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Qualy Motorsports Time Attack Rules

1. General Rules

The goal of Qualy Time Attack (QTA) rules is to create a real-world, time attack-style competition that is fun, fair, and easy to participate in. Our classing system allows drivers to compete against one another with similarly modified cars, regardless of which event they attend or when they are able to go to the track. QTA operates on an honor system, and we expect all participants to act with integrity. Laps are subject to review, and users are responsible for ensuring their cars are classed correctly and their times are reported accurately. QTA will strive to keep the ruleset consistent throughout the year, though clarification may be added from time to time, as long as it does not materially change the spirit of the rule.

For users to qualify for competition in our time attack series, a video with their respective lap must be uploaded to a video hosting service (Youtube) and the lap must be submitted to Qualy. Ideally, a timing app or data overlay should also be used, but is not strictly necessary. Users must confirm that each lap they upload is, to the best of their knowledge, an accurate reflection of their lap time. Each lap is subject to verification by the admins or stewards, and we encourage drivers to watch other competitor's laps. Once the review process is complete, the lap will be marked as verified and added to the respective cup the driver has registered for. Points will be awarded based on the driver's fastest lap at every track.

QTA rules are designed for users to compete in time attacks in their own cars. Each car will first be grouped by Motor –

A: up to 1.8L Forced Induction / up to 2.5L Naturally Aspirated / up to 1.3L Rotary Naturally Aspirated

S: 1.9L FI – 2.5L FI / 2.6L – 3.7L NA / 1.3L Rotary FI / Single Motor Electric

R: 2.6L FI – 3.5L FI + / 3.8L NA – 5.0L NA / 1.4L Rotary FI – 1.9L Rotary FI / Dual Motor Electric

X: 3.6L FI + / 5.1L NA + / 2.0L Rotary FI + / Tri Motor Electric or greater

U: This is an exclusion class regardless of your engine size for: Any Corvette trim above the base trim, any 911 above the base 911, and any supercars (Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc.). Cars in this class will still be split by modification level as well. Please see the U Class Exclusion List for the full list of cars.

If you have a car with an engine swap (Classes Street-E and above), you must choose the group based on the motor that is actually in the car. For example, an NA K24-swapped Miata will run in A, while an LS-swapped-Miata would run in X.

Cars will then be grouped by Modification. Below is the list of modification classes and rules. Each class will build upon the prior class rules, with decreased restrictions superseding any prior. The modification levels are Stock, Street, Street-E, Track, and Unlimited. The spirit of each class is described and is what a driver should generally expect in that class. If a car is misclassed-whether intentionally or by mistake- Qualy holds the right to move the lap into Unlimited or remove it entirely. Unless a modification is explicitly stated as allowed, it is not allowed. If you have any questions, please reach out to us at info@qualytimeattack.com.

Safety is always our highest priority. Users should take all necessary precautions to ensure their cars are in safe working order and adhere to all safety regulations set by their event organizers. Although this is a competition, drivers must know and respect their own limits. Reckless driving, unsafe modifications, or failure to follow track-day rules may result in lap times being disqualified. Laps with other individuals (i.e., instructors in the car) will not be allowed. Qualy is not responsible for any incidents, damages, or injuries that occur during participation in any event.

Please note, Qualy Time Attack is an asynchronous, results-based competition and is not an on-track contest. Qualy does not alter the on-track rules, conduct standards, or passing mechanics of any event, and all participants must strictly follow the rules and procedures of their organizing body at all times. Traffic is a normal and unavoidable element of HPDE driving, and drivers must never pressure, signal, or otherwise attempt to influence other drivers for competitive advantage. Any attempt to induce, pressure, or coerce another driver into providing a point-by or altering their driving behavior constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct and may result in lap disqualification or account sanctions.

2. Stock Class

The stock class is for cars that are essentially showroom factory cars, with the addition of various safety modifications and minor performance and reliability modifications. Comfort/convenience/appearance modifications are allowed as long as they do not improve the performance of the car. The rules are specified below.

