Hello,

I'm thinking about transitioning from autox's and HPDE events to 944 spec. Do any of you within reasonable distance of a track keep the car street legal and just drive it instead of towing? is that even possible in California considering the smog requirements?

I'm currently down in the East Bay (alameda county) but will be moving up north and will be just 15 miles from Infineon if everything goes to plan after the new years. The catch is I won't have as much garage space so I think a tow rig is out of the question at the moment.

I got in touch with the owner of a car for sale on here, I got the impression its not possible to keep an spec car street legal like in some other places that don't do smog testing is that the concensous?

Thanks,

Charlie

Not true. Having a cat on the car, for the smog test, is a must. Designing the exhaust system to allow easy on/easy off of the cat is the way to go. My understanding is that smog does not include any "safety checks" of the car. Retaining some sort of turn signals would be required but would not need to be the factory set up. My vintage Jag has an aftermarket unit that I have to flip on and off manually (trying to not forget I left it on is the issue).

There are a number of guys that drive their cars to the track. Norm (Arizona) drove his car all the way to Miller towing a tire trailer and placed third at Nationals two years ago and just won the Arizona region championship again.

I will look forward to seeing you at Infineon this year. Check the race schedule and come on out and meet everyone. There is a great group of guys racing in Nor Cal.

Big Dog

BD,

Thanks for chiming in. Thats great news! A few years ago (on the other coast) I had a nice trailex and pickup to drag my toys around but I gave that up when I migrated out here and honestly would like to avoid re acquiring all that stuff until I'm as settled as I can be

I'm really glad to find out about this group, I have been reading the threads on here and watching videos from Infineon and thunder hill looks like a great time!

Now I just need to sell my 930 to make room ... Any recommendations for race schools? My friend who runs up in Washington volunteered to let me use his car to do one of the schools in his region... I'm sure thats the most cost effective route unless I missed something in my searchings.

Thanks,

Charlie

I kept my spec car street legal and drove it to the track when I first began. We still have a few guys in NorCal that do the same so it is possible.

Mark you calendar for the opening weekend Feb 11 at Infineon and come out and chat.

AS for schools - what is your current experience ? NASA has the HPDE program, or if experienced enough you can get a check ride and provisional license. (Also if you have held a license from other organizations you can go through that process).

Hey Jerry,

Thanks for responding! I'll be sure to come out for the Feb 11th event; I look forward to meeting you all!

My previous experience consist of 2 HPDE events with the PCA back in Florida (over 3 years ago now) and at the time I was frequently autoxing (also for at least 3 years prior I auto crossed very frequently). I was a NASA and SCCA member and also ran a "circuit cross" event on a 1.1 mile road course (VIR patriot circuit) that had cones out on the straights to keep it designated as an "circuit cross" or autocross on a small road course...

I was hoping to find a multi day school (3 or 5 day course) that would get me up to speed but no rush really. I do recall being a little disappointed with the PCA HPDE path to getting signed off but perhaps its different out here with nasa as I recall they were more progressive even back east.

Thanks,

Charlie

Given that level of experience I'd reccomend moving through NASA's HPDE program, coupled with some PCA DE experience. A racing school won't provide the experience level to compete without the basics first.

Locally there are MANY HPDE programs that if you wanted (and can afford) you'd be able to drive almost every weekend. When you are up to the HPDE4 levels then a racing school would be beneficial.