hey this is Cage.... i just moved back to the ATL and was going to re-enter the AutoX scene here. I have been running the whole season in Birmingham since i have been in Alabama (and because it is a bigger, better, cheaper venue). there arent as many Subi's in 'bama so i have been running in ESP just to have some competition. my Car is legal for STX or ESP, but i would rather stay in ESP......so i was wondering how many people on the boards run in ESP? and if anyone knows...the few people that did run in ESP...were they on street tires or slicks? i want to know if i can stay on street for next year or if i need to step it up.
there are a few ESP'ers, clemsonscooby is one of them. I believe they are running slicks also. If your car is STX legal, you would probably be better off there
There are a few....on RA1's and Hooiser R6's. I might join up on Khumo V710's and Hankook C50's. In the mean time...I am 100% STX legal and run STX and STU.
Atlanta Region is one of the most competitive regions in the area... you won't be compeitive in ESP without r-comps. Likewise there are a few decently prepped cars with good drivers in STX. Don't forget Brian LaRose's well prepped IROC-Z either....
Oh yeah sign up for the Atlanta Subaru challenge (www.subaruchallenge.com) you should see some good STX and ESP cars adn drivers.
not so sure about that... looking at this years results the fastest time in STX and ESP are usually within a few tenths of a second. last event STX had a faster winning time than ESP. so if streets are competitive in STX...then they should be in ESP as well. was planning on getting those Bridgestones that do so well, but still considering slicks since thats what ESP does.
First off Turner is repaved... slicks have less of pax advantage than street tire classes. Secondly I've been at every local Atlanta event for the past two years, I know what level of prep people are running in each class. To catch Tom, Russ, Eric and Brian in ESP you will need some sort of R-comps. I cannot stress enough how competitive Atlanta Region is! Last event shows the winning STX car 2 seconds behind Tom's ESP codriver 1T 72 Christopher Carder 1998 Acura Interga White 51.792+1 47.289 47.148 46.735 46.735 1T 193 Russ Kishbaugh 2003 Subaru Wrx Black 46.058 44.159 44.393 44.261 44.159
You had better run R comps, because whatever my times were before, they will only get faster as I add mods to my car. I am nowhere near maxed out on mods for my class, which is some of the reason why I get beat in the pax. Some of the STX cars you may be seeing are little easier to reach their pax, since they don't have to purchase any power adders. Not to mention the R32 is a very experienced driver. Feel free to run street tires though, especially at the ProSolo events. I don't mind making money.
looking at the last event with results posted on the site which is Points event #7... STX was Tim Smith in a Cooper at 40.242 and ESP was Tom Caldwell in a WRX at 40.213 going through those 7 points events STX was faster in the majority of them, and when ESP was faster it was by less than a tenth. PAX has nothing to do with it, talking about raw times. either way, good to know that the ESPers here run on r-comp...was trying to gauge how serious that particular class was.
FYI Last event was Points 8 not Points 7... I'd imagine Tim will be running PROSTX next year anyways. Most people that finish in the Top 30 to 35 in pax in Atlanta are *serious* autoxers in highly prepped cars. If you doubt that number, we have currently 32 signed up for nationals!
the point was to find out what type of tires the local ESPers were on so i know which direction to go. also, between now and...i guess March when the season starts anew i most likely will not be legal for STX any more. also was to find out who on the boards here run in it...more fun to run with friends than strangers.
Our season ends in October..... I'm not sure it's the best way to make friends by implying that you are going to beat people on street tires when you've never been to an event in Atlanta.
No offense but you seemed to disreagard everybody statements on level of prep (whom all been to events) and rather look at raw times. That attitude just seems alittle cocky to me sorry!
oh oops...was just trying to get a good grasp on it. went for a ride in Haywood's Civic on those Bridgestones and they felt about as grippy as some r-comps i have experienced. they seemed to have excellent wear over the season too. thats the only reason i have a high opinion of them.
The RE01rs are the awesomest.... and Heyward has an awsome STS car. However alot of the STS and STS2 cars using the RE01rs are really light weight and therefore do not require as much grip so the RE01r works really well for them. Not to bash any of the local regions but Atlanta is a big pond if you know what I mean. I took me three years to break the top 20 in pax! There is a 24 hour autox in Charlotte this weekend that Will, Brian and I will be at. Also there is a SEDIV in Cecil the weekend after next!
i took your advice and registered for the Subi Challenge under STX. would have about 15 events on my Azenis at that point, so STX seems like the right call. i noticed a ton of WRXatlanta people registered in my classes so it should be a good opportunity to meet you guys. going to co-drive with Bill Bounds for those of you that know him from the region...2 more entrants...hopefully they dont cancel it this year!
I run ESP and have been at every event this year. I started out the season on street tires and could in no way be competive. After 3 events I switched to R-comps and have had better luck. A few of the cars are very well prepared with great drivers. Hope to see you out there.
If things go the way they have been recently (I've been getting mod-hungry on the beater) this may be my last season in ESP. Which also means if anyone likes used ra-1's and lightweight enkei's there may be a set up for sale in the not too distant future. Lightweight cars are fun! NVH also takes on a whole new meaning.