Well Ryoken was right what a BLAST!! I had done an SCCA event when I was younger but I forgot what kind of fun it can be. You get three runs against the clock. I was classified ESP because I have Stillen, exhaust and intake. I also have Eibach springs. Now after seeing the photos of my car the Eibachs defintly help body roll. Ryoken and one other G35 sedan were at the event. I watched them and they had quite a bit more body roll than I can see in the pics of my car. Ryoken has the stock Sport suspension. From what Ryoken says the intake mainly bumps me from DS class to ESP. The problem with ESP is that the competition is like vettes and such. The other 2 G35 sedans (Ryoken and John) ran in DS class. They both have AT. I have the 6MT. I had quickest time on my third run, so I guess I get bragging rights for this month.

I have to say that if you have never run your G35 hard, this is the perfect place to try it. It is truly very safe and loads of fun. The SCCA is everywhere. There is also a club in Los Angeles. They run at the California Speedway and a couple other venues. Being that I live in Temecula, CA I'm right between both clubs so if I play my cards right, and I'm real nice to my wife, maybe I can run at both events monthly. We'lll see.

By the way there were no Coupes out at this event. Lots and lots of 350Z's though. If you want more info let me know. Maybe I'll see some more fellow G35 owners at the next event.

Ryoken, Thanks for everything. I truly had a BLAST! Sorry I beat your time, beginners luck I guess.

I'll try to attach some pics

Mike
6MT
Brilliant Silver
Graphite Int.
Stillen Exhaust and Intake
Eibach springs

 

PIC #1



154231-The starting line.jpg

 

PIC #2



154232-looks quick.jpg

 

PIC #3



154233-Left turn.jpg

 

PIC #4



154236-loading for right turn.jpg

 

Great looking car, to bad that guy is in the picture!



154237-Before the session.JPG

 

I blame it on the tires. Turanzas (me) v. GS-D's (6speed). And you only beat me by about 0.2, buddy. [img]/w3timages/icons/wink.gif[/img] I don't think it was beginner's luck on your part. You add up your 6-speed, better tires, and mods, plus the fact that you have done this before, and you could have beaten me by more than that.

Granted, I've been doing this all year, it it was your first run in a long time. Of course, your 63.6 and my 63.8 still can't compete. I think something like 58.x was the best score in our class, though I didn't check the scoreboard. There are two very good drivers in our class, one with a Sentra SE-R, the other with an Integra Type R, that routinely take the top spots and beat out the WRX's that I still haven't caught up to. They're having a practice/school day event on the 20th/21st, but unfortunately I'll be out of town that weekend. I could really use one of those school/training day events.

The car could definately use some sway bars, but that's another kick-you-into-ESP mod. ESP doesn't have 'vettes, btw. About the closest thing would be an '82-'92 Camaro/Firebird. Mustang Cobras, Taurus SHO, Lancer EvoVIII, and naturally-aspirated 302 and 351 Saleen Mustangs. These cars do play in ESP. Why is the G35 sedan in this field? Because it hasn't been specifically classed in street prepared yet by SCCA, and falls into the "Other sedans over 3.0 liters not otherwise classified" category. To make a car competitive in ESP, you have to do a lot to it.. and it's not what I'd want to do to a luxury sedan that's used as a daily driver. Now, if they would just let STX play in San Diego, you'd be set.

I was having a bad day today, my first run ending up being my second fastest, it was the 6th run that was better.. everything in-between was screwed up somewhere. I ran too fast through the corners on more than one occassion and managed to do a nice 180. That was good for an extra 5 seconds on my time. I think the day was summed up by the guy that hands you your time on a sticky note at the end of the track. On one run I skidded to a halt just past the finish line, about an inch away from knocking over the cones, after a particularly squirrely run. The guy gave me my time and said, "I heard your tires yelling, 'I surrender!'"

Now, where's that 3yr/36k mi brake warranty letter.... [img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

this sounds very cool, i go to ucsd and qualcomm's only twenty minutes away, but i have a few questions:
1) how often do they hold these events?
2)how much is the fee?
3)are any special equipment or licenses required?
thanks

 

I have a Coupe but I went to the event pretty late (about 2:30pm) so there were no other G's there by the time I got there. The car drew quite a bit of attention when I arrived so that was kinda fun. Especially in that environment when there were all those other amazing cars there.

