Re: Stock or Modified(Street Prepared, Prepared, Mod, etc.)?

[The Narbys <narby@centurytel.net>]

Great question, great thread.

My experience - A partial season in stock, a season in SP and 3 seasons in
Prepared.

My $.02 - I think it is hard to go 10/10ths in any car. People routinely
jump in my Prepared car and get within a few seconds of my times. Very few
get much closer than that without substantial practice in my car or
experience at autocrossing. The same is true in reverse - if another driver
is good, I can get close to their times in their car, but usually can't beat
them. This applies to stock, sp, p and m - we swap cars a LOT in this
region.

Having said all that, I think that stock cars communicate their thresholds a
lot more clearly. You can hear and feel a disaster coming a lot further
away. The first two seasons I autocrossed my prepared car, my first warning
of a spin was usually the view out the side window (which a millisecond
earlier had been the view out the windshield). After lots of seat time I can
catch it now, but the warnings remain very subtle. I think that when the
limits are higher, crossing them is more sudden.

Sort of like in CART when a car is perfect one moment and disintegrating the
next...So I conclude that it is easier to learn in stock cars because you
have more time to anticipate, understand and correct your mistakes...Not to
mention the opportunity to drive your race car on the street - I only get
seat time in my car on the autocross course.

IMHO, YMMV - (are abbreviations Biffery?) - TTYL
Doug Narby
RE SoWeLa Region SCCA