09 Allowable mods: Prepared Category
Description
This article is from the VW Performance FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Jan Vandenbrande others.
09 Allowable mods: Prepared Category
Prepared Category is structured around SCCA club racing
preparation allowances for Production and GT class race
cars. Prepared cars typically have all interior trim removed
(not allowed in Stock or Street Prepared), roll cages, full
racing suspensions, highly modified engines, and they can
run on racing slicks. A list of allowances would be far too
long to itemize here, and you have to have both a Solo II
rulebook and the General Competition Rules to determine the
legality of any particular modification to a car.
The following was supplied by Richard Welty:
Production is a road race class; although stagnant for
many years, there is now change occuring here. the cars
in production are substantially
different from their road-going cousins.
GT: these are generally tube framed cars with sheet metal
that resembles a road going car; there are 5 classes, GT-
1 through GT-5. GT-1 contains corvettes, camaros, etc.,
and GT-5 contains things like Minis, and there are
various cars in between.
Sports Racers: these are single-seat, closed fendered,
special purpose race cars. there are a number of
subclasses which are quite different from each other:
Sports 2000, C Sports Racer, D Sports Racer, Spec Racer,
Shelby Can Am, and so forth...
Formula Cars: these are the single seat, open fendered,
special purpose race cars. like sports racers, there is a
lot of variation in the subclasses, which include:
Formula V (based on air cooled VW parts), Formula 440
(based on 2 stroke motors and CVTs), Formula Ford (based
on 1600cc Ford motors), Formula Continental (a
conglomeration of various older winged Formula cars), and
Formula Atlantic.
Showroom Stock: a class where theoretically stock
vehicles of recent vintage come together and do
experiments in clever, difficult to detect cheating.
Supposed to be cheap, but ends up being expensive.
A more elaborate entry by Bob April: SCCA has a form of
racing, Showroom Stock, that purports to be exactly that.
Outside of a roll cage, fire extinguisher, and
competition harness, the car is supposed to be dead
stock. Even the adjustments (such as front wheel camber)
must be set to factory specs. Cars must be relatively
new. In my experience (some years back) 1/3 of the cars
were legal, 1/3 had fudges which probably didn't matter,
and 1/3 cheated like hell. You can be in the first third
(I was) and still have fun. You get to race at places
you see on TV (Watkins Glen, Road America, etc.) I drove
the car to the track, put numbers on with contact paper,
and had a ball. In circa 50 races I had to get the car
towed from the track three times (one head gasket, one
destroyed clutch, one large hole in engine block with rod
sticking out), although I also once drove an X1/9 back
400 miles in 3rd gear (only), towing a small trailer with
race tires and tools. The driver must join SCCA, have a
routine physical, and have a helmet, firesuit, and
gloves. Figure $1000-$2000 to prepare car and driver.
Major maintenance costs are tires and bodywork, and you
have some control over the latter. Totalling the car is
rare, but it happens. Getting hurt is much rarer, but it
happens. You go through two weekends (schools) of
supervised practice and mock races and get to enter
Regional races. Successfully complete these and you get
to enter National races. Once you have the license, you
can show up in a Formula Atlantic (the worst safety flaw
in the whole thing).
Improved Touring: a class where battered, rusty sedans
built between 1968 and about 5 years ago come to trade
paint. Everybody is sure that the guy who just beat him
is cheating, but nobody can afford to post the tear down
bond. loads of fun, actually, but watch out for Volvos
from Hell.
Improved Touring allows for typical (wheels, bars, etc.)
mods. The drawback is you'll work on the car, and not
learn racing nearly as fast. Be like a Formula 1 driver;
just show up and drive. For more info, call SCCA. If
you can't find the number, you don't have the proper
attitude to do this; it takes a _lot_ of perseverance.
American Sedan: Big bore version of Improved Touring;
Five liter Mustangs, Camaros, and Firebirds trade paint.
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