My greatest regret when winter rolls in is no more SCCA Solo. To the uninitiated that translates into autocross. My summers are spent running my MX-5 in various events throughout the northeast. I even won 1st place in GS class in a rented Mustang. Obviously no date or location is given to incriminate myself on that event.
All of this hyperbole though is a warm up to introduce my “Autocross Run of the Week.”
Apparently, the driver gave the specs of his car and wheels to an auto parts store employee, but they gave him lugs that were SAE and should have been Metric. This resulted in lugs that felt as if they were torqued down, but loosened when a substantial amount of force was applied against them. The good news is there was very little structural damage to the car, mostly cosmetic. All the workers responded quickly to the incident and maintained the safety of everyone out there.
Since it’s release in 2004, Mazda’s RX-8 has been a media darling. Quirky, unique styling with tons of neat little rotary references have guaranteed that there is no mistaking the RX-8 for any other car on the road. Personally, I’ve never gotten past the oddity of the Saturnesque suicide doors. Reviewers have praised the free revving rotary, and rightfully so. The engine revels in being spun to it’s 9000 rpm rev limiter and has a lovely, though muted howl to go along with those revs. The only weak spot seems to be the lack of torque, which rotary afficionados tend to overlook due to the ability to spin the hell out of the little engine to make ponies.
