GH Sharp wrote:
>The SEB did not write a rule aimed at one car. The SEB did not write a
>new rule at all, period. It added a sentence to an existing rule already
in
>the rulebook. It did not add this sentence to "hassle" a bunch of members,
>and it was not added based on the suspicions of other competitors.
Regardless of their intent, the SEB *did* single out one car. It makes me
wonder how the topic was brought up for discussion within SEB in the first
place. Surely, a board member who had never heard of DSM's backdating
turbos didn't suddenly wake up one morning thinking "Hey, that rule allow
backdating turbos. We should change that."
>The SEB has not ruled on this previously because no one specifically
>asked the SEB whether it could be done or not.
This implies that someone *did* recently ask if it could be done (which
would answer my wondering above). This would either have been a DSM owner
asking for a ruling, or a 'suspicious' competitor asking. If the latter,
then it *was* added based on the suspicions of other competitors...or sort
of, anyway. Since the last turbo-related ruling was a request for member
comment on exhaust modifications, it seemed very suspicious that SEB would
make this ruling without asking for member input. From your statements, it
seems that SEB did not feel it was actually adding a rule, merely clarifying
or modifying an existing one, and thus didn't feel that they were really
affecting anything. However, since they apparently didn't ask for any
member input, they may not have realized that this would affect a number of
people. In addition, there had recently been a lot of friction between
certain V8 ESP drivers and a couple of DSM drivers concerning this topic,
which made the timing of the rule change even more suspicious. SEB can be
forgiven for not being on top of this situation, but it and the now-repealed
exhaust ruling does put a big blot on SEB's credibility among the DSM owners
and even among many other turbo car owners, judging by the responses I've re
ceived.
> Is every caller given this caveat? I can't know for sure, but I'd bet the
> vast majority of them are.
Ok, count me in with the small minority.
> Why do you think the answer given in this forum to so many questions
> is "Write a letter"?
I did, at least one concerning the update/backdate of the BOV. I never
received a written response, other than an entry in FasTrack about rejecting
a proposal to allow BOV changes. I finally called the number given in the
front of the rulebook for rules questions, and talked with someone there. (I
don't remember who, it's been 3 years) They acknowledged the receipt of my
letter and said that yes, BOV's could be updated/backdated, but could not be
changed. This answered my question to my satisfaction.
Since I had never received anything in writing back, I didn't bother to
write another letter to ask about the turbo update/backdate, I simply called
the same number. I was told that the turbo could be backdated, as long as
the complete turbo of the previous model was used, ie no swapping compressor
wheels or such. In neither phone conversation was I warned that this wasn't
an official ruling, nor did I ask for one. I assumed that a) I was talking
to someone who was actually on the SEB and qualified to give rules
clarifications, and b) that they would apply consistant logic if the topic
ever came up again. Obviously, if a) was incorrect, then b) doesn't matter.
You're absolutely right that whoever is answering questions on the phone
should be suggesting a written letter and stating their comments aren't in
any way official, but SEB should also make sure written letters are answered
in writing. Maybe mine was lost in the shuffle.
Regarding the effectiveness of the turbo swap...There's been alot of
discussion in the DSM crowd about which turbo is better on the autox course.
At most local events (mostly in small lots), I'd actually prefer the T25,
because of the instant spooling, but at events like the Ft. Worth National
Tour or MirrorKhana, the 14B was definitely better. We've even discussed
adding quick-change water and oil lines to the system, so we could change
the turbo out in a matter of minutes after we get a look at the course! So,
for those of you cheering this ruling...it's not all that, at least on some
courses.
Finally, I'd like to apologize to the vast majority of V8 drivers in ESP who
aren't whining about DSM's and turbo swaps and such, I just got tired of
hearing from and about that small but increasingly vocal minority. I'm
fortunate that the V8 drivers around here aren't like that (well, ok, many
of them are faster than me...). Even when I went to the Ft. Worth National
Tour, all I got was complements on my driving and my car's performance,
nothing derogatory. Of course, with Madarash so far ahead of us....
Anyway, I never did thank Tom Ramey for his advice on tire pressures
Sunday...The old brain wasn't quite awake yet that morning. And Bill, Gavin
and Ernie gave me a good run for the trophies. Fortunately, the course was
just made for AWD...big sweepers and accelerating offsets.
Mac Crossett
1996 Eagle Talon TSi AWD #49ESP
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