Newb autocross drama question.

Mr. TT should be reminded:  cheating at autocross is a bit like that Johnny Knoxville movie "The Ringer", it just makes you look 'special needs'.  

And yeah, we're easy on our novices for the reason I mentioned.  I finished my first ever event in DFL and have honestly worked my way up to a couple of second place finishes over the course of 6 years.  But getting there means I earned them the hard way, not by cheating (unless a miata on Hoosiers counts as cheating which it almost does).

The local club I run with (Furrin Group) probably fits in the loose category with classing.  I think they handle it pretty well--when people are running "illegal" cars in a class and not doing well, nothing is really said/done.   That keeps them motivated to keep trying.  When people are doing that and getting trophies, they're asked/told to move to a more appropriate class for the next event.  I can't remember anyone disagreeing with that. 

I run local events and SCCA events and I have completely different goals for each type.  For the local events, it's more social and more about having some fun and getting some seat time.  SCCA events are more serious and way more competitive,  so I also make sure I'm legal and probably am competing harder.   

I like both types of events for different reasons, but I make sure not to mix the reasons up.  

There is a big difference between SCCA autocrosses and Club autocrosses. Clubs tend to be a little more relaxed, both in atmosphere and regulations, especially towards members who put in a lot of time. Personally, I like the differences.  I race with a local club and with the SCCA chapter and both offer a different experience that I enjoy. I don't want my club to take racing too seriously, and I don't want the SCCA to get lax on the rules. Embrace both styles, or stick with the one you enjoy. If the club is your only option or you think that their ways are limiting participation or growth, get involved, get elected, and  push for change from within. 

Tom1200 said:

So the question is; how difficult is it to fix the blow by issue, thereby eliminating the need for the test pipe?

Obviously the blow by will clog the cat; can you find a couple of cats from people parting out cars?

I'd either get the car back to being strictly legal or let this go.

Another alternative might be to let Mr Speedy drive your car at an event; this is sometimes really helpful. If the guy goes as fast in your car as his, that sort of settles the issue for you.

Assuming it's not a severly clogged PCV, lots of blowby = rebuild. 

Unless it's just stuck/gunked up oil control rings. That was the case on my 1.6 Miata. A weekend of HPDE cured it. 

I'm confused by the basics.  Why would you get invited to an SCCA Regional for winning a class in a non-SCCA club with a non-legal car?

In reply to z31maniac :

It's got a new pcv system. Next is felpro valve seals. If it's rings I'm running it till it dies or fixes itself. 

Duke said:

I'm confused by the basics.  Why would you get invited to an SCCA Regional for winning a class in a non-SCCA club with a non-legal car?

 

The regional is private as well. 

That doesn't really answer my question, but then again I don't really care. 
 

In reply to Duke :

Not sure what you're having a hard time with? It's a non SCCA club, a non SCCA regional invitation, and my car doesnt make the grade. I can't make it any simpler. 

• Agree with all of the 'get your own E36 M3 legal/run in the right class' comments
• You have 18 participants and an invite only regional event?  WTF?
• Its a tiny region.  Go out and have fun.  Winning on a scale that size means essentially nothing.  Find someone who also does well in SCCA events and use them as a benchmark.
• Tiny non-SCCA regions are not very pro-competition in my experience.  Almost all of them favor a more relaxed environment, a relaxed ruleset, and look the other way when someone is violating rules.  Pushing back against this is unlikely to get you anywhere and you will become that annoying guy to the organizers.
• Fix your car.

_ said:

In reply to z31maniac :

It's got a new pcv system. Next is felpro valve seals. If it's rings I'm running it till it dies or fixes itself. 

I'd do a leak down test before messing with valve seals.

18 people in your club?!?

There's 41 people in my class!

The more serious you get about winning at any spec racing the more expensive it gets.  Learning to have fun and race yourself is a much happier proposition.  You can make racing another job if you want.......

z31maniac said:

_ said:

In reply to z31maniac :

It's got a new pcv system. Next is felpro valve seals. If it's rings I'm running it till it dies or fixes itself. 

I'd do a leak down test before messing with valve seals.

Yeah, in the works. The way I see it though, my car has 200,000 miles on it, the general consensus is that most Miatas leak around that age at the valve seals or the piston rings. And since I'm not going to bother replacing the piston rings, I will just replace the valve seals and if that doesn't fix it, who cares at that point.

_ said:

z31maniac said:

_ said:

In reply to z31maniac :

It's got a new pcv system. Next is felpro valve seals. If it's rings I'm running it till it dies or fixes itself. 

I'd do a leak down test before messing with valve seals.

Yeah, in the works. The way I see it though, my car has 200,000 miles on it, the general consensus is that most Miatas leak around that age at the valve seals or the piston rings. And since I'm not going to bother replacing the piston rings, I will just replace the valve seals and if that doesn't fix it, who cares at that point.

I wouldn't even bother with valve seals then. Just lick the stamp and send it. 

And keep it filled with oil.