General rule question, not a highly contested/discussed one that we have been talking about:

Is an AUT cooling plate (or any cooling plate for that matter) STR legal? My buddy who runs STS says it can be considered ducting and therefore is part of the intake system, which is completely modifyable up to the throttle body. See rule 14.10.C below:

The air intake system up to, but not including, the engine inlet may be modified or replaced. The engine inlet is the throttle body, carburetor, compressor inlet, or intake manifold, whichever comes first. The existing structure of the car may not be modified for the passage of ducting from the air cleaner to the engine inlet. Holes may be drilled for mounting. Emissions or engine management components in the air intake system, such as a PCV valve, or mass airflow sensor, may not be removed, modified, or replaced, and must retain their original function along the flow path.

I just wasn't sure that since the theoretical use of a cooling plate is to direct more air through the cooling system (and not the intake system) if adding a cooling plate would be considered a modification to the cooling system, and therefore not be allowed. But then again, would a modification such as this to the cooling system be perfectly legal too? I see nothing about the cooling system in stock or street touring rules.

But who is to say that an AUT cooling plate is a cooling system mod or an intake system mod? If I call it an AUT intake plate, does it change anything? Lol. Tow-MAY-tow, Tow-MAH-tow I guess?

 

I wouldn't care if I saw somebody bling up their engine bay... unless they beat me.

You would have to leave the stock radiator shroud in place. Can you do that and bolt in that plate?

 

Keep in mind that's the listed weight for the 987 (2005+) Boxster, whereas KJ was only asking about the 986 ('97 - '04) car. Also, I think "curb weight" means something different in Europe, as the listed curb weight for the base 987 in North America is 2855 lbs.

As I mentioned, though, Boxsters in stock trim tend to weigh more than their listed curb weights would suggest. The spec sheet says a Boxster should only be ~100 lbs. heavier than an S2000, but my CR was 27xx lbs. on the SCCA's scales, whereas my Boxster S was 29xx lbs., both with lightweight wheels and exhausts.

 

Ian Stewart got successfully protested for missing a piece of his undertray at a Tour several years ago, so people do pay attention to this stuff...

 

Yeah, I knew about that. It's quite possible to get protested for anything that's really not technically legal. Look at DS in 2010. Man, those guys with their intake gaskets. To the poster of this question; better not use the AUT plate. It is illegal and probably wouldn't do anything at all to shorten the amount of time you spend on course per run.

 

The only way to have a cooling plate be legal is for it to be part of your intake system. Figure out a way to bolt it to your intake box, and it's now the air deflector that brings air into your now custom intake.

If it's not bolted, it's not part of the intake.

If you have to remove anything else to facilitate it, it's illegal. If you can bolt the other parts back on, it's legal.

 

Thanks for the responses guys.

 

I think the cooling plate could be a legal part of the intake, especially if it helped route air into the upper driver side corner of the radiator. This is where good air comes from for the K&N FIPK.

Will it make a difference? I don't think so. It's in the noise as far as I am concerned.

 

And to reinforce your point, that other driver and car were a second faster than you and the Boxster S on the dry day, if you're talking about the event I think you are. I agree with the rest of your analysis. A base 986 might be pretty sweet in STR. An S would kill.

 

For those of you with questions about the change in brake allowances, the following was approved by the BoD so it will be in the 2012 rule book:
Some of you may have missed all the ST rule changes for 2012, because the final confirmation was published in the Board of Directors section of the Fastrack (they have final approval). That section is posted here: http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/...ck-dec-bod.pdf