Calling all drivers: I need just a few minutes of your time

I am working on something for people potentially interested in racing with Conference (if it works out, I'll do something similar for workers) and I need a little bit of time from several people. What I'm looking for are several people to provide me with some quickie descriptions of different race classes in ICSCC. Nothing too difficult to do and I will handle all the actual writing duties; I just need experts to chime in with info about their class.

Here's who I'm looking for, in descending order of preference:

• People who can speak generally about the characteristics of a broad class such as GT, Improved Production, Conference Production, open wheel, and each spec class.
• People who can speak specifically about the characteristics of a particular, non-spec class, such as ITA, Club Ford, SPU, etc.

For example, someone who races GT who can speak about the GT class in general and also break down some of the differences between GT-1/2/3 and GTL. Or someone who can talk about Improved Touring, for example, and break down the differences between ITA/B/C/S/E. Failing that, someone from each of ITA, ITB, ITE, etc. For spec classes like Pro3 or Sport Touring, obviously, I'll need someone to give some details for it specifically.

Again, I'm not looking for really detailed information, just the kind of thumbnail sketch you'd give to someone who's knowledgeable about racing but knows nothing of your particular class. For example, what I'll be doing with the info is something like:
Super Production (Group 1)
Cars in its 3 sub-classes (SPO, SPM, SPU) are classified according to engine displacement. Virtually anything goes for the coupes and sedans in these classes, including purpose-built, tube-framed, NASCAR-style racers and former street cars converted to full fiberglass lightweights. Any car with fenders (excepting Sports Racers) will be legal in Super Production, although only the most aggressively-built are likely to be front-runners.
SPO: Engines over 4 liters and 20B rotaries
SPM: Engines with more than 2 liters displacement and up to 4 liters, and 13B rotaries
SPU: Engines under 2 liters and 12A rotaries

For those interested, please respond to this thread with what "broad class" (e.g., GT, IT, Production, etc) or specific class (e.g., ITA, Pro3, FF, etc) you can help with. Ultimately, I'm thinking 5-10 minutes of anyone's time should be plenty to write something I can use.

Thanks very much.

Edit:
Since it appears people are "signing up" for specific classes (e.g., ITA) rather than something larger like Improved Touring, we'll just go with that. If you're willing to do my "broad class" idea, above, please note that in the thread as it'll save me time later. For now, though, here is the list of 2012 classes and who's currently signed up for what (and, in some cases, have supplied a blurb). There are lots of opportunities for assistance here...

A Prod :
B Prod :
C Prod :
D Prod :
E Prod :
F Prod :
G Prod :
H Prod :
I Prod :
SPU : Steve Adams
SPM : Steve Adams
SPO : Steve Adams
Pro3 : Mike Olsen
Pro7 :
SM : Bill Bonsell
CSM : Bill Bonsell?
CR :
H4 :
944 Cup :
ITA : Colin Koehler
ITB : Colin Koehler
ITC : Colin Koehler
ITE :
ITS : Colin Koehler
ITX : Colin Koehler
AS : John Rissberger
RS :
ST : Steve Adams
GT1 :
GT2 :
GT3 :
GTL :
EIP :
FIP :
HIP :
CF : Wes Tipton
FF :
FA :
FM :
FC : Richard Broadhead
FV :
FFF/F500 :
FL :
S2 :
ASR :
BSR :
CSR :
DSR :
ESR :
FSR :

I do believe ekiM B has a power point presentation ready for you on the qualities of RS drivers, if not the class itself.

I tried several times last month to contact Mike through a couple different e-mail addresses but never heard back.

Ok... I guess...


Improved Touring

Purpose and Intent from the 2012 GCR

2012 SCCA GCR said:

Improved Touring classes are intended to provide the membership with
the opportunity to compete in low cost cars with limited modifications,
suitable for racing competition...

Cars from the previous four (4) model years and the current model year
will not be eligible. No car older than a 1968 model of any listed vehicle
will be accepted for Improved Touring competition. Turbocharged/Supercharged
cars are not eligible for Improved Touring competition...

This class is intended to allow a
variety of popular, inexpensive cars to be eligible...

Click to expand...

To put simply, Improved Touring Answers "YES" to these questions:
Do you want to go racing?
Do you want go racing affordably?
Do you want to race a variety of cars or have a variety of cars to choose from?

Improved Touring allows a racer a chance to race a car they may have loved when they were 16 years old (within reason) and works within their budget.

Racing in a slower class like ITC/ITB keeps costs down but if it's within the budget and the driver has a greater need for speed they can skip past the middle class (ITA/ITX) and jump into ITS or ITR.

