Is this airdam legal for IT?

[Greg Amy]

Actually says "shall be" attached to the body. Mandatory.

Jeff, show me the word "only".

And for Mickey: to follow your logic, show me where it says you can install a splitter.

"If it says you can, you bloody well can."

[mossaidis]

OK, I will roll with this...

Air Dam – An air control device at the lower front of a car, intended to divert some of the air which would normally pass under the car when the car is in motion.

Spoiler – A panel attached to the body of a car at the front or rear, intended to alter the airflow around or under that end of the car when in motion.

No definition for splitter...even though it's mentioned all over GTCS and STCS when referring to the extension of splitters beyond the outline of the car. In this case, I would agrue that a splitter functions as a air dam/spolier and needs no further explanation.

[JeffYoung]

True, but...

1. Rule allows airdams in certain dimensions. Says you "can" have one.

2. Rule does not say you can attach it anywhere.

3. Rule DOES say you (a) "shall" attach it to the body and (b) can't attach it to the bumper unless you have an integrated bumper. In the absence of you "you can," this for me anyway defines what you can do and anything else in the way of attachment is not permitted.

Not to get argumentative, but I think you'd lose a protest if you had your spoiler/splitter attached to anything other than the body, or the integrated bumper cover if you have one.

Jeff, show me the word "only".

And for Mickey: to follow your logic, show me where it says you can install a splitter.

"If it says you can, you bloody well can."

[Greg Amy]

Sorry, you guys can parse the rules all you want, but my position is how these rules have been commonly interpreted for the last quarter-century.

There's a lot of aspects of these quarter-century-old rules that were originally written for cars long before current chassis/body designs, and long before current racing technology was available at the amateur level (I suspect this rule is as constantly-argued as the IT-going-National rule...which, I see, we're arguing again). I agree that a lot of the aspects of these rules are not within what I perceive as their original intent, and let's not forget that I was racing Improved Touring when these rules were written and doing so in cars using old chassis/body/amateur racing technology (as was Kirk). So if you want to argue the original intent of the Constitu...uh, the airdam rules, bring it on.

But as we use the Internet to more efficiently argue about this, let's not forget how 25 years of case law...uh, de facto rules interpretations has changed and exploited the commonly-accepted usage. In the latter case, we now have splitters, undertrays, and mountings that that do not attach *only* to the "body" of the car, none of which are explicitly allowed within the general reading of the rules. We arrived to this point by one simple way, and that's via the Roffe Corrolary as I described above (and, along with suspension sphericals - which were recently explicitly codified into the rules even though its proponents argued that the rules allowed them - are perfect examples of why I spend time to write such things as the "How to Write a Rule" topic. Words mean things.)

This horse is loooong out of the barn, and trying to argue it back in is pointless, punitive, and has no positive value. Arguing frame brackets back in the barn is also arguing back splitters and undertrays, and leaves us open to arguments of inconsistency of application and effect in regard to body types designed since the 1980's (e.g., integrated bumpers versus detached bumpers.) You really want to take on that?

If you disagree with all this, feel free to drop $25 on any of my cars next time you're at the track; each of them will use frame-, engine, or radiator-support brackets to suspend, secure, and/or stiffen any aftermarket airdam I choose to install.

Dog. It's sleeping. Let it lie.

GA

On edit: James, all my cars use a center-dump downward-pointing exhaust, roughly mid-chassis, center of car, behind driver, pointing down. It's common.

[spnkzss]

Man I love winter and stirring the pot.

[mossaidis]

^^ me too.

GA - (Disclaimer: I have not read you're rules posting yet, but will tonight) you are an example for many of us, so pls set the example. So what you are saying is, the rules are not representative, in this area, of what we can do. So there's an understanding that I am not aware of, i.e. a gentleman's agreement?

[Greg Amy]

So there's an understanding that I am not aware of, i.e. a gentleman's agreement?

No, no, no, not at all! I do NOT approve of "gentleman's agreements", I read the rules exactly as they're stated.

Read that link from above and maybe you'll see.

- GA

[lateapex911]

Yea, I thought that would be your response, Greg. Add me to the "gentleman's agreements blow big donkeys dick club" roster.

Rules are rules, words have definitions. If the definitions and the order of the word says you can do something, then it's fair game. Intent is something for the writers to worry about.

[Z3_GoCar]

Dog. It's sleeping. Let it lie.

GA

On edit: James, all my cars use a center-dump downward-pointing exhaust, roughly mid-chassis, center of car, behind driver, pointing down. It's common.

Greg,

So does mine. My point is that by this rule the underbody is still considered the body.

[tderonne]

I need to look a bit more. Was this proposed change in the December FasTrack adopted?

The existing glossary definitions related to bodywork do not apply well in all car categories. The proposed changes
applied to all cars. [The FF bodywork revisions below depend on these glossary entries.]
Item 11. Effective 1/1/10: Change Glossary B entries as follows:
Body: All parts of the car licked by the air stream and situated above the belly-pan/floor with exception of the roll bar or cage.
For Formula and Sports Racing cars, further exceptions are those units definitely associated with the function of the engine or
transmission.See Bodywork.
Body Panel: A replaceable section of the body.
Bodywork: See Body All external panels that encase the frame, driver, engine, transmission, radiators, suspension pickup points,
etc. Bodywork includes panels below the floor pan, and the bottoms of any side pods.

(Strikethrough font didn't work, the underlined portions replace the strikethrough)

Answering my own post. If I am reading the huge December FasTrack correctly, Item 11 was withdrawn. Adopted or not, it suggests the CRB doesn't like the current definition of body. I wouldn't be surprised to see another attempt at a new definition.