SCCA solo2 -- to join or not to join
 

Looking for any input about SCCA membership - mainly interested in solo 2 events.

Could you please let me know some of the benefits of joining - other than a legal place to throw my '02 Pro5 around a course..

And if you are a member - are there many other Protege's in the events?

thanks

you don't have to be an SCCA member to run in their autox/solo 2 events....

at least that's what they do here...

You don't have to join, but you will save about 10 dollars per autocross if you do, in my region anyway.

Plus, you get a subscription to their monthly magazine.

Our region doesn't give discounts to SCCA members, but three other regions take off $5-10. Which after 10 autocrosses it pays for itself.

Plus like Jesse said you get Sports Car Magazine and are able to go to ProSolos and National Tour events when they come your way.

Plus you get insurance coverage if something happens to you or your car from SCCA.

I've rarely ever seen another Protege at an autocross. However, IMHO this is largely due to the fact that the car was poorly classed until 2001 when the DOHC models were moved from ES/DSP to HS/FSP and the STS class became popular. The increasing popularity of the Protege means that you will start seeing more of them, although the P5 will never be the top model for autocrossing. Now all we need to do is talk Mazda into issuing a TSB allowing the use of "crash" bolts in the front suspension in HS. :D

Also, another benefit of SCCA membership is that you're not allowed to attend Divisional or National events without it. However, you probably won't want to attend this type of event until you have more experience anyways.

Well, i haven't become a member yet, just for the fact, i haven't needed to yet, i have been to 2 national events, but just to watch, didn't feel up to it yet. But next year will be time for a few national and prosolo runs. $60, mag subscription, discounts, special events, INSURANCE and more...pretty good deal.

in the Los Angeles region, if your an SCCA member OR a CSCC member you get the discount...so i get it anyway :)

Now that Braden may come out regularly, we have 3 1st gen Protege's in STS and 1 very fast Escort GT. There's been the occasional P5 and a 323, but not lately. If Brian and Jay could come out, we'd have 5 1st gen's!

Thanks everyone for your help - I hope to see those of you in the Tampa area out at events now and again.

I'd have to disagree with you about the PR5. I autocrossed my wife's PR5 at the last event in our region during our fun-runs. With two runs and stock everything I ran a 45.4 and in HS that would have been good for 3rd place. And in STS I would have had 4th or 5th place. Slap on some racing tires which should be good for 2-3 seconds on a 60 second course and I prolly would have gotten 1st that day in HS and maybe 2nd or 3rd in STS. The PR5 has better low end torque than my CIvic Si :)

Cool!

i guess you changed your mind...as last time you wanted to wait a bit to get the suspension tuned up.

you know where to find us :D just look for the ever growing cluster of EZups.

Yes, that's basically what I mean. Although the weight disadvantage is closer to 200 lbs than what Jesse said, it's still pretty significant. All 01+ Pros have lots of extra weight in places where it won't benefit performance, i.e. sound deadening in the doors. The P5 is the worst- it has a bunch of extra structure right where you don't want it, high up and far out at the non-driven end of the car, where it will hurt the car's PMI and overall weight transfer and won't benefit traction. Also, since all 1.8L and 2.0L non-MP3/MS Proteges have the same wheel width- 6" wide- the 99-00 cars have the most wheel width per pound of vehicle weight.

However, the P5 does have the most room for race tires, jacks, coolers, lawn chairs and other autox necessities, and I'll be the first to tell you that autox is mostly about having fun, not winning, and a P5 is certainly a fun car. Besides, HS is currently turning into Spec Mini anyway, so maybe I'm just nitpicking. :D