Anyone from the midwest or great lakes doing this?

 

I run in the MW/GL region, but unfortunately do not do SpecZ. I know of one guy that does it and his name is Adam. I know of another member on here that plans on doing it next year. His car is slowly getting there, but should be ready next year. I run TTB right now. I will be getting my comp license first thing next year with the other soon to be SpecZ driver.

 

I heard that there is a couple of former T3 racers that are going to convert their cars to Spec Z and come race in the MW/GL area.

 

What if they have the <3000# cage in their cars? Is NASA still accepting SCCA-tech'd cars for their annuals without further prodding? Be it as it may, I know of 3 cars, locally, that have the <3000# cage details, and meet all the NASA requirements. It is possible.

 

Unless something happens my car will be ready and doing comp school with Fixxer. Hopefully my body damage doesn't cause too many problems.

 

Yes per CCR 15.6.1 Let me know if I can help get them out on track.

 

I have created a video to promote the Spec Z racing series! If you share it hopefully it will bring more drivers! ENJOY!

 

speczdriver, you're that Adam I was referring to in our region in my above post. This is Dominic. We chat on FB.

 

"Vehicles homologated by, or built to the specifications of FIA Group N, FIA Group C, JAF, SCCA, IMSA, and Grand AM, must conform to these rules, or may conform to their respective current class rules for roll cage requirements for guest groups and special
events. Any vehicle that does not conform to the NASA cage rules, yet conforms to cage rules of another recognized sanctioning body (SCCA, IMSA, Grand Am, etc.), that wishes to compete in NASA events on a regular basis, may be ordered to make modifications within a time frame specified by the Race Director and approved by the Regional Director. Note- It is the responsibility of the driver to furnish a copy of any non-NASA
rules applicable to his/her vehicle."

Still seems a little gray to me. Words like 'guest groups and special events', 'may', and 'timely fashion' will make my SCCA pals worry I think. Regardless, their cars are like 2900# with the smaller tubing, so they should be able to run ballast with driver to get to the minimum post-race weight.

 

Awesome video, Adam! Thanks for putting that together, I'll certainly circulate it around my contacts. PS - no green machine! Hahaha.

PSS - NASA NorCal just added MRLS (Laguna) to its race series this year, however, SpecZ wasn't invited due to low car count. So you're technically right, but also a little optimistic!

 

Adam,
It’s really good to see your enthusiasm and effort you are putting in promoting the series, but please don’t cross post or create several duplicate posts for information in many different areas. We only have so much space and try to be a bit conservative about it. I would post in this thread, and then if anyone has a question related to the series elsewhere on the forum, point them here.

Thanks

 

I sat down with Jerry Kunzman, the Executive Director of NASA, at the NASA Championships in Utah and asked him specifically about Spec Z and cars coming from SCCA with the .095 wall cages. He referred me to this rule and said that there should be no problem with them racing in the class.

 

yeah!!!

 

The SCCA weight for a T3 350Z DE is #3300 pounds. I have to ballast to #3350 since I have the spec z suspension. How are these guys coming in at #2900? Maybe old T2 cars?

 

Maybe, or possible from another class. Point-being, the thinner wall is allowed in SCCA, which makes it ok for NASA long term, as we now understand it. That also implies that cars with cages suited for <3000# on the scales are legal for NASA tech.

Clifton - I still think there is some hand-waving about defining "race ready". For example, if one builds an HR car (now with a 3400# weight requirement) that's under 3000# with the cage, that car gets a NASA tech sticker to COMPETE IN NASA EVENTS of any class, does it not? That could be enduro, PT(x), OR SpecZ, etc. Then, within the CLASS requirements, are further rules for points, modifications, weight requirements, etc., is that correct?

 

You sly dog! haha

 

Are you saying that you have a driver that weighs 400lbs?

If someone builds a car for a NASA class that allows the car to weigh less than 3000lbs with an .095 wall cage, then converts it to Spec Z, that car is still legal.

 

Please understand that I'm trying to help the class locally, and this comes up A LOT when I discuss cages with people that have multi-use Z33s. I have the same goal as you - to GROW the series. But people are confused about building the cage around the weight of the potential driver, crossover to other series, etc. I am a rules *****, so I want to be certain that what I'm telling people is concrete since the rules leave things up to interpretation.

I understand your point about the driver weight, however, just to clarify - the driver wouldn't need to be 400# since we are talking about a dry car under 3000# for the annual NASA tech vs a car fully-loaded with fluids and driver post-race having to weigh XXXX pounds. Anyway, that's where the 'race ready' hand waving lies. Are you saying that NASA tech will ask what class the car is built for, bust out the sub rules, and tech the car specifically to that class? If so, that's not what I see here locally. Locally, NASA tech are experts with the CCR, not the classes themselves. What do you mean by convert?

Based on all this discussion, it appears that one can build any Z33 (under 3000# with the 1.5x1.2 or 1.75x.095") race-ready, and get it tech'd by SCCA, NASA, etc. ultimately obtaining an annual tech sticker. THEN, continuing this example, the car has to additionally meet the rules of the class it will actually race in (Spec, PTx, enduro). Horsepower, aero, weight requirements, etc., all need to be in compliance for the specific class. So, to be legal in SpecZ, the car has to weigh 3175/3250/3400 pounds with driver at the end of the race. If said driver isn't heavy enough with fluids, then that competing vehicle requires ballast to be legal for the spec class.

I am not trying to split hairs, but as I see people locally building cars and are asking me for guidance, this is the hottest of the topics and I'm tired of racing against myself. I want to see these cars get on the track already. Most of the cars I'm referring to do double or triple duty, so they either already have cages, or they are HPDE guys building their cars as light as possible to start, then meeting the individual class rules that they'll compete in is their ultimate goal.

Side note: The required weights of these cars is unnecessarily heavy. As you know, the min weight was increased across the board last year. I understand and agree with adding weight to even out the differences in the engines but it's rather simple to get these cars down to 2900# with the cage ready to rock. Plus, I think people would rather add HP to even things out, then add more weight.

Discuss.

 

Not to split hairs here, but the primary focus of any annual inspection has to be on safety. When I tech a car, there are several key safety items that I must check, but compliance with items such as weight are not one of them. To me, that's the responsibility of the driver/entrant to be in compliance and if they can't make weight in impound, it's on them.

So, to take your example, if a Spec Z comes in with a cage that meets the safety standards, then it passes that requirement. If I happen to notice the driver has put a VR38DETT into the engine bay, I'll simply mention that he might want to reread the rules before he gets protested, or we "discover" it in tech and throw him out on his ear. Same goes for weight- it's up to the driver to be in compliance.

 

SAFETY - I agree. Cage meets safety standards (and is designed for a car under 3k pounds in this example). As you said, SpecZ compliance comes next, which is for the post-race vehicle to be 3175/3250/3400#, which is easy to comply with, hence the hot topic, at least locally.