What’s the most competitive Autocross car?

dps214 said:

In reply to RonnieFnD :

Did some more googling...288hp is the TT-S which is classed in STU. STH is the normal TT which is 220-230 depending on year. In any case 7s is much more a case of driver quality or prep quality, not the base vehicle.

That what I thought too but I have run against several TTs' in STH. They pop up from time to time and I'm told that's where they belong such as the one in the picture above that was one of two in that weekend alone. 

I'm familiar with the one on the photo, it's definitely a normal TT. Whoever told you the s is also in sth is wrong.

In reply to Lof8 - Andy :

Is that a naked Elise? 

I don't have the best understanding of autocross classes, but is there a car that can compete in multiple classes and still be fairly competitive?

My initial thoughts when starting this thread was Miata and corvette as I feel those are well represented at most events....but I did also see a Tesla model 3 that smoked everyone the last event

dps214 said:

I'm familiar with the one on the photo, it's definitely a normal TT. Whoever told you the s is also in sth is wrong.

That's good info, I've always been told that's where they belong and that's what the rebull one is.  That cool you are familiar with that car, it's freaking awesome isn't it?  Watching it launch on the concrete and then get to open up on a mile long autox course was the best, that dude rips!  Just to show you what I've been up against from time to time and where I got my incorrect line of thinking. 

ojannen said:

There are some cars that have had long runs of dominance in the higher prep classes.  The drivers are usually close to top time of day and top pax. The Kiesel sprite comes to mind.  John Thomas also won about 10 championships in a row in an e-prepared Honda.  The blue and white gt350 associated with Mike Maier has been around forever and has won across multiple decades.

Beat me to it. Three very competitive autocross cars. 

'99-'00 Miata or '00-'02 MR-2 Spyder. E/Street cars are absolutely lethal on PAX when set up properly, fairly easy to get the hang of driving, and are also pretty cheap to buy and set up and run. It's also a very stable (or stagnant, depending on your view) class. You don't have to worry about buying the right car, and then the next year getting outgunned by the new hotness that some manufacturer released. In our region, the top of the results is usually an E/Street-fest. Just be warned, that class tends to draw a lot of the most talented drivers. Also, if you get tired of E/Street, they can be relatively competitive in Street Touring classes, Street Prepared, Prepared, Street Mod or Xtreme Street.

Saw a Lotus 7 with a highly tuned Twincam in it and slicks run the heck out of everything else competing once. Bet that would still be a potent combo.

In reply to NickD :

This is exactly the information that I was trying to figure out but couldn't get my brain to say! In my defense, I had just started my coffee and not finished it when I first posted lol

Lof8 - Andy said:

under $2k in it with a 2zz (plus $300 for tires). Has earned $1k in tire rack bucks.  Several local FTD awards (stickers).  I'm not saying it's the best, but it's a really good value. 

Okay, what exactly are we looking at here? A karted MR2?

In reply to rdcyclist :

yes, karted MR2 spyder with 2ZZ engine swap.  Its been a $2000 Challenger for the last 5 years.  I'm thinking about selling it after this year's Challenge.

It's not always the fastest, but a properly set up Lotus 7 replica is still hard to beat in terms of a street-legal unindexed time. 

Lof8 - Andy said:

under $2k in it with a 2zz (plus $300 for tires). Has earned $1k in tire rack bucks.  Several local FTD awards (stickers).  I'm not saying it's the best, but it's a really good value. 

Well sir I'm going to throw out there that a lightly modded 1959 recycled ice resurfacer is better around the cones. ;)

Super cheap consumables, lazy V8 power, goes pretty good.

Kinda rare though....

FD RX7's usually did very well, did the classing change? 2021, A Street was faster than Super Street, with an FD taking the win (over-all I think?). Crazy being a 30 year old car.

Looking at times now, seems the P GT3 is dominating. So, pay up and bribe your local dealer

I was at a National Tour event last fall, two E Street cars, MR2 and miata respectively, were first and second in raw time. Porsche GT3 was third.

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Did they get rained on immediately after the ES cars ran?  There is simply no excuse for that sort of result.  

In reply to KyAllroad :

No change in conditions, same run group.

I couldn't find the  results until now. I'll make a correction: just the first car in E Street, a MR2 spyder, ran a 48.374 on day one. The fastest Super Street car, a Porsche GT3, ran a 48.466.

There is a 1965 Mustang that is kind of a village bicycle, owned by a guy named Frank Stagnaro, from northern CA.  Mike Maier and others have driven it; it's kind of won everything for like decades . . .

NOHOME said:

I take it back. Cricket rules are self explanatory by comparison.

That, and Cricket rules don't change every 15 minutes or so!

Excellent attempt at explaining, though. I followed exactly what ya meant, and gave me a nice smile this morning.