2.1 Chassis/Body/Interior

  1. Cars must be mass production vehicles that were sold in the United States. JDM/EU gray-market imports are allowed, provided they were imported legally and must follow the modification rules listed throughout.
  2. The chassis of the car must be original with no modifications.
  3. The body/exterior of the car shall not be modified – including any kind of aero modifications. Factory "aftermarket" aero parts are not allowed (i.e., carbon fiber duckbill wings made by the manufacturer sold at dealerships).
  4. Modifications that are purely cosmetic are allowed.
  5. Trim conversions are allowed in this class and each class hereafter. Trim conversions require the entire conversion to be legal; there is no "picking and choosing" of trim packages allowed (i.e., MY2018 Ford Focus RS has a front differential – MY2016 and MY2017 Focus RS's are allowed to upgrade to the OEM front differential and still be legal, as long as any other trim changes with the MY2018 model are also completed. Conversion to an Evo 8/9 RS requires all parts, including manual windows).
  6. All lights, body panels, carpets, seats, and sound deadening must remain stock.
  7. OEM or OEM-style hardtops of any material are allowed for convertibles.
  8. All safety equipment, airbags, etc. must be retained in the vehicle, but may be deactivated for safety purposes.
  9. Non-performance items such as aftermarket head units and sound systems are allowed but may not be removed.
  10. Removal of air conditioning is not allowed, unless through trim conversion.
  11. The spare tire & trunk tools/air inflator/scissor jack may be removed from the vehicle.
  12. The spirit of this rule is that chassis/body/interior should be as it was from the factory, with some rules added for fairness across trims.

2.2 Powertrain

  1. Engine modifications are not allowed.
  2. Engine swaps are not allowed.
  3. Tuned or stand-alone ECUs are not allowed.
  4. Modified air intakes are not allowed, but air filters may be changed with non-OEM.
  5. Aftermarket or modifications to the intake manifold and exhaust manifold (i.e., porting) are not allowed.
  6. Removal or modification of any emissions related parts are not allowed.
  7. Cat-back exhausts are allowed as long as the factory catalytic converter is retained.
  8. Reliability modifications, including catch cans, baffled oil pans, oil coolers, and aftermarket radiators are allowed, provided they are strictly for reliability purposes. Fuel pumps are allowed, provided they do not require a tune to use.
  9. Larger intercoolers are allowed only if they are a direct fit replacement, with no additional modifications. No other modification to the turbo system is allowed, including intercooler piping.
  10. Aftermarket clutches are allowed.
  11. The transmission cannot be swapped (manual to DCT) and gearing cannot be changed.
  12. Short-shifters, shifter bushings, and shift knobs are allowed.
  13. Cars may add OEM differentials if it came as part of an option or trim from the factory.
  14. Powertrain layouts (FF, FR, MR, AWD, etc.) cannot be changed.
  15. Cars in this class must run on pump gas (87-95 Octane, up to E10). No race gas, ethanol blends, or octane boosters are allowed.
  16. The spirit of this rule is that the powertrain should be as it was from the factory, with minor performance modifications and reasonable reliability modifications for track.

2.3 Suspension

  1. All suspension must remain factory stock except for the below.
  2. Cars may have one (front or rear) aftermarket sway bar.
  3. Factory special parts (i.e., TRD, M Performance, Ford Racing) that are performance related are not allowed.
  4. Camber plates and camber/"crash" bolts are allowed on cars that can use them.
  5. Cars that come with electronically controlled shocks may use an aftermarket controller to adjust the settings.
  6. Other aftermarket suspension items, including coilovers, stiffer springs, aftermarket shocks, and other suspension modifications are not allowed.
  7. Any wheel alignment that is achievable within the factory suspension configuration is allowed. Cars that have removable factory "pins" may remove them to achieve more camber, but no cutting/welding/slotting is permitted.
  8. The spirit of this rule is that the suspension should be as it was from the factory with minor performance allowances.

