SP rule changes

[Stynger]

Just wanted to post an update on rules changes concerning SP.

The board hopes to be done with the rule changes at the next meeting.

Some may know at the last meeting we had 3 changes presented for SP. One was to eliminate the stock sub frame and frame wording in SP because Kit cars are allowed and don't have to abide by those rules.

The second was to put kit cars in P.

The third was to allow fender flares.

The board voted to eliminate the sub frame/frame wording from SP. then it made no sense to move kit cars to P so that change was withdrawn.
The fender flare issue was still in discussion as the meeting ended.

After some discussion between the board members, it looks like the sub frame/ frame ruling may be revisited at the next meeting. That could also put the kit car to P change back into play.

If kit cars stay we think kit cars should be defined so at least they can be teched.
Bruce has a proposal for the next meeting which I've cut and pasted.

If you have any thoughts either way, I'd love to hear some discussion before I vote on this.
If you have strong feelings either way, I suggest you come to the meeting and voice your oppinion.

Proposal for Street Prepared 2009 update

By Bruce Allen 11/25/08



XI. STREET PREPARED

The intent of this classification is to provide a competitive grouping for street-based vehicles that might be modified to improve performance, and safety, Street Prepared must address a wide range of modifications in order to find a class for any car between "Street Touring" and “Prepared” cars. Therefore it is impossible to guarantee the competitive potential of any car, even when modified to the full extent allowed by Street Prepared (SP).



Kit cars and replicars are allowed in SP if they meet the rules otherwise specified. A Kit car is typically a low production volume or one-off tube frame car with fiberglass, carbon fiber or aluminum body. This car may either duplicate a classic sports car of the past (either faithfully or with performance improvements), or be a new design. A kit car must be street legal. A Kit Car is considered street legal if it otherwise meets the requirements of this rule book and has a current registration and inspection sticker or meets the New Hampshire Statutes on Equipment of Vehicles http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/htm ... XI-266.htm including the Street Rod statutes.




Where applicable, it shall be the responsibility of the competitor to prove the stock configuration by providing a factory shop manual of the competing vehicle's model and year. “Stock configuration” is defined as having been available from the factory for that model and year, or having identical form, fit, and function to stock. This definition applies whether or not a performance gain is derived from a particular modification. A Kit Car competitor must be prepared to defend the street legality of his car by presenting state statutes from New Hampshire if the car is not registered or statutes from the state in which the car is registered.


Cars which have been modified in violation of these rules will be classed in Prepared.



Street Prepared automobiles must comply with section VI, then any modifications are permitted while observing the following restrictions:



1. Engine blocks may be obtained from any manufacturer.

Number of cylinders used must have been offered in that particular car. Forced induction may be added.



2. Engine must be located in the original engine compartment. Firewall sheet metal (or composite if originally used) must be left as stock.



3. Cars must be equipped with street running gear, e.g., operating wipers and wiper motor; head and tail lights, stop lights and turn signals; parking brake; horn; muffler; rear view mirror; interior consisting of stock dash board, door panels, side panels. Rear seat, all carpet, and headliner may be removed. Neither a heater nor a defroster is required.



4. Stock glass windshield and rear glass must be used.



5. Silhouette of car must remain as delivered, with the exception of aerodynamic changes as defined in item 10 below.



6. Composite panels may replace hood, fenders, bumpers, doors, and trunk lid as long as stock appearance is maintained. Cars using aftermarket composite hoods must utilize hood pins. Cars using composite doors must have tubing of the same size and thickness as the rollbar/rollcage, running from shoulder height (while seated) forward to at least 85% of the door opening. Cars with composite doors MUST HAVE A ROLLBAR/CAGE



7. 100% of stock frame or sub-frames must be retained. Additional bracing, either bolt-or-weld-on may be added. Suspension mounting points may be re-located, but car must use basic suspension design that car was delivered with.

