NASA Competition Racing (Roll Cage)
 

I have been looking over the website for hours and I can't seem to find whether or not a cage is required for the Performance Touring C class in their competition racing. And also if I get the cage does my car have to have seats, harness, and stripped interior??

You are going to need a cage at any level of racing with door to door contact, even the lemons

do i also need the seat and harness

You weren't looking very hard on the sites ;) There are two pdf's you need to look at. I have them listed below.

All of the rules listed in the NASA CCR Sections 15 and 16 will apply( http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/ccr.pdf ) , except, the following
rules for Performance Touring will supersede those listed in the CCR:
CCR 15.6—Roll cages may be built to provide additional chassis stiffening, including
tubes that penetrate the firewall. However, additional tubes and attachment points will be
assessed modification points as stated in 5.3.1. Roll Cages
CCR 15.8—An electrical master cut-off switch is required.
CCR 15.9—Steering wheel lock removal is recommended, but not required.
CCR 15.16—An approved suitable racing seat is required.
Air bags must be disabled or removed.

http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/P...ring-Rules.pdf

info about roll cage
 

:cool::ylsuper::icon5:

May I suggest you attend many, many more driving events where you can view many different kinds of race cars and the various cage designs. I can tell by the nature of your question that you are very new to this subject---welcome. The best thing you can do is to do your homework. There is plenty of information on the internet and even more can be had when you attend a NASA, SCCA, PCA, BMWCCA event.

If you are not willing to do this homework and just want to build a "race car" you will not enjoy this sport and spend twice as much as you have to.

Building a race car is a huge undertaking. Having someone build a race car for you with little or no knowledge about the rule set is very dangerous. Most people slowly transform their street car into what NASA (or other) sanctioning bodies call a "Time Trails" car. This generally includes the efforts of removing additional car weight (the car's interior, carpet, headliner, stereo, spare tire, door panels etc.). This is an easy do-it-yourself project. It also means you lose the benefits of your pretty street driver. Removal of the interior will make it very loud on the inside. Driving it daily is not comfortable. Guys in your shoes normally think you can have BOTH a street car and a race car and the reality is you can't. You can't, you can't, you can't. Don't even think about it. The real decision that's in front of you is this: "can I part with my RX8 street car to transform it into a TT or race car?". This is something only you can answer. If you head down the race car path (which is waaaay too early for you because you aren't even aware of the cage, interior and harness let alone the rule set), you will need a trailer and a tow vehicle. As mentioned before, most people begin with a slow transformation of their street car and creep up on the idea of a race car.

Here is the direction you might want to head:

Upgrade suspension and tires
Replace seat with a "street seat"
Upgrade brake pads and brake lines
Retain car's interior
Drive it on the street and to and from the track.

The next option is to gut the car entirely and make it a dedicated track car. Remember, once you pull the interior, carpet, headliner and doorpanels it is more very difficult to fit these items back in and represent your car as "stock" if you want to resell it.

Building a race car is a big deal. Talk to several people who have made this transition before you begin any work.

Racing license

ive done a few HPDE events and i have been researching for awhile...i just wasnt sure on the specifics of a cage

i also have truck and and trailer

this is already done in car
Upgrade suspension and tires
Replace seat with a "street seat"
Upgrade brake pads and brake lines

i am also signed up for faasst racing school and apex driving academy
and i am looking into skip barber in spring

Do a few more HPDE's. Then a few more. Then a few more after that. Go to as many different tracks as possible as you will learn more than just driving the same track over and over again.

Build your 2010 event plan by scheduling which events you'll attend and that will give you a good idea of how far you COULD progress in an HPDE system.

Talk to your local NASA head instructor at length about the typical path and time requirements needed to advance into NASA TT. I recall that you needed a few TT events under your belt before NASA endorsed a driver to advance to a NASA Comp School however that may be a regional thing up here in the Midwest.

Your best investment will be to get as much quality instruction and seat time as possible. Save your car modification money and register for an event instead. Seek out instruction. A skip barber school is a great idea. Get as much "foundation" instruction as you can before you think you need to break free and go out on your own. I've been racing now for 5 years and still seek guidance and instruction.

Hope that helps.

So what's the next event your registered for?

well NASA tx is done for a while but i am goin to apex driving academy at cresson in nov 7th

VS8 - if you've only done "a few" HPDE events, you're probably not at the stage where you need to be thinking about building a wheel-to-wheel Performance Touring car out of your RX-8. Before you even get to that point you'll need to graduate up through the ranks in NASA and get your competition license.

I'm an instructor with Apex at MSR. Look for the dark green RX-8 in the paddock and come introduce yourself. I should be at the 11/7 event.

Also, you might check out this S2kCA track day at Harris Hill Road just south of Austin on November 14th. I should be down there instructing as well.

i have roughly 40 hours of seat time on different tracks and i was racing karts when i was younger and have been autocrossing for 3 yrs so im just at point where i want to get a little more competitive

Yeah honestly dude, you have a long way to go. Just concentrate on getting the car running strong and get a nice suspension setup.

patience is a virtue . read what knowledge members have written and make your decision , good luck