2.4 Brakes

  1. Brake calipers must remain factory.
  2. Aftermarket rotors (including upgrading to ventilated or 2-piece) may be used but must be within 5mm of stock.
  3. Brake pads and fluid may be upgraded.
  4. Brake ducting is allowed.
  5. Brake lines may be upgraded to stainless steel lines.
  6. The spirit of this rule is for the factory brake system to be bolstered for track use without allowing BBKs.

2.5 Wheels and Tires

  1. Aftermarket wheels must be the SAME width as the factory wheels for the car's trim level. Diameter of the wheel may be changed, but offsets must stay within ±10mm.
  2. Cars that come with a staggered wheel setup (18x9 front, 18x10 rear) may run a square wheel setup (18x10 all around).
  3. Tires must be DOT-approved, sourced from a reputable retailer, and have a treadwear rating of 200tw or higher. Width is limited to OEM width or up to 285mm (2WD) / 265mm (AWD), whichever is greater.
  4. The spirit of this rule is for owners to be able to swap out their factory wheels for lightweight wheels, without changing the width of the wheel and for the tires to be whatever DOT summer tire that is most commonly used.

2.6 Safety

  1. Safety modifications such as cages, rollover bars, etc. are legal and encouraged.
  2. Harnesses are allowed, and should be 5pt harness or have anti-submarining tech.
  3. Convertibles must have factory rollover protection, or an aftermarket roll bar that meets event organizer safety standards.
  4. Tow hooks may be added to allow easier towing if necessary.
  5. BE SAFE!

3. Street

The Street class is for modified bolt-on street cars that have been upgraded for moderate performance improvements. The following rules will build upon the Stock class. Unless a modification is explicitly allowed, it is not allowed. Cars that run E85, have engine swaps/increased displacement, and electric cars are not allowed in Street – they will run together in Street-E (Section 4). Cars that are flex-fuel from the factory must run pump gas (87-93) to stay in Street. The rules are specified below.

3.1 Chassis/Body/Interior

  1. Cars must be mass production vehicles.
  2. The chassis of the car must be original with no modifications.
  3. Body panels must remain stock, but fenders may be rolled (not pulled or cut) to improve wheel/tire clearance.
  4. "JDM" or "EDM" body panels, i.e., bumpers, may be used.
  5. Factory aero may be added or modified in the form of factory wings, wing extensions, or wing deletions (only if offered from the factory/dealer).
  6. No aftermarket splitters, canards, or other aero are allowed. Aftermarket undertrays may be used (or removed).
  7. All lights, body panels, carpets, and sound deadening must be retained as they were from the factory.
  8. Factory or aftermarket hardtops of any material are allowed for convertibles.
  9. All safety equipment, airbags, etc. must be retained in the vehicle (though they may be disabled).
  10. Non-performance items such as aftermarket head units and sound systems are allowed but may not be removed.
  11. Air conditioning systems may be removed.
  12. Aftermarket front seats are allowed, including lowering brackets.
  13. Small batteries may be used.
  14. The spirit of this rule is minor modifications may be made to the body that will not have a large impact on performance.

