I was thinking about getting into some autox this season but I have some questions that I couldn't find clear answers to on their site.

1. How do they tell what class you are in? Do you have to figure it out and tell them or do they look at your car before each event. I want to race in the lowest class I can because I have never raced before and the Talon is slow. The best I can tell is it would be in the STS class which is fine and sounds right for a basic 2GNT. The problem is in the book it says that crankscrapers and windage trays are NOT allowed. I will not race without the windage tray due to oil issues so what would that bump me up to? Street prepared? I don't really feel like racing up againts a bunch of V8s and turbos. Are they harsh on checking, could I just not mention the windage tray or would that not be a good idea? I also don't think the OBX header is emission compliant. It says its "CARB exempt".

2. How do I pay? Do I have to register? Ive seen a $74 sign up fee for membership and a $50 one for under 21 years old. Are those just for memberships or is that required to race? Is each race a seperate fee?

3. If there are any wizzes with SCCA rules this is what will be done to the car by the time I am ready to race. What classes should I/Could I race in. 5-way adjustable struts, lowering springs, camber kit, 7.5in rims, 215 wide tires, crankscrapper/windage tray, OBX header, AEM cai, Bored TB, strut bars, maybe GSX brakes if I have the money.

Sorry for the long stupid post but I looked for hours on the SCCA site and just couldn't find good answers so thanks for anyone that can help!

Originally posted by nonamerat
I was thinking about getting into some autox this season but I have some questions that I couldn't find clear answers to on their site. 1. How do they tell what class you are in? Do you have to figure it out and tell them or do they look at your car before each event. I want to race in the lowest class I can because I have never raced before and the Talon is slow. The best I can tell is it would be in the STS class which is fine and sounds right for a basic 2GNT. The problem is in the book it says that crankscrapers and windage trays are NOT allowed. I will not race without the windage tray due to oil issues so what would that bump me up to? Street prepared? I don't really feel like racing up againts a bunch of V8s and turbos. Are they harsh on checking, could I just not mention the windage tray or would that not be a good idea? I also don't think the OBX header is emission compliant. It says its "CARB exempt". 2. How do I pay? Do I have to register? Ive seen a $74 sign up fee for membership and a $50 one for under 21 years old. Are those just for memberships or is that required to race? Is each race a seperate fee? 3. If there are any wizzes with SCCA rules this is what will be done to the car by the time I am ready to race. What classes should I/Could I race in. 5-way adjustable struts, lowering springs, camber kit, 7.5in rims, 215 wide tires, crankscrapper/windage tray, OBX header, AEM cai, Bored TB, strut bars, maybe GSX brakes if I have the money. Sorry for the long stupid post but I looked for hours on the SCCA site and just couldn't find good answers so thanks for anyone that can help!

the class that you are in, from what i understand, depends on the car that you are driving as well as the mods that you have done to it. with a decent amount of suspension mods done, you wont be in the lowest class.

Where do you live, maybe we can hit them up together?

I have done a bit of research.

1. You have to join the club SCCA and others are sponsered as well but that is the most well known.

2. You get a log book and sign up for the day at the track. There are 4 classes. They know the class you are in depending on your log book and the sign offs that you get.

- You start with someone that is classified as a teacher. They take you around the track in your car and teach you how to race the track. You are not allowed to pass. Once they feel you are ready they pass you off. They usually have about 4 of class 1 races that day, and 4 of the others. You wait about 45min in between races.

- You have to get your car tech'd before every race, no question. You can get them done at most shops.

- Each race day is about 125$ and there is usually one weekend HDPE (High preformance Race day) a month at your local track.

You make your way through the classes and if you would like you can try for your competition licence and compete in events. Most people that race do the class-type races anyhow to better there skill.

This is just general info, you can get details and ask questions over at:
http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/index.html
and be sure to check out the forums.

Nick
97RS

Thanks guys, I'm not sure if what you were describing is what I was looking at. I was looking at solo for SCCA. It sounds like that is more for track racing. I would love to do track instead the problem is that I live in Iowa and theres not much of that going on. I once talked to a guy that said it was around $25 to race just for fun at any autox event. I'm probably wrong about all my assumptions though since I am the one that knows nothing, haha. Anyways thanks for the help!

An autoX event here in NC is 30 bucks for non SCCA memeber and 25 bucks for members.

I paid 30 that is the best thing to do IMO if your just racing autox events.

I autoxed my talon and it was an awesome experience. All I have is a cold air intake and exhaust and I got put in. F-Class Street Prepared, or FSP for short.

$125 for an autox event?? Thats just stupid. It is barely worth 30 bucks for the little amount of runs you get to make.

Nick is talking about the Driving Experience schools the SCCA puts on. For Solo you generally do not need to join the SCCA, but you won't be eligible for year end trophies if your not a member. With your mods you will likely be in DSP (your CAI puts you in SP), although you will be classed at the event if you don't know what class to sign up in. On a regional level, there are rarely protests if you 'forget' to disclose a mod, however I would encourage you to get into the proper class right off the bat. That way you are playing with the right group of cars.

Some regions have Novice only classes that have no car restrictions. I don't like those since you don't get a chance to compare times with cars that you will end up running with sooner or later. Cost is usually around $20-$25, and you should be able to register online on onsite.

Let me know if you have any other questions, and I'll do my best to answer them.


2000 DSP Regional #2
2004 ESP Regional #2
2005 ESP Regional #1

Very good info! That answers about all the questions I was wondering about. One last thing however, is the first classification based on the car type such as F or D and the second part is on mods? I hope that is what it is because then it should be pretty equal since I would assumed a 2GNT would be in a lower class then most "sports cars". Thanks for the responses!

Originally posted by nonamerat
Thanks guys, I'm not sure if what you were describing is what I was looking at. I was looking at solo for SCCA. It sounds like that is more for track racing. I would love to do track instead the problem is that I live in Iowa and theres not much of that going on. I once talked to a guy that said it was around $25 to race just for fun at any autox event. I'm probably wrong about all my assumptions though since I am the one that knows nothing, haha. Anyways thanks for the help!

Where at in Iowa are you?? Im in Bettendorf (Quad Cities, see sig Lol)

I was seriously thiking of doing the same thing this year, I was on the SCCA site the other day and was wondering the same things you just asked lol

According to the SCCA website, the Non turbo DSM's are now in H Stock or F Street Prepared. The letter designation generally works from fastest (A) to slowest (H), the categories are Stock (S), Street Prepared (SP), Prepared (P), Street Modified (SM), Street Modified 2 (SM2), and Modified (M). There are also the 'new' clases like Street Touring Street Tire (STS), Street Touring Extreme (STX), Street Touring Unlimited (STU). I'm not very familiar with the ST classes, so there may be one that you can run in. Here is a good link that explains the classes a bit, what's generally allowed for mods in each category, and plenty of links to more info.

http://moutons.org/sccasolo/

Do yourself a favor and spend some time browsing there; it's not fun showing up and spending all your free time trying to figure out what is going on instead of walking the course and picking the brains of the fast guys. I would also try and introduce yourself to anyone who has a similar car. It's ALL about learning at this stage - ride with as many other drivers as you can. The first time I did that I couldn't believe how slow I really was. Most of all, remember it's supposed to be fun. ;)