PA Hillclimb

I've been slowly, very slowly working on converting a 2003 Ford Focus SVT to be legal and able to compete your events. I've read through the rules and am still a little confused about classifications and roll bar/cage regulations. I have my car gutted out, with a half cage welded in (main hoop and rear step-backs with an X between the rear step-backs and a Harness bar). Since I am a little confused about the classes I was wondering what all else I would need to be able to show up and make a run up the hill. I still need to get a 5 point harness, helmet, suit, socks, shoes, and gloves as well as a fire extinguisher but I wanted to get the bigger issues of safety done with before but I looked into purchasing that stuff. At a recent car show I had a guy that has raced Ford Focus's in Rally America picking apart the cage that I had payed someone to build and install for me, so I'm ready to rip it out and rebuild a whole new set up if needed. But I wanted to see if this set up would be fine. This is how the car is set up sitting in the driveway right now

Gutted
Dashboard is installed but has no radio, or HVAC systems (aftermarket antique car heater installed from JC Penny)
alot of wiring has been trimmed out
Sparco sprint race seat (mounted to stock seat bracket which as been modified and welded where needed)
KW V3 suspension
16 Rota Slipstreams with Soft compound AutoX Hankook slicks wrapped around
Clutch Masters Stage 3 clutch w/ Fidenza 12lbs flywheel
2.5 Catback exhaust

I can provide pictures, but I do fear being laughed at by you veterans, its kind of awe inspiring to see some of the videos and cars you guys have here.

Thank you all for your help I hope to join you at an event later this year or maybe next year!

First of all, nobody will laugh at you. We are all here for the fun of it!

Second, If your roll bar/cage meets specs in tubing size and required bars your good to go. What i've learned is everybody thinks they are experts on cage design and they all have their own way and thoughts. The rules are pretty straight forward as to what a roll bar/cage requires as far as bars. Don't let peoples opinions make you change anything until you read the rules about what is required.

From the sound of your car you will most likely be able to fit in a class that will only require a roll bar. (unless therer is something crazy that your not disclosing)

Hope to see you out there! This is a bunch of great guys and gals to race with.

Alright before I show up, the list that I am required to bring as far as safety items is::
5 point harness
Nomex Socks
Balaclava (I have a beard)
Helmet
Fire retardent suit, gloves, and shoes
and Fire Extinguisher?

Is that list correct for me to be able to show up and run this:: (Picture of the cage)


And as far as me not listing something crazy, I assume you mean something like a Procharger, Supercharger, or Turbo set up? I figure I have so much money in suspension and chassis stiffening I need as much seat time at stock engine build than just slapping some insane power on it lol.

Frist, Welcome to our world!
Now as far as your rollbar goes, looks like you still need a diagonal bar on the main hope going from top drivers side down to bottom pass. side. Otherwise seems ok based on your picture.
Make sure your fire ext. is all metal (no plastic parts at all)
your gutted int. will keep you out of a bunch of classes but i'm sure somebody can point you towards a proper class based on your mods?!
Even if you don't get your car done in time, show up at the hills anyway. You can talk to us, ask more advise, or help out as a corner worker (we allways need help).

See you at a hill soon.

Welcome to the nut house!!! This is where running one event will have you a crazed lunatic for running more. And when you tell people what you do, they’ll say you are absolutely nuts. Hence, part of the nut house family of PHA drivers.

Here is the link to the roll bar/cage rules in the TTR: http://cms.scca.com/documents/2011%20Te ... %20PDX.pdf It starts on page 38.

Roll cage/bar requirements are as follows regarding the diagonal brace:
11.3.4. BRACING
A. Roll bar hoops must have two (2) fore/aft braces with tubing of dimensions at least equal to that required for the main hoop itself. Diagonal lateral bracing of equal dimension tubing must be installed to prevent lateral distortion of the hoop. (In most cases, a lateral brace from the bottom corner of the hoop on the side to the top corner of the hoop on the other side is sufficient). The following alternatives are permitted. Although installing the diagonal lateral brace in the main hoop is the strongest (and hence most preferable) alternative, there may be instances where such an installation is not practical. In such situations, the installation of the diagonal brace as shown in Figure 3 will be acceptable.

