Late to chime in, but really cool letter.

 

Thanks for setting the groundwork Ed, time to write my letter too. I will support the proposal even in the current form, just to get the door 'open'. It has been closed for far too long, and hopefully it brings out some of the extremely affordable 986 and 996 cars.

 

Feel free to disagree with my conclusions/opinions, interpret the results differently, or ignore altogether.
I did make a mistake and not include the 987 Cayman S in the recommend to add verbiage. It was below 100 points. I think that's the car that is most likely to produce close competition between the present cars in STU, with all the others below 100 points not really capable of getting it done.

I stuck to the numbers in my recommendations, but I would really like to see the 996's in there too. Please argue for them!

 

I'd love to see 996s in STU on 285s. I have zero interest in doing it on 255s.

 

Letter of support sent. I referenced your data Ed and argued that your specific recommendation is a bit conservative given the reality of weights for US cars delivered (which of course you even hint at). I recommended inclusion of:

986 Boxster/S
987 Boxster/S
987 Cayman/S
996 Carrera 2/S

Primarily on the premise that doing so will open up the class to more participants and that the data doesn't predict they would upset the balance.

 

Excellent.

 

Thanks for your analysis! I have sent a letter to the SEB also.

I am awaiting a decision before pulling the trigger on a Cayman. If the STU option does not go through then a base model Cayman in B Street is where I will likely go.

STU prep is going to be expensive! Pricing a full exhaust with high flow cats at over $6k, let the fun begin.

 

Any thoughts on the likelihood of the base 997.1 being reclassed?

 

I'm a big fan of avoiding the Porsche tax - there's no way an exhaust should cost $6k unless it's made out of unobtanium. A little elbow grease, creativity, and custom work should chop that number way, way down.

In STU? I don't think there's any benefit to the SCCA to add a pretty rare and still rather expensive car to a class that's gaining popularity, unless it was put in as a huge underdog. I know it sucks, but that's the way it goes.

Generally, if you want to compete at the top level, you pick a class and buy the best car, not have a car and try to get a class built for it. ANY car, however, can be fun, and almost all can be locally competitive. My car, for example, is well off the pace of real STR cars at national events (driver is too, but that's another story) - but I can still do well at local events. And it's a riot to drive.

 

I know full well my 987.2 Boxster S is not the car to have in SS (or anywhere near it!) but I'm still doing well locally with it. I'm really hoping SCCA realizes this and buries it in AS instead of SS for 2016 in which case I would have a much easier time locally AND have some slim futile hope some nationals course will end up favoring Boxsters

But I bought it knowing full well how it was classed and don't expect SCCA will ever make a class where my car is "the car to have". I've only got a slight touch of teh SRS BZNS, though.

 

I bought my 987.2 Cayman without even looking at how it was classed... It was the car I wanted and at the time I had a fairly well-prepped CSP Miata dedicated for autox. When I blew the Miata engine for the second time last spring, I got fed up and decided it would be nice to be back in an arrive-and-drive Street class. That's when I looked up the classing for the Cayman and - oh sh*t - learned I was in SS!

After some time with the car I can hold my own locally in raw times, but PAX kills me in the larger overall class groupings. Next week at Packwood will be my first time at the national level competition. I expect to get crushed and have fun doing it.

 

Actually, there are no aliens or top prep cars in SS at Packwood this year, and the two fastest guys besides than you (the father / son Leuty duo) are also driving an underdog -- a Boxster in their case. I've driven with all of you, and think it'll be a pretty good / close battle for the win between the three of you. Just try not to compare your times to the Otis / Hernandez battle in AS.

 

Got a chance to put my car on the scales at Packwood today. 3080 lbs w/ the tools in the car (d'oh!) and fuel @ low warning light on. Aside from PDK, options are bi-xenon lights, sport chrono, PDK sport wheel and a basic Bluetooth option.

 

I had my 2010 Boxster S on the scales at the Virginia Autocross Championship over the weekend. This was at "race weight" after the event with my gopro & gps, and misc crap I don't bother taking out of the gloveboxes and the fuel light on. I had already taken my magnets off, though.

Options: PDK, base seats, active headlights, sport chrono, PSE & nav. Mods: GT3 swaybar, OZ Alleggerita wheels & RE-71R tires.

3064lbs total
1549 left, 50.55%
1706 rear, 55.67%
1597 cross, 52.12%

 

Hey Ed, I don't know if you saw the discussion on that other site, but do you think you could run the numbers for the Evo / Sti? Also, I noticed you used the 370z - the longer and lower powered 350z is the STU car.