THSCC Forums

I run the Factory Five Roadster and am trying to decide what class to run next year. I currently fall into EM, but most cars like mine are classed in AP. My blower and 17" wheels throw me into EM. Now that I have decided to switch to sticky tires, I have to decide how sticky.

Option one is to continue to run in EM, by myself, and get spanked if a "real" EM car shows up. In this case I could stick with the 17" tires, and run Kumhos.

Option two is to set the car up to be competitive in AP. This would mean 16" wheels and slicks. These cars are beginning to run competitively at the national level in AP.

The REAL question, is whether I would be allowed to run in AP if I remove the blower belt? I would at that point be non-supercharged, and the blower would merely be a restriction not a performance enhancer.

- edited for spelling

_________________
Travis Grabb
Purple Factory Five Roadster

As with the lengthy discussion about STS legality (you may have seen it), the the text of the rulebook describes what's truly legal. I don't have a copy of the rulebook with me, but I think it's pretty likely that having an aftermarket supercharger on there at all would make it illegal in Prepared, even if it is disconnected. Now your peers at THSCC events may say it's OK with them, but you should really ask for that approval at every event just to be on the safe side.

That said, unless your blower is centrifugal, I don't think the car will run without the belt.

_________________
Carl Fisher

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=4651531

You can always run EM on the 16" slicks...

With the general lack of competition regionally either way, I don't think running EM will hurt you much except in PAX (and you have a pretty large barrier to overcome in PAX).

Scott

AP does have a bit better PAX. I guess it really doesn't matter. I'll probably just stick with the current setup, add some DOT stickies, and watch raw times to gauge my improvements.

_________________
Travis Grabb
Purple Factory Five Roadster

I'm surprised that your car can run in AP. DM and EM are the "kit car" classes. To be eligible for prepared, there used to be some rules about being DOT/EPA approved and built in volumes of at least 3000/year. My Caterham falls into the deal - while an original Lotus 7 can still run AP (with correct engine), all Caterhams are DM or EM.

Either way, unless a bunch of other APs or EMs show up at events, I'm sure we'll be bumped together to form a class. So, slap on the stickies and let's go!

I agree with Carl. If the car runs at all without the blower belt, your classing dilema probably would not matter anyway. It would run like a POS. But, nothing in the rules covers equipment installed, but not operational. It's like, "Hey, I don't really use that Nitrous system, so can I run stock?"

If the car is after-market blown, it is MOD. That's pretty clear in the Solo rules. But be fair to yourself: Don't guess on your class. Get a ruling on the car from SCCA or someone who really knows the classing rules and just run in that class.

_________________
Brad

I'm not so sure about the supercharger thing. My MR2 has a roots style supercharger from the factory (not one that sits atop the intake like on the 5.0) with an electromagnetic clutch so that it can be activated when needed for acceleration, then disengaged when cruising for better fuel economy. When the clutch is disengaged (essentially the same as removing the belt, right?) the motor draws air through the freewheeling blades of the SC. Unfortunately I've never unplugged the clutch and run it completely NA, so I don't know what kind of effect the SC drag has on acceleration. Anyhow, it sounds like an interesting experiment. Let me know what happens

_________________
Eric

88 MR2 SC
75 280Z
87 CRX Si