Unibody step pan

[racergeo]

   

   Any ideas how to incorporate at step pan into a unibody car. It seems the rule for a step pan was written for a car with a frame. I don't want to show up with something that turns out to be illegal..  Thanks

[slowalex]

I've been wondering about this too. From Rule 4.EE in the 2023 STCA-BNI rulebook we can see the following:

• The step pan shall not be lower than the frame at any point plus the thickness of the material used.
• It shall be flat and parallel to the ground side to side.
• It shall be no wider than the frame rails.

In many unibody cars, the unibody "frame" is not flat, so in some places a step pan might not be "lower than the frame", but in other places it will be lower (if the step pan is flat) and in many unibody cars, it's might be difficult to establish which parts of the underbody would be considered to be the frame rails.

I've noticed that classes that allow a step pan, such as ALTERED COUPE, also have a rule that states "any frame may be used as long as the bottom line of the frame is not higher than the outer bottom line of the body between the firewall and the rear wheels" or similar wording. You might be able to create a new frame or modify the existing frame so that it has clearly defined frame rails, so then the rules for a step pan make more sense.