sburke91

The last time I 'seriously' (seriously = semi-competitive at the local level) autocrossed was from '96-'99, running a ACR Neon first in DS (usually in the DS hunt) and then CSP (not even close to competitive against the Civics of the time). Somewhere between 2000 and 2003 I ran my '98 M3 sedan in ST or SM, but on street tires, so not competitive, but fun. Since then (it's still scary that it's been 20+ years) I haven't seen a cone, except in road construction.

I want to get my 997.1 C4S cab out to a few events, solely for fun and to improve the nut between the seat and the steering wheel. It's bone stock, aside from the Soul Performance headers and catalytic converters that I'm in the process of installing. Based on my read of the current rules, the best place to land it appears to be SST (a scary proposition), since the the rear tires (stock) are 305's, which rules it out for STU.

It looks like my other option is SSM, as I don't see 997 911's listed for any prepared classes, which I'm guessing means it'd fall into XP.

Am I reading the classing rules correctly (the last time I opened a Solo II rulebook it was still a physical book).

balefire

AS if stock
SST if limited prep

Why headers and cat??
Why not just cat back exhaust and stay in AS?

sburke91

Thanks! I thought that was the case, but when I last autoxed, "Street" was "ST" and "SM", and nothing else.

Headers and cats are a bit of an experiment. I want a bit more sound, but not what you get with the various muffler combinations. The added power from the 200 cell cats is just a fun bonus, and all of it is groundwork for what I hope is a 4.1l swap sometime next year.

I should have taken the car out to an event or two in AS before I started on the journey, but it's a bit too late now:

BmacIL

Yeah you'll be in SST. If you want to be competitive you'll want to do the full allowances on coilovers, swaybars, wheels & tires, induction & tuning, etc. Even then the 997 will be an underdog in SST, but it's a new class so there isn't an established "The Car" yet.

I compete in my 997.1 C2S in A Street. Will be at Solo Nats this year.

burglar

Another option is to run XS-A, which is kind of a CAM type class open to import cars. There's also an XS-B for very light fwd/rwd cars. For locals (at least near me) it's a little more friendly "run what you brung" vibe. It's replaced the local-only Street Mod Street Tire type classes with a consistent national ruleset. I'd check to see where the non-SRSBZNS party is in your area and run there. You can also continue to make the car yours without worrying if the next mod will be beyond SST allowance.

Have fun and welcome back. Don't forget your cargo shorts, nerdy novelty tee shirt, dumb floppy hat, and unnecessarily flashy shoes.

sburke91

Thanks for all the feedback! I just took a quick look, and OVR does appear to run XS, so I may check that out. After a 20+ year break, the driver of the car is so far from being competitive that I'm not too concerned about building the car out to be truly competitive. But I'd love to avoid the classes where all of the other cars are running R-compound tires or slicks.

I think if the autox bug bit me really hard again, and I wanted to be competitive, I'd look for a dedicated car I could run in one of the cheap street classes, unless I wanted to start a multi-year/decade journey to build out a truly competitive car in ST/SP/Prepared/etc. I don't see my 997 cab ever being a really competitive car, in any class, given the limitations it starts with in weight, chassis flex, etc.

stellman

I feel attacked.

🤠

BmacIL

There you go then. They're such fun cars to drive, even if classed a bit hard. I did the CAM thing for a few years and it was fun to mod and tinker but it also got old staring at bottomless pit of things "to do". The 997 is more fun stock than my decent prep CAMC Mustang was. I imagine it just gets better with a few things. A real diff would be amazing.