157 replies to this topic

[FTodaro]

Bruce there is enough Mis info on here. I would really like too see or hear any proof of a 1" blend and or really any actual facts or info.

I cannot wait to see what the data shows. It is amusing to me that so many people have opinions about the effect of deburring and blending and the perceive benefit of it when SCCA, NASA and Mazda do not yet know. Particularly on a plate motor. But soon enough we will.

[David L]

I cannot wait to see what the data shows. It is amusing to me that so many people have opinions about the effect of deburring and blending and the perceive benefit of it when SCCA, NASA and Mazda do not yet know. Particularly on a plate motor. But soon enough we will.

I mean seriously do you think that guys were CHEATING for nothing. NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE GAIN THEY CHEATED.

 

We don't need to wait to see the results the engine builders showed us long ago.

[FTodaro]

I mean seriously do you think that guys were CHEATING for nothing. NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE GAIN THEY CHEATED.

 

We don't need to wait to see the results the engine builders showed us long ago.

[Johnny D]

This is a tough one.... It's almost a be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it.

 

1.) We need SM specific knowledgable people on the SMAC.  Without them you have 70 year old Production guys making the calls on a class they know nothing about.  Most everyone who doesn't race in SM think we are a bunch of idiot crash fest drivers which we all know is not accurate.  I believe that if the call minutes were open to anyone and everyone then it would negate the potential for shenanigans yet keep knowledgable people about our specific class in place.  It's going to be hard to find SM people who don't have ties to an engine builder, parts supplier, arrive and drive program, driver coach etc.  I think it's important to have knowledgable SM specific people on the SMAC but we have to make it transparent (see # 2) for all to see.  There also needs to be an action plan to remove someone if they start pushing their own for profit agenda.

 

2.) Why can't we fix the minutes thing.  If the SMAC is for SM related issues only, then why can't we as a group mandate that it be opened up to all involved.  I don't see why Mazda wouldn't support this as well.  From my limited conversations with them it seems like they are cool with transparency and fixing the class moving forward.  Is there any reason to hide these minutes from all of us?

 

3.) Better yet, why don't we use the phone technology in place and offer up listen only access to the calls as they occur.  There should be NOTHING discussed during one of these calls that we all should not have the ability to know about and through the proper channels communicate about.  Open it up and make it available to all and that will eliminate the back channel proposals and other shenanigans listed above.

 

I feel like some people are trying to make huge changes when maybe huge changes are not what is needed.  Maybe some fine tuning might get the situation where it needs to be.

 

Just my 2 cents.... Sean

 

Sean, after a decade of reading these boards (Daniels place before this)  ...I'm struck as to the number of passionate and knowlegable SM racers. Of ALL the categories, you guys should have the easiest time finding SMAC candidates. And SOME ties are ok. Driver coaching? I've done it, and it had no bearing on my ITAc work.

 

You need:

-Dedication- the ability and desire to put in say 5 hrs a week on the boards keeping up.

-Morals- You vote for whats right for the membership.  Money should never enter your head (in terms of who profits) Right is right, wrong is wrong.

-Big picture view-  Sometimes the right move is the wrong move for this season, but it's the right move for the category going forward thruogh the years

-Open mindedness-  Gotta be able to accept alternative views and think out of the box, assuming others might have legitimate ideas.

-Experience- Having been around SCCA, and the class will speed your thought process.

 

I personally think that super specific knowledge about things like plunge cuts etc aren't vital. The committee can call on outside sources to be expert witnesses. We did that regularly on the ITAC. (300 cars to class!). Many committee members were loath to do it, because they felt inferior. They need to man up and get over that. The SMAC is in an semi enviable position where the class can be argued to be the most important to the club. So the SMAC can request resources from the CRB that other ad hocs would have trouble attaining. 

 

The CRB can be very helpful. Lot's of experience there, and lots of contacts.

 

But- the chair of the committtee(s) is in a tough position. I;ve seen that they rule with too soft a hand. Ad Hoc guys missing 40% of the con calls? Sorry, that's BS, they have to go. It's tough and a hassle to find new guys, so often crap like that festers. And then there are the guys who really help, do lots of work, and do lots of good, BUT, they have some shady methods and go over the line sometimes. Those guys mUST get their chops busted, warned heavily and tossed on the second offense, (or on the first if it's egregious) because the club members can not have leaders who are shady. The members can not be exected to be 100% legal when the leaders of their category are loosey goosey with the rules. (All IMO, of course!)

