Our club will be voting next month on adopting a new car classing system for next season. I'd love to get opinions from experienced members of some of the larger clubs on here.
Our reasoning for adopting a new car classing system is to open up a 3rd class (more people can walk away with a trophy) and to help level the playing field. One thing to keep in mind is that our car count is now 15-30 per event, which is why we started with only a two-class system. I'm hoping we have enough car to support one of the following options:
Classing Options
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Street = 300 treadwear and above, Performance = Under 300 treadwear. This is the system our club currently uses - a two class system based on treadwear.
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FWD, RWD, AWD. Three classes based on drivetrain. Treadwear doesn't matter, you compete with everyone in your class regardless of mods. Can be used with or without PAX.
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SCCA Divisions w/PAX. I adopted this system from the WSCC and it seems to work great for them, although they have quite a lot more competitors at their events then we do. We break cars down into SCCA/CASC national classes to obtain a PAX index factor then, depending on PAX class, you are grouped into three divisions - Street, Performance, Street Modified.
Street = Only SCCA Street classes: SS, AS, BS, CS, DS, ES, FS, GS, HS - these classes mandate stock cars with street tires only.
Performance = SCCA classes under Street Touring: STU, STR, STX, STS, STC, STF - covers mildly modified cars and mandates street tires only. Plus all SCCA classes that allow r-comp tires - Street Prepared, Street Modified, Prepared, Modified, or Kart - covers medium-highly modified cars on r-comps.
Street Modified = All SCCA classes that allow r-comp tires, similar to above, but competitors instead choose to run street tires: Street Prepared, Street Modified, Prepared, Modified, or Kart - covers medium-highly modified cars that have chosen to run street tires and therefore are subject to the street tire index.
- Street NA, Super Street, Street Unlimited. These classes are used at MAP Proving Grounds in Brainerd. Again, they have 150 cars competing at their events, substantially more then our small club.
Street NA = Any 4-cylinder naturally aspirated street car. Must have Interior - OEM dash, heater, carpet, 2-front seats, headlights and taillights.
Super Street = Must have Interior - OEM dash, heater, carpet, 2-front seats, headlights and taillights. Must be running STOCK turbo, STOCK cams, STOCK internals, STOCK injectors. Cars NOT eligible: C5 & C6 Corvette, GTR, Viper, 911 GT2/3, Exige, or other exotics.
Street Unlimited = Must have Interior - OEM dash, heater, carpet, 2-front seats, headlights and taillights.
These classes are 140+ treadware. MAP uses a fourth class, Unlimited - which allows any mods and r-comp tires. Our Club does not have enough drivers to support this fourth class so we would have to decide weather to outlaw r-comp tires or allow them in one or all of the three classes. Also, Proving Grounds uses the PAX index to calculate points, so again, we would need to decide weather to adopt that as well or use raw times.
Thank you everyone for your input, it's much appreciated!