Joshua Hadler is right again, as usual. :)
To "tee" off his comments on the street tire thread, I've been advocating a
class (in addition to S, SP, P, M, ST, etc) that would have the mission to
encourage *street legal* improvements to car tech and driver skill.
I envision something that maintains the categories of SP for the cars, and
no R compound tires, and no trailering, but allows mods to the car that are
legal in the State of residency.
Since my bias is towards turbocars (can't help it, I'm just simply
fascinated with the darned things and have been for literally decades) I'll
give a couple of examples of mods that aren't legal for turbocars in SP, for
example, but would make perfect sense for the street. For the record, I run
in ESP with my Ford Mustang SVO Intercooled Turbo.
Cam sprockets: my own 5-speed turbocar doesn't launch that great at a light
(I'm talking about a street-legal start, no "exhibition of speed" stuff)
against an ordinary automatic-equipped passenger sedan (!). When I install
an adjustable sprocket and advance it, I can move that "oomph" lower.
Competitive advantage at an autox? Sure hope so. Practical and legal on
the street? Sure.
Bypass or blowoff valves: on the street these improve driveability, and
make larger, more efficient intercoolers or remote intercoolers more
practical there. Competitive advantage -- sure. Street legal and
practical -- sure.
All the stiffening devices that Mustangs would like to add: street legal,
so why not? Competitive advantage? Sure.
Boost levels etc.: lot of comments about turbopower, but it's a bogey man.
As mentioned before, it's torque that wins autoxes, and skill, not hp.
Plenty of cars with less power can and do beat me. Street legal? Far as I
know. Competitive advantage? Sure.
Just using these examples (got lot's more, but don't want to clog things
up), and starting with SP categories for cars, naturally over time these
categories could shift as experience is gained. But then, those categories
probably change over time for SP anyway, yes?
My experience at developing and running international sporting events
(credentials, not bragging) taught me that this approach to rules actually
improves equipment (in this case, both cars and accessories) as
manufacturers start integrating the improvements that (a) work and (b) are
popular. And because it's another way to "play the game", it broadens the
base of participants, which is good for the sport.
Since a class like Prepared allows the removal of headlights (and allows any
turbo, but not any intercooler (?!)), lacking the history of Prepared class
I still can't help but wonder if that's why my own car has modular halogen
headlights that can be unclipped and removed in literally moments, with a
nice set of funnels pointed into the engine compartment.
A class like this could put someone like me in a position to get beaten by
those who drive what are euphemistically called "ricers" (gonna have to come
up with another name). That's OK with me, if it encourages more players for
the sport.
My two cents, to stimulate constructive dialogue.
Richard Nichols
rnichol1@san.rr.com
San Diego, CA
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