General question about auto Xing

I would really like to get into auto crossing and I just wanted to know what kind of auto X-ing associations there are out there for lt1 transams. What are some of the engine restrictions, power restrictions? What are some roll cage requirements? Do you have to have certain driving schools attended before you can race? I'd appreciate a heads up on the matter, thanks for your time.
-Tony

This is a good link for you being in Southern CA http://autocross.com/autoc/swclub.shtml

You will have lots of opportunities as there are many clubs and events in your area! As you can see below I also have one of these cool cars! I went to an autox school at a Southern CA AFB a few years ago. Had a blast! I do recommend you go to one of these schools.

Don't worry about your autox class (group you compete in) now, just get yourself out there and start driving. You'll learn all about what tire pressures to use, what mods are good, etc. You will see all kinds of cars out there, there is a class for every vehicle!

you can also check www.americanauto-x.com. they race at castle afb in atwater. its a bit of a drive, but its a large and sticky place. the guys who run there set up for v-8 cars, so its fun!!

SCCA (www.scca.com) is the biggest auto-x organization. You don't need anything more than a car and valid license to compete in an auto-x. They do require helmets but usually have loaners available. Don't worry about what mods you have or what class you'll be in, everybody starts in novice. SCCA has novice schools and evolution schools available too. They are a blast and you will learn a lot about your car and how to drive it. The speeds are pretty tame compared to road course events but the adrenaline is the same, and actually I find auto-x more of a challenge than road courses.

Oh and one more thing, prepare to be humiliated by cars you used to make fun of! ;) :D

out west, we have so many people show up on weekends, we also require a scca membership to run with the scca. but san diego might do different.

If you're worried about classing, check out this website:

http://mouton.best.vwh.net/sccasolo/

It should answer any questions you might have about classing. Auto-x is a blast .... just go out and have fun. Don't mod the car; just learn how to drive fast. You can start talking about mods after that. And believe me ... you may think you know how to drive fast ... you don't. :D

Here is a link for the SCCA Solo II rules for Stock and Street Prepared (http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Rules/sp.html) class catagories. Your car is probably not stock so the next class you would compete in would be E Street Prepared (V8 Camaro's and Firebirds). After that, C Prepared. Anything past those classes, your looking at Street Mod (SM) or E Modified. E Mod would be anything goes.

I agree. Don't mod anything until you see what it's all about. Anytime you start moving up in class, you're moving up in money. And the problem is, once you do move up, you almost need to do EVERYTHING allowed within those rules to be competitive. Start simple and slowly work your way up.

You'll notice the class I'm building for doesn't allow ANY internal engine mods (other than balancing and port matching), anything external goes (sort of...).

Here in Atlanta, once you trophy in Novice you have to move up to your respective class.

And yes, most people THINK they're great drivers until they hit the autocross course.... it's a REAL eye opener!

Yup, thats going to be an E/SP car if they enforce *any* rules at all.!! Since you're new at this, you will be able to run novice class, but once you're in with the real E/SP cars, you're going to get your butt kicked until you get some decent auto-x tires. Kuhmo Victoracer's are about $150/ea. and are what are called "DOT approved" tires, which means they're basically racing rubber with a few courtesy tread grooves in them and stick mich better. It's doubtful you'll ever get that car to be competitive in a street prepared class without good tires, and while you're at it if you decide to get serious, you might want to look into a good set of shocks like Bilstiens and the WS6/1LE Camaro sway bars in some good poly bushings.
Actually, just go out, run in the novice classes for a while and enjoy it....sharpen your driving skills by seeking advice from other drivers and attending some of the auto-x schools that are offered and have fun with it.!! You can always throw more money at the car later if you get infected with the bug..

Street Prapared is a very competitive class, fiercly so in my region. My buddy runs a 92 Civic hatch with supsension, BIG brakes and a motor swap and he is one of the fastest cars in SP. He is getting bumped to E mod (D?) this year though because he took out 4lbs worth of interior pieces and got protested. :rolleyes: Oh well, gotta go by the rules I guess.

This is my second year and I haven't gotten auto-x tires yet, I still haven't reached the limit of my stock SO2s. My Civic buddy drove my car 1.2 seconds faster than I did (bastard) at the last auto-x so I know I've still got room to grow. Which is a good thing because I can't afford ~$1000 worth of tire and wheel right now!

Originally posted by Daveg27
Street Prapared is a very competitive class, fiercly so in my region. My buddy runs a 92 Civic hatch with supsension, BIG brakes and a motor swap and he is one of the fastest cars in SP. He is getting bumped to E mod (D?) this year though because he took out 4lbs worth of interior pieces and got protested. :rolleyes: Oh well, gotta go by the rules I guess.


Well, if it's any consolation to him, his car was way illegal before if he was actually running it in Street Prepared. Motor Swaps aren't legal. Non stock brake setups (as in aftermarket calipers/big rotors) aren't legal......

Originally posted by 01 FS Z28
Well, if it's any consolation to him, his car was way illegal before if he was actually running it in Street Prepared. Motor Swaps aren't legal. Non stock brake setups (as in aftermarket calipers/big rotors) aren't legal...... Oops, I mistyped, for some reason I confused SP with SM! He went from Street Modified to E Modified.

Actually, engine swaps ARE legal BUT only under certain circumstances.

14.1 Section C

Equipment and/or specifications may be exchanged between different years and models of a vehicle if
(a) the item is standard on the year/model from which it was taken,
(b) the years/models are listed on the same line of Appendix A (Street Prepared Classes).
The updated/backdated part or the part to which it is to be attached may not be altered, modified, machined or otherwise changed to facilitate the updating/backdating allowance. The updating and/or backdating of engines, transmissions or transaxles must be done as a unit; component parts of these units may not be interchanged. Cars not listed in the Street Prepared sections of Appendix A may not be updated/backdated until approved by the SEB and published in SportsCar magazine.

So basically, you can swap LS1/LT1 between ANY 4th gen car (they are on the same line) as long as you do it according to these rules. But what a pain!!!!!

When I ordered parts from Sam (two post up) the other day, we talked about (he believes) how the LT1, for all practical purposes for this class, was just as good as the LS1. While I'm sure the LS1 will make more power (setup to ESP rules) I don't believe the difference in power would change lap times much at all. Suspension, tires and the nut behind the wheel will make a MUCH bigger difference for a whole lot less money!!!!