September Fastrack...

[Banzai240]

The September Fastrack is now out... Interesting new Cage rule on the first page that effects IT...

http://www.scca.com/_FileLibrary/File/05-0...09-fastrack.pdf


Read Item 5 under Proposed Rule Changes - GCR...


"Item 5. Effective 1/1/07 and permissible 10/1/06: Allow NASCAR-Style side bars on the passenger side of Showroom Stock, Spec Miata, and Improved Touring competition cars. Change section 18.2.7 to read as follows:

7. Side Protection
Effective 1/1/07 and permissible 10/1/05 two(2) side tubes connecting the front and rear hoops across both door openings are mandatory. Door side tubes may extend into the door... etc. etc..."

Looks like it's now legal to remove the window glass, etc., from the passenger door!


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Darin E. Jordan
SCCA #273080, OR/NW Regions
Renton, WA
ITS '97 240SX

[ddewhurst]

Thanks Darin.......

This should be interesting when people use their three pieces of tubing to make their X diagonal side protection & call them two tubes.

Is this rule written intentional to somewhat eliminate the X's in the doors ? You can still have an X but will need to add another tube to meet the rule IMHU.

"two(2) side tubes connecting the front and rear hoops across both door openings are mandatory."

Have Fun
David

[This message has been edited by ddewhurst (edited July 26, 2005).]

[lateapex911]

David, read the def of a NASCAR bar....it's pretty open. I think we have a lot of latitude here.

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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

[Banzai240]

David, et.al.,

The ITAC had no input, nor quite franky, any idea, that this change was happening, so read into it what you will... I'm assuming, not having fully read everything, that the rules for "NASCAR" style bars which applied to the driver's door, apply to the passenger side now as well...

Or, at least that appears to have been the intent... OOOOMPH!~

Either way, I think it's a good change...

Of course, I have already cut out my "NASCAR" bars from the Speed World Challenge days and installed formerly IT-Legal bars...

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Darin E. Jordan
SCCA #273080, OR/NW Regions
Renton, WA
ITS '97 240SX

[itmanta]

I do not read it that way at all. The ruling specifically states that the tubes may go inside the drivers door and the mechanisms from the drivers side can be removed. No mention of the passanger side

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Peter Linssen
ITE Volvo 740 Turbo
ITB Opel Manta
Oregon Region

[Bill Miller]

Originally posted by itmanta:
I do not read it that way at all. The ruling specifically states that the tubes may go inside the drivers door and the mechanisms from the drivers side can be removed. No mention of the passanger side

Read it again. The sections the call out the driver's side door have been lined out. Therefore, the rule applies to either (or both) doors.

On a side note, the fact that the "Regional Only" designation has been removed from SM, sets precedence that a class/category that is designated "Regional Only" does not have to stay that way.

And on a totally different note, I noticed that hard tops are no longer required in SM. I wonder if the same allowance will be extended to the IT Miatas? And if not, why?



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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

[Banzai240]

Originally posted by Bill Miller:
I wonder if the same allowance will be extended to the IT Miatas? And if not, why?

Bill,

Go read the spec lines for the Miatas in ITA... it specifies that removable hard tops MAY be installed... They don't have to be...

We talked about this at some length, and based on info we were presented, we could find no reason to require them... The cars have better aero WITH the tops than without... Quite a bit better, actually, from what we've been told...




------------------
Darin E. Jordan
SCCA #273080, OR/NW Regions
Renton, WA
ITS '97 240SX

[Bill Miller]

Thanks Darin,

I honestly hadn't looked at the ITA Miata specs recently, and hadn't recalled any discussions about the tops. And yes, I know that the cars are faster w/ the tops. But I'm certainly glad to see the consistency w/ the top requirments between SM and IT. You know me, I think consistency is a good thing.

------------------
MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

[Banzai240]

Originally posted by Bill Miller:
... I think consistency is a good thing.

We're trying...



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Darin E. Jordan
SCCA #273080, OR/NW Regions
Renton, WA
ITS '97 240SX

[RacerBowie]

If 2 tubes are mandatory, are 3 tubes better than 2, or illegal?

