Id like to remove the A/C out of my 91 Civic I run in SCCA STC, but im guessing to stay within the letter of the rules, i have to remove the AC button and replace it with the little plug of plastic that was installed on cars that didnt come with A/C. Is there anywhere I can find that part?

 

Actually partial removal of AC is legal. But even if it wasn't no one is going to care about an AC button.

 

I dunno...Ive seen some pretty petty sh|t protested.

 

Me too. A friend got penalized for having some universal blue breather hose from the VC to the intake tube (Stock class of course).

 

Welcome to competitive racing in the SCCA.

 

Actual papers thrown, or e-thug posturing and chest thumping? I seen a 1000x's more of the latter than of the former.

PCV breather hose changed in stock to a different color hose? Weenie, and I'd love to hear more details on it because I don't think it happened.

 

Where are the specifications on that? I'm currently rebuilding my motor after chewing up the bearings and since we've got it apart it'd be nice to shed some weight

 

No one is going to care that you still have an a/c button. I still have mine and have had it in my STC Civic since 2001 (when I removed the a/c system).

That protest would get laughed out of the shed.

And stock class protests are a bit different in nature.

 

Well, believe what you would like, but he was assessed a time penalty on top of his time. If I recall, it was 1 second (which seems strange to me - I would have thought he could only have been DQ'd).

It seems that the Nationals results pages beyond 2010 are down at the moment, so I cannot give you a link, but if they come up, for sure I will get the link for you.

 

What class and year?

 

Had a friend in STX (I think that was the class, was a WRX) get protested because he had hood dampers installed but removed the original hood prop.

 

DS, cannot remember the exact year right now, but would be in the 2008/2009 range.

 

If a turbocharged car in a stock class, I could see the protest sticking.

 

The DS protests from 2008, at Heartland Park Topeka? I'd guess you're friends with either Steve or Brian? You might want to ping them on the details, as I might not be remembering the minutia correctly. As I remember it, there were a couple of cars that were penalized that year. The crazy canuck's car was missing the rubber seal on the intake air box (the one that joins the white box under the bumper cover to the filter housing) and another ITR (Steve and Brian) had valve cover vent tube and throttle body coolant lines routed incorrectly. I'm pretty sure the canucks were protested by Impound as part of random spot checks, not sure about Steve and Brian. While the cars in question may not have realized a performance benefit, things were legitimately not right in these areas. If the routing of those tubes was correct and the tube color was the only difference, I assure you no one in the class would protest it. Some may play head games and make threats, but the internet has really distorted what people think will get protested.

 

I disagree, provided the only difference is color and maybe the type of rubber (say, silicone or the like). Now, change the diameter, length, routing, whatever, the chances you'll be protested go up. However, if you can demonstrate to the PC that there is no performance advantage then I would say your chances of surviving a protest are pretty good.

As for the hood dampers... Adding the hood dampers is fine. Comfort and convenience. It was the removal of the stock hood prop that was the issue. One thing to consider is how someone could do the same thing you're thinking of doing that offers no performance advantage in a way that DOES offer a performance advantage. PCs are wary of slippery slopes.

 

going to run this thread off course a little, but the least of your worry's now will be the A/C button. the real issue will be, what tire will you be running come next year? the board is looking to band the r1r in 195-50