This may be off the wall, but does anyone know if there are any competitive Conquest TSI's? (Or the mitsu starion, same thing) I have a good lead on a cheap one with a blown head (but I have access to a cheap good head )and Kristina and I are talking about just building a track car out of it. It's cheap, and pretty easy to find inexpensive replacment parts for from what I've been seeing.

I'm just curious if these things handle worth a damn (I know it's not going to be a Type R) but it should be fun to tool around in, and if she or I wreck it? So what?

Anway, with it bone stock, where do I go look for the class it's in? Unless some of you would know right off the top of your head.

 

You don't see them very often but the ones I have seen were very quick. They require some money to be made competetive but they can be fast and a helluva lot of fun.

 

money? how so? I was thinking some turbo tweaks, strip that bitch, toss in all the safety features (that'll be the expensive part) and then run it and see what happens. I'll worry about full suspension, stiffening of the chassis, and other stuff as we go along.

 

Take this from experience: If you are looking to build a track car suspension/handling is infinitely more important than power. The power is useless if you can't get it to the ground. Brakes are also more important than power IMO.

 

I entirely agree with Drew. An all go car without stick is not REMOTELY fun. Having taken my 260HP-can't friggin' dream of turning-don't think about stopping car to the track yeilded 37 track miles at SPJC. What did most folks get out of that day . . . 100+ miles? I would have gladly traded out 100 hp for 300 lbs of springs in the back and rotors that didn't give me the feeling that I just dropped 3 quarters in the Vegas-bed.

 

I am assuming you are talking more about the "track" so I am assuming you are talking about SOLO I. In SOLO I, you can run is ESP. Or you could run the car in the corresponding Club Racing Class, but there isn't one at the National level. Regional level I think you could run it in GTO which I think is comparative to ITE. Think you also might be able to run it in Street Modified.

Girlfriend back in high school had one and it was fast. I would spend my money working on the suspension system first and foremost.

Have fun...

 

He could very well be talking about driver's schools and open track events which do not adhere to SCCA or any other classing structures.


[Modified by Cobra, 11:55 PM 10/16/2001]

 

If the motor runs reliably, leave it alone. Spend you money on:

1) Safty
2) Suspension
3) Brakes

In that order. Once you have the car sorted, then you can put $ into the motor. A big turbo is not going to get you around a road coarse or AutoX course any faster if your car can't turn or stop.

Just my $0.02.

 

Well, what I meant was:
"Turbo Tweaks": the 87 has 7.5 psi, but the 88 has 10psi. No difference in motor or turbo, just some plumbing issues holding me back. I was thinking some free plumbing mods just to get me up on an even playing field.

"Strip that bitch": means exactly the way it reads. lol

"full safety": that comes first. Before it even sees a parking lot I want at least a mild cage and a 5pt harness. Before it sees track running, I want a full cage, fire extinguisher system, and all full suit. I'm not concerned so much for me, but Kristina will go out there with the best protection that I can get to make ME feel better.

After safety comes brake upgrades, full out suspension etc. (To begin with of course will be springs and shocks, and upgraded pads etc... just minor stuff that I'll do the same time I do the cage and safety. That is included in the "safety" stuff since I'd rather STOP than hit something. lol)

What I meant by do the suspension and brakes along the way was the expensive stuff like bigbrake kits and full coilovers, race rims and tires etc... I realize that stopping and turning is a much bigger part than power. Mad skillz don't hurt either.

And just curious since I have no idea what those classes are, where can I look to see what I'd be running against more than likely?

Thanks again guys. And wish me luck!

 

Just a thought, they are going to be in the new G-stock class in the re-org next season, for autocrossing. This is very favorable. I have talked to G. Warren Hahn who use to run one and is considering bringing it back out. He thinks it can be VERY competitive in that class. I tend to agree with him.

EC

 

Very nice.

I'm looking forward to seeing if I suck or not. It tosses a wrench in my style when I have to run. lol

 

Well if it is free then just do it, don't tell us about it!

Before you go gutting **** figure out what class you want to run in (if you are autocrossing) because as soon as the back seats come out you are now in Prepared which is a seriously high-dollar class. If your focus is a track car then gut it but leave the passenger seat in the car. The instructor will need someplace to sit.

