Hi All,

This past weekend I had the immense pleasure of driving in my very first autox! My buddy asked me to be his "tire warmer" for his monster csp classed Miata! Wow, what a car!! I never realized so much fun could be had legally! Even though I killed a series of cones on my first run and went off course on another, 4 out of my 6 runs where actually clean! When all was said and done, this first time novice actually PAX'd at 20 out of 76! Needless to say I had a BLAST!!! So now here I am, it's Monday morning, and I'm gazing out the window at my 08 MCS. After driving that Miata it's clear to me that the MCS could do some serious damage on the autox course. I've gather enough info this weekend to figure out the 08 MCS is classed G-stock. What other cars are in this class? I'm also curious what the MCS's PAX "factor" is. If I do run it I would probably start out running it in the stock class. R-rated tires are allowed right? Any advise, pointers, urls to study would be greatly appreciated!!! TIA

 

Stay in the stock class, and get as much seat time as you can. The G stock pax is the best you will get for now.

 

Unfortunately seat time for me starts again in the spring. :(

 

The MCS is a monster in G Stock. Any other class and it will be out of its league. I would hold off on R Compounds and just run an extreme preformence street tires. SCCA car classing is right here. http://scca.com/documents/Solo%20Rul...nufacturer.pdf

 

cool, thanks for the link. Why do you suggest to hold off on the R compounds? stickier the better right? What would you consider to be a extreme performance street tire? I'm also interested in getting a set of rims. What are my options for getting "budget" rims? questions, questions, questions.....

 

R compounds are worth maybe 1.5-2.0 seconds on a 60 second course. When you are 2 seconds behind the top dog running r compounds then you need them, until then you are just waisting your money. Dunlop Star specs are scary sticky, just got them haven't run them on the course so I don't know how far is too far. I save that kind of testing for the course, when they break loose and I spin then I know what the limit is.

If you want to run 16x6.5 et45, Rota Slipstreams ar a good bet. They are around $500 shipped.
http://18racing.com/wheel_slipstream.html

Kosei makes a 17x7 $149 from the Tire rack. I'm not sure what the offset on those are.

 

Thanks guys I appreciate your tutelage. My car has 16" rims but the MCS can come "stock" with 16", 17" or 18". Can I assume that I can choose any of these size rims and still run in the "stock" class? Which rim size is optimal for autox? My guess is either 16 or 17.

 

I think since 18" is for JCW option, it's not legal.

Legal sizes are 16x6.5 and 17x7, both 48mm +/- 6mm.

16x6.5 have advantage with shorter gearing and lighter weight, but 17x7 can fit wider tires, at expense of taller tire. As far as which is optimal, maybe it's driver and course dependent?

Budget 16x6.5 is probably stock wheels that people have for sale. I actually have a set for sale. Rota Slipstream as mentioned is about $500 shipped. Kosei 17x7 is actually $196 per wheel... lightweight 17s are expensive, enkeis are over $200 per wheel.

It seems that top GS drivers had used 16s, more so than 17s (Nationals events).

 

Personaly I run in STS (slightly modified MC class) but here's my $.02

The reason to not jump into r-comps is 2 fold;

Justgo4it is somewhat right as it would be a waste of money, if that money were spent with the intention of being more competitive.

R-comps (I've been told by several autox veterans) tend to mask/hide driver errors and durring the learning process can lead to bad habits. this I believe to be true (but I have no experience with it since I compete on street tires) and makes sense.

the other reason...once you turn to the r-comp path...there's no turning back!!

As for tire recommendations, all I have ever driven on are Falken Azenis Rt-615 so I can't say anything but, they work for me.

As for wheel size...again I can't help here either. I run a 15" for improved gearing for the underpowered Cooper.

I can recommend Konig Feather wheels, VERY light and cheap should be able to find a set near $400. I've had them for over a year now with no problems.

 

I agree as well on the R-comps... they are expensive as hell, and do hide mistakes. Sticky tires like Dunlops Z1 Star Spec are awesome for street and autoX. G-stock also seems to be best class to run because Mini dominates there, and it's the cheaper class to run in.

 

Points well taken on the r-comps. BTW I was checking out r-comps on tirerack and couldn't even find them for 16". If one were to run r-comps on the mini what wheel setup would be needed.

 

You weren't looking in the right place. Kumho V710 215/40/16 and Hoosier A6 205/45/16 or 225/40/17

cheap and light 16's Rota Slipstream from 18racing.com
relatively cheap and light 17's Kosei K1-TS from Tirerack.