KYLiquid

autox is cheaper than track days, less risk, it seems to be easyer to find autox events vs track events, most people are within 1 hr of a autox event, and more than 1 hr for a track event.

There are autox events every weekend, not always the case with track days.

I do it cause I can go every sunday and sometimes every sat and sun.

I really love the track but if your on a track with a long straight it can be kinda boring if you in a car that tops out quickly. Also I like the competition of autox.

redrotors

The RX-8 cleans up in autocross against virtually all other 2wd cars, save the Miata, and generally does well again many AWD cars such as EVO, WRX, etc., of course depending in the driver.

BlueEyes

but how well does it do in Solo I?

gh0st

i live 10 min from fontana speedway which is particularly expensive for some reason. i usually head to button willow, streets of willow, willow springs.. you get the idea

still cant get away with anything less than $120-150 and with gas the way it is.. i think ill have to visit fontana soon.

denward

PUR NRG

??? Cars like an M3, S2000, Corvette, Elise and many others will beat the RX-8. Before you say apples and oranges, the miata and RX-8 are in different SCCA classes as well.
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DODGE ARIES

spork

the m3 will clean beat the rx-8 in an autocross? are you sure?

i was under the impression that the m3's weight makes it not a good auto cross car. i thot the vette wasn't a very good auto cross car either.

legokcen

The 8 is a great autocross car and great track car. Autocross is just a heck of a lot cheaper to do.

PUR NRG

Cars are put in a class because in theory they are competitive with other cars in that class. Classes are then ranked in general order of competitiveness in turn. SCCA puts the RX-8 in B-stock. The Corvette is in Super Stock and the M3 (E46) in A-stock. So yes, they are considered better cars for autocross than the RX-8.
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MOTORCYCLE TIRES

MI_FamilyMan

I think there are a variety of reasons why it appears there are more autocrossers than track folk on the 8 board. Part of it is that a percentage of people were drawn to the 8 as a "practical" car. That eliminates those people.

Secondly, there is a percentage of those who are buying the 8 as a first sports car, or first car, or first car with a stick, etc. You can probably eliminate those people as well.

Third, most people who get into driving on the track tend not to use their daily driver as a track car. So you can eliminate those who bought the 8 because it was an affordable sports car since most of those people probably stretched their dollar to buy it in the first place.

Fourth, there are a certain number of people who choose to treat their 8 as a showpiece, or more interested in the appearance aspect of ownership vs. the performance aspect

So lo and behold, you don't end up with very many people left willing to spend the money and take the time to properly learn how to drive on the track safely.

For those who have never been on a track, I assure you that you will never experience anything like it in your car without seriously breaking the law and/or endangering others. I highly recommend doing track time -- there is so much to learn about driving and car control.

Ike

Depends on what M3 we're talking about but even teh E46 which is in A-stock will have a hard time competing with B-stock cars. The Vette is a very good auto-x car, and the Z06 is by far the car of choice for SS.

spork

ah, i thot those were mainly track cars since that's where the horsepower and torque would shine where as in auto-x the high torque/hp is pretty much wasted.

Howard

None of the cars you mentioned run in the same class with the RX8. The Rx8 does compete with the BMW Z3 and one of the Porches. I don't know if it is actually cleaning up but we will know by the end of the year when the final results are posted. I went to an event and watched. lol

Ike

The Z3 and Boxter were moved to AS and don't compete with the RX-8.

Blue87Sport

The Porsche 968 is in BS. Check out how the RX-8 did in the Pro Solo finals.

http://www.scca.com/_Filelibrary/File/solo-05finale.pdf

I guess you could say the 8 is an autocross car.

124Spider

The RX-8 is a fine autocross car, and may be the car to beat in B Stock. The nationals are taking place now, and we'll know more in a few days.

