Robert:
Perhaps it is not quite as amazing as you think. He is my $0.02,
and if I am smoking rope, well... It would not be the first time.
Most of the cornering and handling improvements in the last 30
years has come from tire technology. Modern rubber compounds, tread designs
and profiles have added dramatically to the cornering capabilities.
In addition, suspension tweaks like urethane bushings and rear
sway bars are easily added to the 6. Cam profiles are also easily updated.
Lastly, fuel injection adds no power over carburetors. Ultimate
power is the same. What fuel injection gets you is mileage, drivability,
and emissions (significant gains, to be sure).
Tires and suspension upgrades are so easy to do, that it is
trivial to bring the car up to modern cornering standards. It is a tribute
to Standard Triumph that the car is so fundamentally capable, and it
is easy to add enough modern technology that you need not apologize for the
car's performance. All that, and you can drive a distinctive classic
to boot!
Cheers,
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net]On
Behalf Of Robert M. Lang
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 10:00 AM
To: Greg Dito
Cc: Mark Bullard; David Friedlander; 6pack
Subject: Re: Re: rear shock conversion
On Mon, 17 Nov 2003, Greg Dito wrote:
[stuff deleted]
Obligatory personal comment - I too run the uprated lever shocks on both
my TR6's. I do this due to real performance considerations.
> Kind of goes back to what I once said about trying to run with the
> "fast and the furious" rice rocket crowd with 30 year old cars. One
> is likely to only end up with the "stupid and the dead". TRs have
> definite limitations. Work within those limitations and enjoy your TR
> for what it is.
As far as running with the fast and the furious, one of the things that
still amazes me about my TR6's is how capable they actually are! In fact,
when I autocross against some Hondas and so forth and actually beat them,
I usually think to myself how amazing TR6's must have seemed at the time
when they were new 30 years ago. In fact, they are still pretty capable.
It's even more amazing when you understand the concept of "parts shelf
engineering" and how relatively small Triumph was that the previous
statement has any impact.
Fast forward to modern wonders (like a BMW E46 M3) and consider what that
might be like if fully developed. It's sort of mind boggling.
But in agreement with the statement that Greg D. made - what is truely
amazing at how far the envelope has been pushed. So much so that going
outside that envelope is frightening indeed. And there's a pretty fine
line between "at the limit" and "over the limit". To fully comprehend
my observation, take a trip to your local head trauma rehab clinic.
> Greg Dito
> CD6250L
regards,
rml
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