Since the first race of the season is likely to be a NASA race, I’m trying to get all of my ducks in a row. My car is legal in two different NASA series: Performance Touring (PT) and German Touring Sportscar Challenge (GTS Challenge).
PT classing works by assigning pretty much every car in existence a “base class,” and then depending on the modifications to the car, you get points. Get too many points, and you move up a class. There is no limit, which means that a very highly modified Honda Civic could be in the same class as a bone-stock Corvette. PT is fairly well subscribed since it exactly mirrors NASA’s Time Trial classing. For HPDE drivers who want to move up to timed competition, they compete in TT. Then, TT drivers who want to start wheel-to-wheel racing can just move over to PT with exactly the same classing. There is a class for absolutely any production-based car, so it’s easy and popular.
GTS classing works by power-to-weight ratios. Modifications are almost entirely free, and you are classed based on your weight and whatever a dyno says.
A lot of people really like the GTS-style classing, but I think it’s a horrible idea. It seems SO easy to cheat, not to mention that unlimited mods means unlimited spending. No thanks. Doesn’t really matter anyway, as GTS is basically entirely unsubscribed in Northern California, though it does pretty well in other places.
So, it’ll be PT classing. My car has a base class of PTD, along with all of the other 6-cylinder Z3s, including the S52-powered M cars. There’s a form for figuring out what competition class the car will run in. Basically, with the mods I’ve made for ITR, I take 10 points for my use of Hoosier Tires, another 7 points for weight removal, 12 points for drivetrain enhancements, and 11 points for suspension enhancements. That’s 40 points. Unfortunately, 20-39 points moves you up 1 class, and 40-59 moves you up two classes. I’d much rather be near the top of PTC than the bottom of PTB. So, I need to find a way to drop one point. My options are:
The easiest thing to do would be to just remove the strut tower bar. It’s also going to affect performance the least. The issue with that is that I might accidentally adjust the camber while I do it. But there’s actually good news on the horizon. While I was trying to figure out where to submit my classification form, I mentioned to the PT administrator that it seemed odd that all of the 6-cylinder Z3s, which have a 70-hp range, are classed the same. He said it was done that way only because there was a lack of Z3 interest and a lack of time when the classifications were first written. So, he’s going to break them out into different classing for each of the Z3 variants, which means that my base class will likely move down, giving me some points back. I would still be in PTC, but without making any changes to the car, and with a couple of points to spare. So look for another blog posting confirming that sometime in the next few weeks.
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