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Well the cage builder removed the two lower triangle looking pieces of the rear sheet metal to facilitate the cage installation. There is another hole in the center that appears to be for a ski pass-through.
So, what you are saying is that now I don’t need a strap, but I need an entire case for my battery?
The rear bulkhead on and E30 (and many other cars) is not sealed. But the trunk is sufficiently isolated by the rear bulkhead to be considered as a separate compartment. The exception to that would be when a trunk mounted fuel cell is used. In which case there must be a solid panel separating the trunk from the cabin.
I think it is safe to say that the trunk (the required location for the battery) is not going to be considered to be a part of the driver’s compartment. Well unless the rear bulkhead has been removed, which would be illegal. If you think enough of the rear bulkhead is missing that tech might view the trunk as being part of the driver’s compartment, weld or pop-rivet in sheet metal to cover the openings.
Here in Norcal they were checking this for compliance at this past weekends event. They are considering the rear bulkhead with holes in it, and that would be ANY hole from the 1/4 inch ones to the openings on the deck enough cause to have you seal them. Aluminum tape is fine to cover the holes but in your case with the metal removed in the center, which was for the Ski pass through package you will need to cover that with a piece of metal and the holes around the bars of the cage that go through it.
The case being that in a rollover or severe crash where the battery is damaged and leaking that no fluid can come through the rear bulk head and burn you.
And in the case of safety in cockpit, im all for whatever lets me walk away if the day ever arises that all that safety equipment ever needs to be used. So put pads anywhere you could potentially come in contact with a bar.
[quote=“Foglght” post=63401]Well the cage builder removed the two lower triangle looking pieces of the rear sheet metal to facilitate the cage installation. There is another hole in the center that appears to be for a ski pass-through.
So, what you are saying is that now I don’t need a strap, but I need an entire case for my battery?[/quote]
Do what jlevie said.
So,
Now we are up to buying some sheet metal, pop rivets, aluminum tape and a battery box to be compliant, plus there is some question about roll cage padding still.
Just want to be able to go to an inspection and leave with a log book signed off. These are really legit questions.
You don’t need a battery box if you close up the ski hole and the holes around the cage tubes.
I think 9 feet of high density padding a bottle of contact glue and a bunch of zip ties should all you need to pad the cage.
[quote=“turbo329is” post=63413]You don’t need a battery box if you close up the ski hole and the holes around the cage tubes.
I think 9 feet of high density padding a bottle of contact glue and a bunch of zip ties should all you need to pad the cage.[/quote]
The last thing on earth you ever want to do is leave yourself the option to have someone DQ you over a discretionary metric.
Trust me, I know.
I will buy a battery box to ensure that nobody can argue. It’s stupid that I have to buy it, but given the responses I have no choice. I do not want headaches.
This seems to be a primarily hypothetical argument about battery tie-downs and battery boxes, and I’m guessing the folks doing the asking are newbs that have never taken a car through tech and are trying to figure it out from reading our admittedly arcane rules.
If I’m totally offbase, call me a sh!thead and I’ll shut up, but if you have not yet made friends with someone who races one of these cars, do yourself a favor and make one so you can get wised up on how things really work, and what passes/does not pass, in your region.
It wouldn’t surprise me if tech inspection norms vary by region, so talk to the locals where you are. In the SE, they are big on supplemental tie-downs but I’ve never seen anyone put a battery box in the trunk.
This is not a hypothetical.
I’m sitting here trying to figure out what I need to order online and have it here so I can install it before I head out. Basically, I have one last week here before I pretty much run out of time to work on the car.
And I’ve taken enough cars through tech to know better than to trust the rulebook, which is painfully obvious given the answers I’ve received here and the text as written. I’ve had race cars with no padding, and I’ve had some with padding.
Definitely don’t want to spend money I don’t have to, and I hate doing shit twice or three times.
Given that there is a national championship for this series, I find it hard to swallow that the rules can vary by region. Hence the extra questions, mostly because I want to hear all the BS up front and get it all taken care of. I’d also rather not wait until I get to the track to take care of this stuff, given things at the track typically have a 50% markup.
I do appreciate the answers though, at least the ones that aren’t condescending. I’m also not sure what the non-sequitur about libertarians was about either.
Also not really sure why its such a big deal to ask rule questions on a site dedicated to the series, especially if it could lead to a simpler rule set to benefit everyone in the future.