 

Did anyone want to throw around some names of people that may be good for the 3 potential seats ???

 

Or that's a CRB/SMAC recommendation thing and you shouldn't volunteer people anyway ???

J~

[Parity]

I nominate Tony Senese - NASA NE SM Director. He's been racing SM for years, knows the cars well, and is a true budget racer.

[James York]

Interested SCCA members submit a resumes to the CRB for SMAC positions.

[wheel]

As stated earlier, we encourage any SCCA member, with the time and the interest, to submit a resume for any of the Advisory Committees.  Write a short resume and submit it to www.crbscca.com.  The resume should list your racing/business/personal history and summarize what you can bring to the party.  The Advisory Committees meet once a month on a conference call that usually takes a couple of hours.  Members have access to the letter log before the calls, and should be willing to spend some time reading the letters and doing any research they feel will help them make an educated contribution to the discussion of the letters.

The Secretaries of the Advisory Committees send the letters up to the CRB with a recommendation for action.  This is the time to send in your resume, as all AC's members are reviewed at the end of the year.

Thanks,

 

wheel

Chairman, CRB

[jedd fahnestock]

Ive been building spec miata rollcages for 13 years and I honestly believe i may have built more miata rollcages than anyone in the world, hundreds of them, so many i lost count, im building one right now in my shop and have another scheduled next week. I started racing sm 13 years ago, sold my first spec miata to Tom Long and he won the pro championship with it. I have some sm history but I cant submit my resume due to conflict of interest, id be tempted to change the rollcage rules so everyone would need to update theirs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. Im also rather lazy and dont like conflict.

[Johnny D]

12/18/2014
Spec Miata Rules, Tow Fund Among SCCA December BoD Decisions

TOPEKA, Kan. (December 18, 2014) – The Sports Car Club of America Board of Directors approved a number of motions during its December meeting related to Club Racing. The list includes news on Spec Miata and the tow fund for Runoffs attendees.

Following ongoing meetings with the Spec Miata Group that included members from Mazda, SCCA and NASA, the Board approved changes to the General Competition Rules related to the class for the 2015 season.

Rule GCR 9.1.7.C.1.f.3, regarding cylinder heads, now reads: “The throat area of the port consists of the 90 degree angle at the very bottom of the cast steel valve seat as it transitions to the aluminum casting below. It is permitted to plunge cut the throats in order to correct for core shift that is commonly found in many cylinder heads. The cut must be cylindrical and concentric to the valve guide axial centerline, within a tolerance of .005”, for the entire length of the cut. The radius tangent to the cylindrical and bottom surfaces shall not exceed 0.375". This cut cannot extend further than the specified number below from the bottom of the ferrous valve seat. There can be no tooling or machine marks in the head below this point. The Intersection of the machined surface of the plunge cut to the port casting shall not be altered, except that the area under the short turn radius may be de-burred, with the de-burring not to exceed 1.5 mm in width. The 90 degree bend at the bottom of the valve seat and the aluminum directly below it will be measured with a gauge and must conform to the maximum diameters and depths listed below.”

Additionally, recommended changes to the front suspension were approved. Rule 9.1.7.C.3.p now reads “Inner bushing(s) on the front upper control arms may be replaced with the Mazdaspeed offset bushing (part number 0000-04-5409).”

“These technical rules came after a series of meetings involving experts from Mazda, NASA, and of course, the SCCA and our Club Racing Board, and we’ve come away from them moving truly in the same direction,” Lisa Noble, SCCA President/CEO, said. “Each meeting brought to light different facts, including the shortage of stock Miata heads now available, and all parties felt that this rule set is the best course of action moving forward.”

In addition to the technical changes, the Board also approved rule 5.11.4 to allow the Club Racing department to designate a Class Compliance Chief. The rule states: “When assigned to an event by the head of Club Racing or his designate, the CCC works with the event technical staff to provide consistent compliance checking across all the events in designated class/es. Decisions made by the CCC regarding compliance are non-protestable.”

