PaxsACR@aol.com wrote:
> > Why not allow any size wheel diameter in Stock?
>
> Because then everyone would have to buy lots of wheels and
tires in
> order to test all the possibilities?>>
>
>We do that now already.....
No, we don't. Here's one possible scenario. If you can run ANY
diameter wheel, then you can, for example, put 13" rims on a car
that came with 14s or 15s, if you can clear the brake calipers,
and obtain the following advantages:
1. Lower CG.
2. Reduced unsprung weight.
3. Reduced rotating inertia.
4. Possible gearing improvements, depending on the car's original
configuration.
This has the possibility of really screwing up the competitive
balance in some Stock classes. The "car to have" may well be a
plain-jane version of a model that comes with wimpy brakes, for
example.
>The guy off the street, if he wants to be competitive, is going
to have to buy
>wheels and tires anyway.
But he knows what SIZE he has to run in autox. That's one less
variable to futz with. I hope you can see how it might take some
experimentation to determine which diameter wheel is best. I know
of one national champion who went through exactly this exercise
on a Stock car that had a larger diameter wheel as a single-item
option, and it wasn't an automatic choice of one or the other. It
took two sets of wheels and tires and a few events on each to be
sure which was better for him.
IOW, more development would be required to optimize a Stock car
than is now the case.
>So now the extra set he or she has to buy just might
>be a different diameter.
MIGHT. And the only way to know for sure is to buy more than one
set of wheels and tires and try all the possibilities. Not
exactly the way to make Stock Category more user-friendly.
> I think it makes as much sense as any of the other rules in
Stock class that allow you to run something different from what
came from the >factory.
You can change shocks, but you CAN'T change suspension travel or
relocate spring perches. You can replace bushings with non-OEM
ones, but you CAN'T use stiffer ones. These are allowances for
normal non-competition maintenance, although they clearly can be
used otherwise. You can change wheels also, and you CAN run
lighter-than-stock ones, which IS a competitive advantage. You
CAN'T change diameter or width from original, however. And that's
perfectly consistent with the above allowances.
> When I put this idea out there, I'm thinking of the big
picture,
As are the folks on the other side of the fence.
>and in this case giving us more of an option seems better,
I disagree.
>becase it allows more cars to be competitive.
Not necessarily. DIFFERENT cars, perhaps, but not necessarily
more.
Jay
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