[Bill Miller]

Darin,

What in the world are you doing up so early???

------------------
MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

[ddewhurst]

Darin, I agree it's a positive move.

***David, read the def of a NASCAR bar....it's pretty open. I think we have a lot of latitude here.***

Jake, my understanding of the NASCAR bar intruding into the door cavity connecting the main hoop & the front hoop per the NASCAR-Style Door Bars rule is that the bar is one continious bar. NOT two or more bars welded together.

Others understanding please
David

[joeg]

RacerBowie--Put any number of tubes in there you like!

[turboICE]

Since I wrote them in May requesting exactly this (and was told no way/no how by some on this forum)I am all happieness.

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Ed.
240SX ITA

[itmanta]

The rule now says that the "nascar" style door bars may intrude into the door cavity on both sides, but the passanger side mechanisms must remain. Am i still missing something? Who proclaimed Nascar "style" door bars to be safest? Certainly not in a two door sedan where the Main hoop is behind the B pillar by six inches or more.

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Peter Linssen
ITE Volvo 740 Turbo
ITB Opel Manta
Oregon Region

[Banzai240]

Originally posted by Bill Miller:
Darin,

What in the world are you doing up so early???

... I'm usually up at 4:30am... On the bike riding to 15-miles to work by 5:30am... Riding back home at around 4:00pm... and in bed, sound asleep, by 11:30pm...

Then I get up and do it all over again...

And you wonder why I can't keep my head on straight half the time...


Back on topic... THANK YOU CRB for the roll-cage rule change... This just makes a lot more sense. Cars will be "safer" on multiple levels, and now everyone who takes advantage of this rule can get rid of the window glass on the passenger side! That's all goodness...



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Darin E. Jordan
SCCA #273080, OR/NW Regions
Renton, WA
ITS '97 240SX

[turboICE]

Originally posted by itmanta:
The rule now says that the "nascar" style door bars may intrude into the door cavity on both sides, but the passanger side mechanisms must remain.

The GCR definition of NASCAR style has always included a bar intruding into the door cavity - if a bar didn't intrude into the door cavity it was not a GCR defined NASCAR style door bar.

I expect that first the permitted 10/1/06 part is a typo and was meant to be 10/1/05. I also expect that it was an error of ommission that the second "driver's" part was not also crossed out as the first one was. I would expect those to be corrected in future versions.

Clarification on the proposed rule change wording should be asked for from the CRB if there is any lack of clarity.

Also there is no requirement in IT to use NASCAR style (though there is in Touring for some reason). The only mandatory part is that two bars be employed between the front and main hoops across the door openings - so if you feel that they would not be safe on your car feel free to not employ them - but don't gut those doors.

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Ed.
240SX ITA

[This message has been edited by turboICE (edited July 27, 2005).]

[planet6racing]

Umm, where does it say you can remove the glass on the passenger side?

It still says "Drivers side window..."

------------------
Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com

[joeg]

It would be bizarre if 10/5 is not a typo.

In any event, can someone clarify the change made awhile ago about tube specs ("required tubes"). The new tubes will be "required"?; Can they be of different sizes--meeting the minimums or must they be the same size as the main hoop? Or am I imagining things?

I have to see what tubing I have in stock when I get home from work.

I always like rule changes that allow me to drag out the bender, notcher and welder.

Cheers.

[Bill Miller]

Originally posted by planet6racing:
Umm, where does it say you can remove the glass on the passenger side?

It still says "Drivers side window..."

Bill,

Look at Item 3 under the Improved Touring section on page F-210. It's in the middle column, about the middle of the page. The language referring to driver's door has been lined out. I would agree that the failure to do this in the other section is an oversight.

Interesting to note, the section where it is lined out is under Improved Touring, and the section where it is not lined out is under GCR. This means that it's covered in the ITCS, which trumps the GCR.

To Darin or anyone else 'in the know', any idea why the language allowing the attachment of the window net was lined out?

Somewhat surprised that something like this wasn't put out for member input, but I'm glad that somebody decided to take the bull by the horns and just implement rules that make sense.



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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608