Yes, typo . . .a NASCAR race car in Winston Cup is 3,400.
Larry
--> -----Original Message-----
--> From: Jan Schmidt [mailto:jschmidt@kumc.edu]
--> Sent: Sunday, February 25, 2001 7:58 PM
--> To: spdrcr5@bigfoot.com; 'team.net'
--> Subject: RE: Aluminum Seats
-->
-->
--> Just nit-pickin' here: surely you dont mean "2400"
--> lbs.??????????????? I
--> think its closer to 3300 or 3400, isnt it?
--> Bill Schmidt ( not really a Nascar fan )
-->
--> >>> Larry Joffe <spdrcr5@bigfoot.com> 02/25/01 12:32PM >>>
--> Paul:
-->
--> I have to disagree with you 100%! The carbon fiber racing
--> seats will
--> NOT
--> shatter as you think. It takes the impact and absorbs it, it
--> deflects the
--> impact around the driver and does not allow the impact to
--> concentrate
--> on any
--> one area, it spreads it out.
-->
--> Carbon fiber is one of the strongest materials made, why do
--> you think
--> it
--> would shatter? It is a woven fabric, how is it going to shatter?
-->
--> The reason(s) NASCAR won't allow it into their cars is
--> pretty simple.
--> NASCAR wants to cars to remain behind the times with both
--> chassis and
--> engine
--> and safety technology. They want to remain "the good 'ole boys" of
--> old.
--> They like that rough and tumble image that is portrayed by
--> the media.
--> They
--> don't want the clean cut image of F1 and CART. Those
--> series are both
--> referred to as "circus's", something that NASCAR does not want to
--> associate
--> with.
-->
--> The banning of carbon fiber seats has nothing to do with
--> costs. It is
--> strictly NASCAR steering clear of new technology. Any time someone
--> tries
--> something new, it gets turned down and has always been turned down.
--> Others
--> have already pointed out too many times when NASCAR refuses
--> to get with
--> the
--> times when it comes to safety.
-->
--> In a crash if a piece of front suspension is directed towards the
--> cockpit of
--> an F1 or CART car, what sort of seat would you rather be sitting in?
--> Aluminum or Carbon Fiber? Me? Carbon Fiber! A carbon fiber
--> suspension
--> part will most certainly go right through an aluminum seat like
--> cutting
--> through butter. If aluminum is so much stronger than
--> Carbon Fiber then
--> why
--> are the suspension pieces made from carbon fiber in F1?
--> Because it is
--> that
--> much stronger than aluminum or any other material that
--> could be used.
--> I am
--> not saying that NASCAR should switch to exotic materials,
--> that is not
--> what
--> the series is about. They should allow a driver to use ANY safety
--> device
--> they feel is warranted for their own well being. It will not create
--> an
--> unfair advantage over the rest of the field. All of the cars MUST
--> weigh
--> 2,400 pounds, so they would have to add an extra pound or
--> two to make
--> weight
--> anyway. Who is it hurting by Scott Pruett wanting to use a Carbon
--> Fiber
--> seat? It is actually hurting NASCAR's own head in the sand
--> image that
--> they
--> have the safest cars in all of racing!
-->
--> Larry Joffe
-->
-->
--> --> I don't think they prohibit carbon fiber race seats due to
--> --> cost. I think
--> --> they prohibit them because a heck of a lot of drivers got hurt
--> with
--> --> fiberglass seats before the aluminum seats appeared. I
--> --> personally think that
--> --> metal is a better substance to make a seat from than either
--> --> fiberglass or
--> --> carbon fiber because it won't shatter. Besides, I think the
--> --> primary reason
--> --> they make seats from the latter two materials is due to
--> --> weight not that they
--> --> are safer than other materials. So in this particular
--> --> regard I believe
--> --> NASCAR is actually doing the "right thing".
--> -->
--> --> Paul Foster
--> -->
-->
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