ITA/IT7 RX7 with a noob

Posted this in the Mazda section before realizing this was probably the better place!

I posted this on rx7club couple of days ago and dude there told me to post here.

Wondering if there's anything the knowledgeable gurus here would recommend checking over? I've been around lots of cars but am new to the RX7 and rotary world.


I just bought a 79 RX7. It's red white and blue. Currently number 66. Looks like it was built by Adams Motorsports in AL. I bought it from a fella in FL. Looks to be in good shape overall. No problems that I could see but I'm really not that familiar with the RX7.

I'm considering another as well. It's also a 79 in GA. Red and green with the number 10. Anyone know anything about it?

Couple of other questions as well ... it looks like Hoosiers are the primary tire out there? Where have y'all found the best place to buy? Do local dealers tend to sell or mail order better bet? I'm planning to hit up some track days to get experience with the car before really racing. What should I expect from that? I went to the Bondurant school in AZ over the summer and have the letter certifying me for a regional license.

Thanks! I can't wait to get involved with this thing :happy204:

where are you located?

myrtle beach, SC

I do not think you will find much in the way of deals on NEW Hoosiers.

Shipping would add to the cost.

I like to buy them at the track, but now the tire vendors show up less.

The price is the price (Except where Hoosier themselves have close-outs on their site).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by joeg

I do not think you will find much in the way of deals on NEW Hoosiers.

Shipping would add to the cost.

I like to buy them at the track, but now the tire vendors show up less.

The price is the price (Except where Hoosier themselves have close-outs on their site).

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Don't know how much savings at the track...you can always get them at www.tirerack.com. Will ship to you via UPS ground.

If you are going to race at SCCA SE Division races, you just need to go visit the Appalachian Tire truck, which services all SEDiv races. All you need to do is call them a week or so in advance and they'll have whatever you need. Good people to deal with.

If you're going to run IT7, you will need to have Toyo RA1 or R888 tires, since they are the required spec tire in the division. You can run Hoosiers (or anything else) if you choose to run the car as an ITA, but that's really not what you want to do. Unless you have a REALLY fast RX7, you won't stand much of a chance in ITA. Run with us in IT7 - there's a good bunch of IT7s in the division, and most of them are pretty close on speed.

On the cars you have/are looking at, I'm not familiar with the #66. The green and red #10 is probably Trey Forrest's car. I've looked at the car and it is a decent looking vehicle, and I believe has some of the good pieces. But for whatever reason, it's pretty slow - not sure if it's driver or some mechanical issue.

If the only experience you have is the Bondurant school, a track day or two would be a good idea, both to get you extra seat time and to let you check out the car in advance of actually running a race event. Many SEDiv races have a test day on the Friday prior to the race, so you can hit one of these as well, although an earlier track/test day would be preferable, so you don't get a surprise with a new (to you) car the day before a race. Other suggestions are: 1) get started on getting your SCCA license now, assuming you want to hit races in February or March, 2) get a GCR and read it, particularly the parts related to general car requirements and and IT car specs, 3) make sure your car is really ready to go before you take it to the track (nothing is more annoying than fixing problems at the track, especially if you could have fixed them before hand). Along with that, get the annual tech inspection on the car before you go to a race event. Most regions have a pre-season tech session in January or February - check their websites for dates. It's even more annoying to show up for a race and find out you can't run because you failed tech.

If you have any IT7-specific questions, let me know. Hope to see you on track early this year.

Thanks for all the feedback! I did buy the 10 car as well. It was Trey's. He said he preferred ITA as he felt it was faster with Hoosiers. I've ordered a set of R888s, hoping to hit up one of the track days at Carolina Motorsports park and a couple of autocrosses to sort the cars out before trying to really race either of them.

on that note - I'm planning to take to an autocross in Myrtle Beach next weekend. I'm afraid that neither car will meet the 95db sound limit. I've read about several people using Supertrapp tips. I think that's a good way to get around limits for an interim at least. Is the 444-2503 disc only muffler or something like that what you've used?

thanks again for the input and knowledge. can't wait to meet you!

Bryan

Can't help you much on the exhaust. I use a round (not bullet-style) Dynomax racing muffler (3 inch inlet and outlet), but I typically hit about 100db at the track. Never been over 103, but I have gotten close on a bad day - cold and low overcast. To meet 95db, you'd need something closer to a street system, smaller pipe and more restriction, or maybe run a pre-silencer of some type. I think there has been a thread on meeting much lower db requirements that a few tracks have, so you might find some ideas there (too lazy to try to look it up myself :).) A Supertrap after a regular muffler might do the trick for an autocross, but don't trust my limited knowledge on that one.

I'll probably be at the April CMP SARRC event, so I'll look you up there.