Here are a couple of pictures from 2 autocrosses I have raced this year. I race my 400E in a Modified class where i am racing modified Mustang Gt's . I am not far behind and will beat them this summer!!!! I will post the pictures first -- My 20 year old son had his first race Sunday with my 300TE Euro -spec wagon and did quite well taking 5th place out of 9 in his class . I came in 3rd in class against 2 modified Mustang Gt's on Sunday and 3rd in the race on May 2nd ,against a 86 Dodge Diplomat -Former State Trooper Car with a modified 360 engine and other work done on it ---Very fast and the owner has many years racing behind the wheel of this car . He holds a track record on a 2 mile racecourse for Solo 1 high speed open track events.





If this makes it to the forum I will post the results of the May 2nd race so you can see how my 400E stacks up against the other racers.

Sam 400ERACER

Before these autocrosses I had raced the 400E 3 times at the drag strip and was not thrilled with my best time of 14.999 .
I new I had a miss and suspected the distributor caps and rotors as well as the plugs . I was not surprised when I replaced them .
Both caps had many cracks and they were very green inside with corrosion -- rotors also need replacing and the plugs were replaced at the same time . It now ran a lot faster and I will have to visit the drag strip again to see what a difference this has made . I need to get more rubber on the ground with this car as it smokes the Kumho Victorracers way too easily . Now have 225/50/15 rubber on the car . I will have to flare the fenders so I can get bigger tires on this car. I put my 16X7's with the Yoko AVS100's on the 300TE Wagon and they really handle well on that car . They rub on the 400E sinced I lowered it . I still plan on dropping the rear of the car another inch and lightening up the interior ( or what is left of it!)

Here are the results of the May 2nd race so you can see what other cars did as well .
Have fun and race your cars- If you are interested I can post the times from the May 17th event by the end of this week I hope.

400Eracer Sam

MY 400E raced in FM with a time of 47.747seconds on a 1/4 mile oval with pylons to slow us down -We did 2 laps of the track .


May 2, 2004, Columbus 151 Speedway, Event Results


Basic Results
COLUMBUS 151 SPEEDWAY
MAY 2, 2004

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pos Num/Cls Yr Make Model Best Time
Raw Times +Pylons

STOCK CLASSES *S Prepared *P Modified *M RACE *R

Class: AS ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 24/AS 93 CHEV CORVETTE > 48.262 <


Class: BS ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 95/BS 02 AUDI TT QUATTRO > 47.392 <


Class: CS ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 77/CS 02 MAZD MIATA > 47.169 <


Class: DS ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 160/DS 92 BMW 352 I > 52.970 <


Class: ES ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 40/ES 88 PONT FIERO > 45.691 <

2. 481/ES 88 MAZD RX-7 > 47.849 <

3. 140/ES 86 PONT FIERO GT > 48.020 <

4. 108/ES 87 FIAT X1/9 > 48.395 <


5. 71/ES 71 DATS 240Z > 51.399 <

Class: FS ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 94/FS 98 FORD CROWN VIC > 50.068 <


2. 109/FS 90 CADI ALLANTE > 58.195 <

Class: GS ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 308/GS 02 HOND CIVIC S1 > 45.533 <


2. 70/GS 91 BMW 318I > 46.166 <

3. 47/GS 97 AUDI A4 1.8T QU > 46.371 <


4. 23/GS 98 DODG NEON > 46.684 <


5. 87/GS 99 PONT GRAND AM > 47.884 <


6. 404/GS 03 FORD FOCUS SVT > 48.614 <


7. 60/GS 70 MERC 280 SL > 51.131 <


8. 864/GS 91 MERC CAPRI > 51.160 <

9. 107/GS 92 NISS SENTRA SER > 51.303 <


10. 92/GS 93 DODG STEALTH > 53.355 <

11. 218/GS 99 PONT GRAND AM > 54.234 <



Class: HS ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 05/HS 95 FORD ESCORT > 45.102 <

2. 133/HS 84 VOLK RABBIT GTI > 46.768 <


3. 99/HS 02 MAZD PROTEGE > 47.404 <


4. 120/HS 03 MAZD PROTEGE > 48.857 <


5. 169/HS 86 NISS 200SX > 50.371 <

PREPARED CLASSES
Class: AP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 105/AP 04 SUBA WRX STI > 44.427 <

2. 49/AP 03 MITS LANCER EVO > 49.298 <


Class: BP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 07/BP 00 BMW Z3 > 51.062 <


Class: CP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 144/CP 96 MAZD MIATA > 45.996 <

2. 132/CP 94 MAZD MIATE > 47.329 <

Class: DP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 426/DP 04 DODG NEON SRT-4 > 45.401 <


2. 106/DP 04 NISS SENTRA SV > 46.133 <

3. 151/DP 02 NISS SPEC V > 46.860 <


4. 82/DP 93 BMW 325 IS > 49.181 <




Class: EP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 28/EP 73 DATS 240Z > 43.668 <

