Having read the proposed changes to the regs I'm a little perplexed by the addition of the following to 5.10.1:
"A horizontal support bar may be fitted to aid fitting and removal".
As no further definition of what this means is provided, I assume it will allow you to fix a bar, of any strength or thickness, running horizontally between the two lighting bar legs.
Or in other words, a bumper directly in front of the engine to allow you to ram other competitors up the back without the worry of smashing your fan? :o
I really cannot see the need for it, I was not aware that the lighting bar (and the quick release ones in particular) need assistance to be fitted or removed? I really hope I've got the wrong end of the stick or something? ???
The scrutineer suggested this rule should be added as some of us do have tubes between the legs to hold the bottom of the lighting bar apart(i use old 2cv roof bars) and ours do not protrude beyond the front of the fan cover.For the 24hr race we specified the tube size as 15mm but we had complaints that this was too small ,so at present no size is specified.So yes at present you could make a "bumper".
Why not just permit a design that allows for the insertion of a tube to assist with removal but is not there during racing? Would also reduce weight!
We could either limit its diameter to say 20mm or not allow it to be in front of the Fan Guard which mine is and could not be used an a Nurf Bar without damaging the fan, as one of my co-drivers found at Snett when someone missed a gear!
Surely just limiting the o.d. size without the i.d. means in theory that high pressure steam tubing could be used for maximum "nurfing"!
I remember being brake tested by a someone at Mondello years ago. We had a Harper engine (not the filled heads though!) and the car was simply flying in the top 5. Said brake tester turned out to have a bit of a reputation I found out later. My own fault for running too close but I wish I had had a nerf bar then...
Mike Cooper ran with reinforced front wings at the 24 I remember with 3/16" or 1/4" bar rolled and welded into the flange from the bottom inner front bit of the wing, around the outer edge nearest the tyre and then tied into the bottom bracket at the back. I still have some bar I bought but never used lying around somewhere...
As not currently a club member (BTW is it still possible to join as a social member?) my opinions are irrelevant but I spent hours taking the car I built back to bare metal (and then adding ballast to get it back up to weight). It would be nice if elbow grease was somehow rewarded and money-no-object was outlawed but I think Martin's view in another post is absolutely right - the more the club standardise the better. On the other hand I did buy a Harper engine so who am I to talk about elbow grease...
Would this discussion have any impact on the use of single piece front ends: bonnet/wings/spoiler etc.? That seems to way to go for quick engine changes. Might be worth having a ruling on that because they are certainly not standard.
Might it also be worth thinking about a club wiring loom? I wonder how many hours have been spent swearing at horrible wiring both at the circuit and in the garage...
Missed the 24 hour again.... Wish the children would grow up and get jobs so I could have a life back.... Francis :-\