Have to buy new letters anyway, maybe change SCCA SOLO class completely? Help decide.

Well if the draft rules stick, the new STH class means the 4th class in 3 years for the Abarth (STC to STS to STX 2yrs & now STH).

But maybe I should be in a different class anyway?  I looked at the rules yesterday, some of the details make it hard to decide.  Let's see where I end up:

2013 Fiat 500 Abarth.  Went to coil overs last year in the spring after getting a great deal on KW1 for $699.  Changed rear torsion bar for larger early in.  Removed the back seat & I think that alone bumps me up.  Unichip ECU add-on.  CAI.  Go Pedal.  Interior otherwise stock, stock wheel & tire size.

I see STH, DSP, & SMF as choices.  Did I read that coil overs take me up to EP or FP?  Or did I misread that one?  I'm curious what entrees we get locally for any of those classes, I have no aspirations for a national event.  But if I have to buy new vinyl letters anyway I might as well decide now.

Are you competitive? Do you enjoy being competitive? Those are the first questions you need to ask. Once you get above Street Touring, if you don't have the car built to full specifications of that class, then prepare to get banished to the bottom of the heap on PAX

Removing the rear seat is really what hits you hard.  I'm pretty sure that launches you all the way to Prepared.  Anything SP or P is gonna require R-comps to be even a little competitive.

Put the rear seat back in and run STH on 200TW tires and call it a day.

Without seats, dsp. With seats sth 

Are you running your car because you enjoy a well tuned ride? Are you running to learn to be a better driver?

Are you just trying to beat your last time?

Then it doesn't matter what class you run in.

[class racing rant deleted]

Class racing can be fun in a twisted sort of way.

You know you are at the top of the heap when they make or change rules because of what you are doing!

My last experience with that, they wanted to raise the minimum weight for the class to try and slow me down.

I didn't care, I was overweight and thinking of adding weight strategically to make the car faster. The main tech point for the class was a full fire extinguisher, they did not know how much my car weighed.

We used to watch how the techs worked, what tools they used, and what they looked for to determine how and where we focused our efforts preparing a car.

SCCA doesn't "tech" cars their classes are self policing, so that means when you beat the wrong car you are going to get moved to another class.

Carve a back seat out of Styrofoam and pull the upholstery over it? 

It's all about the lengths you will go to to meet the rules.

I am not competitive.  I'm there to have fun in my car with like-minded friends for a day, and do things that might land me a ticket/jailtime if done elsewhere.  Occasionally I win a plastic trophy, but not often.

If I were truly competitive I'd have a different car.  I think it's outclassed whichever I pick but that's besides the point.  I removed the back seat for space, not weight actually.  It didn't do either well (storage space or backseat room) so I figured might as well do one decently.

I wonder if I can strap a 40# weight to the back and call it a day, and go STH.

Removal of the backseat puts you in SMF automatically.  The only seating that can be replaced in STH (and DSP) is the driver and passenger and none can be removed.  Also the interior must be "intact" for ST and SP classes.  All the other mods (with the backseat returned to its proper place) should be legal for DSP (R Comps) or STH (200 TW or greater).