Brendan wrote:
Me personally? I could go either way, but I still say keep it as is, but move all Forced induction cars into "A". That way you have a blend of the new set of rules (Touring) and the old that many people still like (SP, P) with a small correction to account for how far forced induction cars have come. Something for everyone.
I don't mind the Torque adjustment - I did specify "whp and wtq" above.
The forced induction thing is interesting. First time I've heard this concept.
Don't mind torque adjustment? Running an S14 you should love this. Very high hp number, and not so good torque. Pretty soon people understand that area under the curve is everything with a hp capped class system when you want to run at the sharp end of a competitive field.
Brendan wrote:
Tire compound - Leave it out and let people run what they want. Everybody has a compound choice, it's not a characteristic of a specific vehicle.
I agree. This is the unlimited group and the cost of slicks in negligible vs dot
Brendan wrote:
Tire Size - Similar to above - but I'd be okay with a restriction if it's not penalizing people for running "common" widths for a specific vehicle. If I tried to fit 335's on my M3, that would certainly be outside of "common". Anything within reason is a choice that everyone has.
Then you get into a listing of common sizes for common cars. Tough to deal with. Limit tire size or don't.
Brendan wrote:
FWD / RWD / AWD Correction - the theory being that an AWD car is better than RWD which is better than FWD assuming the same power to weight. The problem I have for stuff like this is, why not add a correction to penalize cars with better aerodynamics? Or penalize cars with a lower center of gravity? I think it's easier to leave it out - more rules does not necessarily mean better...
I agree. But if guys wanted to get more accurate with classing - this is a big factor. It's important. It would be on my list of potential adjustments.
Brendan wrote:
That's exactly what I mean about the cutoffs - if you draw a line in the sand and it cuts people who compete against each other apart into different classes, you now have people who've both been classed out of touring, and then classed out of running with the cars they like competing with....
But dude. You gotta start somewhere. If the cars are of the same performance - you won't have that problem. You'll be classed together. If the cars fall on line line (one car at 7.9 and the other at 8.2 when the line is 8.0 you can always add ballast for small changes or detune an engine. Detuning an engine has a bazillion benefits - cost, reliability, power under the curve...
Brendan wrote:
Bottom line, I think having Touring, and then leaving SP and P as is (or with smaller modifications) is the best overall compromise. If I want really tight competition (albeit more regulated) - I'll run in T90 or T100. If I want more flexibility and don't want to worry about it - I'll run in SPC or PC. I like having that option...
Having touring and then P classes or Super classes is the complete rules package. We catch all the students and newcomers and limited mods guys in touring and then give all the heavily modded guys a place to go nuts in P/Super.
SPA, SPB, SPC is not going to be around in 2014. The question will be what the P cars want to do. Make Super or keep PA, PB, PC.
The SP guys are going to have to slot in touring (where a lot of them fit) or play in "unlimited" and run P or Super. Keeping Touring 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, SPA, SPB, SPC, PA, PB, PC was never in the cards for the long term. The board decided to keep SPA, SPB, SPC for the 2013 transition year and phase it out in 2014. If we were to run all those classes long term there is a dilution of the competition via performance overlap. It's the reason Audi is so happy to have Toyota running next weekend at LeMans. An LMP1 victory at LeMans against yourself doesn't give much satisfaction to anyone. This is what makes racing great - racing other cars. In 2014 if you run with COM you're going to earn that trophy or championship and it's going to feel reallllly good.
Hell, Audi vs Toyota at LeMans is a crap example. Look at ALMS GT - Porsche cup, Ferrari 458, Aston Martin, Viper, Corvette, BMW Z4. That is THE best sports car racing in the country at the moment.
-Paddy