I rode in a friends Z06 as he took the curves. WOW what an amazing car!!! He's an excellent driver and actually took second at the event earlier in the day. By the time I arrived they were just getting ready to do the "fun-runs". For the fun runs it was just an additional $5 for 3 more laps. He had the Hoosier slicks on his car and ran a 57.xx something with me (additional 250lbs) in the car! The breaking and acceleration were quite impressive. Talk about driving a car to the limits! Just amazing!

There were still a few Z's leftover including a really nice roadster. The roadster owner and myself got to talking about the cars and he was really surprised to see the difference in leather quality between the Z and G seats. I'd never noticed it myself but after looking at my seats and then taking a look at his I had to agree that the G's seats were definitely much better.

He said that ealier there were a ton of Z's because some magazine was there taking pictures and after the Z's finished the Solo event they all headed up to Carlsbad Dragstrip to run some 1/4's. Half the Z's were supposed to be Supercharged too.

I plan to run my car at the next event. I've never run in these events before so I'm sure I'm not going to be the best representative for the G-car. I might let my Z06 friend take it for a run so I can see what a decent time should be.

Here are the websites for the solo events.
Unofficial San Diego Solo
Offical Solo Website

<font color=blue>Twilight Blue/Willow, Nav, Aero, 6MT, Splashguards, Clearbra, Tint, Sirius, Ground Wires, EBC Greenstuff, V1, Clear Corners...</font color=blue>

 

Here's why there were so many Z's at the Solo event...

Sport Z Magazine Details

<font color=blue>Twilight Blue/Willow, Nav, Aero, 6MT, Splashguards, Clearbra, Tint, Sirius, Ground Wires, EBC Greenstuff, V1, Clear Corners...</font color=blue>

 

stormxshadow,

1. The events are held about once a month from what I have seen. I'm not sure if they are always at the "Q" or not.

2. The fees to run are as follows if your an SCCA member. The cost of the SCCA membership is $70.00 for a year. The good thing about the National membership is that you get discounts at all the SCCA events.
A. To run at an San Diego SCCA event non-SCCA member is $35.00. SCCA members pay $20.00. That gets you three runs. You can also buy three more runs in X class. Plus at the end of the day if they have time it is fun run time. The laps are like $1 to $2 bucks. I saw something that said 3 runs for $5.00.
B. You also have to be a member of the San Diego region SCCA which I don't remember how much it was. Maybe Ryoken can fill us in. Anyways you get a discount if you have the National membership.
3. All you need is a vaild license, No new test or anything. You will need to get a helmet with an Snell 90 rating or newer. If you don't have a helmet you can get a loaner at the event. They just use your drivers license as collateral.

You can run most anything at these events as well. Maybe we'll see you at the next one.

 

Yes, those Z06's are pretty sweet. I've ridden in an MR2 and in an STS-prepped Civic. It's all fun. Those supercharged Z's sounded really nice. I talked to the guy with the new Z Roadster, as well. (It's technically his wife's car... [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img]) He and a couple of other people were asking me how the "tiptronic" thing on the G35 sedan works.. I replied, "it doesn't." Nobody realizes it's a top-gear limiter, not a gear selector, until after they own the car. It works pretty well in autocross if you just stick it on "2" and forget about it, but the 1/2-second delay if you try to make it work like a gear-selector will kill your concentration.

1) how often do they hold these events?
It's not exactly once a month. It's more like "it depends." We run in the parking lot at Qualcomm, so obviously we don't get to play during a football game. Previously, the Padres schedule was a problem too, but they have their own stadium next year. Lots of other events are held there too, RV shows, police/fire fighter training, etc. The auto clubs get the leftover weekends, and then the SCCA Solo2 region has to share those with the BMW, Porsche, Corvette, and Miata clubs, plus the local RaceLegal 1/8-mile drag events. There are 3 parking lots, but the large West Lot is the desirable one -- the NorthEast and SouthEast lots are much smaller and have more chunks in the pavement and hard obstacles (light poles, etc.) in the way limiting the course designs. It comes out to roughly once per month on average. Last year due to the superbowl and stuff, we didn't get anything until March, and that was a National Tour event, so April for the first local event, there was nothing in June or September, but 2 each in October and November. Plus, there's a lot down in Chula Vista (Soak City) where they sometimes run practice days around this time of year, if there aren't enough time slots at Qualcomm. We mostly do run at the "Q" as there aren't any other venues in the area available to hold such an event. Believe me, they're always looking for an alternative location. Not that the "Q" is bad, in fact it's considered one of the best autox lots in the nation, but availability is limited.

