1999 Rules & Regulations

© 1999 Wayne Harris

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Basic Rules

· Competitors must use the official dB Drag Racing competition CD when competing at all multi-point events. Otherwise, competitors may use the CD or cassette of their choice.

Additional Guidelines:

· The program material being played must originate from a conventional source unit.

· Tone generators, frequency multipliers, harmonizers, etc. are prohibited.

· Adjustments to the sound system are allowed during competition.

· The program material must be reproduced using loudspeakers. Compressed air, explosive devices, etc. are expressly forbidden.

· The contestant’s vehicle may be running during competition as long as the following conditions apply:

· Operation of the vehicle or sound system must not endanger the judge, competitor, or spectators.

· The vehicle’s parking brake must be set.

· The wheels must be chocked.

· The hood must be closed.

· The maximum engine idle speed must not exceed 2000 RPM.

· A remote “kill switch” must be easily accessible from outside the vehicle for those competitors that are bolting (clamping, strapping, etc.) the doors of the vehicle closed during competition.

· The contestant must be outside of the vehicle during judging and all doors, windows, and other openings to the vehicle must remain closed during this time.

Exception - Competitors may remain inside of the vehicle during competition provided:

· They wear adequate hearing protection at all times. Removal of the hearing protection while inside of the vehicle will result in immediate disqualification.

· The competitor’s maximum SPL never exceeds 140 dB. A measured SPL in excess of 140 dB will result in immediate disqualification.

· After the judging starts, the contestants have 30 seconds to achieve their highest Sound Pressure Level (SPL).

· Contestants may not open their vehicle during this time. If a contestant opens his or her vehicle during judging, the competitor shall be disqualified.

Vehicle and Installation Guidelines

· The passenger compartment and listening / measurement compartment shall be one and the same. (Intent: Measurements should be taken inside the passenger compartment.)

· The passenger compartment must accommodate 2 average size adult passengers, sitting side by side, in a traditional seating arrangement. (Intent: The passenger compartment of the vehicle should approximate that of a typical vehicle.)

Additional Guidelines:

· Competitor’s may remove their seats from the vehicle if they desire.

· Floor build-ups, roof build-downs, and foot well modifications are acceptable.

· Nothing must obstruct the driver’s (or passenger’s) view through the windshield or side windows. (Windshield bracing and floor-to-roof bracing is acceptable.)

· The vehicle must be driven into the judging lanes.

· The size and location of the doors must not be altered.

Additional Guidelines:

· The door jambs may not be modified in order to pass the “string test” (see below).

· As a minimum, the vehicle must have a door for the driver and another for the passenger. Each of these doors must be located in the traditional locations for the driver and passenger. (i.e. Opposite sides of the vehicle.) Exception: Vehicles that were originally manufactured with only one door. (i.e. Mail delivery jeep.)

· The windshield and front doors to the vehicle must function as an unobstructed boundary to the passenger compartment. (Intent: The listening environment should approximate that found in a typical vehicle, where the doors and the windshield act as “walls” to the listening environment.)

· The OEM glass in the windshield and/or side windows to the vehicle may be replaced with another material as long as that material approximates the size, location, and functionality of the original equipment. (i.e. Plexiglas, bullet-proof glass, or another fully transparent material.)

Additional Guidelines:

· The “slant” of the replacing material must approximate that of the OEM glass.

· The transparent area of the replacement material must be equal to at least 80% of the frontal surface area of the OEM glass.

· There is no limit to the number of external windshield braces that may be used as long as their existence does not violate any other rules.

· The officiating staff must be afforded a clear view inside of the vehicle when looking through the windshield and side windows of the vehicle.

· A secondary windshield and/or windows may be used in conjunction with the OEM glass as long as the maximum distance separating the two materials does not exceed ¼ inch at the center of the windshield and/or window.

· Side windows do not need to be operational. (They don’t need to roll up or down.)

· No partitions or other barriers may divide or compartmentalize the passenger compartment. (Intent: The listening environment should approximate that found in a typical vehicle.)

· Nothing must interfere with the placement of the microphone or the use of the microphone jig.

· All reflective surfaces, with the exception of the windshield and dashboard, must be located a minimum of 1 microphone jig length (13 inches) from the microphone capsule. (Intent: Reflective surfaces shall not interfere with the measurement equipment.

