Track forum general chit chat.

[M3 Number 86]

Originally Posted by StripclubDJ

Good thing his car is faster than he is .... for now lol

[OG Shark]

Any recommendations on where to start for entry level competition? I’ve been looking at nasa tt3 but not sure what else is out there. Preferably around Texas.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by jktx

Any recommendations on where to start for entry level competition? I've been looking at nasa tt3 but not sure what else is out there. Preferably around Texas.

I'm starting with time trials mostly because I'm not willing to bend up my car racing yet.

[XCUSE_M3]

Originally Posted by jktx

Any recommendations on where to start for entry level competition? I’ve been looking at nasa tt3 but not sure what else is out there. Preferably around Texas.

SCCA has there TT thing but the classing is autoX so if you have anything on your car you wont be competitive. Still fun to get times against other guys. Oh and cant forget pax! Even though you get the fastest time of the day some mustang will have a faster pax time and they are 10 sec slower. NASA you need to do there HPDE and get approved before doing the TT events.

[OG Shark]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I'm starting with time trials mostly because I'm not willing to bend up my car racing yet.

I’m with you on that one - time trials looks to be a good start for me. Will be awhile before wheel to wheel. What organization(s) are you participating in?

Originally Posted by XCUSE_M3

SCCA has there TT thing but the classing is autoX so if you have anything on your car you wont be competitive. Still fun to get times against other guys. Oh and cant forget pax! Even though you get the fastest time of the day some mustang will have a faster pax time and they are 10 sec slower. NASA you need to do there HPDE and get approved before doing the TT events.

So for SCCA if you do anything to the car does that throw you up into higher classes? I haven’t gotten to autocross yet so that could be interesting - although from the sound of it the pax adjustment could get old but probably still fun. NASA was my first thought - seems like they have a decent Texas presence and actually wouldn’t mind working through an HPDE or two with them to get a feel of what they are all about before building to their rules


Thanks!

[XCUSE_M3]

Originally Posted by jktx

I’m with you on that one - time trials looks to be a good start for me. Will be awhile before wheel to wheel. What organization(s) are you participating in?



So for SCCA if you do anything to the car does that throw you up into higher classes? I haven’t gotten to autocross yet so that could be interesting - although from the sound of it the pax adjustment could get old but probably still fun. NASA was my first thought - seems like they have a decent Texas presence and actually wouldn’t mind working through an HPDE or two with them to get a feel of what they are all about before building to their rules


Thanks!

Ya they run the PAX system even with track stuff so just depends on the mods but with my E90,s areo and what not im just there to set the fastest time. Who cares about PAX I like raw! The E36 is a much better car for SCCA but i take the e90 out most of the time. Its fun and like i said fun to get some times against others with way more power.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by jktx

I’m with you on that one - time trials looks to be a good start for me. Will be awhile before wheel to wheel. What organization(s) are you participating in?

NASA central. Figure I complete in TT3 this year against me, myself and I (Non-existent field in the central region). Then add HP to run TT2 in 2020. TT2 is competitive so that's gonna be a challenge.

I'll also do a couple of DEs throughout the year.

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by jktx

Any recommendations on where to start for entry level competition? I've been looking at nasa tt3 but not sure what else is out there. Preferably around Texas.

Big vote for TT3. First event is at MSRH last weekend of January. I plan to be there. I ran with that region for 4 years. Runner up 3 times. Champion in 2017.

I think TT is easier on the car in a lot of ways, but still gives you a competitive experience.

PM me if I can answer any questions.

[M3MPH1S]

Originally Posted by XCUSE_M3

SCCA has there TT thing but the classing is autoX so if you have anything on your car you wont be competitive. Still fun to get times against other guys. Oh and cant forget pax! Even though you get the fastest time of the day some mustang will have a faster pax time and they are 10 sec slower. NASA you need to do there HPDE and get approved before doing the TT events.

FYI, SCCA TT is now merging with Gridlife and Global Time Attack to form the new North American Time Attack Council for 2019. There's an interview/reveal tonight at 9pm EST on the Grassroots Motorsports YouTube channel with more information. They are also launching the new website this afternoon time trials.scca.com

I know they mentioned doing something like novice, intermediate, advanced, and pro licenses with ladder ranking

I'm optimistic that this means they will move away from the current classing system.

[M3MPH1S]

Originally Posted by jktx

Any recommendations on where to start for entry level competition? I've been looking at nasa tt3 but not sure what else is out there. Preferably around Texas.

Check my other post above for info, but SCCA is now merging with Global Time Attack and Gridlife to form a new TT association for 2019, so they may become a serious contender to NASA. There's an interview/announcement tonight at 9pm EST on the Grassroots Motorsports YouTube channel.

[XCUSE_M3]

Originally Posted by M3MPH1S

FYI, SCCA TT is now merging with Gridlife and Global Time Attack to form the new North American Time Attack Council for 2019. There's an interview/reveal tonight at 9pm EST on the Grassroots Motorsports YouTube channel with more information. They are also launching the new website this afternoon time trials.scca.com

I know they mentioned doing something like novice, intermediate, advanced, and pro licenses with ladder ranking

I'm optimistic that this means they will move away from the current classing system.

Cant wait to see the classing if it changes at all. My car is xp or whatever so I can get paired with some Miatas with LS motors and all that fun. My stock 4.0L cant hang.

[M3MPH1S]

Originally Posted by XCUSE_M3

Cant wait to see the classing if it changes at all. My car is xp or whatever so I can get paired with some Miatas with LS motors and all that fun. My stock 4.0L cant hang.