2. 690/EP 91 MAZD MIATA > 44.083 <

3. 960/EP 91 MAZD MIATA > 50.845 <

Class: GP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 524/GP 03 MINI COOPER S > 45.273 <

2. 513/GP 02 MINI COOPER S > 47.463 <

3. 210/GP 96 NISS MAXIMA > 48.934 <



Class: HP ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 409/HP 87 ACUR INTEGRA > 47.114 <

2. 216/HP 82 BMW 320 > 47.810 <

3. 622/HP 01 FORD FOCUS > 51.297 <

MODIFIED CLASSES
Class: AM modified------------------------------------------------------------
1. 91/AM 03 MITS EVOLUTION > 43.461 <

Class: CM ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 81/CM 99 MAZD MIATA > 52.951 <

Class: FM ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 360/FM 86 DODG DIPLOMAT > 46.013 <

2. 79/FM 92 FORD MVS > 46.884 <

3. 841/FM 92 MERC 400 E > 47.747 <


Class: GM ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 50/GM 95 FORD SHO > 45.068 <

2. 380/GM 97 CHEV CAMARO > 47.714 <

3. 104/GM 00 VW GTI > 48.570 <


Class: AR ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 723/AR 01 MAZD PROTEGE MP > 46.939 <

2. 58/AR 65 CHEV CORVAIR > 47.915 <


Class: BR ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 26/BR 89 BMW 325IS > 42.229 <


2. 806/BR 95 FORD ESCORT LXW > 45.550 <

3. 19/BR 84 VW GTI > 48.394 <

Class: CR ----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 43/CR 95 HOND CIVIC > 46.869 <


2. 153/CR 69 VW BUG > 48.441 <

Class: JUNIOR KART -------------------------------------------------------------
1. 4/JRK KART > 50.144 <

What have you done to your car that makes it have to run in a "modified" class? What other fields could you race in?

__________________
Mike
-W126C 560SEC 040 Black
*6.0L AMG M117 32v Hammer
-W163 ML320 Brilliant Silver
-W124 300E Pearl Black

My 400E runs in the modified class because of the following items
and the points accessed . The 4 basic classes we run are:
STOCK 0-2 points
Prepared 3-7 points
Modified 8-17 points
RACE - 18 or more points

My 400E - Specialty tires -Kumo Victors 3 points
Suspension spring rate change -H&R 500E springs 2 points
Exhaust system enhancement - Magnaflow muffler - 1 point
final gear ratio change - 2.82 diff 3 points
Weight reduction -I removed the back seat 2 points
Replacement of drivers seat with race seat 1 point
ecu change -added a performance chip - 1 point

TOTAL POINTS 13


The 300TE had just 16x7 wheels that added 2 points to the
car keeping it in HStock .

They reclassified the cars this year for the low speed autocrosses as they had based them on high speed rules for many years

When I race the car at the high speed (open track) events the 400E will race in CM and not FM -- The Dodge Diplomat will still be in FM at the high speed events . As far as I can tell the 400E would race in SCCA SOLO 2 also in the modified class .

With a rollcage and firesystem this car can road race in GTS2 or GTS3 in the NASA German Touring Car series. Based on rrhp vs. weight

Ahhh, I see. I know of a guy in Washington state I believe, that races his 560SEC 6.0 AMG in SCCA. I don't know what class he races in but what category do you think it would be grouped into, considering it has the AMG motor, suspension, gears and exhaust. I wonder what cars he goes up against in the NA motor class. Is there a modified, naturally-aspirated, 1980's era class?

__________________
Mike
-W126C 560SEC 040 Black
*6.0L AMG M117 32v Hammer
-W163 ML320 Brilliant Silver
-W124 300E Pearl Black

In the clubs I race in (Midwestern council of sports car clubs and the Madison sports car club ) His 560SEC with the 6.0 AMG motor ,suspension gears and exhaust would would add the following points :
Engine displacement change -1 point
Engine swap -non-original -3 points
gear ratio change -3 points
suspension change -springs 2-points
non stock exhaust 1- 2 points

This gets it up to at least 10 points and puts it in a modified class
running in AM modified in the high speed solo events and in AM in the slow speed autocross events .

In the high speed events The A class cars includes all AMG powered MERCEDES - C36 C43 E55 and all other AMG factory Mercedes--If they are stock they run AStock
you can see a full listing of all the cars in this class and all the other high speed classes and rules at:http://my.execpc.com/~mcscc/mcgcrv6.pdf

For the low speed autocross rules and class listings you can view them at http://www.madisonsportscarclub.com/ click on Autocross at left side and then on rules . Also the standings and results are posted there.

JUST A NOTE: IN the high speed open track events One of the Mustangs I ran against in FM would race in AM against your friends 560sec 6.0 AMG The other Mustang I ran against in FM would run in BM at the high speed event and my 400E would run in CM .