Depending upon where you live, you may be able to have someone tech your cage, stamp it and give you a log book($10 for the book, I think).
Keep in mind that even though the rule states alternatives are permitted, that doesn’t necessarily mean here in the PHA as our impacts are a little different than being on a road course.. Sometimes trees, rocks and guardrails can jump out in front of you. If you saw Lord of the Rings, you know about the Ents. Well………..there ya have it.

Classing won’t be difficult but with slicks and no interior, you’re out of any street classes. Maybe you weren’t planning on that, but I am just saying. Maybe GT3? Someone will chime in.

Oh and don’t worry, if someone is laughing at you, they’re probably the crazy of the bunch and have escaped from the local mental institution.

Weatherly is June 11/12. Like Mike said, come out and meet some of us. Lots of FWD cars to look at and figure out where you might fall in classing. See ya there!

I think this car fits into Improved Touring S or possibly a Production class (not sure if the Focus SVT made it into Production). With the mild list of modifications and a car liked by the SCCA more than a Scirocco, it doesn't seem there is a need to go all the way to GT3, although it would probably fit there assuming all the other requirements are met (including all the ones like no door glass, etc.). .

But check out the GCR and see for yourself -- I'd look at the IT category first.

http://cms.scca.com/documents/2011%20Te ... ersion.pdf

Grace

Key Word here..."Slicks". Are you saying they are not DOT rated tires but true slicks? Did you run Prepared in SOLO events?
That puts you in Production, GT, Super Production (Over and Under) or Specials.

In those classes the X bar in the back tubes meets the cage requirements.

Dave Y

All of our events are sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America. So, you must be a member of the SCCA. A variety of competition licenses are acceptable. If you do not have one, download the application for a Time Trial Novice Permit, and mail it in. Take care in completing the medical self-evaluation because when you apply for the license after completing the novice requirements you will need a physical signed by an MD.
And remember, NO ONE will laugh if you start slow and work your way into it. Racing between the rocks and trees is dangerous, so it makes no sense to "have at it" on the first run of your first event. Start easy and work at going faster with each run. As someone above said, if you car is not ready, come to an event and volunteer. Learn about this family of lovable lunatics that make up the PHA. Our supplemental regulations say something like hard crashes by novices are frowned upon.
This from John Pitman....there is a good chance I will be the Driving Instructor at one or more events. I look forward to meeting you.
BTW, you can join the SCCA and apply for the permit at your first event. But, registration will go quicker if you already have a membership card and a TT Novice Permit in hand. AND, you must have a valid state driver's license.

dspgti wrote:Key Word here..."Slicks". Are you saying they are not DOT rated tires but true slicks? Did you run Prepared in SOLO events?
That puts you in Production, GT, Super Production (Over and Under) or Specials.

In those classes the X bar in the back tubes meets the cage requirements.

Dave Y

Running Prepared in SOLO events does not necessarily put you in Production, GT, SPO/SPU or Specials. Your car modifications determine the class, not the autocross class you may or may not run in.

He said autox Hankook slicks. Hankook makes a DOT slick as well as a racking slick, and most people use the DOT slick version for autox (and call this a slick even though it technically isn't). If he was talking about the DOT slick, the tire should be fine in IT.

Tires are easily changed anyway.

Yeah they are true slicks these are the tires:: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes

Right now the only racing I do is PCA Autocross at Hershey Park, they have classes for Porsche owners only and allow other car owners to come and run for fun. All you have to do is pass a very basic tech: Seatbelts, empty glove box, no free floating items in the cabin, and no major leaks, and a helmet. As far as the license goes I plan on applying soon for one of those, I'm just more worried about finding what class the car falls under, if the cage is passable without the cross bar inside the mainhoop that cuts the harness bar (I've heard both that it is needed and that it isn't needed) As far as the class, I'm not really worried if I fall into a crazy super car class, I know I'm going to be slow for my first couple of races and just want the car to pass tech and find what class it falls into now. That way I can finish meeting all the safety requirements for that class and then concentrate on getting everything else needed to run.

Thank you guys all so much for the help you are providing, I will admit I was a little intimidated at first what with all the rules and what not, but you are helping me so much!

gdh57 wrote:

He said autox Hankook slicks. Hankook makes a DOT slick as well as a racking slick, and most people use the DOT slick version for autox (and call this a slick even though it technically isn't). If he was talking about the DOT slick, the tire should be fine in IT.

Tires are easily changed anyway.

