I can only imagine what my car weighs. 3000lbs? More? I dunno. Starting with a GT wasn't the best of ideas, but it sure is a nice drive to and from events. :P

 

My STX legal RX-8 (though I don't use it as such) weighed 3052 in corner weighting with me, a laptop, and some other junk in it. It's probably right at 2900 curb weight, which means it's about 2825 on a 1/4 tank. If I put in an exhaust, some seats, and a brake kit I could cut another 90 pounds out of the car.

 

I'm at 2879 at 1/4 tank My steel strut bars weigh 15 lb each. lol and now I'm getting a roll bar... meh.

 

I feel that one, I have a 40th anniversary. The other downside of the 40th/GT is that the ceiling is lower, so I hit my head on the ceiling when my helmet is on.

 

Those are some porky STX cars. Most BS cars weigh less than that.

 

True enough.

To be fair, I'm pretty sure the KWs weigh more than stock shocks/springs, but I could be wrong. My sway bars certainly do. My weight is also with my street wheels & tires, which are a little heavier than a good set of STX wheels (which I do not have ).

But, if I did the passenger seat, Enkei wheels, RacingBrake rotors/calipers, and a full custom exhaust, in addition to what I have done so far, I'm sure the car would be below 2800 lbs.

You'll just have to school us again!

 

Also, looks like Jason has made it official:

http://ams.scca.com/netforum/eweb/dy...3ba2&class=STX

 

I signed up for CO with a 370Z... Some of you guys will believe anything you read.

All kidding aside, yes, I will be in STX. We just wrapped our work last week, and it is way to late for me to convert back to BS trim - I could get in like one event before natls.

It killed me on Saturday when I had a chance to drive KJ's BS car (sunroof, leather, old Kumhos) and crushed mine in only one run. StreetTiresSuck.

 

Still, welcome to the class, and it will be interesting to see what someone of your setup+driving skills can do with the RX-8 in STX.

Care to share any details? Weight, tires, dampers, etc?

 

Every detail will be covered in the Dec 09 issue of SportsCar - which comes out conveniently after natls. I told my boss if I had to give it all up, at least wait till after. However, depending on the photos used for one of the stories in the Oct issue, a sharp eye may see a few parts.

As far as setup skill... That pretty much ends with a stock class car for me. I had a ton of help, from people way smarter than me to get this put together quickly, and without a doubt it could still be improved with more time.

Wish I knew which tires for sure. Every time I think I have it nailed down I try something else with a set and change my mind - I think that decision will come down to the wire, might even have to bring a few different sets to test on the concrete.

I was starting to feel good with this till I drove KJs car, now I feel sick not running BS. Although it will be nice to watch the BS battle, and know none of them are coming after me.

 

Let's hope that holds true for your driving skills as well.

In fact, I will humbly suggest a variation of Evo Phase II, where they teach you to talk your way through the course. Instead of calling out the next target/strategy, I want you to chant "street tires suck" at each apex.

 

My car is just STX legal, it's not actually being run in STX. The car as weighed was also not optimized; one tow hook, the jack, the tire kit, a lug adapter, the owner's manual, a stack of CDs, and all the floormats were still in the car. Remove those and you'll probably cut another ~15 pounds or so, so maybe 2810 with a 1/4 tank? I'm also leaving seats, exhaust, and brakes as low hanging bolt-on fruits.

 

So your saying your data was useless.

 

If you pound a few beers, squint a bit, and look real hard, you might get some value. Adding and subtracting isn't rocket science.

My car at the time of weigh in was simple:

base 2006 RX-8
17.5 pound wheels
26 pound tires worn down to the wear bars
16 pound battery
Mazdspeed front and rear strut tower brace
Five extra pounds in mods that I do not wish to divulge (yes they were weighed)
140 pound me
Lenovo T61p portable workstation
the aforementioned items

It can get you a ballpark figure. Certainly nothing down to the pound.

 

Please define "crushed" .... taken behind the woodshed crushed (half second or more) or just rapped on the knuckles with a ruler crushed ?

Chris H

 

.5 on one course, 1 sec on the other. It should have been .5 on both, but a trans issue was forcing me to short shift a drag race start on the one course.

I was trying to get ahead on my natls prep a few weeks ago by changing all my fluids. Drained everything only to find out I was out of Pure Power. I had some Royal Purple left over from the SSC car so I put that in. All of a sudden I could not get into 2nd over 5krpm, nothing but grind. I thought for sure I was joining the new trans club. But then I decided to go to the office and pick up some Pure Power sat night, changed it for sun and all was right again. I guess the 75/90 RP is just to thin for the synchros.

 

Can't wait to watch the STX battle .... should be a good show based on your B-stock comparo.

Trans - we had the same experience earlier this year. Tried something other than MT-90 and immediately had 2nd gear issues.

Chris H

 

Similar issue on our car a few weeks ago. Switched from MT90 to RP(75W140) and got multiple 2nd gear grinds. Tried Team and Altiains' suggestion of the Redline NS gear lube, and it worked great at the last event.

 

Had an event this weekend with the NW Region folks. Karl & Ron were there, on their A-game with a recent dyno tune & fresh tires. As expected, they were faster. Karl & I ran in the afternoon, and by the third run I was within .2 sec of Karl’s times. Karl managed to pick up another .2 sec on his fourth & final run, but I had to skip my 4th run do to a mechanical. But hey, only the first three runs matter, right?

The bad news is that Ron had already run in Karl’s car in the morning, and I think he had me by about a full second, but I don’t remember for sure. These guys are fast!

So, I’ve been schooled a bit, and it doesn’t surprise me. Still, I’m much closer to Ron & Karl (and other top drivers in our regions) than I have been in past years, so I still feel good about where I’m at. This will probably be my last event before Nats. I’ve done what I can. The car is fast, even if it isn’t fully developed. I just need to get one good run two days in a row. How hard can it be?

 

George, I think you're much better-prepared than I am. I have no real STX competition at home. My only barometer for success is whether I got FTDI or not that day.

I look forward to meeting all of you and seeing how slow I really am.

Is anybody planning on being there early to run the TnT, maybe Wednesday? That's my plan.

 

Nick,

Shawn and I should get there by Tuesday afternoon and our plan is to run the TnT on Wednesday as well.

 

I'll be at the TNT Wed for sure. Remember, conventional wisdom is that on the higher-grip surface, your car will push more than normal. At least, I've been told to prepare for that, but you never know until you get there.

 

I run on concrete 90% of the time at home. It's awfully grippy stuff.

We have one site with old, worn, rough concrete. It's very grippy, but bumpy. The other site we use a lot has an excellent, newer parking apron.

I feel like I'm well-prepared for concrete, but not necessarily concrete that's been well rubbered-in.

 

Sounds good. Maybe you can give us some pointers.

We should all meet some time Wed, or perhaps Tuesday night. Let's talk as the week gets closer.

 

Oh, I doubt that.

Yeah, I don't know what time I'll roll into town, but I expect it'll be sometime in the afternoon on Tuesday.