What SCCA Solo II catagory would a 2006 MCS be in if the only mod it had was a a cold air intake (Alta, DDM, Web ...)? I think it would be out of Stock and into Street Touring, but just wanted to make sure.

 

STX

 

Just switch out the intake for the stock box on race days. After a couple races you'll be able to make the switch in minutes.

You will be so much better off in G-stock than in STX

 

It's not too bad of a class, but you'll find yourself out-powered most of the time In November I went to my first and there was an '06 JCW, an older Mitsubishi Eclipse Turbo AWD and a modified Impreza Wagon in STX with me. I managed to avoid last place only because one dude didn't manage a single completed run

 

Thanks for the replies.

That's a big hit for just a cold air intake. Oh well. Ever since I heard the supercharger sound of my MCS and then heard how a cold air intake brought out even more of that wonderfull sound, I wanted one. Not for the .00001 hp gain but for the sound.

 

So you're saying that the tech officials should examine/research each modification to determine if it's truely a performance enhancement on the vehicle it's installed in? Or should they just take the word of the driver that installed it?

Sorry, but I'm tired of people complaining about the SCCA rules not conforming to their car.

 

I think what he was referring to was how outclassed (Hp-wise) the MCS gets with just an intake

 

mitchman, sorry I came across in a complaining manner. I know far too little about SCCA to start complaining. I was just saying I was surprised that a cold air intake would put a MCS into another class since I've read the gains are debatable (some say it turns the car into a jet fighter, others say there is no performance difference.)

I can understand that the gains would be different on each make of car, each model and on each type of intake design. I don't expect anyone to keep up with all of that.

I've gotten my question answered and I can and will play by the rules. So to end this on a friendly positive note, here are some smilies

 

Dude, if you're just starting out in Auto-X (Like I am) then you shouldn't worry too much about being competitive. My one event was GREAT! We got 6 runs (3 before lunch, 3 after) and what I concentrated on was making each run clean (No cones) and improving my time on each run. My results; I went from a first run of 82+ seconds to my last (and best) run of 67 seconds. Of course, the leader in STX was the Impreza Wagon and the drivers were fairly experienced Top time in STX was 60.7 and the top time for the event (Not counting the Kart) was an SS class Z06 that ran 58 seconds

Also, in case you haven't already seen it, Tire Rack has a decent Novice Guide here: http://www.tirerack.com/features/solo2/handbook.htm

Hope some of that babble helped

 

I wouldn't worry about it too much either way. The PAX correction factors for GS and STX are almost identical - 0.803 versus 0.808.

Unless you're wanting to stay in GS in order to run R-compound tires, your PAX times will probably end up better in STX, since you can avail yourself of a wide variety of suspension mods, as well as lighter wheels/tires.

Of course, more seat time will yield the biggest improvements of all, but at least going into STX with just an intake isn't going to kill your PAX time like jumping into SM with only a supercharger pulley would.

 

Tell me about it

 

No problem. Sorry if my comment sounded too harsh. My bad....

 

By going to STX you are leveling the playing field and giving up the good handling the MINI has out of the box. The best street tires just don't compare to good R-comps. In GS the MINI is a top contender, in STX it is an also ran.

 

But remember.......for a lot of us the AutoX is for the fun, not necessarily for the win. With my mods I am very uncompetitive, but I love to go out and have fun.

 

Those of us just starting out shouldn't worry about being competitive anyway After getting some decent seat-time maybe, but I wouldn't expect to be very far from last place (raw) at all this season (my 1st full one). Now, once I've done it awhile and feel confident that I'm driving the way I should be, THEN I'll worry about finding the limits (and pushing them a bit )

 

I raced two seasons G Stock in my MCS that has a cold air intake, but as Yucca Patrol pointed out, I would remove it at the track and install the stock cover for the day. Some CAI’s like mine can be changed in less than 3 minutes. I couldn’t see racing in STX when the CAI was the only mod on my MCS.