Oh well even the current classing is not exactly the same as autox, it's just based on it. So for that situation, if you do an engine swap, it moves you into the "max" or "unlimited" (can't remember exactly) class as 1 form of fairness and they also have each class divided into 3 or 4 levels depending on engine power (as a baseline) and caveats for extreme power to weight examples such as that. It's not perfect, but it's not that bad. I've participated in 2 of their TT events this year and they were both quite fun. Got 2nd place at one event. TT Nationals was a bit more competitive, so no podium. National Corvette Museum was an amazing track though.

[XCUSE_M3]

Originally Posted by M3MPH1S

Oh well even the current classing is not exactly the same as autox, it's just based on it. So for that situation, if you do an engine swap, it moves you into the "max" or "unlimited" (can't remember exactly) class as 1 form of fairness and they also have each class divided into 3 or 4 levels depending on engine power (as a baseline) and caveats for extreme power to weight examples such as that. It's not perfect, but it's not that bad. I've participated in 2 of their TT events this year and they were both quite fun. Got 2nd place at one event. TT Nationals was a bit more competitive, so no podium. National Corvette Museum was an amazing track though.

The other problem was not all regions used the same rules. I know the national rules were different from the Texas region. It was the first year in Texas so maybe thats why. Just getting a feel for it.

[OG Shark]

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

NASA central. Figure I complete in TT3 this year against me, myself and I (Non-existent field in the central region). Then add HP to run TT2 in 2020. TT2 is competitive so that's gonna be a challenge.

I'll also do a couple of DEs throughout the year.

Awesome - podium sweep all by yourself! So about an 80 to 90 hp bump to get to TT2?

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

Big vote for TT3. First event is at MSRH last weekend of January. I plan to be there. I ran with that region for 4 years. Runner up 3 times. Champion in 2017.

I think TT is easier on the car in a lot of ways, but still gives you a competitive experience.

PM me if I can answer any questions.

That is awesome - sounds like a pretty solid four year run! Is there a pretty decent turnout for this region? Sounds like you were pretty happy with how it was run too?

Have you run COTA with your TT3 car? If so would you mind sharing what kind of times that class tends to run there? Just curious how far I have to climb to be competitive - all I know is it's going to be a long way

Originally Posted by M3MPH1S

Check my other post above for info, but SCCA is now merging with Global Time Attack and Gridlife to form a new TT association for 2019, so they may become a serious contender to NASA. There's an interview/announcement tonight at 9pm EST on the Grassroots Motorsports YouTube channel.

Very timely - will check it out. Thanks!

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by jktx

Awesome - podium sweep all by yourself! So about an 80 to 90 hp bump to get to TT2?

That is awesome - sounds like a pretty solid four year run! Is there a pretty decent turnout for this region? Sounds like you were pretty happy with how it was run too?

Have you run COTA with your TT3 car? If so would you mind sharing what kind of times that class tends to run there? Just curious how far I have to climb to be competitive - all I know is it's going to be a long way

Very timely - will check it out. Thanks!

I'll post some CoTA videos. I had the original TT3 track record with a 2:27. Paul Costas came back the next year in 280 hp corvette and ran a 2:22. I can probably get to 2:25 in my car, but will never get close to his record.

[SQ13]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

I'll post some CoTA videos. I had the original TT3 track record with a 2:27. Paul Costas came back the next year in 280 hp corvette and ran a 2:22. I can probably get to 2:25 in my car, but will never get close to his record.

Can I run in TTU if I don’t want to deal with dynos and all the associated calculations?

[ThunderMoose]

Originally Posted by SQ13

Can I run in TTU if I don’t want to deal with dynos and all the associated calculations?

Yes

[OG Shark]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

I'll post some CoTA videos. I had the original TT3 track record with a 2:27. Paul Costas came back the next year in 280 hp corvette and ran a 2:22. I can probably get to 2:25 in my car, but will never get close to his record.

You were scootin around there - awesome! Not very nice of Mr. Costas to come back the next year and do that though, seems pretty rude. Would definitely like to see some videos if you have time to post them. Has that corvette been your main competition?

Been thinking of going to the January event to get the HDPE progression towards TT started - weather should could be fun then though.

[dbyrd]

2:27 is fast as shit. I'm instructing this weekend, and I'll be happy with a 2:32. That said, I'll be on RS-4s, and my car weighs 3775 with driver-belly.

On another note, I'm psyched to try out my new Racecom Trac-com communicator with direct Stilo connection.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by jktx

Awesome - podium sweep all by yourself! So about an 80 to 90 hp bump to get to TT2?

I'm going to try and drop more weight and get a good dyno tune with intake, headers and exhaust.

The car is at 2590 with a full cage and no fuel right now. I want to try and get down to 2480 dry which should put me at 8.2 adj WT:HP.

I think I can drop another 30 lbs without spending much money or using composites. Then another 43 lbs re-doing my roll cage with .095 wall tubing. I can lose another 20 net with a CF hood, roof and trunk plus the weight of aero components.

I have to get down to 2550 dry to have a chance to be able to go with thinner tubing which would be a substantial weight reduction. I think I can get to sub-2500 lbs for less than $2000 all in - parts, tools, and supplies.

[bigjae1976]

Originally Posted by ThunderMoose

I'll post some CoTA videos. I had the original TT3 track record with a 2:27. Paul Costas came back the next year in 280 hp corvette and ran a 2:22. I can probably get to 2:25 in my car, but will never get close to his record.

I think you can get the track record. I have faith in you.

You can pick up an easy second if they don't have those orange sausage curbs in place. You can put your outer wheel on the inside white line to flatten out a couple of turns.

Especially the second to last turn (T20?). Dan cheats and goes over that curb. One day he's gonna rip his diff cover off and I will laugh my arse off!

[M3 Number 86]

for laughs I made a GTR race render template. I think it's pretty accurate.
(secretly: it could be for DCT drivers too)