Short Shifters

[lateapex911]

Originally posted by Ggerg1186@Jan 22 2006, 07:37 PM
Pro Engineer

I think I am taking the wrong approach.  At first I figured I would write a letter to SCCA asking for a clarification.  But after looking around the rules and regs forum, I will probably only race IT for a few years.  Then I will go GT. 

Some of the people on this forum demonstrate an intense passion for keeping the IT class bone stock.  That flies in the face of everything I believed about racing.  A differential oil cooler is illegal?  Who cares, a dif cooler is about prolonging the life of a rear end, not adding horsepower.

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A thought or two:

The club has categories, as you have seen, that attract different types of racers. The SS cars are NEARLY stock, and reduce the need to have ProE and a mill in your shop.

IT is a step up the prep ladder, but attempts to make only rather simple mods to the cars to keep things easier and less expensive. It's strategy to attract newcomers, but there are mnay long term IT'ers who find that IT provides a great balance between wrenching and driving.

Prod and GT allow more, and even..... more levels of innovation, and require more wrenching and engineering capability. ProE, Silicon Graphics work stations and CNC machines welcome, and even required.

It sounds like your talents lean heavily in the innovation and fabrication department, so in the long run, Prod and GT could be your best place.

In the mean time, IT is a great place to learn the ins and outs of SCCA racing, with less "car stuff" to worry about.

The diff cooler is one of those things that isn't really needed, and could be more trouble than they're worth. Trust me, the rules makers in IT are not "stuck" on keeping things bone stock, but mods need a comprehensive "reason to be" before they are considered.

 

[Ggerg1186]

Originally posted by lateapex911@Jan 22 2006, 09:34 PM
A thought or two:

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Actually, as I learn ore I agree. The SCCA has been around a long time, I need to find a class that suits my needs, not modify a class.

IT7 will still be a great class to learn the track. It's just very hard for me to look at my car and NOT think 6 piston calipers, short throw shifter, ported, extrude hone.....

So, I will run IT a couple years to develope my rookie driving skills, then combine the new skills with and engineering degree. Hopefully, it will be a "winning" combo. Then again, I may find out my skills are limited to the pits and the garage.

 

[lateapex911]

I think IT7 (ITA) will be cooler than you might think. Innovation exists, but it isn't in the obvious ways, like bigger calipers and such. Your car is a great example. Does it have the tri Link rear suspension?

If so, you have one of the craftier solutions in IT. The problem (one of, LOL) with RX-7s is that when you lower them for racing, the rear trailing arms begin to move in conflicting arcs, and the axle tilts in such a way as to bind the watts linkage. So, the solution was a careful read of the rulesbook, and a deep knowledge of suspension geometry. The rules allow addition of a Panhard rod, and removal of the Watts link. That takes care of the lateral location, and removes one source of the binding problem, but the longitudinal location was solved by the "free material" bushing rule, and the allowable addition of a traction control device. The traction control device actually takes the place of the upper trailing arm which now uses foam rubber as a bushing material. A very clever solution that required creativity, deep engineering knowledge, and fabrication skills, and results in real benefits. ( An ex GM suspension engineer is the source of that one)

While the rules may seem overly restrictive on the surface, there is still room to innovate. But you won't have to pony up hundreds for fancy calipers and thousands for re-engineered transmissions and so on. There are, of course, examples where the IT rule book can cost more than simple racer solutions, but overall, it fills a pretty big need in the SCCA ladder.