Yep, and another EVO I know had tranny problems. That's the price you pay to play with the big boys!

EVOlutionary

 

Wow, thanks for all the great responses. The main reson I go out to autoX is to have fun, but when I get home and see that I am in the top 5 in my class I start to feel very competitive. I know I could place higher in some of the slower classes. In this sport the money is best spent on another set of wheels with r compound tires. I just dont have the $ for that, so I guess I willl just hang on to my money and wait untill I get more experience.

Thanks again for all the great advice.

 

NOTHING beside good brakes and tires. SEAT TIME IS THE KEY.

 

If you are looking for pads I use Cobalt GT Sports. They are loud as hell, but they stop great even when cold, and they are cheaper than Ferodo.



Cobalt Website

Cobalt spec(VR)
SKU: CRB.VR.D961
Weight: 5 lbs
Price: $299.00 (front)
Price: $169.00 (rear)

Product Details
Cobalt spec(VR) is a professional motorsports compound designed for GT sportscar, formula car, sport racer, and prototype road racing, featuring an extremely strong initial bite and sustained braking torque, excellent modulation and release characteristics, a very linear pedal feel for consistent braking performance, and very high fade resistance. The spec(VR) has a virtually flat torque curve, with a coefficient of friction of 0.64mu, with fade free performance in excess of 1550F. Additionally, the spec(VR) is extremely disc friendly and has very good wear rates. Suitable for most GT-class vehicles, formula cars (Atlatic, Continental, Mazda, et al.), sport racers (Radical, Stohr, WSR, et al.) and prototypes (Daytona Prototype, ALMS P2, et al.). **

Cobalt GT-Sport
SKU: CRB.GTS.D1001
Weight: 5 lbs
Price: $175.00 (front)
Price: $109.00 (rear)

Product Details
Cobalt GT-Sport is a proven, class-winning ProSolo Autocross compound exhibiting good cold performance, a strong, aggressive initial bite, linear pedal feel with excellent modulation, and high fade resistance. Along with its excellent performance, the GT-Sport compound is rotor friendly and has very good wear rates over a broad operating temperature range. For the serious autocross driver, the GT-Sport will let you take back the time under braking! Also suitable for spirited street driving (i.e. canyon and mountain drives, etc.) and novice to intermediate level HPDE events on most vehicles (under 3000lbs).

 

this is good to know.. I dont really want to have to build my car around a set of rules.. its really the boost control rule that knocks me out specifically. I just want to have fun.. and at the same time not get killed to badly everytime im out.. im hoping i will be ok running in street modified once i have some hoosiers on the car.

 

Everyone always told me to learn on Street tires first, then switch to race tires.

 

Well-intentioned advice, but not always appropriate.

If you are prepared for the cost of autocrossing on R compounds, go for it. Nothing will teach you to autocross on R compounds quite like autocrossing on R compounds. I switched to R compounds after just 5 events on my stock A046 tires, and I basically had to relearn how to drive. But I learned quickly that autocrossing on street tires requires a different style than autocrossing on R compounds. Further "practice" on street tires would have been wasted in my case.

But note that autocrossing on R compounds can get very expensive. If you always want to run on top level R compounds -- buying new tires and discarding or selling them when their performance goes away -- figure on spending at least $25 for every autocross run you make.

 

Not that autocrossing on street tires is cheap. I probably would have gotten another summer out of my A046s had I not used them for AX. The problem with using your everyday tires for AX is that you need a lot more tread for the street than you do for AX. When used for AX, the extra tread leads to more tread squirm and funny wear patterns leading to extra tire noise on the street. And unlike a AX-only tire, you can't really run a street tire until it is showing cord, or even until it's bald.

Running on street tires is sort of a false economy. If you can get over the initial cost of the extra set of wheels and tires, it is not that much more expensive to run R-compounds, especially if you go for a more conservative tire choice like an RA1 or Victoracer. And you get to go faster and your street tires will be a lot happier

 

I completely agree. The wear and tear on the street tires is amazing. When I ran street tires on my EVO last year, I went through 3 sets of street tires ( 2 sets of advans, 1 set of Falkin azenis). This year on R-compounds (with full time co-driver) we have gone through 2 sets of R-compound tires and my street tires might just make it a full year before wearing out although the inside edges are looking pretty slick at this point.

if my co-driver and I had a bigger budget, we could have easily bought another set of r-compounds, but it was not worth it since the regional championship is almost over and I doubt we will be going to the nationals this year...

 

if you decide to start running in the local SCCA events you might want to start in the slush series. the SFR region runs a rookie program that restricts you to street tires. Once you have completed the novice program (8 events or something like that) you are free to use R-compounds. It's not a strictly enforced rule, but something you should be aware of.

If you continue running with teh BMW club in marina, no worries, hell I might be joining you if we get 9 runs each

 

Where in monterey are you?..you should come join us in marina.. I love the courses because they definately were not set up by a miata owner. The courses are pretty large and open with long straights, round abouts, etc and its on a pretty good surface.

I live in toro park are for now. Have you been going to the meats in sand city.. there is an AWD meet just about every weekend at the starbucks there. I think I will take your advice and run the slush series... then start running on r comps next year, although im getting pretty anxious to get some bigger tires.