And I'll stick to mine. Find out what they're going to do with the car first... Making someone illegal won't score any points for you. And, it's not a suspension mod which is what the original question was.

 

As far as SCCA, sure, I agree with you, you don't want to make an illegal recommendation. I am having a hard time with SFCs not being a handling mod tho, so we'll just have to agree to disagree. SFCs are not part of the suspension, agreed.

 

The original poster said he was going into SM, where some types of sfcs are legal, although perhaps not the DDs.

I've never understood that one exactly. People say the rule is the sfcs cannot meet. The DDs go to the center of the car, but there is a gap between them.

Also, the original poster included them in his list of "suspension mods". It's not precise language, but conceptually bracing the chassis helps the suspension work better.

 

Thanks for your clarification Bob! I have the KB DD SFCs on my '97 TA. I noticed a difference just going down the driveway of the shop that welded them on! I also have a race car 3rd gen f-bod which always had a welded cage. I just got the Global West front to back SFCs for this season and the car handles even better! The standard line is with a welded cage you don't need them. I was encouraged by my fellow racers to get the SFCs and I am very happy I did, read on.

I broke an axle on the race car at over 100mph and the combination of my Alan Blaine cagework and SFCs surely saved the car. There was a big gash on the RH SFC and that would have been torn up subframe otherwise. My passenger's side floorpan is still buckled a bit!

Not many folks think of SFCs as a safety feature!

 

So I'm looking at subframes, then coil-overs, then go from there? This is my daily driver, but I do plan on trying to run in a few autocross events next year and will have 4.10's and torsen by then, so I will be in SM anyways.

 

By the way, Lady in Nomex, how exactly would I go about cambering my 10-bolt correctly? May be able to get access to a welder.

 

KG, I would not do this myself. Take it to someone who has done it before. I took it to Matt Adams VSE in Carmel Valley, CA. I have another friend who races CMC in an F-body. He has his own machine shop and is afraid to tackle this one! If you are in the San Fran Bay Area I could point you to some shops.

 

"So I'm looking at subframes"

As I said, I'm not at all sure the DDs are legal in SM. If you care about being competitive in autocross your _first_ step is to get the rule book for the events you want to run.

"then coil-overs, then go from there? "

See my post above for an alternative plan. Changes for the first mods suggested there will be subtle, but if you're going to go all the way anyway...

 

SCCA SM rules for SFC's are:

Subframe connectors are allowed, but each connector must be attached individually without any lateral components attaching the two longitudinal frame rails. Subframe connectors may be bolted or welded

DD's are not allowed nor are any the cross to each frame rail.

 

Steve - thanks.

The part I don't get is "lateral components attaching the two longitudinal frame rails". A lawyer (SCCA has plenty) would tell you that means longitudinal components that don't attach the _two_ longitudinal frame rails are OK. Since the DDs don't attach to each other????

Or do they say "attach" means to the car and not each other?

It's confusing and ambiguous.

 

You can connect the front subframe on the left to the rear frame on the left and the same for the right. The connectors can't cross left to right and visa versa.

 

Steve - I understand what you're saying. The problem is that's not what the rule says.

What you're saying could have been said "without any lateral components attaching the longitudinal frame rails". The legal deal is that when the "two" is added in there the assumption is that it is meant to be used. The DDs do not attach to each other.

Someone could give SCCA a hard time about this one. When I was roadracing there were more picky disputes about rules than this. Any rallyist would jump all over it. Of course, SCCA could then just reword the rule.

 

If anyone would like to disagree with the SCCA SEB can join the Evolution discussion forum
evolution-discussions@yahoogroups.com or go to the SCCAforums.com message board. I don't make 'um, just have to follow them.

 

Lady in Nomex - If it is that difficult of a job to camber a 10-bolt, I'll probably skip that, especially since I am in Louisville, KY, no where near CA.

Regarding the DD subframes, I will probably go ahead and get those first, then coil-overs (probably straight rate springs w/re-valved Bilstiens), then go from there. It is my daily driver and won't be competing in autocross but just for fun at first anyway.

Regarding the DD subframe rule, I would have to say that the way that it is worded would imply that you cannot tie only the "lateral" subframes together meaning as long as the two subframes are separated by something (center tunnel) that you would NOT be tying them together. This isnt going against you brueksteve, we know that you just follow what your area SCCA says, I would definitely dispute it here if it was brought up as an issue though. My dad's neighbor is an SCCA instructor, maybe I'll talk to him about the subframes.