“The intent of the Class Compliance Chief is to designate a subject matter expert, for a class such as Spec Miata, that will develop and execute a more in-depth compliance program,” Eric Prill, SCCA Chief Operating Officer, said. “The Spec Miata Group is developing this program, and participants will see this program in action early in 2015.”

A separate action eliminated the existing tow fund program for Runoffs qualifiers through the Majors qualification path. The rationale had three primary elements: A small pool of members benefitted from a program that all Majors participants were required to fund; the new Runoffs rotation allows more drivers to experience the event closer to home; and a desire to decrease per-event expenses for drivers.

Only 172 of 517 entries in the 2014 Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca received tow fund payments, with 2,023 drivers contributing to the fund (33 percent of attendees, but just 8.5 percent of contributors). In 2013, when 700 drivers attended the Runoffs at Road America, 279 received tow fund. That represents 40 percent of Runoffs attendees, but just less than 12 percent of contributors. The percentage of contributors to collectors has remained consistent over the past five years.

While the traditional tow fund has been eliminated, staff is exploring alternative options for 2015.

More information on these and other minutes from the December Board of Directors meeting will be available soon in the January 2015 FastTrack on SCCA.com.

[TJKearney]

I've sort of been paying attention...but where did the offset bushing allowance come from?  I certainly missed that.

[Johnny D]

I've sort of been paying attention...but where did the offset bushing allowance come from?  I certainly missed that.

People were getting more camber by bending things that were hard to tech, so the bushing gives you the camber legally, save on tire wear etc.

J~

[wheel]

The web mention of the bushing rule is not correct.  The rule says:

 

MOTION: Approve add to #15634 – 9.1.7.C.3.p: Inner bushing(s) on the front upper control arms may be replaced with offset bushings. Hanushek/Butler. PASSED 11-2 Against Langlotz, Lindstrand.

 

[Chris70]

And the material specification of the "bushing" is ???

Ademir

S.A.C. racing

[Johnny D]

And the material specification of the "bushing" is ???
Ademir
S.A.C. racing

MazdaSpeed Part Number: 0000-04-5409
$66.66 for the set

I aim that in NASA this will be the spec part number.

J~

[Bench Racer]

Being Lindstrand is my BoD guy I'll need to ask for his reasoning/logic of a negative vote.

[Bench Racer]

 

I've sort of been paying attention...but where did the offset bushing allowance come from?  I certainly missed that.

2. #15634 (Michael Babcock) Camber for SM
Thank you for your request. Add 9.1.7.C.3.p: p. Inner bushing(s) on the front lower control arms may be
replaced with the Mazdaspeed offset bushing (part number 0000-04-5409).

As you can see by the latest letter above from Topeka 12/18/2014 the offset bushing is to be implemented in the inner front upper control arm. Babcock requested the same, but some how the CRB words said lower control arm. The subject was debated within a thread on this site and most were in agrement the offset bushing should be in implemented in the upper contol arm because the upper control arm receives less load than the lower control arm.

[john mueller]

I do not understand this stuff enough to ask an intelligent question but here goes anyway....   If the offset bushing is on the lower arm could it possibly cause an issue with exceeding the track width without intending to?

[Bench Racer]

A couple points with reference to the offset bushing being on the lower control arm. Yes the track width would change. How much, don't know bushing offset in inches and don't know all the other suspension parts dimensions to caluclate. Would need to install and measure. Larger potential issue is that the lower control arm has much higher horizontal loads than the upper control arm and to get maximum camber the bushing mounting bolt (cam bolt) would be to the outside and if not secured, through horizontal loads could be forced to a different location impacting the amount of camber. When located at the inside of the upper control arm the bushing mounting bolt will be to the inside and offset bushing will not change location. Several companies sell offset bushings and there specifications are to install in the upper control arm for reasons ^ stated.

[wheel]

3. #15634 – (January Fastrack – Michael Babcock) Camber for SM

Thank you for your request.  Add 9.1.7.C.3.p: p.  Inner bushing(s) on the front upper control arms may be replaced with offset bushings.

[Mike Babcock]

Many thanks to those that supported helped get this one in the book.  My Hoo-Hoo's and I are most appreciative!