Yeah they’re very relaxed.
Then reason I asked is that on the rally car since I have a lot of suspension travel I also have a lot of travel on the axle splines. It’s Audi GRP B suspension. When I got to an autox or rallyx they freak out trying to tell me I have bad bearings. Yeah yeah yeah. It isn’t till I jack it up and force them to look underneath to see what it is, that they grudgingly let me run. There have been times when they have almost turned me away.
The other issue is that it’s a coupe and the fuel cell is in the back. Some people thing that’s great but SCCA actually doesn’t.
I didn’t want to get all the way there and have to turn around and come home.
I’ve never seen them tech a car. I’ve certainly never been through tech. This is NOT SCCA.
Don’t worry about your vehicle… worry about others. There was some jack ass who came to a complete stop in turn one last summer to ask the flag man a question. Most people don’t know what the flags mean, and most Canadians don’t wear helmets.
Scary stuff.
I’m actually not accustomed to wheel to wheel driving. In Pro Rally it’s not an issue. If someone catches you, you let them pass. I was in SCCA for many years. I was a tech inspector both here and in California. Worked a few F1 GP’s. Then I got fed up with the bureaucracy and quit. Had to rejoin to get my rally license back but joined Misery Bay region instead of here. Worked as a pit marshal a few times but never did any flagging. Have to brush up on that briefly.
The car itself is more than ready to go.
It’s not wheel to wheel, it’s more like what you described with passing except only in the two straights. However you’ll have a few idiots who won’t let you pass or will try to pass in places where they’re not supposed to.
On the good side, like @GV1390 said there are few people who go. Less on Wednesdays (Sometimes less than 10 cars) and they’re all not on track at the same time obviously.
It’s definitely worth going, there isn’t anything else in the area as cost effective and nearby.
Sounds like a plan.
This is the fuel cell setup. Some tech’s think it’s great, others have a heart attack because it’s in the passenger compartment. Not a lot you can do with a coupe. Especially to have access to the spare(s) and jack, etc.
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TMP won’t care. But I understand tech’s having a heart attack about that. Most places at least require a cover to separate it from the passengers.
I suppose it’s splitting hairs, but the cell itself is the bladder inside the aluminum housing. I was talking to an SCCA tech guy awhile back and that was his take. Long term just to avoid any hassles I will fabricate an aluminum trap door that comes out easily.
are they still letting people run without helmets?
It depends on the sacntioning body. That cell installation / lack of bulkhead would fail for LeMons unless it is FIA: http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/images/How-Not-To-Fail-LeMons-Tech.pdf It might be fine for some other sanctioning body.
I’d get a harness bar off of the main hoop and shorten up the belts, less stretch when you need them to work.
Main hoop diagonal (or dual for an “X” to equally protect the passenger)?
Get rid of cage members that extend past the rear axle.
In other words, it’s fine for TMP.
wow, that is like a 6 point plus cage but without a harness bar?
The cell is NRA, NASCAR, USAC, FIA, and other approved.
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The first picture doesn’t show the entire cage and bracing. Both driver and navigator are very we’ll protected. This car is a tank, and very stiff as well. Remember this isn’t a road car, it’s a rally car.
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The cage also extends into the engine compartment and ties to the front strut towers too. Along with a front strut brace too.
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The strut bar actually isn’t that far back. It looks like it is from the rear view, but it’s only about 20". The design of the cage is obviously for structural integrity but also has to allow for spares to be carried as well as there is a place behind the seats for storing helmets for transits. There also is an area behind the seats for the battery and radio’s and intercom. Situations require a different approach than. for a track car. You need to carry a jack, first aid kit, triangles, a hazmat spill cleanup kit, tow strap. You get the idea.
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The braces behind the rear struts are a part of keeping the strut towers from getting ripped out. The stresses on a rally car are entirely different than a track car. Imagine if you will, the bottom side looking like it took a couple thousand hits from a sledge hammer. Not only are there lateral G-Forces, you have a lot of vertical forces too.
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There are a few more braces that don’t show up in the first picture.
So… no reinforcement for the A-pillars? Top of A-pillar bend to floor.
Why wouldn’t the main hoop be "X"ed?
If the “X” on the rear stays were moved to “X” to the bottom of the main hoop it would still support the strut towers and gain cargo space.
20" is a lot when race belts stretch ~10%… that is 2" of unneeded slack in an impact.
Not that anything is bad, but things to consider to make it better.
The front loop is from the floor to the top. It goes behind the dash.
The main hoop has a V from the tunnel to the mid-point of the hoop. From there, another brace goes to the rear strut towers. The geometry is proper. When it was built it exceded SCCA and FIA spec, there was no NASA or Rally America at the time. Actually it was built to compete in both SCCA and CARS as well as FIA.
Current spec would require roof bars and a different A pillar reinforcement. Previously it wasn’t required, but it does have one from the front of the A pillar forward. This is the other car, but the front brace is the same. I couldn’t find a picture of this car’s brace.
You can see where the cage comes through the firewall and ties to the front strut tower. Also is pictured the frront strut brace. Front and back the strut tower tops are also reinforced.
At the same point it has a lateral A pillar bar which wasn’t required. It’s taken a beating already and stayed very straight. I am not worried in the least. It is constructed better than many.
The belts are very fine. Believe me while an inch or so of give sounds like a lot, it still keeps you glued to the seat in the air and when you land. If you were tied in that tightly for 8-10 hours, you’d be pretty bruised. I was an SCCA tech for many years. I would pass this car on safety in a heartbeat.
I’ve also been rallying since 1978 and learned a lot from the school of hard knocks. I’ve built many cars. This is a sound car. Could there be improvements, sure. Does it need them, not really. Will I make some, probably.
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I looked at the crash pictures. Hard to tell the whole of the geometry since it was all balled up. However, possibly more horrific than the geometry were a couple other telltales. One are the welds, they didn’t penetrate the material fully. Not a pro job by any stretch. That should have failed it straight away. Second is the tubing itself. In the first picture you can see by the way it is creased that it is way too thin. It may have looked like a cage, but it wasn’t. In every way that was a disaster waiting to happen. I blame tech for letting it through. It should have had an inspection hole in the main hoop. A measurement should have flagged it for being cheap.
The EVO cage is great. It does have forward A pillar braces which aren’t required. Good work.
One comment was incorrect. Seat and harness mounting points can go to the body. However they must have a backing plate of a certain dimension. The seat rails and mounting must be spec too. Many Sparco seats do not have compliant mountings. The street seats which are used in the wrong context are indeed dangerous.
At TMP you can pass on the two outside straights and the two inside straights. No one ran tech, not checking for battery tie down, tires, helmets or anything. Wearing a helmet is optional, some did, some didn’t. Overall you won’t find a place as close as they are with such stipulations, it’s SUPER laid back as previously mentioned.
Being laid back is very cool, to a point. No one wants a hassle of sweating the small stuff. But they should have some basic safety requirements.
bump, anyone go tonight? I had just wrapped up a long day lapping on the bike and saw some nice cars roll in. Definitely a red MR2 with NY plates. There was also a McLaren on the track ripping everyone apart as I left.
Did you take pics?!
I can never make Fridays 
We should be going out one of the upcoming Wednesdays. Also considering WGI the first weekend in august.