Randy contributed:
>But part of the problem is that in the world of autocrossing, a
very
>small performance advantage (aka Weenie Mods), can equate to a
very
>small performance difference and autocrosses can be won and lost
by such
>small margins.
Absolument. And that's why "if it doesn't say you can, you
can't."
>But I think I am still missing that 10 cent small plastic clip
from my
>car ...and if someone thinks *THAT* is grounds for protest..then
I agree
>with you Dennis.
Here's an example I've resisted "exposing" for a number of
reasons: A2 VWs have a little round plastic cover thingie that
clips on top of the front strut bearings. If you wanna install
adjustable Konis, you HAVE to poke a little hole right in the
center of those thingies, or leave them off the car altogether,
to clear the adjuster tab on top of the shock. In 1992 at
Nationals, the quickest cars in ES were VWs - the Jetta in which
Bob Tunnell won, and the GTI in which Steve Mieritz got fastest
time on the second day (a penalty over incorrect ignition timing
kept him out of the trophies) - and they BOTH had holes poked in
those little plastic thingies. So did EVERY A2 VW that had Konis,
including my own car. Now, did anyone protest that modification?
Nope. Why not? It would have been incredibly weenie. Is it
illegal? Yup. Could you have thought of a "legal" way to do the
same thing? Well, if I wanted to install Shock Temperature Gauges
for my front shocks - legal under C&C - I just might have had to
drill little holes in the center of the little plastic thingies.
Never heard of a Shock Temperature Gauge? Well, you just aren't
on the cutting edge. ;-)
> I guess I am saying that the size of the weenie does
>matter.
I'm not touching that one with a foot-long.
> I consider it this way. If I took identical cars, on the same
>course, driven by the same driver and applied this mod to it, is
it
>conceivable that the car with the weenie mod will be faster,
even if
>only hundredths of a second? I don't believe that 1/10th of an
ounce of
>plastic will make a 1/100th second in difference. I do believe
that
>removal of an obstructing mirror can.
Ergo the personal nature of the definition of weeniness. Much as
it sounds like "let them eat cake" to say you've gotta live with
an oversize rearview that obstructs your vision to the right, a
valid case could be made, in principle, for protesting such an
item. I personally wouldn't bother, but I can certainly see the
other side.
Jay
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