BIG CHANGE! SP safety rules now same as SS/ST

[91rs13]

Patroon ran a 1/2 day "car control clinic" for Mohud SCCA a few years back before a race at LRP. We too shocked the crap out of some of the stewards with the speed the cars were at. The rules changed over the winter to make sure those type of events were part of Club racing and not special events?
I think their attitude From an SCCA point of view --you want safety equipment in every car on track. But if that is the case--then you need it in all classes.

I personally like having a roll bar or roll cage. but I also like driving at events with a long sleeve shirt and Jeans and not a firesuit (Fat guy)

[chaos4NH]

A rule change of this magnitude 5 days before the first event? Although I think it's a good change, if it had been made last November, I wouldn't have had to hack up my Subaru interior to fit a roll bar.

Frank, I know you are safety minded, so, I bet a roll bar would have been on your list. I am staying ST2 and am also installing a roll bar, for a decent harness hook up as well as for roll over protection.

[John F]

Those are exactly the people who benefit from the change and we hope will now come out and play.

They can probably get into the Glen, we could use a few more cars to minimize our losses for this event. Current car count is 75. Who knows, we may never be able to afford to go back to the Glen in the future.

The Glen was #1 on my list followed closely by Calabogie! Too bad it was scheduled to coincide with my timeshare in Belize.

The winter changes don't really affect me other than now following the use-by date on harnesses. I hope the changes bring new bodies. I have steered some guys from the cobra forums to COM to come out and play, but the biggest drawback on these cars is the driver only rollbar. I know because it held me up for two years. I don't promote changing it though, I am personally looking for more safety. (not mandated, though)

[offcamber09]

What affect does this rule change have on the harness date rule? You don't have to have 5 pt harnesses, but if you do they have to be current? :dontknow:

[Grippy]

That's right, the harness rule is unchanged for all classes. If you run a harness it must be current.

[jadams]

That i can take my Rollbar out now, and save about another 100 lbs? Thats cool.....but seriously I wouldn't even consider it!! I really think that safety should be #1. If you are willing to drive on the track without a rollbar/cage, a harness, or a HANS, you are more daring than I am! I bought my HANS as soon as I jumped to SPA. I simply asked myself what was the value of my neck! $995 at the time didn't seem like a big deal when I thought about it like that. If spending money on safety devices is stopping you from attending driving events, I just simply think that this may not be the proper hobby to have. The moment you have an incident that jeopardizes your life, and it realize that it was fully preventable you may have a different outlook. Just my 2 cents.

[nhsilversti]

while i think this is a great move to attract more drivers, someday someone will get seriously hurt and we will then wonder/question why we did this.

[Chris Yates]

If the club is trying to strike a balance between increasing the number of registrations and improving the adoption of safety items, maybe offer an incentive for installing key safety items?

Install a roll bar: $20 off the registration.
Wear a 38.1 approved head and neck device: $15 off registration.

As it stood before the recent rules change, the requirement of safety items was not really linked to risk or injury. For example, running c/o's on my Mustang would bump me to a class where I needed a significant upgrade in safety equipment (SPA). But in reality, the risk of injury didn't significantly change with the c/o being added to the car.

The rules change certainly opens the door to more folks registering; an incentive for installing safety equipment might be a nice subtle push to encourage broader adoption of safety devices.

Thanks,

Chris Yates
96 Cobra (ran with COM way back when, returning this year)

[breakaway500]

Now I am sorry I cancelled for WG I was worried about passing tech to the point of high anxiety so I backed out.Damn!

I got a chance to A/X my car with the mods I made to run in SP and I really like the new harnesses.

The lady passengers always seem to need help with all those straps and buckles

..and I have learned to like the hood pins.

[brucesallen]

I know this would complicate the rulebook and tech. But would it make sense to allow a free pass for SP during school/practice, but require the safety equipment to participate in the TT?

I originally proposed this at the BOD meeting. But in discussion it was apparent that 1) a driver in a time trial has been licensed by an instructor and 2) Time Trials are safer than licensed run groups because TT is solo so why require special equipment for TT? and as already mentioned 3) lightly modified Miatas are in SP3 whereas any number of supercars with 500+ horsepower are running stock in SS or ST. In any case, no one runs solo unless an instructor says they drive OK.

If any mods are so wild that the instructor or tech thinks the car is unsafe with the supplied safety equipment the car may be prevented from running.

[brucesallen]

A rule change of this magnitude 5 days before the first event? Although I think it's a good change, if it had been made last November, I wouldn't have had to hack up my Subaru interior to fit a roll bar.

Gee, Frank, the president's position is opening up for next year.

[JackFFR1846]

Great move.

I ran a 91 integra last fall with SCDA with a jdm 1.6 vtec motor swap. It was not fast by any means (160-170hp). All stock other than the engine and using my CRX rain tires.


I'd also move that we remove the belt dating for prepared.

jack

[skivittlerjimb]

I do have mixed feelings on this rule change but it certainly benefits me personally. I was generously offered a one-time pass on running SPB at Calabogie last year, and have not been back to a COMSCC event since, largely because the overall cost and difficulty of getting a cage/rollbar built from Vermont.

That being said, I still plan on a 10-pt. cage, and sooner rather than later. My current goal of running competitively in the NEHA Hillclimb series and ultimate goal of running Targa Newfoundland in 2009 (or maybe 2010 at this point) requires it.

NEHA tackles this issue with "breakout" times. Don't have a cage? Then you have to stay above a predetermined breakout time for the hill you're driving. The theory is you'll go slower and take less chances. Go below the breakout time once and you're warned. Go below twice and you're done for the weekend with no registration refund. Ultimately it makes it a bit like bracket racing, but it does the job from a safety/participation numbers balancing act perspective, though imperfectly. The biggest "losers" in a system like this are folks with very fast hill climb cars that are otherwise stock, such as STis, awd Porsche 911 Turbos, etc. They either hack up their interiors and make them race-only cars, or they pedal the car up the hill. Ultimately that's the intent, because trees and boulders and steep hillsides are even less forgiving than tire barriers, armco, and concrete walls.

Likely I will be at Calabogie again this year, and likely w/o a cage, as I simply don't have time to source and have one built by then. For Tremblant and Mosport I hope to have at least a 4 pt. bar if not the full cage built by then, along with racing seats and 5 pt. harnesses.

Will I be more relaxed about lap times w/o a cage? You bet. Learning is much more important to me at this point than lap times, and bringing the car and body home in one piece is way more important than that.

See you at Calabogie,

-Jim B.
'92 GVR4 280/1000

[cuda6666]

A rule change of this magnitude 5 days before the first event? Although I think it's a good change, if it had been made last November, I wouldn't have had to hack up my Subaru interior to fit a roll bar.

Gee, Frank, the president's position is opening up for next year.

OK, Bruce. I've been BOD, VP, and Pres. Time for you to move up. I can vouch that you have CEO experience

[ctkag]

Good 1st move on the part of the BOD - my prediction is that the SP classes will suddenly become very full.

What I would have preferred to see was a modification to the ST rules that permitted more modifications as typically seen on street-driven cars and left SP as the place for more highly prepared yet still street legal cars. Allow in ST such things as injector/carburetor/manifold upgrades, maybe even - brace yourselves - boost upgrades via boost controllers/ECU tuning. I'm thinking of trying to encompass what the typical 'tuner' car on the street might have done.

I hope the club can attract more members in any event. I know the rollbar/firesuit/harness requirements have kept a lot of people out. I certainly won't be 'downgrading' my safety equipment level anytime soon.