I'm Baaaaaaack!

[JamesWilson]

(insert scary maniacal laugh here)

Went up to Orange County tonight, pick up this-- http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/car/171340233.html


1987 Porsche 924S, black, all original but very very extensive maintenance. When we drove up, my wife said, "Wow". That's all I needed!

Unfortunately I will not be at the Monday autocross, as we are MOVING Dave Turner Motorsports to a new LARGER location (with a dyno!) over the weekend and into Monday. I will have a few spies inserted amongst the PCA and BMWCCA crowd, you are all welcome to follow them up to the new location in Kearny Mesa.

I will post some pics of the "new" car tomorrow if I remember the camera.

[JamesWilson]

http://sccaforums.com/photos/jamesws_photo_gallery/default.aspx
A few photos from this morning...the black 924S.

[Tim Comeau]

James,
Sorry that 924 turbo project didn't turn out well......if you had just listened to me in the first place
I hope you can come racing with us often in the 944 spec class.

[JamesWilson]

So if I need to replace a few things right away and want to progress up the classing structure, let me run a few things by those "in the know" after I've read the rules.

GSS-- Bilstein non-adjustable OK? 0-2 points only, does the basic Bilstein damper count for points, or only if I go to an adjustable shock (and get kicked to GS)? No sway bar changes, but can bushings be replaced with new ones? There was talk about not allowing the Falken Azenis tire in the SS classes, now I read that the minimum is just a flat 140 treadwear-- Azenis, MX, Z212, Neova/ADO7 are all 200. I NEED to change the factory front driver's seat out so that I can turn the wheel and not hit my knees, is this considered a "safety" item if I also install a harness bar/roll bar and harnesses? I am initially trying to avoid multiple sets of wheels, we will get further into Spec944 later but not right this moment

Thanks,

James

[ttweed]

James-

From my understanding of the rules, the points for shocks are only for the non-stock, adjustable type. If your Bilsteins are the standard, non-adjustable, they should be 0 points and not exclude you from SS.

The Falken Azenis and all other tires with treadwear rating between 140-200 are 1 point, now. This is not enough to kick you out of SS though, as you can have 2 points there. Swaybar bushings are a maintenance item and can be replaced. Swaybar size increase will get you 2 points and put you in S class.

I believe that installing race seats and harnesses as well as a rollbar or harness bar are safety improvements that will not result in points as long as the minimum weight for the car is maintained and the "weight distribution" is not affected. If you go over minimum weight by installing a rollbar and seats, and then decide to get back to the minimum by taking weight out of the ends of the car, such as FRP bumpers or lids, then this would not be allowed in SS class. That's how it was explained to me by our rules guru, Steve G., when I questioned just such an installation in an SS car previously, but I have been wrong before, God knows, and the rules are subject to interpretation.

TT

[JamesWilson]

Hmmmm so the Azenis would bring a point, but the oem-type non-adjustable Bilsteins would not. Replacing the sway bar bushings with delrin (on the stock sway bar) might take points though, correct?

Just seeing how little I can do to the car, stay in a good class, and not spend a ton of $$$ (read: NOT like the GP 931 from last year).

-JW

[lowyder993s]

rules are subject to interpretation.
TT

No truer words have ever been spoken!

[ttweed]

Replacing the sway bar bushings with delrin (on the stock sway bar) might take points though, correct?

No, there is nothing in the rules that say that non-stock bushings take points, but there is one exclusion in the SS rules that may be interpreted to mean that you must use factory stock bushings to remain in SS class:
4. Any non-stock suspension improvement (ie: shocks, springs, torsion bars, etc)
Since a hard bushing (polyurethane, Delrin, nylon, etc.) may have less compliance than a stock rubber bushing, it could be said that it is a "suspension improvement" under "etc." above, even though it is not specifically listed. Undoubtedly it is a much smaller improvement than "shocks, springs, torsion bars," but it could be argued that it allows the sway bars to function better than stock, and thus is an "improvement" that requires you to run in S class and not SS.

Personally, I think this would come under the heading of "weenie protest" if someone actually objected to your car simply because it had hard bushings, but if it came down to a formal protest, you might be disqualified from SS by a stringent interpretation of the rules. Luckily, I don't see a lot of "rule lawyers" in our club filing protests left and right, and I have never worried myself that someone is going to beat me because they had better bushings on their sway bars!

TT

[harnishclan]

I can tell you one thing that needs to be changed is your profile picture! You have your own car now, stop using a picture of mine! Besides, yours looks much better, runs and is all one color.