Jason,
Actually, my reply was more concerned with the bigger picture, I didn't,
nor do I now, see your concern as whining. I sure was one of the loudest
screamers when the Type-R's were first classed in GS. It is also very
difficult to calibrate where you stand when you are campaigning an uncommon
car. I had been running my GSX for two years, (when they were considered
heavy, understeering pigs), when I lucked into finding someone who had the
resources and knowledge to set up the car. It was enlightening and nowhere
near what I would have created, left to my own devices. (Still heavy)
I have had the opportunity to drive a student's VW with the VR-6 engine and
was very impressed with the power/torque that it had. It definitely is
capable of going quick. I believe it's greatest weakness is it's height and
relatively soft suspension result in a relatively slow transition time. I
don't recall if the car had any sort of limited slip, but since traction is
the issue, any front driver will also be at a disadvantage to the Type-R. I
don't believe the car(VW) is particularly light either... I give any Type-R a
~500lb head start.
If you follow the results, you will notice that a typical AutoX
(Divisional, Tour or Nationals) yields a much different picture than a Pro,
other than Nationals, you won't find me traveling far to one of those!!. In
98, the year that Mark won, there were like 8 different types of car in the
top ten, and in 99, when the car was finally sorted completely, it ended 8th
and 11th overall (not carrying cones would have helped a little) 4th, and
first non Acura was Ledford's Talon, but the Type-R's walked with it. Should
I complain about them?? I sure did.. but I'm over it now. They are
beatable. Seat Time is everything...
Overall, you will find in almost every class there are one or two cars that
stand out and will become the dominant cars. Their performance will likely
be course dependent. Over time all the top drivers will gravitate toward
these cars resulting in very competitive class with little variety in cars,
BS, DS, FS, and ESP come to mind. I am not as concerned with a car that
dominates a class over time as I am with a car that dominates a class right
out of the box.. before anyone has a chance to completely develop it.
Effectively making all other cars in that class obsolete, at least for one
year. This is sort of what is at stake in ESP right now and AS has this
potential (with a bunch of real good new cars in there) but it has been
entertaining!!
I really don't have a dog in the ESP battle, but I definitely am keeping
an eye on it, and am really, truly glad I have stayed in Stock
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