The point was made by Darth Royce that FSAE cars *generally* do not meet A-Mod rules. This is usually due to wheelbase, as A-Mod minimum is 72" if I recall correctly.Originally posted by AxelRipper:
I believe the intent of the thread is running unrestricted in AMod Solo.
I think the answer from a SCCA Solo racing perspective may be to have two FSAE classes: one that complies with the FSAE engine rules, and another that doesn't. If you read through the A-Mod rules, there really isn't anything spectacularly different from a rules-legal FSAE car except for the engine rules. My guess is the only reason that A-Mod doesn't accept FSAE cars with open arms is that there are a ton of 'standard' A-Mod cars that would get their feelings hurt if FSAE cars could really stretch out their legs. Heck, most formula-esque A-mods are just slightly longer homebuilt FSAE-esque cars with big wings and 1000cc+ engines. You don't see anyone dying or getting hurt on the A-mod grid. Over the years I have talked to a LOT of engine guys from a LOT of different schools from all around the world, and it is NOT an uncommon thing to run cars unrestricted in practice before the engine hardware and tuning is sorted out. If you believe otherwise, then you simply need to talk to more people!
The reason I'd love to see an de-restricted FSAE class comes down to simplicity. There are a TON of former-spec FSAE cars out there, and personally I think it's a shame there aren't more being used more often. As an owner of a couple of our old cars, it's a GIANT pain in the ass to bring an old car up to the restrictor rules. Old cars are rarely transferred with the engine or engine hardware. This means you have to fabricate a ton of specialized parts to get up and running again, as well as wire up and tune an ECU to deal with the restrictor. Once you're out of school, this is a whole lot more difficult than it should be due to access to proper facilities (for most of us, at least). It would be a whole lot easier to allow stock TB's and stock ECU's in the interest of simplicity. Leave it a max 600cc spec, disallow turbos, and chuck the restrictor. Someone running a lower displacement single will undoubtedly complain that it's not fair, but they probably also haven't run their single against good 600cc competition in a Solo. Well, that's "racing" as they say, and not FSAE. Outright power actually does make a difference in the real world! Haha.
Personally, I find it pretty funny that everyone is so concerned by the extra power. Anyone else here ever driven shifter karts? Haha. You're going faster, wheel to wheel, and there are all sorts of barriers to hit all over the place. I'm not suggesting that's wise with FSAE cars. Rather, I'm suggesting that running with a little more power on a bigass autocross course with nothing but some silly cones to hit is hardly something to be so concerned about.
-Kirk