· Sound producing devices must not interfere with the measurement equipment. This includes, but is not limited to; horns, wave guides, vents, or other devices that are deliberately placed in close proximity to the microphone capsule. (Intent: Nothing shall interfere with the measurement equipment.)

· All loudspeaker enclosures, and/or baffle boards, with the exception of those mounted in the kick-panels or doors, shall be located behind an imaginary plane that stretches from the trailing edge of the driver’s door to the trailing edge of the passenger door.

Additional Guidelines:

Compliance with this rule may be verified by using the following test: Two judges position themselves on opposite sides of the vehicle. A string (or wire) is passed through the open doors of the vehicle. Both judges pull the string so that it is taught. Next, the judges move the string in unison so that the string slides along the trailing edge of each judge’s respective door jamb. If the string does not touch the enclosure (or loudspeakers), then the test passes.

· The sound system in the vehicle must be powered by the vehicle’s electrical system.

Additional Guidelines:

· The vehicle’s charging system must be powered by the engine. (External generators, nuclear reactors, fuel-cells, etc. are prohibited.)

· The maximum voltage of the electrical system is 18 volts DC at an engine speed of 2000 RPM.

Points Accrual

Eligibility for competition at the dB Drag Racing World Finals is based upon a competitor’s points accumulation throughout the season. To accrue points, a competitor must be a member of the dB Drag Racing Association and the contest must be an officially sanctioned event. (Officially sanctioned events can be found on our event calendar on the Internet.)

Points will be awarded as follows:

First Place: 8 Points

Second Place: 7 Points

Third Place: 6 Points

Fourth Place: 5 Points

Fifth Place: 4 Points

Sixth Place: 3 Points

Seventh Place: 2 Points

Eighth Place: 1 Point

While competitors may switch competition vehicles at any time, at least 50% of the competitor’s qualifying points must have been earned with the vehicle that will be competing at the Finals.

Special Provision: If a competitor’s vehicle is totaled in an accident or is stolen, the dB Drag Racing Association may, at the competitor’s request, transfer all of the competitor’s points to a different vehicle providing the competitor can prove that an accident or theft actually occurred. Typically, a copy of the police report and a copy of the insurance claim will suffice.

Points are “non-transferable” between competitors.

Proof of vehicle ownership and liability insurance must be available for inspection at all multi-point events. Failure to provide either proof of ownership or liability insurance may result in disqualification.

Competitor Classification System

The dB Drag Racing Association would like to implement a standardized competitor classification system in 1999. There are many benefits to this new classification system.

· Entry level competitors have more of an opportunity to win.

· The vast majority of “superstars” will not be adversely affected by the new classes.

· The new classes are intuitive to understand and easy to verify.

· Scores in the Amateur classes will be more competitive. (And fun!)

· Standardization allows competitors to compare their scores to those of other competitors around the country and around the world.

Amateur Classes (6 classes maximum)

Amateurs will be classified by the number of woofers in their system. The diameter of the woofers is irrelevant. For amateur competitors competing in the 9+ Woofer class, a further division of this class may be implemented based upon amplifier power.

· 1 - 2 Woofers

· 3 - 4 Woofers

· 5 - 8 Woofers

· 9+ Woofers, 0 – 5K Watts

· 9+ Woofers, 5K – 10K Watts

· 9+ Woofers, 10K & Up

Pro Classes (3 classes maximum)

A pro is someone who meets one or more of the following criteria:

· Anyone who is employed in the auto sound industry.

· Anyone who is sponsored by someone in the auto sound industry.

· Anyone who purchases auto sound equipment at below fair-market prices.

· Anyone who has competed as a pro in the past.

Professional competitors will be classified by amplifier power only.

0 – 5K Watts

5K – 10K Watts

10K & Up

When power classifications are used, amplifier power will be determined by the highest continuous RMS power rating as published by the amp manufacturer.

This information will be collected from:

· Owner’s manuals

· Literature

· Price Sheets

· Advertisements

The dB Drag Racing Association reserves the right to test and classify new amplifiers that may be introduced during the course of the season or amplifiers that are rated in a deliberate attempt to circumvent the power classification process.

