The Lotii are a sweet breed, and win in every class they
are in, almost exclusively. I hope that statement does not
stir a furor, but let's face it. If you buy a Lotii, be it SP, P, or
Mod - - you have a much higher pertantile chance of walking
away with a trophy, be it at the regional, divisional, National
Tour, or Nationals level. One almost instantly improves as a
driver behind the wheel of a Lotii, it seems.
And why is that? Because they are a great car? YES!!
No argument there. They are built to do what we do better
than almost any other marque is. Thus, they should have
a good winning record, no matter how they are classed.
But also have a higher winning percentile because the SCCA
seems to class them, and rule for them more favorably. Now
that statement WILL cause a furor, but so be it.
I will speak to my class - - I admittedly am more knowledgable
in A Prepared. Let's see, weights. Hmm, Fiero (my marque) is
1900 lbs. Mazda is the same. Datsun/Nissan Z cars, 2100 lbs.
Those are the 3 most heavily subscribed marques in the class.
Sure, there is a 427 Cobra at 1900lbs (also way out from the
norm in power to weight) , and a couple others (can't forget the
Vixen's), which makes this a very fun class, with a lot of different
cars.
And then there is the Lotii, 1400 (oh, let's see, they added 50 lbs
this year - no advantages now - - HAHH!!) in that foray. If you look
simply at HP to weight ratio, there is quite an advantage there. To
build a Lotus Elan to LEGAL specs, one could probably get about
170 - 180hp in that superb chassis. My car, for example, can get
about 250 - 260hp max in a good chassis, but is 500lbs heavier.
To match the HP to weight ratio of the Lotii, I would have to get in
the 400-450hp range, and there is no way in hell a GM 4 or 6
cylinder motor can be made with that kind of power without nitrous
or super/turbocharger. Advantage - - Lotii.
In EM, sure Tamandli is winning. A tube frame Formula Atlantic
chassis, a lightweight Rover V8, and a rubber and 'glass body
by Fiero. It is competitive against Lotii (and Lotii cloned) V8
powered cars simply because his body weight, and hp to weight
ratio is similar. But to call it a Fiero - - that's quite a stretch.
I have suggested the weights that I did in an earlier post not to
penalize the Lotii, but to give the rest of the world an alternate
class that would give them a better chance.
In my own case, give me back FP with the Mazda and Nissan/
Datsun cars. Let the high HP and limited production cars (Tiger,
Vixen, Cobra, and YES - - the Lotii fall into that catagory) have
their own AP back. Talk about creating a class to support the
Lotii, that is exactly what happened in January of 1997 when they
merged AP and FP due to falling numbers in AP - - the Lotii class.
And look who is dominant since. Advantage - - Lotii.
The D/E Mod classes need not increase weights as they are
classed now, as some suggest. They just need to have a heavier
weight class, as Jan Schmidt has suggested on several occasions.
I would run a mod class instead of trying to squeeze into Prepared
with an engine swap not made by GM (but legal under GT specs)
if my fat 1900lb a** could squeeze in somewhere. But to put a 250
horsepower 4 cylinder into EM is ludicrous at that weight, and I
cannot get any lighter without a tubular frame - - sorry. Maybe I am
trying for an "I" class, but my earlier statement about the Corvair
mis-classification is real, and Jan's comments about the weights
in the Mod classes make me doubt that.
In summary, give FP back as it was in 1996 and earlier. Add one
more sedan Mod class where kit cars, heavier engine swaps (mine,
V8 240/260Z cars), and heavier under 2.0 liter cars could have their
own playground. One class, -2.0 liter @ 1400-1600lbs, 2.0-3.0L in
the 1800-1900lb area, 3.0-5.0L @ 2100-2200lbs, and 5.0+ 2300 to
2500lbs (or similar).
George
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