Road Racing - American Iron Series

Does anyone here race in the American Iron series? I have a LS swapped 96 Z28 I've been thinking about turning into more of a road racer since there are more local road course than drag strips. Been reading through the rules and they seem fairly straight forward. I already have a buncha of suspension from my SS. Just looking to go out and have a good time.

So my question is, would would it take to make a 4th gen relatively competitive? Obviously driver and experience play a huge role but I'm looking for more what to do to the car.

American Iron has a power restriction I believe, you LS1 even stock is going to be over the limit. American Iron Extreme may be a better sandbox to play in, but break out your wallet! There lots of info over at FRRAX.com All F-body, all road racing. Bunch of knowledgeable guys over there, and a lot of Socal locals.

Look into the Camaro mustang challenge series. I think they run through NASA with the American iron series.

American Iron has a power restriction I believe, you LS1 even stock is going to be over the limit. American Iron Extreme may be a better sandbox to play in, but break out your wallet! There lots of info over at FRRAX.com All F-body, all road racing. Bunch of knowledgeable guys over there, and a lot of Socal locals.

I registered over there but an admin has to approve. I saw the power restriction it was like 9.5lbs per hp? And like 9lbs per tq.

Hey, guys. Came across this post via a google search and thought I'd offer to help out. I'm a regional director for the NASA American Iron Series. I will answer what I can here but for more details, head over to nasaforums.com.

First, before you think about racing, you should sign up for a High Performance Driving Event (school) to see if you like it and want to make the jump to racing. All you need is a safe car with good brakes, a seat belt, and a helmet. Entry fees are about $300 and include an instructor for the whole weekend.

Some will make the jump from HPDE student to racer in less than a year but most take several years. I did HPDE for about 5 years before taking that step and it was more of a financial decision and time commitment, than a driving skill decision.

American Iron is broken into three classes. Camaro Mustang Challenge, American Iron, and American Iron Extreme.
Rules detail modifications power levels, etc. --> http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/american_iron_rules.pdf

CMC is roughly 265 RWHP and minor modifications. Think stock suspension with better bushings and a spoiler. Spec tire is 275/40-17 TOYO RA-1.
AI is all about creativity and aftermarket. Most cars run 325-375 RWHP. Power-to-weight keeps it all in check. Some of the heavier cars weigh 3600 lbs and some weigh as little as 2900. Suspensions are aftermarket, fabrication is creative, wings and splitters included, tire is the same.
AIX is nearly unlimited. Recent champ was a twin turbo 66 Mustang with ~1000 HP. I think 500 RWHP would be minimum to be competitive regionally, 600+ nationally. Bigger wings, bigger tires, more fabrication.
A competitive CMC car (10-25K) costs probably half of what a competitve AI car (20-80K) costs. AIX, double it again (50K+).
If you break nothing and don't crash, plan on a budget of no less than 10K per season. Tires, brakes, fuel, oil, entry fees, etc, etc.
Anyone you ask will give you different numbers, this is my rough estimate.

Jimmy Bost

Thanks for your comments - very informative!