8. Tires must be DOT approved, with no undertread showing (For safety reasons), and either be listed in THE TIRE GUIDE or be available in three or more rim diameters. RECAPS ARE NOT ALLOWED.



Wheel type and size is optional provided the tread fits within the stock fender configurations measured by a vertical line dropped down from the fender lip, while the car is at rest on level ground, with the wheels pointing straight ahead. The edge of the tread is defined as that point on the tire that intersects with a 45 degree angle drawn from a line perpendicular to the centerline of the wheel. This shall be measurable by placing one edge against the wheel sidewall of a template consisting of two straight edges having an included angle of 135 degrees.



9. External body modifications to fender wells are not allowed although rolling of the inner fender lip and enlarging or removal of the inner wheel well is allowed as long as stock outer appearance is retained.



10. Any aerodynamic device may be added as long as they are fixed and immovable.



11. Fuel cell (tank) must be separated from the passenger compartment by a metal bulkhead or a composite bulkhead if the body is composite. All fuel and oil lines passing through the passenger compartment must be either steel tubing or steel braided hose (Aeroquip, Earls, etc.).



13. Roll bars or rollcages are highly recommended



14. The passenger seat may be removed when a “Petty Bar” is installed.

[Mick]

1. Engine blocks may be obtained from any manufacturer.
Number of cylinders used must have been offered in that particular car. Forced induction may be added.

Forced induction may be added? When did that sneak in there? That's huge.

[brucesallen]

1. Engine blocks may be obtained from any manufacturer.
Number of cylinders used must have been offered in that particular car. Forced induction may be added.

Forced induction may be added? When did that sneak in there? That's huge.

That is only for V8s or more cylinders in SPA. 4 and 6 cyl cars get bumped up.

[John F]

My Factory Five roadster is in SPA. The only two items that keep me out of PA, not counting the Mass plate , is running a full windshield and DOT tires. I don't really care one way or the other where they decide to put me, as I only do it for FUN, but tossing out the "tube frame chassis" as an end all-be all definition of a prepared racecar is baloney. There's a ton of stiffening that's missing from the early roadsters because they copied a 1965 chassis. Later versions like the latest spec racer are a different item entirely.
And forced induction used to move you up a class, but had no effect on SPA as there was no place to go. I asked for a ruling on whether adding boost would move me to PA and was told no.

[WillM]

1. Engine blocks may be obtained from any manufacturer.
Number of cylinders used must have been offered in that particular car. Forced induction may be added.

Forced induction may be added? When did that sneak in there? That's huge.

FI has been legal in SP for a long time, but it bumps you up a class.

SPC: Naturally aspirated with 4 or less cyl.
SPB: Naturally aspirated 5 or 6 cyl, and less than 5-cyl with forced induction
SPA: 8 cyl naturally aspirated, 5-6 cyl with forced induction.

[Mick]

1. Engine blocks may be obtained from any manufacturer.
Number of cylinders used must have been offered in that particular car. Forced induction may be added.

Forced induction may be added? When did that sneak in there? That's huge.

FI has been legal in SP for a long time, but it bumps you up a class.

SPC: Naturally aspirated with 4 or less cyl.
SPB: Naturally aspirated 5 or 6 cyl, and less than 5-cyl with forced induction
SPA: 8 cyl naturally aspirated, 5-6 cyl with forced induction.

Oh.
That's how I understood it, but the way the it's written it sounds like FI can be added without penalty. Without seeing the sub section on classing It wasn't clear.

[eastcoastbumps]

I guess I'm still confused by the rules. Specifically this one:

1. Engine blocks may be obtained from any manufacturer.

Number of cylinders used must have been offered in that particular car. Forced induction may be added.

