Lschiavo

Have you ever heard of the Star Mazda Series that uses the Renesis engine in their race cars?

Smoker

yea..... there's this Luis Schiavo guy in it who is suppose to be "pretty good".

:D

RevTo9K

Yep, and I watched a couple of your races, too. It's great to see my motor in open-wheel racing. I posted when you won the final race of the season...

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-racing-25/our-own-luis-schiavo-wins-laguna-seca-42316/

I also think it's very cool that you're an RX-8 owner... you definitely "walk the walk".

When does the new season start?

Spin9k

SpeedTV Baby! All the Way... Love to watch... vicariously driving along at the same time....Have a great new season , how many of these little beauties are there out there now-a-days?

Nemesis8

iTrader: (3)

I'd like to know how you guys are changing the fuel/air ratio on the fly while driving?

Lschiavo

Hey guys, hope everything is going well....

We are like 40 cars this season, it is gonna be very interesting. I hope I can win the championship this year so I can move up one more step.
I am thinking about buying a turbo, not for my racecar since it is a spec series, but for my RX8. THe only thing that anoyes me is that the dynos can be a little biased, since even though the SAE does a good job in trying to compare apples to apples, there are many factors that are not taken into account. That is the reason why we in pro racing do not trust dynos, we go to a racetrack and test the engines.

So my plan is, go to the track (LAP TIMES NEVER LIE) and do some test with the spec car and then put the turbo on it and see the results in performance.

I will tell you guys which turbo i will be using and then inform you about the results.

Take care!!! Don't forget to watch the races on Speed Channel.
PS. We have a race in Montreal with the F1 race. Same weekend , same track!!!

truemagellen

who hasn't is more like it :D

Spin9k

That's the best idea I've heard and I can't wait til you (or someone) does this! So far I haven't read anyone with a turbo even quoting a 0-60 time 0-100 time or anything of the sorts... and after all that's what matters, not RWH, engine dynos, or anyhting but results... so far there aren't any. (anyone care to say I wrong here? Please do - I want some reason to do this mod myself - and the sooner the better!)

Labop

Yeah, watched it a few times, love it. remember seeing you on there as well.

Isn't there a female driver or two? I remember one being kind of cute, could have been imaging things tho.

GotZoom

Yeah..I know.....I"m jealous. I went to Monza twice while I lived in Italy..was in heaven.

Racer Rick

Hey Luis;
Why don't you come out and run Solo 1 at RaceCity this year? You could run the first event without turbo and then compare with it on. Some of the events would probably conflict with your pro-racing but you'd get the chance to test the car on an open track. p.m. me if your interested for details.

mike0615

Is ur avatar photoshopped? i heard our RX8's only go up to 138 top speed. I never got a long enough straight away or enough torqe to get up there. plus i don't speed on the streets or freeways so i was always curious.

Dark8

221 KMPH, not MPH.

magixpuma

Ok i know this question is personal but could you tell me what its like being a race car driver like what do you do pre race what do you tell techs, How much does a race car driver get paid. Do you get free mazda stuff and what ever esle sponsors.???
Thanks. doug

Lschiavo

We usually try to keep very fit, that's what we try to do when we are not testing. Going to the gym, doing 45min cardio everyday and working on upper body muscles. That's about what u can do when you are not in the track.

We debrief a lot of information with our engineer, things like Preload on the shocks, stiffness of the springs, damping, aerodynamic settings, ride height and then as the weekend goes on , you use the extra testing to find the best tune for your car. We do not get paid, however we get sponsors and they basically pay for your ride. Once your ride is paid for, you can get the yearly earnings as a salary for yourself. Regarding to how much, it depends on how well you do. In 2003, I won the Star Mazda North American Championship and got the new pro car with the renesis engine on it which is worth 79,900 USD. Last year was not a great year for me, however I managed to finish 5th in the standings and won the last race at Laguna Seca California. I only got 35 K for 2004. This year, as last year, the series is sponsored by goodyear, so the champion prize is 100,000 USD + a new RX8.
We do not get things free from mazda, but there is always room to work out a deal with them. Since all cars run mazda engines, you can offer people who supply mazda parts (such as Greddy turbo or SSR) to work out a deal and offer them space in the car as an exchange).

Hope this answer all ur questions. Take care. If you have any more questions just writeeeee them!

truemagellen

haha people ask Lschiavo that all the time...and everytime they feel stupid for asking it :p :D

Spin9k

Does anyone know how to tickets to a Star Mazda Series event? I went here but didn't see any info http://www.starmazda.com and the event mentioned above in Canada http://www.whowon.com/ShowSanction.asp?ID=698 is pretty close to us here in the NE. Certainly looks like a fun filled weekend :D , but how to get in (aside from the F1 going on)?

TrackAddict

Looks like they run with ALMS events. So, a ticket is good for that and a bunch of other races too. April 17th at Road Atlanta should be awesome. Advance tickets are $40 for a single day pass.

magixpuma

Thanks for answering. The tv shows rarely go in depth to how being a race car driver actually works.

Lschiavo

Just let me know when u guys are going to a race, I'll find you some tickets...
Montreal F1 tickets are difficult to find, so probably I won't be able to find those... but be glad to find tickets for you for any other event.
LS
www.lschiavo.com There are some cool in car videos in there... Go to galleries>videos>in car

Spin9k

F1 tickets appear to readily available still here, and actually some are pretty cheap - you can even pick which vantage point on the track you want to be sitting. Actually a really nice site.

At least that's how it looks to me http://www.grandprix.ca/anglais/index.html

Lschiavo

My point is i can find them as a driver for free. So you won't have to pay anything.

TrackAddict

Hey Luis - I'm definately going to the Road Atlanta race in April. Gonna try to get some other RX8s out there too. We have about 10 of us doing a HPDE there March 19-20 as well. More on that in the SE forum. Of course it would be cool to have a real racer out there with us in his RX8 showing what the car can do in capable hands. Wanna join us?

Lschiavo

Hi Nabil! I am racing in Sebring in that day. I'd be glad to do it but i can't.... Maybe next time.

I'll find u some tickets for the april race, just remind me later. Take care

TrackAddict

Good luck at Sebring. I'd watch it on TV but I'd rather be at Road Atlanta doing the HPDE
Regardless of free ticket's I'll be at the April race at Road Atlanta spectating and cheering a fellow forum member to victory.