First, I'd like to say thanks for all the participation, and civil discussion on the board. Despite the big issues discussed, and strong passion about this series from all sides, the discussion was very constructive, and useful changes were made to some proposals as a result. As always, not everyone is going to be happy with the outcomes of all the changes. We're a big class, spread across a nation, with different preferences regionally that have to be balanced for the best outcome for the class as a whole. The decisions sometimes don't make sense from one person's, or even region's, perspective. The series directors have worked hard to come to a consensus on these issues, with some give and take involved.
#1. Allow fabricated , external headlight covers - Denied
Despite being one of the smaller issues, this generated the most controversy, and opinions were split fairly evenly on this on the forums. While we [the series directors] highly appreciate, and encourage efforts to improve the appearances of the cars that have been made by those proposing this rule, several things worked against it.
- The justification was largely subjective , and opinions varied on wether these represented an improvement. No significant functional or cost advantage was found to allowing this rule.
- There are unintended consequences of allowing this, in that we must then allow others to fill in the seams, or cover them. This causes many to spend a small amount of money, and a significant effort to do well, or allow cheap, and cosmetically poor options to accomplish this (.i.e tape)
- An additional point (though not the deciding one) was that we did not want to set the precedent of getting rules changed by breaking them first (even for the little things).
-Finally, rules changes have the burdon of proof to make them happen, as rules stability is important. When things are relatively equal, we are going to go with the conservative option of not changing the rules.
#2. Allow transmission coolers - Denied
There was little objective evidence on this yet, and opinions among racers, and race shops vary, so it was thought to be premature to allow this for sprint racing circumstances. Doing this right involves considerable expense, and we do not want to encourage that until/if solid evidence is shown that this is needed.
Some research also revealed that the factory did not equip factory N/A race cars with coolers. While not definitive (our circumstances differ a bit), it also contributed to the decision.
It was suggested that racers participating in endurance racing might warrant an exception to this rule. This would have to be approached on a case by case basis with your regional series director, and would need to be specifically cleared for participation at Nationals (i.e. exceptions may or may not be allowed there)
#3. Increase weight to 2,700 lbs. - Denied
There was little support for this outside of the proposing individual, and a lot of resistance to this.
Barring unforseen circumstances, this will not be revisited in the future. 944 Spec will stay at 2,600 lbs.
#4. Make some (unspecified) allowance for the heavier late offset wheels and/or penalize 924S models (which use these same wheels) for a perceived performance advantage. -Denied.
There was no evidence found of any competitive advantage, or disadvantage of any of the allowed models in practice. Late offset 944's have won 3 National Championships, and multiple regional championships. 924S's have not proved dominant, though competitive. The dyno cap will further minimize any discrepancies, by accounting for the weight of the drive wheels in testing. Again, this proposal did not meet the burdon of proof here.
#5. Allow additional roll cage mounting points for the purposes of tying in the seat(s) for added safety.- Approved.
Final wording to be determined, but the intent is to allow the roll cage to be directly tied to the seat, and in turn, the transmission tunnel
#6. Allow modification of the floor pan to strengthen the seat mounting - Approved.
In practice, this has already been allowed to a limited degree, but not codified. The early cars, especially, have fairly weak floors. In addition, this rule goes along with the allowance for the seat to be tied into the roll cage. While this rule is intended to be fairly liberal in strengthening this area, clear attempts at using this rule to circumvent the ballast rule will result in disqualification.
The series directors were impressed with the serious, and proactive approach to safety shown by the racers on this forums, and would like to encourage that specifically in 944 Spec. To that end, we will also make an advisory recommendation (though not a requirement at this time), that all cars adopt a fire surpression system.
The dyno cap has been discussed separately, and will be proceeding as planned.
At this time, rules requests season for this year is closed. Racers can use the above for direction when planning next year. The formal 2013 rules will be submitted to the NASA central office soon, and after any specific recommendations from NASA are implemented, the rules will be posted immediately following that.
Thanks again for all the constructive input, folks!