For example, you can't install a H6 from a Subaru SVX or Legacy into an Impreza? And you can't install a Nissan Skyline 6 cylinder into a Nissan 240SX? You can't install a Chevy V8 into an RX7 or E36 BMW? But you can put a Chevy V8 into a Ford Mustang or E92 (06+ 3-series) BMW? I always understood it as just a bump in class depending on cylinders.
If it is just a bump in class, and you can install a motor with more cylinders that wasn't originally offered in that particular car, I would like to see the subframe rule stricken. I would also like to see the cylinder count rule be stricken or clarified. I have owned two cars that would be effected by the subframe rules. One of them is my 3rd generation RX7 with a Chevy LS1. I have run in Prepared since I no longer have the original subframe. My subframe is built from scratch to replace the OEM subframe. 2nd generation RX7s have a much different subframe. You can install an LS1 with just adapter plates and the OEM subframe. Same goes for E36 BMW's. Both of those cars would be legal for SPA, if its just a bump based on cylinder count.

My '99 Impreza 2.5RS did not have its original subframe. I used a subframe from a WRX/STi. The STi subframe has a very subtle notch for the exhaust before the turbo. The exhaust would not fit without this notch. I could hammer a notch into the original frame, or route the exhaust around the frame, and still comply. The STi subframe bolted up to the older RS chassis without modification.

3rd Gen RX7 LS1 subframe:


2nd Gen RX7 LS1 adapters:


2.5RS (and any other Impreza/Legacy without a turbo) Subframe:


WRX/STi subframe:


It sounds like I should go to the next meeting. Wednesday 12/17 at 7:00 - Yangtze River Restaurant, 584 King St, Littleton, MA 01460, correct?

[Stynger]

Pete,
If the proposed rule for kit car classification goes through, you could call it a "kit car" and run what ever you want.
Just keep the parking brake and lights etc.

[91rs13]

I cannot make the meeting, but would like to see the rule for the option of Fender Flares allowed in SP.
In my opinion, A class that allows motor swaps and possibly tube frame kit cars should not force less prepared cars to continue to require wheels/tires to fit within "stock" fenders. Allowing Fender flares would make more sense.

"Still slow in SPB"

[jlwhorf]

Pete,
If the proposed rule for kit car classification goes through, you could call it a "kit car" and run what ever you want.
Just keep the parking brake and lights etc.

I have always been an advocate of putting kit cars in P because of the nearly unlimited modification possibility, but I understand the point of leaving streetable ones in SP. My biggest question is where does car modification end, and kit car classification begin. To give examples; I easily consider Bill’s Healey a kit car even though it has some original body panels and a motor swap. I would also argue that Jake’s 69 Camaro would fit the kit car mold too, because other that the body, there are not many original parts either.

Jonathan

[John F]

There is some merit going to something like the points classification that NASA uses to class cars for TT.

[91rs13]

There is some merit going to something like the points classification that NASA uses to class cars for TT.

Excellent suggestion. Then we just need to leave some room in the rules for the open wheel / one off type cars.

[brucesallen]

We all should step back and reflect. In the TEN years in which kit cars have been classified in SP there has NOT BEEN A PROBLEM. All the previous discussions address theoretical kit cars, none of which has been presented. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[eastcoastbumps]

We all should step back and reflect. In the TEN years in which kit cars have been classified in SP there has NOT BEEN A PROBLEM. All the previous discussions address theoretical kit cars, none of which has been presented. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Not allowing my RX7 or 2.5RS in SP is a problem. It goes against the spirit of the rules. They're both street cars with common motor swaps. They're not all out, stripped to the bare bones, meant for nothing but to go fast race cars...like the ones in Prepared.

[bstonkus]

I made the proposal to eliminate the frame, sub-frame rule. The intent was strictly based on being able to be more competitive and was not intended to exclude any vehicle from SP. I made the argument that OE stamped passenger car chassis are far inferior to a purpose built tubular, designed from scratch (kit car type) chassis with optimized suspension pick up points. Eliminating the rule may allow me some parity with these cars. The argument was made as a comparison, I have no issue with kit cars in SP.


Brian Stonkus
#102 SPA RS3 Mustang