i'm doing my third autox this weekend. last time i ran ESP, but am wondering if there is anything with a better pax factor i qualify for. i still run novice, so everyone is equalized with a multiplier based on class. ESP allows R-Comps, so i'm getting hit with that when i'm not using them. do i qualify for a street tire class like STX or something?

 

Yes, you can be classed in STU. You wont be competitive at all though.

 

Is you sig reflective of all of your mods? What else have you done?

If that is the extent of your mods, it would only take you an hour to change the rear bar, remove the k-member brace, and install the factory airbox and re-flash the car.

Then you could run in F-stock and likely be competitive assuming Sam isn't at your party . Here in SoCal you're LUCKY to see 3 cars in the class at any given event. If you are looking to be competitive that would be the ticket. The ST classes are too competitive for a 3500lb car on 245's.

Just my .02

 

sorry, didn't realize i didn't have my tire sizes listed. i've got 275/40/18 and 285/40/18 F/R, so that bumps me out of FS by itself i believe. other than that, you see everything i have.

 

do i not qualify for STX? it's up to 5 liters N/A isn't it? i could be really competitive in that compared to who i'd be racing.

 

nvm... because of my tires, i have to run STU. thanks guys.

 

F-Stock doesn't have a tire size limit.....exactly.

You can run the widest tires you can fit on a FACTORY SIZE wheel. That gives you either a 17x8 or a 18x8.5 to play with. Your offset is allowed to be no more than 1/4 inch from stock. You are allowed to run DOT R-comps such as the Hoosier A6 or Khumo V710. A set of takeoff wheels is cheap, or there are plenty of lightweight cast wheels out there that are inexpensive.

 

STU is the only other place you can go with your tires. If not for the size being over 245 you could run STX. But in all honesty either way you're still in trouble. The fast STU cars are as fast or faster than I am in F-stock (on R-comps) and I'm not that far off ESP....

There actually aren't a lot of aftermarket wheels legal for FS, many are the right size, but the offset is wrong. There are some though. But you'd have to "fix" the car in terms of the rear bar, flash, intake and brace as RodeoFlyer rightly said.

You can stay in ESP and work toward a faster ESP car. You could run STU and go many of the same (but not all the same) mods... but you are dealing with lighter cars with as much or more power and better traction. At least in ESP you are playing with more similar cars. And in STX they just have a little less power, but that's still a tough road to drive because STX cars are often not far off STU cars in pace.

 

thanks guys.

i can't run F-stock this weekend because my rims are 18x9 and i don't have a second set. also my stock airbox is 2 hours away in houston.

over christmas break i plan on buying some 5zigen FN01R-C track rims from a guy i know that can get me a really really good discount. i just can't decide if i should go 17x8 or 18x8.5... i'm thinking 17x8 because they'll be 3lbs lighter per wheel and hopefully i could find some cheaper tires in 17 than 18.

basically for this weekend i have to choose between STU and ESP. STU has a .830 PAX instead of .841 like ESP, so i'll go with STU for now.

in the novice class, all of the cars run the same bracket, but get a multiplier based on what class the car would fall in had it not been in novice. so, for me, the lower the factor, the better. also, none of the novices are STU or ESP anyway, lol.

 

Running an index class it certainly makes more sense to run the class with the slower index.....

I'd recommend 18x8.5's on the wheels. You can get more tire on them, and they are shorter than the 275/40-17's which lowers the Cg nicely. As for finding used 18's, I bet these days the are more common than the 275 or 295 17's.