Re: ///MRoadester in ASP.... (archive)

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That was a very nice post and your points are well taken. I guess my question comes down to this. Do I continue to invest my time and money ( lots of $$ ) in an attempt to be competitive in ASP if the car ultimately doesn't have it in the cards. Yes, I have much to learn. I've been autocrossing for only a year now ( I'm 41 ), and I have been getting better every month. I have Watts' book and have read it carefully, although I know I need more track time. For example, I'm just beginning to realize how critical it is to be "smooth". I thoroughly enjoy autocrossing! It is the most fun I've had since I was a kid swimming in AAU! It is about the good time but I do confess to having some competitiveness in me.

Here in Houston, in the SCCA the ASP class is DOMINATED by a souped up Viper owned by a gentleman by the name of Curt Bennett. I've seen him run and the mods he has done to that car put him two to four seconds out in front of the best RX-7's in the field. And, I have to admit, the sound of that V10 and the way that car sticks in the corners is amazing.

In retrospect, I should have thought more carefully before I moded my car. I could have done well in SS I think. My alternative is to just stay in the local BMW and Porsche club autocrosses. In their events my car is grouped with M3s, M Coupes, and M Roadsters. This is a very fair competition that really comes down to driver skill.

I'm not a coupe racer because both my wife and I drive a Boston Green 1999 ///MRoadster. But since you also drive a ///MRoadester I'll try to answer your questions for you.

We drive in NASA autocross mostly instead of SCCA. NASA in our area has about half the attendance than SCCA so there is less competition. (That was my disclamer.) We also like NASA because they are cheaper ($40.00 for a couple.) and have an autocross about five miles from my home about once a month while SCCA comes down our way only about three or four times a year.

I'm in ASP due to a Dinan strut brace, a Jim C. Cold air intake and the shark injector. I run on BFG T/A R1's, with Borbit type "T" rims. I have 255/40/17 in the rear and 235/40/17 in front.

What follows sounds like a brag but how else am I going to tell you that the car does just fine in autocross? Anyway, here goes....

My wife and I are both the ASP and ASPL points leaders in NASA autocross in Central California. Prior to moving up to ASP we were the points leaders in SS and SSL. The current points leader in SS is also held by a friend of ours in a red ///MRoadster with his wife a very very close second!

I'm currently fifth out of about 150 drivers in the PAX rankings for this year. The PAX scorig system attempts to handicap each car so that the driver can be compared by how well he or she drives and not by how fast his or her car is.

I agree that the newer RX-7 can be fast but I just beat one at the last autocross. I talked to the driver and he had been attending autocross events since the 1980's.

I and about every other BMW at a autocross in Fresno beat the time of the entire Viper club this year. A Viper is a road racing car and not all that good in the corners in my opinion. On the open road I will eat their dust but in short twisty roads they will eat yours. It seemed like when they finaly got into their power band that they had to hit the breaks for the next corner.

In my opinion your modified MZ3 can compete beyond the occassional poorly attended local SCCA event.

Consider buying a book by Henry A. Watts, titled "Secrets of Solo Racing" The ISBN number for this book is 0-9620573-1-2. The Library of Congress Catalog number is 89-092254. If you learn half the information in this book you will find your autocross times will get faster and you will be beating those cars you think dominate autocross.

One last point: Both my wife and I have agreed that we would autocross for the fun of it. Yes we like to win but we also enjoy watching others learning and having fun. That is way we give rides to others when we autocross. You want a ride with me, all you got to do is ask. Never mind that I lose about one horse for each eleven pounds of extra weight in the car. I'll also ride with you if you think I can help you with a pointer or two.

You got a great car. Enjoy it and don't worry about who beats what. After all you are really only racing aginst yourself to see if your can improve on our own driving. When you go home after an autocross and know that you finally figured out how to take this or that type of turn better and cut a few seconds off your time then who cares that some other guy was faster then you that day. Your day will come.

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