Solo stock class questions

I just got a 2002 WRX wagon in world rally blue, and its amazing! Completely stock except a bigger hood scoop from a newer wrx. I am defiantly going to be hitting some auto crosses later after I have driven it for a while and sorted everything out, making sure everything is going to stay together. I know I wont be that competitive but I would like to stay in stock class for a while, and I need new brakes since mine are warped. I was thinking to going to a slotted or drilled rotor for some extra heat dispersion when auto crossing and living in the mountains they heat up pretty fast just driving daily. Will this bump me out of stock class? The rules say you can change pads but doesn't say anything about rotors so I'm thinking it will, also wana throw some hawk pads on too while I'm in there.

I'm assuming you're speaking of SCCA, no?

Technically, the update to the newer hood would throw you into Street Prepared. HOWEVER, I think unless the guys running it are complete tightwads, you can get away with the hood in Stock so long as everyone is fine with it. (Or, if you didn't mention it, I doubt people would notice.)

I know that slotted/drilled rotors would also throw you into at least a ST class, if not an SP class. Drilled rotors are more likely to crack under competition stress anyway.

The Hawk pads are legal for stock.

Take luck and care!

Welcome to GRM and to autocrossing! In SCCA language, if it does not specifically say you can do something, that means you cannot.

That being said, that is a minor modification that doesn't add much benefit during a 45-second autocross run. Since you're a new guy, such a minor change will probably not matter much to other competitors until you start to beat them. However, I would be up front with everybody that it's been done.

I would run screaming from drilled rotors for the reason scardeal points out, and my impression is that slotted rotors don't really provide much advantage with modern pads. Certainly not during an autocross where the runs are short and the speeds low.

Yep, good plain rotors and pads of your choice.

In reply to scardeal:

Yep - what he said. Run in the Novice and/or Street Tire Index groups and chances are nobody will care. If/when you start prepping your car for a class is when you really have to be concerned about the rules.

Read up on STX allowances (you can download a PDF copy of the rules from the SCCA site). That era of WRX's seem to do well there.

Don't bother with slotted or cross-drilled rotors. They provide little to no performance advantage. In fact in thermal analysis I did, slotted and cross drilled rotors did worse in terms of heat dissipation.

Well I guess I will stick with normal rotors, their cheaper any way!

I have the old hood scoop he gave me too, so I guess if I start top get fast I'll throw it on before events, but I doubt that will happen. I have autocrossed before, in an e30, and it was in D stock with the WRX, and those things were way faster, I cant wait to see what it can do! I'll be pleased if I can beat my younger brother in his WRX with some bolt on stuff.

However you are allowed to run DOT legal race tires and to be fast you need these.

I would run it for this year on what you have then if you run a season next year get some new tires for the job.

Tire article

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/top-tires/

Brake article

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/articles/stop/