[ReEntryRacer]

I dropped into Laguna Seca a few days ago while I was heading back to Canada after a vacation in AZ. We watched the Audi bunch having so much fun that I have convinced my wife to support me in a long haul back down there this season with my SCCA-legal GT1 car. Its just production-based and nowhere near as fast as purpose-built tube-frame 'real' GT1 cars, but I want to try that track before I get much older/fatter/slower. I have joined SCCA-SF Region in preparation, and see three SCCA events listed, one in early May, another in late June and another in early Oct. I could REALLY use some advice as I prep the car and plan the long trip down from British Columbia. Is there anyone on here that intends to compete in one or more of these weekends? This old 'newbie' could use all the local information he can get! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)
Larry

[rmackintosh]

I dropped into Laguna Seca a few days ago while I was heading back to Canada after a vacation in AZ. We watched the Audi bunch having so much fun that I have convinced my wife to support me in a long haul back down there this season with my SCCA-legal GT1 car. Its just production-based and nowhere near as fast as purpose-built tube-frame 'real' GT1 cars, but I want to try that track before I get much older/fatter/slower. I have joined SCCA-SF Region in preparation, and see three SCCA events listed, one in early May, another in late June and another in early Oct. I could REALLY use some advice as I prep the car and plan the long trip down from British Columbia. Is there anyone on here that intends to compete in one or more of these weekends? This old 'newbie' could use all the local information he can get! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)
Larry

Likely I will be at all three of those events.

Pending my car getting done, and me finding a new job..... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE I CAN INSTILL ON YOU IF YOU ARE GONNA HAUL ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE FOR LAGUNA IS........MAKE SURE YOUR CAR WILL PASS SOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Laguna is sound NAZI's and they have park rangers roaming around with sound meters nailing people......I see it all the time, folks towing for miles and they turn 4 laps all weekend because they can't get the car to pass sound.

This is assuming your car is sorted in all the "normal" areas and is fairly reliable.....

IT IS THE BEST TRACK TO DRIVE ON PERIOD, so I think you should come on down! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/cool2.gif)

[ReEntryRacer]

Thanks for the encouragement Randy. I see from your website that you had a big one at the last race in Laguna.
I hope you can recover from that severe damage in time to run the whole season.

About the noise issue; can you tell me the dB limit(s) for big bore cars? I play around with those fast GT1 cars here at home and we have to meet 95 dB taken at 50' from the track edge at an acceleration zone. I never quite get to 95 so I hope that will work down there. You have experience with SCCA GT and IT so maybe you can tell me how SCCA will want my car placed. I know its not IT-legal due to its age, and I'm not sure how they will view my underpowered car (~340 RWHP) in GT1. We have a run-what-ya-brung type of GT group here that allows any year of car as long as it meets all CACC/SCCA safety preparation rules. As well as CACC/SCCA GTS 1-4 classes, we have a GT-O (over 4000cc) class for odd-ball cars with rotary engines in Fieros and Datsun 510's etc. What run group do you think I'd be best in?

[rmackintosh]

Thanks for the encouragement Randy. I see from your website that you had a big one at the last race in Laguna.
I hope you can recover from that severe damage in time to run the whole season.

About the noise issue; can you tell me the dB limit(s) for big bore cars? I play around with those fast GT1 cars here at home and we have to meet 95 dB taken at 50' from the track edge at an acceleration zone. I never quite get to 95 so I hope that will work down there. You have experience with SCCA GT and IT so maybe you can tell me how SCCA will want my car placed. I know its not IT-legal due to its age, and I'm not sure how they will view my underpowered car (~340 RWHP) in GT1. We have a run-what-ya-brung type of GT group here that allows any year of car as long as it meets all CACC/SCCA safety preparation rules. As well as CACC/SCCA GTS 1-4 classes, we have a GT-O (over 4000cc) class for odd-ball cars with rotary engines in Fieros and Datsun 510's etc. What run group do you think I'd be best in?

Yeah, I got clocked pretty good. T-boned a Datsun 510....which I raced for 9 years....at over 100 MPH! He was WAAAAAAY out of shape and fishtailing wildly and came at me with no "warning" and I was stuck.... (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I am working on the car now. Just dropped the motor and tranny in this weekend. I WILL miss the season opener in 2 weeks for sure. I HOPE to get it together for the May Laguna race....round #2.

