Anyone running Pro 7/ITA RX7's this year?

I think the reasons they went to the 205's in Arizona is the availability for the RA1's. They weren't able to get the 185's there. And, all the drivers hated the R888's because of the heat down there they grease up to quickly and don't give any positive grip.
They only allowed stock gearing front to rear, and they don't allow the jet tuning of the carbs like in the Pro7 rules here.
They had a Spec package that you would buy for the car. Came with the cage, springs, struts, and sway bars, and they had to run all that.. Basically the Tokico Blue stuff.

And the 205's are only 1 inch taller, 2 centimeters wider and 3 inches longer in circumference. basically.. 4.3% slower.
 
Just a quick note to let everyone know that I circulated a petition (per the rules) to ask that both sizes, 185/60R13 and 205/60R13, be allowed.
In other words, if you can find any 'stashed in a warehouse' 185/60R13 RA-1s, they are ok. So are the "also hard to get" R-888s in that size.
The petition, signed by all the Pro-7 drivers, asks that 205/60R13s also be allowed.
The petition was given to the Asst race chair and should now be on file.
I think that between the slight gear change and the slight width change we won't see much difference.

However, now I can now go to Les Schwab and order a set of tires that are actually sitting in the warehouse.
 
"And the 205's are only 1 inch taller, 2 centimeters wider and 3 inches longer in circumference. basically.. 4.3% slower."
4.3% of our current minimum weight of 2400 lbs. is 103.2 lbs. by lowering our minimum weight to 2300 lbs. we can recover any lost speed/acceleration. We can achieve this lower weight by allowing a light weight battery, removal of headlight buckets and motors, replacing the rear window with plexiglas and I'm sure we can find other things to take out if we have to. All in all, pretty cheap fix.
 
Scope creep!
The reason for adding the new tire was simply availability.
It may be slower in the sense of gearing (diameter), but the tire is 0.8" wider.
The wider tire may allow more corner speed but the taller height will reduce acceleration due to gearing.
The two may well be a wash.

I like the weight reduction ideas, but for a different reason.
Currently the Pro-7 cars can keep up with and even out accelerate the Miatas on longer stretches.
Given less weight we would bunch up tighter with them in the corners.
Tighter groupings between racers makes it more interesting.
 
yeah new tires finally! i still haven't found any 185's yet other then the two sets i got. how soon would the rule change take to go into affect?
 
Chris,
Rule changes are done in November (Fall AGM) and take effect January 31st of the following year. (for the upcoming season)
If you go to the Comp. Regs. section (website or your driver's rule book) section 1A- Rule Changes, it outlines the procedure, filing dates, etc.
If you want more information, just give your club Contest Board Rep a call and he/she would be happy to help.
 
Lynn Rimmer said:
Chris, Rule changes are done in November (Fall AGM) and take effect January 31st of the following year.
Click to expand...

That was my thought too, Lynn. But in the case of a class that specifiy's a particular part such as tires to fit a rule suddenly becoming unavailable there might be a way to 'override' the normal rules process. Yes, no?
 
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ChrisS said:
yeah new tires finally! i still haven't found any 185's yet other then the two sets i got. how soon would the rule change take to go into affect?
Click to expand...

We got the petition in Portland, and Bill has approved the variance for Pro7 to run the 205/60R13 RA1 or R888 for the 2010 season since 185's are not available. This is allowed per the language in 1315.B.17(a). So you're "good to go" on ordering 205's. If you still have 185's, those remain legal. Lynn is correct, this isn't a rule change, so the Pro7 guys will need to submit something for 2011 to make it permanent if you want to run 205's in future years.

Tom - 2010 Asst. Race Steward
 
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The way the petition was written, it was to change the tire rule to 205's or 185's. 185's are still around but almost impossible to find new. So, for now the rule should be 185s or 205's until we change it to be just 205's or if they start reproduction of the 185's and no one whats to rule 205's again.. I wouldn't think we would need to re write the rule at the end of this season. But should be effective now.
 
Robert-
Our petition does allow either 185's or 205's for this year. This allows either size for this year and we will monitor the availablity of tires for next year. If we need to use 205's for next year we can put in a rule change to allow them in addition to the 185's or if no longer available just the 205's.

Duane
 
Bluevee33 said:
The way the petition was written, it was to change the tire rule to 205's or 185's. 185's are still around but almost impossible to find new. So, for now the rule should be 185s or 205's until we change it to be just 205's or if they start reproduction of the 185's and no one whats to rule 205's again.. I wouldn't think we would need to re write the rule at the end of this season. But should be effective now.
Click to expand...

That is not the way Conference 'works'.

I can understand having a way mid season to adjust for unanticipated issues such as discontinued parts that are spec'd in a particular class. Or a 'temporary' method of addressing safety issues until the end of season Board meeting.

BUT, one of the marvelous things about Conference racing is, the rules can ONLY be changed in the rules book BETWEEN racing seasons. That way nobody can submit a 'formal rules change' mid-season and cause all kinds of problems.

This is one of the critical operational differences between the ICSCC and SCCA. Classes in SCCA are under constant seige with people (ANY SCCA member) submitting rules change requests all through the year. I would hate to see ICSCC fall in to that pit :( as it causes nothing but strife among racing members.

If you allow that, there would have to be a Competition Committee and Executive Board meeting every month (like SCCA), and we'd need a new publication like "FastTrack".. NOT a good idea and it would drive those volunteers nuts in short order.

Just my opinion but that's it.
 
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The Pro-7 tire rules state the following:

17. Wheels/Tires
(a) The Pro-7 spec tire is the 185-60-13 Toyo Proxes
RA1 or R888 and may be raced shaved or unshaved. If
the Pro-7 spec tire becomes unavailable during the racing
season, the licensed Pro-7 drivers will meet with the Race
Steward and the Assistant Race Steward to select a new
spec tire. If the spec tire changes during a race season,
the old spec tire will remain legal until the end of the
season.

Due to availability issues prior to the PIR race, I met with the
Race Steward and asked if I could submit a signed petition to him
in lieu of "meet with the Race Steward" as indicated in the rules.
He agreed that met with the rule's intention.

I gathered the signatures of all Pro-7 drivers at the event in a petition
which stated they could run an RA-1 or R-888 in either 185/60R13 or 205/60/R13.

The above tires would be legal through the end of the year.
However, the GCRs need to be updated to reflect this standard.
No magic will get the standard updated other than a rule change and vote.

I will submit that rule change prior to the August deadline.

I am trying to get the email addresses of all Pro-7 drivers so that we may
discuss other pertinent Pro-7 issues.

Please send your email address and car number to bossbill (the at sign) comcast (dot) net
so that you can be included in these discussions.
 
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