I drove a couple of neat cars this weekend

[John V]

It's a third-gen RX-7 with an LS1 350 / 6-speed manual out of a Camarochicken. Weighs about 2800lbs and I think the engine is stock, so about 320hp at the crank.

The guy did the install himself, and it turned out surprisingly well. The car he started with was a complete piece of junk like most third gen RX-7s, but the drivetrain worked great. Even his wiring was relatively neat and tidy. It had some kind of coilover setup on it. It was very well balanced and obviously very fast! It put the power down well despite the street tires and lots of worn bushings in the rear end.

Did I mention the guy only got the car driving the night before the autocross school? Yikes.

Other car of note was an NSX, unknown year. Here's a vid: http://fifthgearonline.com/ZylexSNL/...0--/NSX_01.MPG

Neat car, but sort of ... boring.

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by John V

Neat car, but sort of ... boring.

As is the video, sort of like watching a confused fly from 200 feet away

Ed

[John V]

Yeah, it was an autocross level 1 school, and the lot we used is ridiculously small.

The gearing of the car was absurd as well. I think it ddi 45MPH in first gear, and 80+ in second.

[ff]

Originally Posted by John V

Other car of note was an NSX, unknown year. Here's a vid: http://fifthgearonline.com/ZylexSNL/...0--/NSX_01.MPG

boom-boom-boom "Rev limiter!!" shift shift!!!

[Sharp11]

Originally Posted by John V

Yeah, it was an autocross level 1 school, and the lot we used is ridiculously small.

The gearing of the car was absurd as well. I think it ddi 45MPH in first gear, and 80+ in second.

It would've been fine had the videographer used a zoom or gotten closer.

There are three main autox's around here, one on a fairly small lot, one on a huge (but rough) lot and one on an airport runway (same course up and back).

They're all fun for different reasons, but sometimes I actually prefer the smallest lot as it really exploits one's ability to keep focused and precise. It also draws less of a testosterone-laden crowd which keeps things friendlier.

Only been to two this year as my current six day work-week of juggling two large projects is wiping me out till at least mid-July.

Ed

[lupinsea]

Cool RX-7 project. Could you tell if the balance was messed up at all with such a comparatively heavy engine up front?

And the comment about the NSX looking like a confused fly seemed very appropriate. Couldn't help laughing when I saw that. To be fair, sometimes it's tough working the zoom function on a video camera without totally goofing the shot. You'd have to know where the car is going to be and anticipate when and where you'd need to adjust the zoom. Hard to do on a fast moving object without messing up the picture.

It would be fun to get into autocrossing again with the new BMW when it gets up here. But I'm wondering about the rear subframe tearing problem and how well the car could stand up to such viggors . . . .

[John V]

The owner removed the AC and power steering and reported that the engine was no heavier than the twin-turbo rotary after that. The trans had to be heavier, but the car definitely still had the nimble RX-7 feel to it.

[lemming]

Originally Posted by John V

The owner removed the AC and power steering and reported that the engine was no heavier than the twin-turbo rotary after that. The trans had to be heavier, but the car definitely still had the nimble RX-7 feel to it.

contrary to what is intuitive, the "small blocks" are not really dimensionally large or dense.

pretty compact and light motors, esp. compared to a twin turbo setup --but they compare really favorably even to DOHC v6s in terms of packaging and weight.