If your car is not tube framed, and you run on DOT tires....you will be elegible for ITE, which is what I run. There is no year cut off and there are plenty of 3rd gens that run....even an occaisional 1st gen. You will still be under powered for the hardware we see around here, but you WILL have someone to race with as ITE has a large spread of car type and prep. There are three rules:

1. Must be tub based production car
2. Must run on DOT tires
3. Must meet IT category safety rules

As far as sound....man, you guys are even tighter than we are! They attempt to put us in a 103 db window.....and most of our runs are that. However, due to scheduling we may have a 101 db session or two in there...sometimes it is a race. Since sound is set by windows, you can have the db limit change mid session! I will say this, many say that their car "grows" a few db at Laguna....ie if their car was a 101 db at Thunderhill....it can be say a 104 db at Laguna....just the way it goes. If you are that quiet, you **SHOULD** be OK. However, I would bring some turndowns, or other means to "tune" the dbs if you can.

If you have a fuel cell, you could run in GT-1 as well....you would be way under manned, but you could double enter in both ITE (group 1) and GT-1 (group 3) to maximize the track time you get for the HELLACIOUS tow you have in store.

Come on down!
(IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

[ReEntryRacer]

Wow, you are a fount of knowledge! A couple more questions please:
1. Are Hoosier R5s or R6s considered DOT by SCCA? They say DOT on them, but they are radial race slicks in passenger car sizes. I use Hoosier radial rains too.
2. I normally use 4.10 rear gears, and never see 5th gear with my T5 up here. Can you guess what gears a T5 car with only 6000 RPM needs at the longest/fastest straight at Laguna?
3. I think I have all GT1 required items including 10lbs of Halon, forged bellhousing, DS loops, 22 gal. fuel cell. I still have a glass rear hatch with hoodpins only, no straps. Will that bounce me?
4. I saw something about a recently proposed/revised rule about NASCAR-like bars into the door rather than across it. If so, I will need to remove my aluminum inner door liners and do some cutting and welding.
Thanks again. You are helping me enormously!
Larry

[rmackintosh]

Wow, you are a fount of knowledge! A couple more questions please:
1. Are Hoosier R5s or R6s considered DOT by SCCA? They say DOT on them, but they are radial race slicks in passenger car sizes. I use Hoosier radial rains too.
2. I normally use 4.10 rear gears, and never see 5th gear with my T5 up here. Can you guess what gears a T5 car with only 6000 RPM needs at the longest/fastest straight at Laguna?
3. I think I have all GT1 required items including 10lbs of Halon, forged bellhousing, DS loops, 22 gal. fuel cell. I still have a glass rear hatch with hoodpins only, no straps. Will that bounce me?
4. I saw something about a recently proposed/revised rule about NASCAR-like bars into the door rather than across it. If so, I will need to remove my aluminum inner door liners and do some cutting and welding.
Thanks again. You are helping me enormously!
Larry

The Hoosiers are fine for ITE.

As for the rear gears....you might get into 5th on the front straight. I use 3.90's and have no problem but I go to 7000 RPM. The 4.10's should be really nice climbing up the hill however. I know some vintage guys who go even higher than that!

I am no expert on GT-1 rules. The rear hatch with glass I would **THINK** would be OK. They might prefer window clips to hold it in though.....I would ping Alan Blaine on here to get input from one who builds cars and knows the rules much more so than I. PM him and I am sure he could answer.

Same for the NASCAR bars. I would **THINK** you are OK, but Alan would know better.

This post has been edited by rmackintosh: Mar 17 2008, 03:03 PM

[ReEntryRacer]

Thanks again. Good to know I don't need Toyos or something. I have been scouring the SCCA GCRs and GT1 rules to ensure I'm in compliance, and other than moving my oil cooler from the passenger compartment floor back to the front, adding the 3 support strips inside my lexan windshield, and adding the two strips outside the rear hatch, I look legal (if not very fast) in that class. I'm totally bafffled about ITE though. I see no references to that class on the official SCCA Cars and Classes site. I'm assuming its a local/regional thing? I see that your region also has a class called GTA in Group 3. The ICSCC up here has such a class that catches the GT cars that comply with the safety regs but not necessarily with the GT1 specs. Can you point me at a set of regs for that class? Sorry about all the questions. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)
Larry