It’s not Ryan’s style, and I can’t even really commit to being there with him… but the recent adoptation of SCCA solo 2 rules by the WCMA has me thinking hard about an STS2 prepared AW11. For me… not only is it a really easy car to build, it’s also a car that I think could be winning… and if we have dreams about traveling and driving… traveling to places were FTD is impossible… doesn’t it makes sense to build a car that can win a well populated class and maybe challenge for PAX?
I still think about auto-x… drifting was great… still is… but I’m feeling old and somehow… drifting doesn’t fit my lifestyle anymore. (My wife is most sad about this). So… when I wake up in the middle of the night, or early in the morning… I think about this…
An STS2 AW11. Up against Miata’s and CRX’s. Built to the extent of the rules (which really isn’t much), and being a winning car based on mid engined dynamics and smart tuning. If any car never NEEDED an lsd, it was a mid engined car, and therefore the MR2 has one big thing going for it in a class where LSD is banned. That said, The AW11 is the heaviest of the three, but a zenkei hard top model could get pretty damn close to that of the Miata (NA). The 4age looks about right for power, in comparison to the competition… not many options for more power available in that class… header, short straight exhaust, underdrive pulley’s, and if I really wanted… some Megasquirt and a more aggressive map.
Suspension on street tires doesn’t have to be super stiff, and thus… the great advantage of uber expensive dampers is limited… off the shelf stuff is probably fine. Wheels are ebay special 15×7.5… street tires aren’t cheap… but they last a long time and get used all the time. Big adjustable front sway bar, and new bushings. Certainly, some compromises will have to be made in the footwork department… at least up against two outstanding cars like the Miata and CRX… but my recent discoveries… OR RATHER RYAN’S recent discoveries… have found that, the 20 year old mac-strut car that I always accused of being over weight and poorly designed can still make due.