Track and autocross are very different activities, as others have noted. Autocross is very safe, rarely exceeding 60mph. It is relatively inexpensive, until you get really serious (all sorts of tire issues--wet tires; dry tires, all of which last maybe 100 runs--and the need to tow your car), but it also is a bit frustrating, since you get maybe 8 minutes of seat time for an entire day spent at the course. It is very, very technically demanding, and will humble even a good track driver for a while. But it's also a very fun social time, with very nice people willing to help you (even national champions will help a schmuck like me), and it is a great way to learn car control.

Track is for adrenaline junkies. It is a high-intensity activity, with lots of seat time (except, I assume, solo 1). In a typical track day here, I get 175 - 200 miles of mostly unimpeded driving. I pay $175 for entrance, and extra if I want a coach (I often get a quarter-time coach, for $75). Then you need to amortize the cost of tires (maybe good for six or seven dry track days, for about $800 a set), and brake pads (maybe good for four or five dry track days, at $250 a set). I get about 8mpg in my S2000 on the track on a dry day, so that's another $60 or $70. Add wear and tear to other parts, and I figure a typical track day costs me about $500.

A typical autocross day costs me $25 entrance fee (times two if I do am and pm), and maybe $50 in tire wear, especially if my son also drives my car. I'm slowly getting sucked into autox, having just bought real autox tires (instead of using my track tires). Autocross is fun in its own way, and extremely challenging. And my wife doesn't worry when I autocross like she does when I'm on the track (of course, she helicopter skis, so we each have our own poison).

BlueEyes

Nice write up 124
Well, there's me.

TODreamer

I didnt read the whole thread, but curiously where does Insurance stand when it comes to going to the track? is it waived???

BlueEyes

From what I can tell, it depends. Competitive events, no, you're not covered. Uncompetitive events, like a lapping day for instance, and you should be covered. Though, I have heard some insurance companies putting in 'no performance testing' clauses which would void your coverage even on a lapping day.

I have heard stories about people wrecking thne picking up all the pieces and towing the car to the road and then calling insurance. I don't know if they would buy that, I assume it's just an urban legend of sorts.

Best bet is to call the insurance company.

Matt RX8

RX-8 can be good at both, mostly depends on the driver.

Last weekend at the track, I was passing E46 ///M3s, ///M5s, a supercharged E36 ///M3 and holding my own with EVOs (one with 340 hp to the wheels) and STis. In fact the only car that outright passed me after the first couple sessions was an STi.

It all depends on the driver.

It's definitely a fun car on the track. There were sections of track where I could make up a few seconds by downshifting to 2nd and then screaming out of corners at 9000 rpms. Linear power delivery + RWD + light weight (lighter than some anyway) make a fun car on the track.

Matt RX8

what gear tops out at 117mph?

3rd tops at 90 and 4th goes to 130 or so?

Michael

4th. At least for me.

124Spider

Depends on the insurance company, and it depends on the situation. No normal insurance policy will cover a wheel-to-wheel race. My insurance covers lapping days, as part of a school, with no timing taking place. I hear that more and more insurance companies are narrowing that to excluding any performance driving at a location "capable of hosting competitive events."

Some insurance covers autocross, some doesn't. It's a timed event.

There is special insurance available for track driving. Can be used once, from what I understand.

KYLiquid

friend of mine nosed into the wall at a track day and smashed up the front pretty good, needs new bumper, headlights, radiator, ac condesor, front crash bumper, fenders, cracke windsheild ect.... he towed it to a body shop and called his insurance saying that it happned about an hour ago, and he had it towed there, he paid the deductable and it got fixed.

Matt RX8

Are you driving a 6MT RX-8?

Did you change the diff ratio or something?

I have done 123 mph in 4th gear and still had some revs left to play with... so I assume that 4th tops at 130 or so....

Paul_in_DC

The RX-8 rocks both in Autocross and at the track. While AutoX is much cheaper (~25/day) trips to the track are much more. Even just the "Friday at the Track" stuff they have at Summit Point is around $200 US. Organized events with instructors, etc, are more of course. I do AutoX, and just did my first track event at the Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point. To me, AutoX is great for cheap thrills (and I love cheap thrills) while track events are like the orgasmic weekend in the Bahamas. :D