ET Pro Solo

  The SCCA El Toro Pro Solo was an enjoyable weekend with good food, cold beer, fun and fast courses, and a first place finish in a huge RT2 class.  The newest alignment has zero toe, so I kept the middle hole setting on the Progress front swaybar.  The car was still slightly pushy on corner exit but very confident in the fast transitions.




The push became worse as the BFG Rivals got hot and as the surface rubbered in.  I should have started with a looser setup or adjusted the swaybar for Sunday morning and let the car balance come to me as tire/surface conditions changed. 

2013 SCCA El Toro Pro Solo Results (pdf)





  The Good-Win-Racing Progress swaybar only has one more 'soft' adjustment setting and I fear that may not be loose enough for a concrete surface with lots of rubber laid down (think Lincoln Airpark Nationals; Thursday-Friday).  With a smaller OD and wall thickness, the Hotchkis swaybar should allow a better range of adjustments for my specific car's needs/course conditions, and I anticipate buying one just in case.

  The ultimate front sway bar would be a blade adjustable unit, possibly with a remote dial or lever adjuster. As far as I know, none currently exist for the NC/RX8 at this time so I am looking into having a custom unit built.

Next up is either the Southern Pacific Divisional or the Farmington Pro Solo.

SD Tour

My first event with the updated alignment was the San Diego Tour, or SCCA Pacific Southwest Championship.  The car would not turn at corner exit which is most likely due to the excessive toe-in. Somehow I still managed a first place finish ahead of 27 other competitors in RTR. 

So I went back to Lutz Tire for another alignment.  Gonna see what happens next weekend on the grippy El Toro surface at the SCCA Pro Solo.

I also picked up a used Good-Win-Racing RoadsterSport Race muffler.  Should still be under 93db@50ft.  The current MazdaSpeed duals look and sound great so I am in no hurry to change this exhaust, but I could save 10 pounds or so.