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SCCA Solo CM : State of the Class : 2021
First off, congrats to Ben Martinez on his 2021 Solo Nationals CM Championship; hopefully he shares video of his runs as he was locked in! Also, hats off to the remaining members of the podium John Ryan (2nd) and Eric Clements (3rd).
Although I do not have numbers for every North America Solo event, CM participation definitely declined in 2021; Champ Tours, ProSolo, and Nationals CM entries were way down compared to previous years. That said, I believe 2021 to be a blip in an otherwise health class; I look forward to 2022 and a return to normal participation levels.
The above noted, even with the record low CM entry of 11 for the 2021 Solo Nationals, the average entry since 2009 (first year in Lincoln) is sitting at 19 with the high being 30 in 2018. Again, I am optimistic that we’ll again see 20+ CM entries at the Solo Nationals sooner rather than later.
While at the Solo Nationals, I spoke to numerous folks about joining CM with several actively pursuing cars. The interest is there and hopefully we will see some new faces shortly. To that end, I am sadden to note that Sue Eckles has placed her 1983 Reynard (ex-Ray Thomas) up for sale. Please let me know if you or someone you know is interested and we’ll put you in touch with Sue; it truly is a “turn key” car.
Finally, I want to discuss tires; via Ron Ver Mulm of R&S Racing (Hoosier Tire Dealer), the R25B 20.5x7.0-13 bias front (#43164) has been discontinued being replaced in the same size but in a new R20 compound (forgive me but I do not have the Hoosier item number for this new tire). I am going to reach out to Jeff Speer Product Manager at Hoosier Racing Tire to discuss this change as well as plans for the R25B 22.5x7.2-13 A2500 bias rear (#43309); that is, if/when this tire will continue and/or move to the R20 compound as well.
FYI: For those not in attendance, both Ben/Jaime and Eric/Mari utilized the R20 front at this years Solo Nationals. Both Ben and Eric noted that the first runs on this compound came during competition as they has JUST come off the production line the previous week! Both also noted that they did not discern a notable difference from the previous R25B compound nor did they make ANY set up changes to accommodate the new tire.
Hard to believe, but Sep/2021 marks 10 years since the SCCA Solo C Modified (CM) FaceBook page was launched! Please share your CM thoughts and well as point interested folks this way.
Take care,
Chris Pruett
(aka “-pru-“)
50 CM
1985 Swift DB1
Tire Confessions of a Mid-pack Racer
Chris,
I have run 4 events in CM this year since June with the potential of 2-3 more depending on lot availability for our Region. I had the car apart over the the first half of the year modifying the car in prep for attending a competition licensing school in June. I didnt attend Nationals this year for a few reasons related to this. The first logical race weekend for me to attend post driver school wasnt until Labor Day weekend in Houston. Logistically it didnt make sense for me to attend both this and Nationals so I had to pick. I was very torn since all my time and money this season had thus far been directed at attending my first club race. What ultimately pushed me the direction I took was tire availability. After the competition school I went to buy a set R25Bs and Hoosier was out with expected delivery time in the August time frame. Not being excited about having zero driving or development time on the "right" tires before Nationals, I decided to go to the club race instead. Some regrets last week while watching the live timing...
I ran the spec FF tire for the driver school and found the required setup changes a little more involved than I thought. Out of curiosity, a little while later I called Hoosier to ask about radial options for autox (dont remember who I talked to specifically). I asked if there was an FF comparable sized radial tire in the A7 compound available or in the works and his response was something like "you already have it, the R60 and A7 rubber compound are the same". He did later say there was still a large difference between the R25B and the R60/A7 which is already generally understood. Either way it gave me the confidence to drive the rest of this season on the FF radial tires. As an added bonus, used FF tires are readily available which I took advantage of for my regional only needs.
The performance has actually been better than I expected. The first corner of the first event I ran them was comically bad but after doing some tweaking, as well as knowing what to expect first run, it has been good. I think a large help has been living on the Gulf Coast where it is 90F+ for most of the year. I dont have a great reference point to know overall performance impact. In the 4 events I was FTD for all 4 and was top 3 in PAX for the 3 events in my small home region. The 4th event I ran in Central Kentucky and I was 19th out of 57 in PAX. Having not run with that region in 10 years I couldn't draw a good conclusion on what that means. I did also have some handing problems that I would blame on running on a very different lot for the first time (everyone has excuses :D).
By no means take the above to suggest I am advocating for the radials, but for me I may continue to run on them. I am looking at double duty for the car next year and it would greatly simplify life. It will take some convincing myself that the probable performance disadvantage it worth it for more fun per dollar. The only other logical conclusion would be to buy a second racecar!
Matt Boian
14 CM
PS: Is that a Honda hat I see?!? :p
Thanks for the feedback...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
racerjon1
It will be good to confirm, but from what I understood talking to Eric and the F-Mod folks, when the R25 compounds are gone, they all change to the R20. So, R25 = discontinued, R20 supersedes it.
Jon,
Appreciate the feedback; it's inline with what I have heard as well. Still planning on talking to Hoosier as I'm really curious as to when they expect the R20 rear to be produced. For my next full set, I'd really like to have matching compounds on both ends of the car. :D
Take care,
Bias / Radial / R25-R20 / R60...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mboian90
I went to buy a set R25Bs and Hoosier was out with expected delivery time in the August time frame. Not being excited about having zero driving or development time on the "right" tires before Nationals, I decided to go to the club race instead. Some regrets last week while watching the live timing...
I ran into the same issue when I went to purchase tires for Nationals back in mid-Jul; the R25 front was VERY difficult to find. Luckily, I was able to secure what I needed. I knew LATE Aug was time frame for front production; I was just surprised to see they were made in the NEW R20 compound.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mboian90
I ran the spec FF tire for the driver school and found the required setup changes a little more involved than I thought...I asked if there was an FF comparable sized radial tire in the A7 compound available or in the works and his response was something like "you already have it, the R60 and A7 rubber compound are the same".
John Ryan and I brief spoke about moving CM to the FF Spec radial tire. While I'm not a fan of that idea due to the camber changes that are required to make the radials work (and the associated cost if a chassis cannot get there with "OEM" suspension), I do see the point of moving to a harder/longer lasting tire. That said, your comment about the FF Spec radial being the A7/R60 compound does offer a path forward; the CF Spec tire for MOST of the country is the R60 Bias. That is, LONG TERM (i.e if/when Hoosier says "enough of this sticky R20 stuff for just Solo") CM can seamless switch to either the FF Spec radial or the FC Spec bias; they are the same compound - pick which one suits you / your car. PS - Ben noted that for his 100+ degree CA days, the R60 works great (after a run or two).
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mboian90
PS: Is that a Honda hat I see?!? :p
Nice catch. Yes it is and no I'm not running a Fit; it's a free hat that more or less matched the shirt (MP4/4 Honda) :D Had I thought I'd be on the stage, I would have picked something different (i.e. Hoosier or Ford related :p)
Thanks for all of the feedback and look forward to seeing you and the Piper back in Lincoln!
Take care,
Hoosier R60 tires not viable for autocross
Neither the bias ply or radial Hoosier FF tires in the R60 compound are viable for competitive autocross competition.
The radials should be off the table for any consideration. Much heavier and slower than the bias ply tires.
Does Goodyear still make FF tires in the R120 compound?