3.2 Powertrain

  1. Engine internals may only have modifications that are designed to improve reliability – i.e., head studs, EGR block-offs, oiling modifications. There may be very minor performance benefits, but the goal for internal modifications is strictly for reliability. This does not include pistons, connecting rods, crankshafts, etc.
  2. Aftermarket camshafts and supporting modifications are allowed.
  3. Aftermarket pistons, rods, and other internal components may not be upgraded.
  4. Upgraded fuel systems are allowed (fuel pumps, injectors, rails, etc).
  5. Tunes and stand-alone ECUs are allowed.
  6. Turbos/supercharger swaps are not allowed (i.e., S209 turbos, Evo 9 turbos on Evo 8s, etc.).
  7. Increased boost is allowed, up to 25% of the stock boost level. Supporting modifications, such as boost controllers (manual or electronic) and pulleys for superchargers are allowed.
  8. Aftermarket turbos/superchargers are not allowed. OEM turbo/supercharger housings must remain unmodified.
  9. Intercoolers of any size are allowed.
  10. Air intakes, intake and exhaust manifolds, and full exhausts may be modified.
  11. Underdriven pulleys and balance shaft deletes are allowed.
  12. The transmission cannot be swapped (manual to DCT) unless it was a factory option.
  13. Automatic/dual clutch transmissions may have tunes and be modified for strengthening, but the gear ratios must not be changed.
  14. The transmission may have strengthened gears (i.e., built), but the gear ratios must not be changed.
  15. The final drive cannot be modified. Factory optional (i.e., Ford Racing) final drives are allowed.
  16. Powertrain layouts (FF, FR, MR, AWD, etc.) cannot be changed.
  17. Cars may use aftermarket differentials with the same final drive/no change to the final drive, and cars with active differentials may have tunes on the programming.
  18. Aftermarket/built transfer cases are allowed for 4wd cars, including using center differentials that may change the torque split.
  19. Cars in this class must run on pump gas (87-95 Octane, up to E10). No race gas, ethanol blends, or octane boosters are allowed.
  20. The spirit of this rule is that the powertrain may have common "bolt-on" modifications.

3.3 Suspension

  1. Dual (2-way) adjustable coilovers are allowed, provided it does not utilize a remote-mounted external reservoir.
  2. Accompanying modifications, such as springs, helper springs, bumpstops, and camber plates are allowed.
  3. Both sway bars and accompanying modifications (endlinks) are allowed.
  4. Upgraded bushings, including roll center adjusters, are allowed.
  5. Upgrades to spindles/uprights are allowed.
  6. The spirit of this rule is that cars may have bolt-on suspension upgrades to improve handling.

3.4 Brakes

  1. Brake systems may be upgraded to incorporate larger calipers and rotors in both the front and rear.
  2. Accompanying modifications, such as master cylinders, master cylinder braces, ABS, ABS removal, are allowed.
  3. The spirit of this rule is for brake systems to be upgraded to a high-performance system capable of handling the abuse of multiple track days.

3.5 Wheels and Tires

  1. All wheel widths and diameters are allowed, provided the top of the wheel does not extend past the fender.
  2. Tires must be DOT-approved, sourced from a reputable retailer, and have a treadwear rating of 200tw or higher. Width is limited to OEM width or up to 285mm (2WD) / 265mm (AWD), whichever is greater.
  3. The spirit of this rule is for owners to upgrade to wider, lightweight wheels, without going too extreme in width, all while staying on street tires.

3.6 Safety

  1. Safety modifications such as cages, rollover bars, etc. are strongly encouraged.
  2. Aftermarket bucket seats are allowed.
  3. Harnesses are encouraged.
  4. BE SAFE!

4. Street-E

The Street-E class builds directly upon the Street class. The 'E' stands for E85, Engine swaps, and Electric cars. As the sport evolves, we recognize there are enthusiasts who run diverse powertrains and alternative fuels that want a place to compete without being dumped into a track-only class. Street-E is a separate class from Street, but shares most of the rules aside from the following.

  1. Street-E will allow all gas-powered motors to run E85 (any fuel greater than E10, up to 100% ethanol, or up to 110 octane). Factory flex-fuel cars running E85 must still adhere to all the rules from Street and Street-E.
  2. Street-E allows naturally aspirated (NA) engines to increase displacement via boring/stroking or to swap in another motor (i.e., K-swaps). Supporting modifications for these swaps are permitted, including fitment-related changes (e.g., mounts, wiring, gauges, steering racks), but the car must retain its original drivetrain layout (FF, FR, etc.).
  3. The Engine classification (A, S, R, X, U) is determined by whatever motor is in the car, regardless of if the car has had an engine swap or not. For example, if a Miata has an LS swap, that car will move from A to X. Be sure to pay attention to the classification if it is a forced induction swap. For example, if a Miata swaps in a 2.6L turbo, it will move from A to R. Please refer to the classing structure under general rules to determine which class the car fits under.
  4. Forced induction cars may add an aftermarket turbo, as long as it flows within 25% of the stock turbo (i.e., the stock Evo 9 flows 43lb/min. It can swap in a turbo that flows up to 53.7lb/min). Manufacturer specs must be provided for the stock and aftermarket turbo upon request. Boost is still limited at 25% above factory.
  5. All wheel/tire rules from Street hold, but now widths will increase by 20mm each: FWD/RWD cars may run up to 305 width tires. AWD cars may run up to 285 width tires.

