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so with my motor slowing showing its age im looking at a JDM ver 5/6 sti ra swap (rhd too) with a standalone set up with in the next year (yay promotion & pay raise)... and idea what class that would put me in?

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-James "Budski" Schmidt
'99 Subaru GC8 Impreza
old school RS crew
#20 STS

A JDM engine swap will put you in Street Modified.

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2002 Mercedes C230k, retired, 2005 Nationals STU DFL

1969 Beach Solo Vee and 1985 Lynx B Solo Vee

BUDSKi:

so with my motor slowing showing its age im looking at a JDM ver 5/6 sti ra swap (rhd too) with a standalone set up with in the next year (yay promotion & pay raise)... and idea what class that would put me in?

RHD conversion would keep you out of Street Modified.  I'm guessing that would put you in XP.

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2004/05/06/07 STL Region Street Modified Champion
2008 A Stock Subaru STI (aka 'Smokey')

kinda lame.... rhd doesnt really give me any kind of advantage.

 

also the only reason why im going rhd is that is much easier and reduces the margin for error than merging harnesses

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-James "Budski" Schmidt
'99 Subaru GC8 Impreza
old school RS crew
#20 STS

You're just bound and determined to beat the heck out of me in XP and won't rest until you find a car that will fit in that class...  (Smiley face here if I were cool enough to use smiley faces).

It sounds like you are looking at a front cut.  Are you going to separate the fire wall from the cut and replace the firewall in your car, or chop your car and splice the two big pieces together?  I think a lot of the panels are assembled together after and over the edges of the firewall, so that might be challenging.  And splicing panels and sections together to match the original strength can be challenging too, because there are layers within the frame channels that can't be accessed to be welded.  I would take sorting (and maybe extending) a wiring harness over chopping and welding...

I can also think of one serious disadvantage to RHD which I keep going over with my own projects.  the shift pattern for LHD is pull back and a little toward yourself for 1-2 and 3-4, and then push away from yourself for 2-3 and 4-5, and you are using your strong arm.  Sit on the opposite side and this becomes a right to left motion for 1-2 and 3-4, and a left to right motion for 2-3 and 4-5, and this is all with the weaker arm.  My theory is that either arm will be stronger in the push away from and pull toward direction, rather than the left and right parallel to the body direction, and that switching from the stronger arm to the weaker are will make it all that more difficult and slower.  I would be curious to see some kind of survey of the speed of shifting left handed and right handed and the amount of fatigue over something like a 20 minute road race, with the survey group being active drivers and/or racers who have driven all their lives in whatever they are tested on.

you replace the whole firewall by drilling out the spot welds and then welding it back into place, its the correct and common way of doing the swap. I dont think rhd is any kind of disadvantage, its just a matter of getting use to. If anything RHD just evens out the playing field for those who are left handed. When I had surgery on my right hand that left me unable to use it for almost 4 months, it took me forever to use the mouse on the computer with my left hand, by the end of the 3rd month I was just as fast.

 

an so it would seem I'm going to be competition next year... 

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-James "Budski" Schmidt
'99 Subaru GC8 Impreza
old school RS crew
#20 STS

I own a RHD car. I find it no more difficult to shift with my left hand (and I am righty) and my Classic Mini even has a long throw floor shifter (a 4-speed). So I don't think that will be the biggest problem.

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Brian Woerndle
President
STLMini.com

The Subaru goes together a little more easily than what I work with then.  I always find the piece the rest of the car was assembled around.  I counted one day when I noticed how many panels come together along the A pilar between the windshield and the floor board, and came up with eleven that I could see, all held together with spot welds, and many of the plug welds were in areas that I couldn't spot weld or get a wire feed tip into.

If you are planning on plug welding, I suggest at least doubling the number of spot welds and seam welding after, or buy a spot welder and run one spot weld every inch.  Short of seam welding, you will never match the strength of the hight voltage robot spot welds on the assembly line and bonus strength in that area is more valuable than anywhere else.

I keep reaching at the door panel to shift with my right hand when I drive RHD.  Each shift takes about 30 seconds to realize I am using the wrong hand, then locate the lever with the other wrong hand, and complete the lever movement.  But it feels slower than right handed shifting, even when I do remember to use my other wrong hand.  With all the importance placed on speed of shifting and short throw shift kits, that fraction of a second for each shift times the number of shifts in a 20 minute heat might add up to several seconds of lap time.