This is for the San Diego Region. There's also the LA region run by CalClub, they run events at Norton AFB and at the California Speedway (both roughly near the I-10/I-15 intersection). Schedules are posted online, http://www.sdr-scca.com/solo2/ for San Diego, http://www.solo2.com/ for LA.

2)how much is the fee?
For San Diego, you need an SDR car number card to participate. These cars are $30 for non-SCCA, $20 for SCCA, and $10 to renew. Your number card is good for one calendar year.

Event fees are $20 for SCCA members, $35 for non-members. This gets you three runs. You can buy a second set of "X" runs for another entry fee. You'll get a time, but it won't count for points rankings.

SCCA membership is $70, including SD region dues. SCCA membership is not required, but if you intend to participate a lot and do the X runs for extra practice, the membership starts saving you money at your third event. (Save $30 per event, if you do X runs.) This membership is good for one year from the date you apply, and you also get SportsCar magazine, the SCCA's monthly publication.

This is the San Diego fee setup for 2003, and probably 2004 as well, as I haven't heard about any changes. LA does it a little differently, and since I haven't run there yet, I don't remember the details.

At the end of the day, time permitting, they do fun runs. Passengers are allowed. It costs $1 or $2 per lap, and is dependent on which club is running that day's event.

3)are any special equipment or licenses required?
You need a valid driver's license. Your car does not have to be street-legal, but does have to pass a tech inspection (people trailer-in open wheel racers and heavily modified cars). This is fairly simple, the battery needs to be secure, tires in good shape, nothing loose in the passenger area or trunk. There is a noise limit of 93db 50ft from the track under full throttle, which shouldn't be a problem if your car is street legal. You need a Snell-rated helmet. The rules state the current and 2-previous Snell ratings are acceptable, and they come out every five years. Currently the 2000, 95, and 90 are allowed, in 2005, the 90 rating won't be accepted anymore. New helmets will be 2000. There are 2 Snell categories, M (motorcycle) and SA (special applications). Either is acceptable for autocross, though if you inted to do track days at local race tracks, you'll need an SA helmet. Loaners are available for autocross. I prefer the open-face type helmet, as they're cooler and easier to get on/off.

Whew. That was a mouthful. Any more questions?

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

wow...haha... great responses thanks alot!!!

 

Just noticed this part:
<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

B. You also have to be a member of the San Diego region SCCA which I don't remember how much it was. Maybe Ryoken can fill us in. Anyways you get a discount if you have the National membership.

<hr></blockquote>

Actually, the $70 includes the San Diego region SCCA dues. You're probably thinking of the car number. In SDR, you have to purchase a card with a car number for the year (the $30/$20 card).

This lets you run, but you won't accumulate points for year-end trophies. To accumulate points, you have to join one of the local clubs. There are 5. They all have different membership philosophies and dues and such. Joining one is not required unless you want to compete for an annual trophy. If I had joined a club one month earlier this year, I would have had enough events to qualify for a shiny new last-place trophy. [img]/w3timages/icons/smile.gif[/img] Plus, the clubs run the events individually. As a club member, when your club is hosting, you work more.. get a discount.. and usually free pizza and beer after the event cleanup.

It's not the cheapest form of racing entertainment around, but it's darn fun. The costs for non-members seem a little steep, but as it was told to me, the San Diego region is one of the more successful autox regions in the nation, and as such is a victim of it's own success.. running approximately 250-300 cars per event. Some other regions give you 4 runs, but with a constant stream of cars starting at 9:00am, 3 runs per car, it takes until 4:30-5:30 to get them all through. They've also had problems with lazies (for lack of a better term *cough*long-grain*cough*white*cough*) coming in, doing their 3 laps, not staying to work the course, and disappearing for good. It's hard to strike a balance between encouraging new autoxers to join the sport (which we willingly take) and discouraging the lazies that don't want to work and help out, but only want to take up space on the track (which slows down the event).

That's probably more information than you ever wanted. [img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

That's probably more information than you ever wanted.

<hr></blockquote>

Actually, that's all very helpful info. I didn't know that the guys working the courses were volunteers. I thought they were paid out of the sign-up fees so I would have been one of the lazies taking off after running my car if you hadn't pointed this out, thanks...

<font color=blue>Twilight Blue/Willow, Nav, Aero, 6MT, Splashguards, Clearbra, Tint, Sirius, Ground Wires, EBC Greenstuff, V1, Clear Corners...</font color=blue>