5. Track

The Track class is for highly modified street cars that have been heavily upgraded for high performance. Rules will build upon the Street-E class, and unless a modification is explicitly allowed, it is not allowed. The rules are specified per below.

5.1 Chassis/Body/Interior

  1. Cars must be mass production vehicles.
  2. The chassis may be modified for strengthening/cutting. Reinforcing is allowed, but replacing the structure is not.
  3. Aftermarket front and rear subframes may be used, and modifications to subframes are allowed.
  4. Aftermarket body panels of any sort may be used.
  5. Full aero (wings, canards, splitters) is allowed in this class.
  6. Tube frame chassis/open wheel cars are not allowed in this class (i.e., Ariel Atoms)
  7. The interior may be removed (i.e., passenger seats, carpet, dash, sound deadening).
  8. Sound systems (head units, speakers, amplifiers) may be removed.
  9. The spirit of this rule is that more open, street/race car modifications may be made to the body of the car.

5.2 Powertrain

  1. The engine rules from Street-E carry over – swaps are permitted of any variety.
  2. Turbocharged/supercharged cars may be modified to increase displacement. Any turbocharger/supercharger upgrade is allowed.
  3. Transmissions may be modified in any manner, any gearing, final drives, sequential transmissions, dual clutch conversions, etc.
  4. Powertrain layouts may be changed.
  5. Cars in this class may run E85, race fuel, or any other alternate fuel source.
  6. The spirit of this rule is to allow for a fully built powertrain in a production car.

5.3 Suspension

  1. Cars may now use any coilover system available.
  2. Modifications to subframes are allowed.
  3. The spirit of this rule is that the suspension is now fully open for modification.

5.4 Brakes

  1. Brake systems may be upgraded to any system available.
  2. The spirit of this rule is for brake systems to be race brake setups for street/race cars.

5.5 Wheels and Tires

  1. All wheel widths and diameters are allowed.
  2. Tires must remain 200tw, but widths are no longer limited for any drivetrain.
  3. The spirit of this rule is for owners to upgrade to whatever wheel & tire setup they wish to have.

5.6 Safety

  1. Safety modifications such as cages, rollover bars, etc. are required and must adhere to the event organizer's rules. At least a 4-point roll bar is required, with full cages recommended.
  2. Aftermarket seats are allowed.
  3. Harnesses are encouraged.
  4. BE SAFE!

6. Unlimited

As the name indicates, this class is unlimited, for full-on race cars, tube frame cars, and open wheel vehicles pursuing maximum performance.

6.1 Chassis/Body/Interior

  1. Chassis modifications are unlimited, including tube-frame construction and open-wheel designs.
  2. The spirit of this rule is that the cars in this class are unlimited.

6.2 Powertrain

  1. Engine and drivetrain are unlimited in this class.
  2. The spirit of this rule is that the cars in this class are unlimited.

6.3 Suspension

  1. Suspension is unlimited in this class.
  2. The spirit of this rule is that the cars in this class are unlimited.

6.4 Brakes

  1. Brakes are unlimited in this class.
  2. The spirit of this rule is that the cars in this class are unlimited.

6.5 Wheels and Tires

  1. Wheels and tires are unlimited. Any tire type, including R-compounds and full slicks, is permitted.
  2. The spirit of this rule is that the cars in this class are unlimited.

6.6 Safety

  1. Safety modifications such as cages, rollover bars, etc. are required.
  2. Rollover protection is required.
  3. BE SAFE!