RX-8 SCCA Hillclimb Racing Video Series
 

So after 10 years of tracking, autocross, and time trials, i've decided to switch things up this season and try out SCCA Hillclimbs, which are considered the highest level of Time Trial due to the increased risk. This neccessitated that i finally get some real safety gear. Luckily, my NASA TTD prep was not far off of SCCA DSP (street prepared classes are used in hillclimbs, among other options), so i was able to make minor changes to fit in that class this season. I'm running with pennsylvania hillclimb association (PHA), who runs events in the (you guessed it...) pennsylvania area. I plan to do a new video after each hillclimb this season. The RX-8 is not an ideal choice for an uphill competition (130 torques, yo) BUT there's nothing like sliding a rotary sportscar up a winding mountain road (initial D touge... but legal!)

Link to the playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...aVUkvHR1r9bZmJ

My hope is that these videos are as entertaining to watch as they were to capture and make!

Here's one where you catch a bit of air...

Fantastic!

thanks for posting

sounds like you're getting a lot of inside wheel spin on those corner exit with steep camber. time for a better clutch diff. looks like fun but i dont have the ballz to drive like that on the street. :D

Great post! Love the air shot too. And nice narration and video editing as well.

Thanks guys. I just ran at Giants despair and finally got a Hillclimb win and new course record to boot, which surprised me because it seems like a power course and I'm up against some turbo cars.

Yeah I'm actually allowed to do a diff, but too cheap yo! I'm also allowed Hoosier A7 of any size but just running re71r

The latest event took place at a circuit i know very well, but i went in with a plan to see if using data could help me fine-tune my approach. Here's how it worked out:

my second event in the rx8 was at shennandoah. fun track and good for testing suspension with all the bumps, lol. the skid pad also good for practicing drifting.

Weatherly was always a weak course for my rx8 with the lack of torque and weak OEM differential. Regardless, the Aero and Ohlins and Hoosiers were enough to overcome the other mechanical shortfalls and i took the Weatherly DSP record this past weekend. I was only 0.1 seconds off on my 8th run, and i took the record by 0.2 seconds on my final run. It was a tough time to beat and really forced me to dig deep.

Another race, another record.
There was enough heat, sun, and course length this time to get the Hoosier A7s closer to their optimal temperature.
T6 with aero and Hoosiers is genuinely scary. You don't get that with autocross or time attack.

you cray to be doing hill climbs without a full cage. big balls and nice driving.

what tires size and wheel spec are you running.

17x10 enkei rpf1
245/40/17 Hoosier A7

i bet 225/40/17 hoosiers might be a tad quicker. similar width, less weight, better gearing, better warm-up time.

yeah for TT and short hill climb run, Id go with 225/40/17. i ran that in TTD with the stock 4.4 FD. the 225 would stretch on the 10" wheels nicely also.

pretty much everyone out here think wider is better. some guys running 295s on audi hatchbacks. and 335s on RWD muscle cars. i tried 245s as a compromise but will try 225 next time.

autox guys tend to go wider. there's probably data to back that up, but autox has a lot more corners and tire scrubbing. for NASA TT5 class, we are limited to tire section width of 265mm, so we either run 245 on 9" wheels or 225 on 9.5". the 225 setup has proven to be faster in our case. if we're allowed to run 10" or wider wheels with 245, it might be faster.

too many people have gotten seriously injured or *worse*, you really need to have a full cage

are you still on the original Mazda LSD? It shouldn’t be spinning in first like that unless you do.

Wow, great video. Combining the best of track driving, rally and auto-x. I can see that being addictive. Notice you are close to flat out, setting records etc... I am OK with minimalist track equipment, but in this case I have to agree with team. Roll bar will not cut it. You need a full cage, door bars, seat/harness system.

Great driving though, be safe.