Note: Amateur and Pro Classes may be combined at smaller venues at the discretion of the show promoter. In addition, the three 9+ Amateur classes may be combined into a single 9+ Woofer class if the number of entries in these three classes does not justify the need for three separate subdivisions.

Note: Each competitor may compete in one, and only one class at each dB Drag Racing event. (Competitors may not enter the same vehicle in more than one class at a dB Drag Racing event, nor may a competitor enter more than one vehicle at the same show.)

Optional Classes

Super Stock – First time competitors only. Two woofers maximum. Maximum woofer diameter is 12 inches. Maximum amplifier power is 500 Watts. The vehicle may not be extensively modified in order to accommodate the sound system.

Extreme - The Extreme Class is an exhibition class only. Competitors in this class are not eligible to win the Extreme Cup or set overall dB Drag Racing SPL World Records.

Enduro – Open Unlimited – 30 second average SPL. Otherwise, same rules as dB Drag Racing.

Local Level Events – At the local level, the number of classes offered, as well as the specific breakdown of the classes will be at the discretion of the show promoter.

Vehicle Audits, Rules Infractions, Penalties

The dB Drag Racing Association reserves the right to “audit” a competitor’s vehicle in order to verify compliance with the rules. During an audit, the competitor will be asked to show and/or explain various features of the vehicle and it’s sound system.

Audits may include (but are not limited to) the following…

· Inspection of the vehicle’s electrical system.

· Inspection of the vehicle’s sound system.

· Inspection of the sub-woofer enclosure.

· Inspection of the dash board, foot wells, center console, headliner, and door panels.

· Inspection of the “podium”.

If the competitor denies the officiating staff’s request for an audit, the competitor’s score(s) shall be nullified and the competitor shall be disqualified from the event.

If a rules infraction is discovered during the course of the competition, the competitor may be disqualified from the event based on the severity of the infraction and the current status of the competition.

· If the rule violation is an honest, minor infraction, the officiating staff may issue a warning and then ask the offending competitor to take the appropriate action in order to address the violation. If the infraction is exposed prior to the elimination rounds of competition, the competitor’s qualifying score shall be nullified and the competitor may be allowed to re-qualify once the infraction is rectified. If the infraction is discovered during the elimination rounds of competition, the offending competitor shall be disqualified from the event.

· If the rule violation is an honest, major infraction, the offending competitor shall be disqualified from the event.

· If the violation is deliberate and/or fraudulent in nature, the competitor shall be disqualified from the event. In addition, the dB Drag Racing Association reserves the right to further ban the competitor from competition in dB Drag Racing events for a period not to exceed 1 year.

· Any competitor that is caught tampering with, disabling, or destroying another competitor's system shall be immediately disqualified from the event. Furthermore, infractions of this nature will result in lifetime banishment of the competitor from dB Drag Racing competition.

· Any competitor that is caught tampering with, disabling, or destroying the SPL measurement equipment shall be immediately disqualified from the event. Furthermore, infractions of this nature will result in lifetime banishment of the competitor from dB Drag Racing competition.

World Records

A dB Drag Racing staff member must be present to establish World Records.

Any time a competitor posts a score that could potentially result in a new World Record, the following procedures shall be undertaken to ensure the validity of the score…

· The competitor’s vehicle (and podium) shall be immediately impounded by the dB Drag Racing officiating staff.

· The officiating staff will then perform a mandatory Vehicle Audit.

· The SPL measurement equipment shall be inspected and tested for proper operation. If it is determined that an equipment malfunction has occurred, the competitor’s score shall be nullified. Once the problem with the equipment has been rectified, the competitor’s vehicle will be re-judged.

· The officiating staff must unanimously agree that the competitor’s score is a valid score. If the officiating staff cannot reach a consensus on the validity of the score, the competitor’s score shall be nullified. Depending upon the nature of the dissent, the competitor may be re-judged or disqualified as circumstances dictate.

Miscellaneous

· The size (air volume) of the passenger compartment may not change during competition. (For example: The subwoofer enclosure can not move forward, airbags may not be deployed, etc.)

· The cabin of the vehicle may not be “pressurized” with a gas or fluid of any type. In addition, the air inside of the cabin may not be replaced with a gas or fluid of any type.

· All rules will be enforced based upon their intent and the ruling of the head judge is final.