[BottleRocket]

My last car was a '91 Mustang coupe. It had over 500 rwhp and it was a blast at the 1/4 mile, but on the street it was a pain in the ass. The reason for selling it was to get a car that would have very good street manners, which is why im looking into an M6 T/A. But I was wondering how well this would work out. I've been looking at alot of the photo albums on here of people that race in NASA and SCCA and their cars have no interior except dash and a seat with a 12+ point cage and no creature comforts. I wanted to make a nice street car that was fun to drive around town but would still hold it's own at the track. is this possable? im not planning on going for national titles or anything, but just be competitive locally. I wanted to have a system and full interior in my car to keep it enjoyable for myself and all of my friends, but at the same time i want to be able to go out to the speedway when SCCA shows up and make a few laps and do well. is this possable or just a dream?

[00 Trans Ram]

As a current 2000 Trans Am auto-xer, I can say that these cars are very good to have as auto-x / street cars. Now, as stated before, first thing is driver . . . but I can't help with that one. What I can help with is car.

I have done every suspension mod possible, except replace rear springs. I have dedicated race tires and wheels, keeping very reliable (read: "long life") tires on for the street. I have removed my exhaust, up to the stock headers, which is a bit loud for the street, but gives me a bit more high-end HP (no dyno proof, just a feeling - it is debated as to whether or not this actually does anything). I have done most of the mods allowed to intake, except for a new intake manifold. The only interior mod that I did was to install a 5-pt harness (lap belts bolt to the back two front-seat bolts, sub belt is bolted under the seat, shoulder belts use a D-ring to clamp to the "baby-seat" loops on the rear deck - the shoulder belts come out for the street).

Best finish thus far is 2nd in unadjusted time (got that in the last 2 events) and 2nd in PAX (last time - got 5th in PAX time before that). The car is very quick and nimble. Since putting in the suspension and tires, I've only lost to 1 Miata, but I beat him last time.

As well as this car responds to HP mods, I believe that it responds twice as well to suspension and tire mods. I went from the handling of a '80's station wagon, to a first-rate car that will corner well, accellerate great, brake well, and transition well.

If you go to Delta March Results you'll see that I was 5th, while the top 11 cars were all small-engine, light-weight cars. And, Delta April Results shows that the top 8 positions were all small-engine, light-weight cars (except me and Jason Blitz driving a BMW M3). I'm not posting these to brag - just to show that a properly set-up F-body can win an auto-x. Of course, I have to thank Sam for most of my setup - he is instrumental to my car being as good as it is.

Sorry for the long post (I find that most of my posts end up long), but I hope it is helpful!!