Absolutely not necessary for an autocross in a parking lot. Even on the slim chance you roll the car it has a roof and it won't be severe enough to crush it in to the point where it will hurt you.
A fire extinguisher will suffice. Usually the only people who have fire systems are those who race in a series that requires it. You can wear a suit but be prepared for all the instructors to laugh at you . . .
Safety equipment I would start out with for autocross:
- A GOOD Snell SA2000 Helmet (Bell, Simpson, OMP)
- A 4 or 5 point harness
- Fire extinguisher

Additions to above for track:
- 4-Point bar or 6-Point cage

Anything more at this stage in the game really is overkill.

I tend to put this into the safety category as well in terms of importance.
Exactly.

Here are the SCCA Solo II rules. It is a huge PDF file so do a Save As . . .
http://solo.wdcr-scca.org/2001rules.pdf

For the competition rules you will need to go to SCCA's website and order a GCR. The problem here is that turbo cars are no longer allowed in SCCA club racing other than in Showroom Stock - which rules out all your gutting and mods other than shocks/exhaust and cage. Track events such as Car Guys don't have any real classing structure to worry about. All their car prep rules are safety oriented.

 

RWD with big wide tires. Throw some good shocks on it and it might be very competetive. I suppose the reason we don't see many of them now is because there aren't that many good examples left. The newest one is now, what, 13 years old?

 

I saw one just the other day at work and thought, wow, I bet that could be made into a damn fine track car. I assume that the engines are stout like most DSM engines seem to be. Like Matt said - power, RWD and big tires.

And a correctly sorted one could be killer in G Stock. Hey Eric, does the stock class update/backdate thing cover JG's possible turbo plumbing change?

 

The bad thing about them is they tend to eat heads when over heated. First riceboy mod = one big temp guage with idiot warning light.

 

What about street modified. I thought that it was unlimited?

 

Street Mod is an autocross class. My non-turbo comment was referring to SCCA Club Racing.

In terms of Street Mod turbos are only unlimited on motors up to 3.0L and there are weight penalties for FI.


[Modified by Cobra, 12:06 AM 10/18/2001]

 

OK. I would take the time to go research this on my own, BUT THAT IS A BIG ******* BOOK that Drew just had me download. Although, the research would do me good, I'm going to cave in and pretend I'm a newbie and ask anyway:
"Club racing" as opposed to Solo II or I. Difference? How often will I run into this problem when trying to race?

 

Club Racing aka: Road Racing
Solo I aka Time trials: On a track but only 1 car at a time
Solo II: Autocrossing

 

>>OK. I would take the time to go research this on my own, BUT THAT IS A BIG ******* BOOK that Drew just had me download.<<

In the index, the good stuff starts at about page 86 and the Street Mod rules are on page 152. That's a good place to start. Gives you an idea of the ruleset you might be working with for autocross. Club racing rules are different, but they sort of "read" the same. The basic rule of thumb is "if it isn't specifically allowed in the rules, then it's illegal".

Sounds like Street Mod might be a good place to look with your car. You're below the 3 liter cutoff, and there's no way a Conquest TSI is going to bust the weight limit. ;-) To give an idea what you'll be running with, a lot of Type R's, Mustangs, and Camaros are in SM, and lately the class has been dominated by turbo Supras. But a BMW won nationals this year. It's really cool class because of the variety.

 

What Drew said.

Also, club racing (with the SCCA) has a more limited/restrictive classing structure. Forced Induction is taboo - no current national classes are allowed turbo or blowers.

Safety rules in Club Racing are extensive. Competition licenses are required. And the cost is much higher.

 

You can't update / backdate in stock class that starts in Street Prepared and to a limited degree, ST.

My father had an 87 Tsi. They tended to have some serious turbo lag. But it was still fun to drive as I remember.

I would do some serious web searches and talk to some people that know these cars well before you decide.

EC

 

Yes but you should still be able to run it regionally, in a "catch all" class like ITE. However, that is no guarantee that it will be competitive... In Crack Monkey's SCCA region (and mine), there are plenty of seriously expensive, seriously fast ITE cars to contend with - PCA 944 Turbos, BMWCCA M3's, Grand-Am Cup ITR's, ex-Ferrari Challenge 348's, etc... although your region may differ, so check with them before you ever turn a wrench on the car.

But, it sounds to me like you just want a cheap/fun car to blast around in. Since that's the case, I wouldn't personally worry too much about the rules, just build the car the way you want it and go have fun.

Jon


[Modified by nojrecar, 1:32 PM 10/18/2001]

 

Sounds to me like you just hit the nail on the head.

 

she's going to be stripped like a dancer at Sammys.