Yeah, you're at least ten pounds light depending on who you want to follow. In CS we are running 285/30's on 18 x 8's. I run 39F and 36R.

 

Nice job Mark.
5th out of 17 to snag the last trophy spot.
Unless I missed it, Mark is the only 8 to trophy at the tour (although there were 2 in CS and one in STX for the Pro - nice work there!)

I thought there was a new Hollis rule - or is that next year?

2011 Lincoln National Tour
May 29-30, 2011

**** UNOFFICIAL RESULTS (INFORMATIONAL ONLY) ****

Class standings for STX [17 Cars] (5/30/2011 10:16:59 AM)

---------------------------------------------------------
T 1 93 Andy Hollis 1989 Honda Civc Si Whit Toyo
79.363 78.707 77.873 149.976
72.776 72.103 72.116
---------------------------------------------------------
T 2 77 Craig Mankiewicz 1989 Honda Civic Si For Toyo
83.033 83.063(2) 79.216 151.848
74.958(1) 72.755 72.632 (1.872)
---------------------------------------------------------
T 3 193 Neal Tovsen 1993 BMW 325is Green N/A
80.177 80.164 79.941 152.776
78.614(3) 74.033(1) 72.835 (0.928)
---------------------------------------------------------
T 4 188 Chris Conant 1988 BMW M3 Redish N/A
81.850(1) 79.595 82.188(1) 153.093
73.890 74.422 73.498 (0.317)
---------------------------------------------------------
T 5 99 Mark Sipe 2005 Mazda RX-8 White Toyo
82.478(1) 80.396 81.256 153.592
73.198 77.824(2) 73.196 (0.499)

 

The rule changing up the ST classes has gone out for member comment but I don't believe it has been officially decided on yet, if it passes I believe it would go into effect next year.

 

I'm headed to Blytheville, c'mon and sign up. There's just 2 in STX right now it would be great to get a few more in.

 

How does the rx8 class in STU and STX? From reading the rules it looks as though we are excluded from STX and have to be in STU. Could someone clarify?

 

Yeah that's pretty much what some people on site said to do. So I'm going to flip em, and run a higher pressure and hope they last the rest of the season...Cause if not..Well... Yeah. :/ I can write a blog post on "how to blow $1,300 in three events!" lol. Well thanks for tip though.

-Marc

 

The RX8 was removed from the STX exclusion list in 2008....

 

and/or more camber, edit: that 255 has always had cording issues, move on to a wider wheel/tire. I would be on the 285/30, even on a 9" wheel

Thanks for the kudos on the Lincoln events. I'm not very happy since the both the driver and the car have performed better than what occurred this past weekend. It looks like the rear primary pipe cracked all the way around on my custom exhaust manifold. Fortunately the header blanket that drapes over the top and down the side is keeping the exhaust gases from blowing off every where. There also appears to be a vacuum leak somewhere as the idle is lumpy and trim is going a bit lean. Engine still runs strong once it goes open loop. Looks like I'll have some work to do before Nats.

 

Good catch on the 255's Mark.

Shoulda' seen that . . .

 

Sucks to hear about the exhaust Mark I'm sure you can fix it in time though

You know, I don't' get why everyone keeps saying go to 285's. I went with 255's to do some testing first as I'm one of those 'optimal tire size' believers. I don't think you really do gain that much more grip on a 285 than a 255, plus you lose a lot more of a responsive feeling if I'm not mistaken. Lastly, since it's wider, doesn't that necessarily take away from being able to be agile when transitioning?

Those are my thoughts. Discuss. Because I've had this discussion with a few people and some people see my side, and others still think 285 on a 18x10 is the way to go.

 

^Because the 255 Hoosiers had pre mature cording issues...a 285/30 will be better for gearing and has shorter sidewalls...

 

If the 285 is an issue I would run the 245/35 A6 on a 9" wheel over the 255/35 on any wheel. The 255/35 size has cording issues in both Stock and SP.

 

That bad, huh? No specific reasons why?

And gearing wise Mike? I think you're forgetting I have a 09 RX-8 rear end... lol

But yeah Mark, no thoughts about going wider = not always better...?

 

There are reasons not to go wider, like my recent 245/35-17 vs 255/40-17 Toyo R1R experience or the recent TireRack 245 vs 255 test in GRM or the Honda/Miata ST crowd discovering the same about the 195 Toyo R1R vs wider sizes on a 7" wheel.

In this case though there is something fubar in that one A6 size and a number of people gave up on them because of it. All they did was slap wider section in the 245 mold, but apparently the extra width requires some other internal structural change that they are not willing to invest in (though the official answer is they are the same as any other size and nothing special is required).

I ran them as high as 55 psi front on Stock wheels with -2 deg camber and they still corded the outer corner quickly where the 225/245/275/285/295 sizes did not with the usual pressures. I liked them and they were fast until hitting cord. Your pressures were definitely too low, but IME they will stll cord much quicker than any of the other A6 sizes. As to actually why, your guess is as good as mine

 

AutoX this weekend!!! Can't wait. A lot more competition this weekend too. Sum 15 in STX alone!

 

No, my car won't make it down that way any time soon now. Took it to Detroit after Lincoln this weekend. With any luck I may make the Oscoda Pro and Toledo Tour events, but they are long shots with my pending move. Worst case I will have the racing rig that much closer to my new destination. I still have another vehicle and my belongings to haul up there sometime this month.

 

Local event this weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMB_faQUTao&hd=1

Mucho understeer.

 

Good to know Mark, thanks for the help on that, much appreciated. Dave, didn't see your link to that thread until now, so thanks for that as well.

 

For those who didn't listen to the live Lincoln Tour webcast, Neal and Katie's STX BMW only made one run on Monday for Katie's first run. The fan shroud came loose and impacted/damaged the radiator fan blades and forced them to retire the car. Neal made all three runs in the Hollis Civic and Katie completed her final two runs in my RX-8.


.

 

Mark that was really nice of you to allow Katie to drive your car, thankfully it didn't seem to cause any problems for you, nice driving out there. =]

It was a real bummer for Neal & Katie, they were finally able to try some different suspension setups, getting the car a bit better dialed in, and it breaks. It was amazing to see Neal jump in and put down faster scratch times than Hollis right off the bat, though he does have *some* applicable experience... (several years in a top running SM '77 Scirrocco) I think if the civics weren't getting the boot in 2012, that would probably be the start of the decline of STX due to the civics, they're just so darn fast.

The rain was a real bummer for me and my 3,100 lb futon, but I felt good about day 2... Looking forward to Nats already!

Quick pic little MN's improvised course map...

 

I was expecting the NE gang to represent at the Dover Tour event this weekend. What happened?

 

Wasn't an option for me this weekend unfortunately. Looks like STX was 4.5 seconds behind ST and 9 seconds behind STU. I wonder if weather was a factor...

 

Nope. Weather was not an issue all weekend. STX was just off the pace.

 

AutoX was today..Got 1st AGAIN!
Here is a pic.

 

Might run SM this weekend just for fun down in Blytheville...I know I can take out the rear seats..But can I take out the metal panels behind the seats?