Autocross

So, I used to participate in an amateur form of auto-racing called Autocross [wikipedia.org]. It's a grassroots form of racing that is very safe - the speeds are kept relatively low, there is virtually nothing to crash into, and appropriate safety equipment is used. I stopped autocrossing two years ago for a number of reasons. Two of those reasons were money and time, but there are plenty of others.

Recently, I was contacted by an autocross friend that I haven't seen in a while, who apparently is going to be autocrossing a Porsche Boxster this year. And talking with him about the "good old days" when we used to race against each other reminded me how much fun I used to have.

So, I have started thinking about what it would take to get back into autocrossing in 2008. It is definitely not a definite that I will start racing again. I'm just thinking about it. And *if* I decide to get back into it, the earliest I would be looking at buying a car would be the end of this summer. So, I'm just thinking out loud right now, and it might not amount to anything.

But, if I was going to buy something, it would be for a Stock class, where you aren't really allowed to make any modifications to the car (my last autocross car was not in a Stock class, and Heimlich HATED how stiff the ride was from the modifications). If I buy anything, it will have to be my daily driver. I drive 30k miles/year, so it will have to be relatively comfortable to drive over long distances, and have such luxuries as cruise control. It will also likely be my only car, so it'll have to get me to work in a snowstorm (which makes me hesitant about anything RWD). Finally, you can't drive to an autocross event on race tires. So, it would be ideal if the car were big enough to carry another set of tires.

So, here's a short list of the cars that are competitive in stock classes:

Class	Most-Competitive	Other Possibilities
Super Stock	Corvette Z06, Lotus Elise, Porsche 911 GT3
A Stock	Honda S2000, Porsche Boxster, Porsche 993, C4 Corvette	Subaru WRX STi
B Stock	Mazda RX-8	Nissan 350Z, BMW E30 M3, BMW E36 M3
C Stock	'99 Mazda Miata Sport, Pontiac Solstice	Toyota MR2 Spyder
D Stock	Acura Integra Type R, BMW 330 ZHP	Lexus IS300, Dodge SRT-4 ACR, Volkswagen R32
E Stock	'94-'97 Mazda Miata, '93 Toyota MR2 (non-turbo)
G Stock	Mini Cooper S
H Stock	Mini Cooper

I should mention that many people will probably disagree with me on some of the above table, because it represents my opinion. Also, all cars in Super Stock (and most in A Stock) are WAAAAY out of my price range.