On Thu, May 15, 2003 at 03:50:18PM -0400, John F. Kelly Jr. wrote:
> Are you REALLY, REALLY sure about this?
> How do you know this?
>
> If you were sitting in a room somewhere in middle America writing a rule,
> would your statement play heavily on your rule-writing decision?
Example #1: MINI Cooper S
Example #2: Celica GT-S
Both are pretty well documented (with national tour level results) cases
where a car with a more powerful version of the same engine, but still
with an open differential, fails to achieve significantly better
autocross times than its lower-powered counterpart. The main
complaint from drivers of the more powerful versions of the cars is
that wheelspin prevents them from making use of the additional power
when exiting a corner.
The SEB moved the Cooper S down from DS to GS at the end of last year.
The Celica GT-S is under consideration for the same move. Does that
answer your (rhetorical) question?
It is possible to get wheelspin without lifting a drive wheel off the
ground. I have experienced this as both a driver and a passenger in a
few different cars, front and rear wheel drive. In such
circumstances, a limited slip differential does help.
> Or maybe somebody you greatly respect stated the above. What would happen
> if you found out your thoughts were in error?
Most of us would say "Oh, I get it now, thanks," when presented with a
rational and courteous explanation. However, you implied that Peter
was parroting misinformation and that he can't admit when he's wrong,
without providing any reason why he might not be correct. That is
neither rational nor courteous, and I think it detracts from the
collaborative, casual, and friendly nature of the ba-autox list.
--
john@idsfa.net John Stimson
http://www.idsfa.net/~john/ HMC Physics '94
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