Hi all, if this mail goes through I'm stepping out the lurker shadows.
re: KeS' comment regarding sportsmanship vs. disconnecting the ABS.
How many ways can I _degrade_ the performance of my car before I get protested?
Let's say
-a Mustang spins its wheels under normal acceleration but the fuel filter is
clogged so it stays hooked up, at the one place on the course where that will
improve its time?
-I was getting too much rear-end lockup but those old worn factory pads barely
grip any more so I left it that way.
-Let's say I think there's better feel through the power steering if I let it
run without fluid? (a.k.a. "Armstrong steering" ;)
I just don't see that it would be a worthwhile protest to say that you must
replace the fusible link to the ABS system, in the case where I might have held
the opinion that I was faster without ABS.
On many vehicles, especially in years past, ABS was optional. So if I had two
cars of that model, one with and one without, and switched between them
depending on whether it was raining, which rule was I breaking again?
This is not strictly academic because I had a broken ABS hydraulic module
thingie in my car last year for a substantial period of time before I chose to
spend the big bux to get it replaced. "Normal" braking was unaffected. I got
it replaced as soon as practicable, as I don't think that the ABS is a
detriment. When it's working I don't slide off the course in a straight line
when I overcook the corner, at least I'm turning a LITTLE bit. I honestly do
not think that it was an advantage to be running without ABS.
In normal, everyday driving I don't use the ABS. "A superior pilot is one who
uses superior judgement to avoid situations where one's superior plane handling
skills are necessary!"
I don't have a problem with the idea of discouraging the disabling of safety
equipment. This is likely the reasoning behind the rule against removing
airbags. But I was well within the Stock rules to remove or reduce my front
sway bar size. Safety issue? The factory didn't intend for me to limit my
wheelspin by putting the spaghetti-sized wagon front bar in there.
I have read that insurance losses from rear-end collisions have not dropped
noticeably despite many more cars having ABS. So is it a safety feature,
really? Some of the new Audis have a program "feature" that if you try to left
foot brake while the gas is on, it cuts the power way back for several seconds.
And wait, the manufacturer never intended for you to yank up that handbrake to
enhance your autocrossing performance, that's outside of factory specs!
Unsportsmanlike?
Because of the difficulty of policing it, SCCA had a rule that an electrical
limited slip unit can't just have the fuse pulled, so the model with that
feature can't be in STS. (Seems that maybe they dropped that line from the
2003 rules, but it was there last year.) But that is a clear situation of a
performance enhancer, whereas ABS is a mixed bag depending on the car,
situation, and driver.
PaulT (I prefer the list but any replies should go to pault@N0SPAMcalweb.com,
take out the obvious six letters)
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