Examples of cars in various IT classes:
ITR Cars: BMW Z3, BMW 328i (E36/E46), Acura Integra Type R, Honda S2000
ITS Cars: Integra GSR, BMW 323 and 325, Cobalt SS, Civic Si, Prelude Si and vtec, Focus SVT, 2006 Miata MX-5, 240z, Porsche 944
ITA Cars: Integra GS/LS, 90-93 Integra, CRX si, BMW 318, 325e, Neon, Miata, Del sol, Sentra, Saturn SC1, Scirocco, Jetta, Golf
ITB Cars: Ford Escort, Geo Prism, Ford Probe, Honda Civic, Accord, CRX HF, 200SX, jetta, golf, scirocco
ITC Cars: Geo Storm, Escort, Civic DX, Excel, Protege, Sentra, Renault LeCar, Gen 1 VW beetle.

ITX Cars: Same as ITA, ITC and ITB. It stands for IT eXtra and created by the San Francisco region SCCA chapter and adopted by the ICSCC.


With regards to ITA specifically, the classification is in the Goldilocks Zone for budget and speed. The rules allow enough to make the car light, fast and sticky without allowing the type of modifications or parts that would make running up front unnecessarily expensive. While still being allowed to upgrade the engine, transmission and suspension with the ability to tune, it doesn't allow the kind of bonzo modifications that make the car unrecognizable from its original form. The best characteristic of Improved Touring, which is very apparent in ITA is that it's inexpensive to build a front runner and with all things in racing I say that... comparatively. Unlike a Spec Class, a racer in Improved Touring can be dissatisfied with his car but not the class and can change cars entirely (like switching from a Miata to a Honda or a VW to a Honda for example) and still remain in the class he loves. The cost to build is very affordable even if building a car to the full boundaries of the rules. On many cars (Hondas, VW's) you can have a full ITA spec motor built and tuned for under $2k, same goes for the transmission.

The other great part is the racing. Since the cars are all different, sometimes even cars that are the same (like 2 equal cars that have different Final Drives). Some cars might brake or corner better while others are faster on the straights, yet they turn the same lap times. This presents a really good time behind the wheel where a driver can "learn" where each car is stronger or weaker than the other and try to capitalize on the strength while guarding against the weaknesses. Racing a FWD CRX Si with 114 ft/lbs of Torque against a RWD BMW 325e with 172 ft/lbs of Torque that can out brake the Honda (yet sets the same lap times) makes for a very entertaining race.

To make an argument for Improved Touring is the staying power. Improved Touring has been around for ages with ITA typically at the more popular end. Nationally it's a very popular class as well so if one is so inclined they could do a national championship run.

My only complaint in regards to Improved Touring or "IT" is that it doesn't have a sexy name.

Steve,
I race in group 4 in the American Sedan class.
It is a V8 class that races Camaro, Mustang, Capri, and Cadillac.
There are limited prep X T2 cars and full prep A/S cars
We have minimum weights for under and over 313 Cu In engines
The ground tremors from the thunder of V 8 muscle cars heading into turn 1 when the green flag drops.

John Rissberger
# 10 Camaro A/S Oregon
ICSCC & SCCA

Club Ford is pretty easy. We all run the 1600 Ford motor, hard compound spec tire, minimum weight with driver is 1100 pounds. Hewland boxes with whatever gear sets you choose for each track. No wings, no carbon fiber bits, 100 LL Av gas per the rule book, (conference book anyway). Shock type is free, as in Penske, Koni, etc. Motors are not stock, but they aren't pumped up that much either. Aluminum heads are okay and it reduces weight by approx. 20 pounds I'm told, which I could sure use!!

took more than 5 minutes

Holy crap, Colin... you MUST be back in school. (Hello, overkill, thy name is "Koehler.")

Thanks.

I didn't read your post closely enough Steve. Group 3 is that shadowy entity that used to pull a lot of weight until the last decade.
We are comprised of several OW classes, including CF, FF, FM, F2000 and Atlantics. The speed differential in lap times from Fords to Formula Mazda in is the 5 to 7 second range, which is similar to the 2 liter times, and from Ford to Atlantic is over 13 seconds. The lap record for CF at PR is in the 29's, Mazda I believe is 24's and Atlantics I know have turned 17's if not quicker.
We all have minumim weight requirements as I mentioned before, and Fords are 1100. Not sure about FM or Atlantic. The faster you go the more you spend as usual.
Formula V, F500 and Libra run in group 6 with the sports races.

To give y'all an idea what of what I'm going to do with this information, and why it should only take you 5 minutes or so to give me some bullet points, here's an example of what I'm thinking of doing:

Super Production (Group 1)
Cars in its 3 sub-classes (SPO, SPM, SPU) are classified according to engine displacement. Virtually anything goes for the coupes and sedans in these classes, including purpose-built, tube-framed, NASCAR-style racers and former street cars converted to full fiberglass lightweights. Any car with fenders (excepting Sports Racers) will be legal in Super Production, although only the most aggressively-built are likely to be front-runners.
SPO: Engines over 4 liters and 20B rotaries
SPM: Engines with more than 2 liters displacement and up to 4 liters, and 13B rotaries
SPU: Engines under 2 liters and 12A rotaries

Yes, I'm cheating a little with how easy it is to "thumbnail" a class like Super Production, but most classes can probably be lumped together like this, even if it might take more words to explain the sub-classes.