Yeah I'm sorry they are DOT tires, but un-streetable, I only call them slicks because they have absolutely 0 tread on them, just two grooves thats it. I'll have to head to Weatherly and bring the car so I can get a couple of you guys to see it in person and advise me more from there. And the only reason I said about getting laughed at, is the car is kind of plastered in stickers, Focaljet (being the largest Ford Focus forum on the interwebs) the facebook address for the group I created for the car, the vinyl sponsor, a giant snail on the hood, and some other stuff... If any of you guys feel like checking out the FB group the link is:: www.facebook.com/projecthillclimb
I've been building this car in parking lots and driveways for two years, and I figured now is the time to start asking so I can be 100% certain of what to do.

Darn. It is too bad Morg got rid of his S2 special with the frog logos. Frogs and snails would go well together. Ok Morg, what will the new theme be (besides that bandido we have seen)?

How would you guys recommend putting the diagonal bar inside the main hoop since I have the Harness bar in? Can the diagonal be cut into two and then have gussets welded around all four sides? Or do I have to drill through the harness bar and bend it out of the way so I can slip the diagonal in and bend it back and weld it to the diagonal? I have the means of doing the work myself but I would like to be as minimally invasive to work already done as possible. And as for the 5-point harness anchors what do you guys recommend? I was thinking of welding three 6"x6"X.125" steel plates with eye bolts bolted through them and the floor of the car and clipping the bottom three points to those. Does that sound like a good/safe bet?

The way I read the rules for Time Trial Roll Bars, the diagonal can be in the back braces, although that is not the prefred method. The fact that you have X tube bracing in the back, that should satisfy any tech inspectors hesitation.

Dave Y

So I don't need the diagonal in the main hoop? Who does the tech inspections so I can send him/her an email with pictures just to verify?

So I just went over the rules again, I think it would be easier to crack german WWII code with out the enigma machine.No wonder people have such a hard time with this! It looks like it still depends on what class your car falls into. A word from one of our tech inspectors would really help here.
Just remember, the rollbar/cage is ment to save your life in case you hit something at a 100+ mph. Ask me how I know!!!
Hopefully all this back&forth doesn't deter you from finishing your car.

Good luck.

Well I just hit a little hiccup, I found out the car falls into ITS Ford Focus SVT and all that jazz, skimming through that I found everything for my car falls into that category just fine. Except my Flywheel, and my roof scoop. After reading the rules for ITR and ITS it appears that I can run any clutch and pressure plate combo and a STOCK flywheel. My flywheel is a 12lb. aftermarket one that replaced the 25lb. stock duel mass flywheel because I found an amazing deal on a CM Stage 3 with the flywheel. As for the Roof Scoop, I removed my sun roof and bolted a metal panel in its place with about 18 bolts, mounted a roof vent into that panel, and then mounted a scoop over top of that. Again reading through the rules of ITR and ITS it appears the only ducting allowed is from the windows and that sun roofs may not be removed.

Are these two things going to bump me to a GT class?

Well I answered my question about the roof scoop, I might just have to replace that panel with an unvented one, again I would love if a Tech offical would chime in here. I read the fresh air ducting rule which stated that FA ducts may be place in the driver and or passenger side windows and not obstruct view from the driver and no modification to the body work is allowed. Then I found a little further up a rule stating that ALL glass sunroofs MUST be removed and can be covered with a panel of the same material as the surrounding area, i.e. my metal panel that now covers my sunroof hole. Only question now is, am I allowed to place a vent/duct in that panel or not. I'm still concerned with my flywheel though.

Geez, I'm not sure what to tell you. Its nice to see you looking thru the rules to figure things out.

The fact that something like a roof vent would push you out of a class is stupid (Hence my strong opinion that SCCA needs to rethink TT classing structure) ! Now the flywheel i can accept as bumping you.

If you put some carpet and door panels in the car you could probably get away with running Street mod FWD (If your car is street legal). There is some leway as to interior pieces being removed in order to add roll bar/cages that you could fall under.

So far that seems to be the ONLY thing that is pushing me to another class. Its gonna bite if I have to swap in a stock flywheel just fit into the ITS class, but since the safety and everything else seems to be a little more stringent with the GT3 class I might just take the 11 hours of work and swap in a stocker, and shelve my Fidenza one. Is there like an ITE class or anything that allows slightly more modifications over ITS?