RULES: Bumper reinforcement modification or removal?

[hufflepuff]

Is it legal to modify or remove bumper reinforcements in TT/PT?

[Greg G.]

Is it legal to modify or remove bumper reinforcements in TT/PT?

This is listed in the TT and ST Rules:

4) Modification of the OEM front bumper frame cross beam is permitted if a modified or

replaced bumper beam remains that is equally strong for crash protection.

 

The same would apply to PT and the lower TT classes, and would be accounted for in the Weight Reduction section.

 

We may need to add it to the No-Points Mod. List of the PT and lower TT class rules since it requires more than just removing the part.

 

It is not permitted to remove the rear beam.

[circuitmstr]

that is listed in the TT1-3 section of the rules next to other rules that don't apply to TTF-B.

 

I can put my front bumper beam back in, its never been in, along with many other people I know. The rear one is a different story. It is there but is heavily modified. I have an aluminum beam structure mounted in its place to weld my wing mounts to,which come up through the bumper, then the factory plastic bumper has been modified to bolt to that.

is that not okay?

[TEarsley]

Is it legal to modify or remove bumper reinforcements in TT/PT?

This is listed in the TT and ST Rules:

4) Modification of the OEM front bumper frame cross beam is permitted if a modified or

replaced bumper beam remains that is equally strong for crash protection.

 

The same would apply to PT and the lower TT classes, and would be accounted for in the Weight Reduction section.

 

We may need to add it to the No-Points Mod. List of the PT and lower TT class rules since it requires more than just removing the part.

 

It is not permitted to remove the rear beam.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but I am unable to locate this rule. Looked in the Time Trial Rules on the website (http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/time_trial_rules.pdf) and the Club Code and Regulations (http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/ccr.pdf).

 

Please post up a link showing this rule.

 

Todd

[TEarsley]

Found it in the ST Rules (http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/Super-Touring.pdf)

 

Now my question is: How are we to prove/test that a modified/aftermarket/custom front crash beam is "equally strong for crash protection"?

Edited January 29, 2014 by Guest

[circuitmstr]

you have to intentionally crash your car at least 5 times and submit the data.

[heavychevy]

So rear bumper support removal is prohibited? Is it in the rule book as well?

[AZELISE]

So rear bumper support removal is prohibited? Is it in the rule book as well?

Keep in mind the TT rules are written as you can only do what is written in them, everything else is illegal. Like it doesn't say you can't run a suction fan to increase downforce,so you can't.

[Bnjmn]

I don't think that interpretation of how the TT (or ST) rules are written is correct, but I recommend that all of my competitors read the rules that way.

 

The rear beam rule is in 7.3.2(A)(1):

 

 

Other than the listed exceptions, every Production vehicle must retain its unmodified:

1) OEM frame rails/rear frame cross beam,and/or Unibody and Sub-frames/suspension cross-members (in their OEM locations)

[circuitmstr]

The car mine is sort of modeled after, a multi national championship winning car (Miata), has an integrated aluminum rear bumper beam/wing

support same as my car.

I need some clarification on this asap please. That shit was not cheap or easy to fabricate and there is no reason that should not be allowed. It performs the exact same fuction as the factory bumper beam

[Greg G.]

The rear beam rule is in section 8.2.2 of the TT Rules, and 5.2.2. of the PT Rules:

 

Any tube-frame, never street legal, monocoque purpose-built racecar, vehicle not approved by the DOT, TUV or Japanese government for street use, or production vehicle that does not retain the OEM frame rails and rear frame cross beam and/or unibody*, strut towers, floor pan, inner/inboard side of the fender wells (any non-horizontal aspect)**, transmission tunnel, rocker panels, windshield frame location, and sub-frame/suspension cross-member, or is converted (partially or wholly) to a tube-frame design, that is not otherwise classed below or in Appendix B, will default to the Super Unlimited/Super Touring classes until evaluated by the National PT and/or ST Director for possible homologation into another class.

 

Here is the answer I sent to Eric regarding his older Miata:

 

The rule talks about the "rear frame cross beam and/or unibody". Based on the photos of the BTM version of your vehicle, I don't see how an OEM/BTM plastic or foam bumper piece can be mistaken or rather determined to be either a "rear frame cross beam" or part of the metal "unibody". So, if anything, what you have done is improve the strength of the rear end where a crash may occur. There may be less absorption of low impact crash energy by not having the plastic or foam, but that is not what the rule discusses at all. So, it appears to me that what you have done is not a violation of this rule. If you would have removed the metallic structure that the "bumper" bolts to, that would have been a violation. For your vehicle, this is more a part of the unibody than an actual rear frame cross beam as seen on a vehicle like the Corvette.

 

Also, regarding front bumper beams, we have added a Technical Bulletin so that the PT and lower TT rules match the Production vehicle requirements of the ST and TT123 rules.

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