New Board Member With Ls1 Swapped Mazda Rx7

[sciff5]

Well a locost is about as much go kart as it is car.

I would absolutely be scared as hell taking one of those around a track at full speed

[nateh]

sciff5 -

Your car will be classified in PA.

You will need a roll bar and harnesses. These are not dangerous on the street as long as you use the correct (high density) roll bar padding and locate the bar properly.

Please read Section XII. PREPARED in the rule book. (http://www.comscc.org/rules)

You won't regret putting in these safety items. I have them in a 1992 Miata, which gets onto the track now and again as well as being driven regularly on the street. Not a problem at all.

See you at the track!

- Nate

[sciff5]

Well that ends that idea. At least for this year and most likely next.

I need a roll bar not only because of HPDEs but I was also running 11.67 at 120 mph at the drag strip last year with a pretty much stock ls1, now with the cam, it should be close to 10s.

So either way its going to happen but just timing isnt right, right now. If I put a roll bar in a car it will be in the next car the engine/tranny gets swapped into and it will be a cleaner shell regardless. Whether thats another FC shell or I have been playing with swapping a miata the next chassis will have a roll bar. For now, I can still sandbag and run the 11.50 drag racing index, I can do HPDEs with certain groups, but obviously not all, and still Autox so I can have enough fun in the meentime. This was the problem I had last year and why I didnt come out to any events.

Your classing system just classes me out of the game. I would just run my stock automatic maxima, but with 130k and my daily driver I dont feel like putting that much stress on it.



Thanks anyway guys

[962porsche]

a bolt in roll bar is not that much money . get the word bolt in ? you don't heed a cage just a bar . and net cheap 20 to 30 bucks . and 2 5 point belts . 2 sets of belts becouse you will need to have one for the instructor too . all can be had for about 500 bucks . new and cheaper if you look for used ? i have one set of up to date 5 point belts good untill the end of this year . they were for free with no takers . so don't come up with some lame ass excuse not to come out and race !!!!!

[sciff5]

I obviously need to look for deals harder, seats are like 500$ alone used for both (that are actally made for use with a sub belt), Belts another couple hundred, and even a bolt in roll bar is another 500$. Weld in is 1K.

I never really thought about a bolt in roll bar because I thought they are more for looks than safety as they arent allowed in most sanctioning bodies I am guessing because of situations like this mustang.

http://jalopnik.com/5390934/mustang-cov ... e=true&s=x

I know the drag racing crowd does not allow the bolt ins.

This board is cool though seems like good racing stuff is always up for sale

[962porsche]

for the fun of it i looked last night . i found a roll bar for 156. a net for 15. belt 52. aluminum seats 125 each . places like racing-junk , scca and nasa forums . as for seats there is no rule that you have to have a racing seat . thou its a good idea . when i had the OE seats in my VW i used 5 point belts . they were not that bad . if the seats are beat up then cut a hole for the anti submarine belt in the seats . i did that with one of my 944's . we put alot of emphasis on safety over what they do for auto-xing . there are much higher speeds and a hell of a lot of seat time . with auto -x you get what 5 to 10 runs for the day at one minute per run and get into 5th gear once (maybe ? ) with time attacks you will get about 4 run sessions per day at 20 to 30 minutes each time at much higher speeds .

[dinoracer]

sciff5

As someone who, despite a few years of track experience, has moved and climbed a jersey barrier in his car, I HIGHLY recommend you suck it up and add a roll bar and a 5-point harness. Mine kept me from suffering any injury, depite the damage to the car.

The back seat of your car is useless anyway, there should be a way to get a roll bar in far enough back that you don't risk head contact on the street. Or at least a harness mount bar across the space.

And as has been already said, modified cars are more than welcome - we're just looking to make sure no one gets hurt. Hurt is bad for you, and it makes it harder for the rest of us to keep booking tracks, recruiting new members, and assuring our spouses that there is little risk in going to the track.....

[timmmy]

I would say the car is a PA class car for sure, meaning to run with COM you would need a roll bar at a minimum.

A roll bar is fine for the street on a DD basis, particularly in your car as it is a 2 seater pretty much. Plus it will add some chassis rigidity and allow you to mount harnesses and a seat back brace to a race seat.

