Miata Mailing List: March 1996, Message #43
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   From: Mike Lowe 
Subject: Braces and autocrossing & auto trans.
   Date: Fri, 1 Mar 1996 15:17:20 -0500

If you don't care at all about autocrossing/racing then skip this message.

    After Reid Allred posted about using subframe connectors in Stock 
Class autocrossing I sent him a message advising him of the rules.  Of 
course autocrossing is fun in any class but C Stock is the class to be in 
for Miatas.  Better than running in D Prepared against Midgets and 
Sprites.  I gave Reid some options and told him I could tell him how to 
get a Solo rulebook.  It's best to know the rules before tinkering with 
the car.  One guy with a blower asked me why his car couldn't run in 
Stock class.  Sigh!

    Then Lance Schall said that it takes several years to be a 
competitive autocrosser and that a dedicated car is required even in 
Stock Class.  That is absolutely not true!  Lance, please don't scare 
away potential racers.  There is a 18 or 19 year old guy in Colorado that 
almost won the National Championship in D Stock last Year.  A few of my 
fellow Aggies trophied at Nationals within five years of their first 
autocross.  
   As for dedicated cars, well, only a small fraction of America's 
autocrossers have cars dedicated ONLY for racing.  When I was at Nationals 
I looked at the odometers of many stock class 
cars.  Most of them had lots of miles on them.  By lots I mean at least 
>5000 miles for every year the car has been raced.  Very few (compared to 
the total # of stock autocrossers) stock cars 
are trailer queens.  They are daily drivers.  One guy who trophied in C 
Stock last year 
has well over 200,000 miles on RX7.  It think it was 240,000 miles.  

To all the list readers out there interested in autocrossing, like Nike 
says, Just Do It!  Have fun in whatever class you are in.


MANDATORY MIATA CONTENT:

Norman Garrett sent me a message clarifying the automatic transmission 
issue.  The AT comes from the 929 and is quite stout.  Put on a turbo 
without fear.  Motor changes were in the interest of lowering the torque 
peak to improve drivability.  Even the camshaft was changed.  I stand 
corrected.  I thought the torque multiplication from the torque converter 
was enough to reduce the peakiness of the MT motor.

Thanks for reading this far,


Mike Lowe  (mike.lowe@tamu.edu)     Gig'em Aggies!!!
Texas A&M Sports Car Club | Houston Region SCCA | Miata Club of America
TAMU 1997 Sunraycer Team            White '90 Miata  CS 93
Have job, will travel!