Heyward Wagner writes:
> Ok, now you have gone to far, the entire reason for trunk kits in the
> first place was to allow other manufactures to keep up with the
> modifications that the Neons where getting away with. There was not a
> need for trunk kits until Dodge introduced three little letters, A-C-R.
> The ACR came much more race prepared (Ajustable shocks, Camber settings,
> etc) than any other SS car had ever been.
I agree with you that the trunk kits were a bad idea. I'd like to see them
go away completely and serve as an example of how not to tinker with Stock
class prep rules.
But I also have to disagree that Chrysler invented the racecar or
performance package, or that they even advanced the state of the art of such
packages. Can you say M030, Y87, B4C, 1LE, Miata R and SE-R? These are
just the ones that my feeble mind can conjure up without overheating. I
contend that practically EVERY car has a package which is the preferred
setup for racing. Heck, even land barges like the Caprice have the Impala
SS package.
The ACR package isn't outrageously expensive, complicated, or rare, either.
It is, in reality, the essence of cheap and simple. The single
significant difference between the ACR and a Sport or R/T is the
camber-adjusting slots on the strut mounts. Throw crash bolts on any
non-ACR and you've got practically the same ability to set camber.
Boo-hoo! If that's a breakthrough, then I'm the Bastard son of Richard Petty.
I'll admit that Konis were a nice improvement on '97+ ACRs, but hey, why not?
This isn't the first car to have Koni/Tokico/Boge/KYBs stock, and I think we
should be hoping its not the last, rather than punishing them for it. Its
not even an issue in autocross, since we can change struts/shocks, so owners
would have bought Konis anyway.
So, compared to the long list of wheel, tire, suspension, engine and
drivetrain improvements that the previously-mentioned packages consist of,
doesn't it sound a bit silly, maybe even out-and-out prejudiced, that the
ACR is branded as "race prepared" or "getting away with" an unfair advantage?
Puh-leeese! Its not cheating or black magic that makes the neon perform,
its first-rate engineering and manufacturing, coupled with skilled driving,
plain and simple. They couldn't make a quarter of a million of them a year,
sell them for less than practically everything else on the market, and still
make a profit if this weren't so.
The neon has been paid a high compliment by those who complain that they
can't compete with it. Sadly, instead of letting the results reflect
who makes the better product, the SCCA has decided that NASCAR has the right
formula when it comes to "Stock Car" racing. I hope they realize where
that's heading and do an about-face.
I'm tired of being insulted by those who say it is an overdog because of
some "etc" that nobody else has, while at the same time saying its an
unreliable POS that nobody would want, anyway. Its just a car, and we all
know that given time, every car will show it weaknesses. The neon is no
better or worse than any other car in this regard.
--
Jeffrey D. Blankenship Senior Technical Consultant
jblanken@itds.com ITDS - TRIS
Neon Enthusiast #478 Champaign, IL, USA
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