In SCCA SOLO2 racing my Mercedes 400E would run in the Street Modified class - This is where your friends car would also run I believe . You can find out by going to http://www.solo2.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/ubb/get_topic/f/5/t/000319 and asking in the forum for classing questions -The SCCA wants you to purchase their book on rules and classes rather than give the information out for FREE !!!!!

VIEW RESULTS OF MAY 16TH AUTOCROSS athttp://www.madisonautocross/eventresults/2004-05-16.lasso


Just a few of the results you may be interested in :

MERCEDES 92 400E (mine) FM - fast time ---- 36.786 FM
FORD MUSTANG GT 02 --------------------------- 36.356 FM
FORD MUSTANG GT 92----------------------------- 36.676 FM
SO another 3rd place behind the MUSTANGS


MERCEDES 88 300TE (my 20 year old son) ------ 38.011 HS
This was his first autocross!!! 5thplace
MERCEDES 71 280SL ------------------------------ 40.443 GS
MERCEDES 91 190E-------------------------------- 38.390 GP
CORVETTE 92 --------------------------------------- 38.731 AS
FORD COBRA 03 ----------------------------------- 34.939 AP
BMW M CPE 01 ------------------------------------ 37.653 AP

DODGE NEON SRT-4 04 -------------------------- 35.852 DP
FORD COBRA 03 ------------------------------------- 37.005 AM
PORSCHE 911 73 ------------------------------------ 35.399 BM
BMW 325is 93---------------------------------------- 38.247 DM

CORVAIR TURBO RACECAR 65 --------------------- 37.745 AR
PORSCHE 911 73 RACECAR ------------------------ 34.800 BR

My son sure drove that 88 300Te very well!!!! It has over 200,000 miles on it and is well worn as I have used it to tow my sailboat , my former SPecRenault and my former 190E ITE/ITs racecars .

When he was 16 I took him to SKIP BARBER DRIVING SCHOOL at ROAD AMERICA and we both went trough the program . Of course I thought I new a lot about driving and racing .


(Started racing a Formula Vee in the mid 70's as well as a 1970 VW bug dubbed "HERRBIE" which raced as a c sports racer because of the 13 inch 8 spoke Jackmam wheels I ran on it .I also autocrossed a DATSUN 2000 -former pikes peak racer , a Porsche 911 69 T , a Porsche 914 2.0 ,Porsche 944 , a HONDA CRX-SI former ONE LAP OF AMERICA CAR , and a 73 VW Superbeatle that was stock except for the deep sump and 4 mag wheels with a set of used Pirrelli CN36 tires off of a 930 Turbo!!!! on it - I raced it once at a Corvette club autocross and when I registered they kind of laughted and told me I would run with the small block Corvette class. Well to make this long story short I went home with the first place trophy in class and made a few Corvette drivers mad!!!)

But I found out it was hard to correct some of the mistakes that I had practiced for so many years !!!! My son got a fresh start to learn to drive at the limit correctly . If you have ever wanted to toss your car around and learn how it handles at the edge I would highly recommend taking it to an autocross .
KEEP ON RACING

NEXT STOP JUNE 6th where we will race on a gokart track with the cars!!!!

That's what I wanted to know, if the AMG cars are considered modified. So you're telling me a C36 would have to race in a modified class and a 500E could race in a stock class? A 500E is "merely" a W124 chassis with SL suspension, 2.82 gearing, and a torque rating above the typical M119 motor. Not fair to the AMGer's whose cars were put together that way at the factory!

__________________
Mike
-W126C 560SEC 040 Black
*6.0L AMG M117 32v Hammer
-W163 ML320 Brilliant Silver
-W124 300E Pearl Black

A stock (as delivered from the factory) C36 runs in stock

AMG cars that are stock (the way they came from the factory) run in stock classes -- IF however you add wider wheels and or larger diameter wheels and a set of competition tires you will now be in the Prepared class -If you alter the exhaust or do anything on the list of modifications in the rules you will move up to modified or race depending on what you do and points assessed . Maybe I am confused about your friends car .
Is his car stock from the factory ? If his is not a true AMG production car then he would have to add all the modifications that were done to the car after it left the factory. If his car is an authentic AMG product then he would run in the stock class .
In high speed events the A class Mercedes are
C36 AMG, c46 AMG , C43 AMG, E55 , AMG all models

B-class Mercedes are 600SEL, 600SL,S500,500E all
and the E430 all (all meaning all variations of that model and years
C-Class Mercedes - 400E, E420, 500SEC, S430, C230 Supercharged, CLK320, all
Mercedes SLK all

Last July I ran my 190E 2.6 5-SPEED on the Beaver Run Go Kart track in the pouring rain with the windows down, hehehe. Absolute Riot

__________________
and all of the sudden..... everything just started commin' apart !!!