328is vs rx7 autocross - the rx7 looks no fun?

Hey guys.

There's lot of possibilities for a dirt cheap track rat out there. I've narrowed down a huge list of cars and I'm looking at just RX7s and e36 328is right now.

Looking at autocross videos, it's hard to find an N/A RX7 that looks like they're having fun. No skids, no tire noise, not very fast, etc. However, its hard to find a 328is that looks like they're not having fun. Am I right in this... should I let this become a deciding factor?

I'm pretty sure Mike Golden has fun in his RX7

(granted, it is not N/A and not close to stock, but I just had to post a picture of it anyhow....)

Go hitch a ride in an RX7 at an autocross.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcRiiEWPXE0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Nope. No fun here.

irish44j wrote: I'm pretty sure Mike Golden has fun in his RX7 (granted, it is not N/A and not close to stock, but I just had to post a picture of it anyhow....)

Why would he rallycross a Subaru when he has that? Unless it is a different Mike Golden.

RX7 is probably one of the best track day cars let alone autocross, saying it might not be fun is funny.

I mean they don't have a ton of power and torque if you are in an NA car but they rev insane and are an excellent chassis.

one of the most fun (though not particularly fast) autocross cars I've ever driven was my bone stock '79 RX-7.

EvanB wrote:

irish44j wrote: I'm pretty sure Mike Golden has fun in his RX7 (granted, it is not N/A and not close to stock, but I just had to post a picture of it anyhow....)

Why would he rallycross a Subaru when he has that? Unless it is a different Mike Golden.

Same Mike Golden.

You need to autocross both cars stock or similarly built to make a good decision on which car is more fun to drive.

Since everyone is different, your buddy might like an auto-x car that you hate. For instance, for me, I think the Z3 is more fun than a NB Miata on an auto-x course which was very unexpected.

Maybie because the BMW owners can fit their helmeted heads into their cars! Seriously, I really enjoyed my '88 RX7. The annoying lack of headroom was the only reason that I let it go.

One of the reasons that rotary engines retain their loyal following is that there is a unique pleasure to be had in a car that will happily rev to the stars. And while the extra shifting relative to a more torquey motor may be annoying to some, it's part of the very pure traditional driving experience of rotarys. Ask yourself why rear-engined Porsches retain their following despite an inherently compromised engine configuration.

I eliminated the seat sliders to gain plenty of headroom...

The 6-cylinder E36 cars weigh 3,000+ lbs.

FCs start around 2,600 lbs. Semi-trailing arms. The budget V8 swaps like the GRM $2005 winner sound like fun.

I have to lower my seat to fit my big helmeted head in my 325i. A no-sunroof 1997+ 328i might be nice, though they gained more weight from side airbags and a bunch of other stuff by then.

Many times a lack of squealing tires and drama merely indicates somebody is setting a blisteringly fast time on the course.

I think what you are "seeing" here is the apparent boredom from an outside visual perspective of a 50:50 weight distribution.

It reminds me of a the time I was AutoXing in my 65 Corvair. There were a number of faster and sportier cars out at the course, but when I pulled up for a run, someone asked if they could get a ride. I asked "why me", and they said "it looked like you were having the most fun out there". Likely because my less then planted rear end driving was visually more interesting.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I personally really enjoy the loose rear end driving but for pure performance, other ways work well also.

I also remember watching two very similar Corvettes AutoX. My summation of the two (which I relayed to them) was: You "look" at lot faster, but are slower. You "look" less exciting, but are faster (cleaner, closer to the cones etc.)

Which one was having more fun? Depends on what there goal was.

I think what we're really seeing is that the target BMWs have a a bunch of classes they're competitive in so you have a bunch of them built. When you say RX7 there's only one class they're even close to having a prayer in and thats SSM. And N/A RX7 ran in CSP at nats a couple years ago, pretty sure he got raw time by most of ST and he was on hoosiers. If I really wanted to ran an RX7, I'd buy an already built IT7 car and go road racing.

EvanB wrote:

irish44j wrote: I'm pretty sure Mike Golden has fun in his RX7 (granted, it is not N/A and not close to stock, but I just had to post a picture of it anyhow....)

Why would he rallycross a Subaru when he has that? Unless it is a different Mike Golden.

I don't think that looks more fun than this......(I know its an e30, but e36/46 do it as well)

This is what happens to RX7's and autox:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv4m41viy4I