Roll bar FTW in any kind of rollover crash. You could also add a diagonal door bar for some side intrusion protection, this wil make getting in and out a little more tricky, but safety first.

Come take a ride along at NHMS in my PA car for reference.

H

[naschmitz]

Although its a new setup its very very easy to control at the limit, much more so than the vettes or camaros I've driven at the autox course. I have yet to even spin this car autocrossing. So its a stable setup but not really fast yet.

If Sunday at the TrackClubUSA AutoX was the first time you spun that car, you could probably use more practice learning what to do when you go over the limit and loose control. Keep going to the AutoX and spin the thing often enough that your reactions become a reflex (just do it further from the timing lights). The first time you spin it seems like things happen so fast you don't know what happened. The more you do it the more time seems to slow down. Although I like track days and time trials a lot, I still try to make it to 6-8 autocrosses a year just to push the car over the limit and keep those reflexes sharp. Then on track I have a really good idea what 90% feels like.

[paultg]

Although its a new setup its very very easy to control at the limit, much more so than the vettes or camaros I've driven at the autox course. I have yet to even spin this car autocrossing. So its a stable setup but not really fast yet.

If Sunday at the TrackClubUSA AutoX was the first time you spun that car, you could probably use more practice learning what to do when you go over the limit and loose control. Keep going to the AutoX and spin the thing often enough that your reactions become a reflex (just do it further from the timing lights). The first time you spin it seems like things happen so fast you don't know what happened. The more you do it the more time seems to slow down. Although I like track days and time trials a lot, I still try to make it to 6-8 autocrosses a year just to push the car over the limit and keep those reflexes sharp. Then on track I have a really good idea what 90% feels like.

Agree 100% with above. BTW I'm the guy in the red miata who was parked next to you at DD and the autox.

I didn't look at your car too close, but if you do plan to track it you will need to consider your brake system (along with the safety gear already mentioned). Not sure what you have in there now, but at a minimum you will need good pads and fluid, especially for NHMS. I suspect with your extra power you might need to consider alternate means of cooling the brakes as well, might be as simple as removing dust shields from behind the rotors, to all out fabrication of some ducting to the brake area.

Nice meeting you btw.

Paul G.

[sciff5]

Lol still cant find a corner to hide my face in... even after getting off the airfield. You guys still found me.


Yes this weekend was my first spin and yes it was the single worst place to spin and took out the timing lights as well as doing a little bushwhacking, but based on the timer on the video it would have been my best lap of the day.


Yeah this was the first time the car really bit me out of the blue. All day it was easy to drive.




I have another couple autox days then theres a HPDE on the 23rd, you can be sure I wont be nailing it coming out of a corner trying to gain a tenth of a second right at the finish line.

Yup learned that lesson... wierd thing is I did that exact same thing the 8 runs before that and had zero issues. The car just power slid a bit all very controlled under throttle as the car usually is but as the day went on I took more and more air out of the rear tires and loosened the rear suspension to get more traction out back which worked so instead of doing a controlled slide under power it gripped and I think snap oversteered I deff steered into the turn and that kept it from going all the way around but was still too late.

The factory brakes for the Rx7s are good for factory brakes. They are vented rotors all the way around with 4 piston calipers and I am running HP+ pads which I hear are a minimum for HPDEs and I'll probably need a lap cool down every once and a while. I run super Blue ATE fluid generally. Wih more aggressive pads and the right airflow those factory brakes are good for some pretty hardcore lapping but I think they'll only be OK I dont mind taking a cool down lap every once and a while. I think the cooling system will need it more than the brakes anyway.

[962porsche]

i would install cooling ducts . it will take more than one cool down lap if you over heat your brakes . nhms is one of the hardest tracks on brakes .

[TroyV]

This is a very small world indeed.

Those were my timing lights you crushed.

[John F]

This is a very small world indeed.

But, as Robin Williams says "I wouldn't want to paint it"

I'll be at the event on the 23rd with a couple of friends and I'll look for a loud Miata. I'll be in the loud cobra

[sciff5]

i would install cooling ducts . it will take more than one cool down lap if you over heat your brakes . nhms is one of the hardest tracks on brakes .

How is it on oil temps generally?


Looks like I may be able to pick up a 4 pt autopower roll bar with the attachment that turns it into a 6pt cage with window net. Would I need to install the cage or is the 4pt bar ok?