SCCAForums.com

So, I'm rebuilding my car (well, a new one) that got smashed on the way to the DC Pro last year, and would like to not use the crappy inefficient FMIC that I used to run (in order to not cut/ bend/ remove my bumper support).  Has there been any sort of movement in the FMIC legality issue?  Do I have to start a petition?  Can I just cut up a portion of my bumper beam into tiny peices and reattach the peices all over the beam so that "no material is removed" have it be legal (can a bunch of "minor" mods facilitate one "giant" mod that has a loss in structural rigidity and an increase in weight fulfill the letter of the law)?

 Thanks,

PJ

I've seen a bunch of the more respected members of this group (Street Mod/SM2 competitors/ring leaders) post about it being acceptable to cut and bend the metal out of the way without actually removing it entirely. This would fall under the minor knotching/cutting/bending portion of the rules. If however you actually remove the material, I think you're treading on thin ice, even if you "re-attach" it in some way.

PJ, I'm in the same boat as you, but in an S13... my particular setup *might* allow my FMIC to fit if I flipped the lower rear portion of the bumper support to the inside. Sort of crushing a box into an "L" shape, if you know what I mean.  My other thought was to cut out the back half of the support between the mounting points and weld it back in flipped front to rear, recessed behind the front half.

 Maybe not the clearest description, but I figure another S chassis guy would understand

With JDM bumper supports specifically disallowed, our only other option would be to relocate the radiator rearward (seen statement on this board that this is allowed, but can't find the rule?)  and fit the IC between the rad and the latch support with custom IC piping.

 That's my idea, anyway!

Dan

SM S13
 

I think cutting a peice off completely may stray too far away from the letter of the rule, even if reattaching it.  It's probably fine within the "intent", but to be on the safe side I'm going to cut a slit on the inside lower corner and fold the sheet metal of the support in on itself (read: big f'ing hammer).  My goal is to not remove any material (aside from cutting debris) and not have to reattach anything in a way that might be deemed "structurally advantaged".  I have the feeling I'm going to have to pancake the bumper support for my 31"x12"x3" FMIC.  Worst case scenario, I sell it and try to fit a 7" tall one, but it'd need to be custom made to my inlet/ outlet pipe size :(

 Maybe I should just follow the crowd and buy an Evo for Evo-class :(