me asking a similar question here. :)

My 2002 C5 Z06 has an engine oil cooler, CAI, and aftermarket engine mounts and shifter. These should put me in the Street Touring category but I cannot find where in ST the C5Z falls. Is there no C5Z in ST?

Correct no z06 in ST, just the non Z06 in STU.

Dang! Sucks to be me. I guess it's Time Only then, LOL

CAM-S is perfect for you....

Correct. I was looking at where I could put my C5Z with a few mods and 200 tread rated tires and I couldn't go into STU.
Also, keep in mind that STU has a max tire width of 285 I believe.

CAM-S is pretty much the catch all. Nearly unlimited mods. That's what I race in but I was debating on going with slicks next season so I think I'd be SSR.

Yeah, I guess. I'll be very under-prepared there.

SSR is only for stock cars. So if you have any mods at all and go to slicks it'll either be SSP or SSM (or XP)

The C5Z that's won Nationals the last couple of years has been a very basic build. You don't need a lot to win in CAM, just a good driver.

The most prepped CAM car in the country. Or so I read on the internet... :crazy2:

YET!

A good driver goes a long way in autocrossing, and a C5Z is already fairly well prepared from the factory. The rich guys who want to own the fastest possible car haven't really invaded CAM-S yet, but when that happens, a "basic build" will be at a disadvantage. Until that happens, have some fun.

What's the difference of being under prepared for there vs running time only? At least in cam you'll have a benchmark to guage yourself against...

I've never understood this mentality for competition

You can have a blast in an under-prepared car. This guy spotted the field at least 1,000 pounds (1900 pounds heavier than the Miatas) and at least a foot of wheelbase (2 1/2 feet longer wheelbase than the Miatas), not to mention he ran on Michellin X Green tires (Treadwear 820 rating, hard as rocks). That car is bone stock, pretty much as it left the factory 30 years ago, with just normal maintenance (religiously maintained with all records and documentation since 1999).


For the record, that's me, and I beat all the Mustangs and a Nissan 370Z at that event on raw time, and I came in third in my group on PAX adjusted times.

It's way more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow.

I do run "Time Only" a lot of times. There are reasons for doing that, but "I'm not prepared enough" isn't one of the ones I think is really valid.

Valid reasons for "Time Only:"

• I'm driving a client's car, either because I'm doing prep and service work on it, and I need to know what it's doing first hand (novice driver, doesn't know what to tell me), or I'm doing driver coaching and I need to know what the car is doing and what it's capable of. In either case, I don't compete with clients or take points from them, or take points from their competitors.
• It's a race car on a "shake down" run after a major repair/rebuild, and I'm running a single event in a region where I won't be competing, and I don't want to upset the local points structure.

I guess "I don't care about points at all, or rules, I just want to drive fast and have fun" is another valid reason for "Time Only."

Nobody wants to be last.

Here's a dramatization featuring a CAM car:
If you ain't first....

If you want a "first place" participation trophy, run EM in a small region where nobody else is running EM.

Nobody wants to be last, but for first year, beginning drivers, there's almost always at least five or six seconds in upgrading the "loose nut on the steering wheel." The way to improve that situation is run as many events as you can with what you have. If there are autocross "beginners/novice schools" at regions within driving distance, those are even better than full out competition events. The great thing about experience is that it transfers and installs fairly easily in any car you get into in the future.

The next "performance mod" (worth it for late first year/second year beginners) is a dedicated set of good (hopefully class legal) "autocross tires." Don (the OP) is apparently considering that upgrade with the RE-71R's (great tires, BTW).

C'mon Eric, aren't you basically basic? Its kinda like saying you're basically stock.