Seriously, folks? Ten days since I posted this and only 4 people are willing to say a little something about their class? That's a little disappointing.

Formula Continental (FC):

2.0 Liter Ford Pinto engines developing about 140 to 145 HP in good shape. OR a 2.0 liter Zetec engine with MUCH longer time between rebuilds but higher initial cost. In a 'serious' match up with top flight piloti's the Pinto cars are still a little faster.
Front and rear wings
Tube frame with fiber glass body's NO as in NO Carbon Fiber allowed on any surface 'licked' by the air stream over the car.
13" wheels with 6" wide front and 8" or 9" wide rear tires
FLAT BOTTOM rule apply's (i.e. no ground effects)

Yes similar lap times to FM's but made different ways. FM's with the rotary power make more MPH at the end of long straights such as Pacific and Portland but, FC's will out corner FM's all day long.

Steve...
I've only got two years in but I'd be happy to discuss SM and to a lesser extent, CSM. Contact me at wbonsell at comcast dot net and I will attach something to a reply email...

Bill

Thanks, guys. Remember everyone, I need a thumbnail description of the class such that it gives someone relatively knowledgeable about racing an idea of what the cars in your class are like. Doesn't need to be super-technical in terms of rules or whether such-and-such transmission is allowed or not (although, for example, saying a sequential box is NOT allowed would be a good thing to note), but a rough idea of what someone interested in building for the class might be in for.

I'd like to see a more formal structure to the classifications with the items below possibly being the minimum items to enter. Please feel free to add other items that might be useful to the racer wanting to enter your class:

Class: Pro-7
Make/Model/Year: 79-85 RX-7
Body Modifications: none except for class specific front air dam or brake cooling
Interior: only dash must remain
Engine: 12A Mazda only
- Intake:stock
- Carb/FI specs: mostly stock carb; no FI
- Ignition: stock
- Emissions: Remove all
- Exhaust: manifold: stock. No catalyst; max pipe size 2.5
- Cooling: Any radiator
Fuel cell: may use stock or fuel cell
Trans: stock 4 speed or 5 speed
Rear axle: non-SE; GSL opt with disk brakes and locking diff. Welded diff ok;
Gear ratio: 3.9
Front suspension: Any FB non-SE strut with coilovers and camber plate
- Spring: Any 2.5" coilover spring
- Shock: Any cartridge strut shock (no remote reservoir)
Rear Suspension: stock 4 link and watts; stock bushings
- Spring: Any spring, stock location
- Shock: Any standard shock, stock location
Front brakes: 81-85 stock caliper; stock disc; cooling ducts ok
Rear brakes: drum or stock GSL caliper; stock GSL disc
Roll Cage min: SCCA ITA specs. Can add Nascar bar
Wheels: stock 13x5.5
Tires: 185/60R13 and 205/60R13 RA-1/R-888 Toyo only
Weight class: Yes, 2400 w/driver
Comments: Pro-7 is a mostly stock, spec based series that features the driver, not the car.
Components are still cheap and available, with this class offering one of the most
inexpensive racing classes in Conference.

I think there are maybe two projects here: the one I'm (still) working on, where I need thumbnail descriptions of each class similar to the example I used, and one where there's more detail but less complexity than might be found in the competition rules.

The danger to the project that Bill proposes being, of course, that someone builds a car according to the Bill's car classification idea and misses something spelled out in the actual rules.

Right now I'm shopping for a hi-tech HDTV.
It's not possible to view all of the different specs without putting them side by side in spreadsheet format.
You must also have all the same details filled in to make an informed choice.
A large number of websites -- not just for TVs -- now have a compare button where I can select a number of models
and compare their detailed specs.
The more data I have, the better the decision.

The idea behind the detailed explanation is to quickly home in on the class that represents my car and modifications.
The same idea holds to the TV. After I've whittle down the list, I go read the user manual to make sure it has the right
number/type of connections, offers wi-fi, etc. In our case that's the rulebook for that class.

I can't believe anyone would build a car without reading the specific rules for that class.

The GT class is based on production cars or trucks, which must maintain their original model drive train with certain modifications, and can be modified with composite bodywork. Original unibody chassis, called "tubbed" cars can run, as can cars with a full "tube frame" chassis.

Formula Libre is for all open wheel formula cars that do not fit into any other formula class due to modifications from their class spec. It includes cars repowered with different engines, cars designed to run in non-Conference classes, and home built open wheel cars.

Sports Racing classes are for purpose built race cars with bodywork that encloses all four wheels. Letter designations refer to engine displacement categories. Cars can be single seat or two seat configuration.