So, there I am at Regional #1 in the extremely cold conditions of B.C.
Canada. I've slept 2hrs before this event having been awake all night
trying to set up my new computer. I've just driven perhaps the poorest
event of my life and a fellow competitor comes up and mentions that my name
is all over team.net. Hmmm... I haven't written anything on team.net for a
while so I think he's joking. Well, joking he was not! As much as I like
my name, it being in every 3rd post is a bit eerie, especially when you
don't know that it's there.
But, just to clear a few things up. The SEB, from what Karen Babb once
explained to me does not take input from only one individual, so Paul
Foster's attempts to make me look like the great turbo killer due to one
post on team.net is ridiculous.
I also have rebuttals to some other portions I read before. One was about
my "restriction" in the wastegate exhaust being against the spirit of the
rules. Nonsense. In a NA car, what is the spirit of putting an exhaust on
the car? It's not for the noise, it's for making power. How do they make
power? By placing baffles in strategic locations in the exhaust system
(usually the muffler) to suit the needs of the owner (more baffles for more
low end torque, etc, etc.) There is a lot more that can happen in a NA
car's exhaust system to change the dynamics of the power output and the
torque band. So, why is it within the spirit of the rules to allow that in
a NA car, but it's against the spirit to put a restrictive baffle in the
wastegate exhaust on a turbo car?
The end result is the same, more power. Dennis Grant is also correct that
placing a restriction in the wastegate exhaust does not create unlimited
boost and unlimited power, it only allows you to raise the boost level.
Once again, some may say that this is a boost control and is out of the
spirit of the rules, but look at the RX-7TT cars. Just adding an exhaust
picks up several PSI of boost, so why can I not do the same on my 944T?
Also, almost every recent production turbo car has a boost limiter in place
which cannot be disabled without cheating. On my 944T, I can run almost
anything I want in the mid-range as the system does not activate unless at
WOT for three seconds in an overboost condition, but my 944T is 10 years
old. On the DSM cars, if I remember from my old Talon days, fuel cut would
come in about 18psi or around 280hp and it is an instant reaction, no delay.
So, that leaves me with the last part of my email. What do I think of this
exhaust rule that is being planned? It's tough to say. On one hand, I race
turbo cars and love them and if it were a "Farzaan" world, I would want no
restriction on turbo cars and severe restrictions on a NA car. On the other
hand, the SEB has to think about what is possible if someone decides to show
up in A/S at Nationals in a 300hp 944T or a 400hp Supra TT in E/SP and be
technically legal.
If the SEB has the ability to place a rule on certain vehicles, then it
should be done that way, but it would be one hell of a volunteer job to test
and evaluate each individual Turbo and NA car to see what effect a
modification has on it and then restrict or allow each mod on each car, so
it seems the SEB has done the right thing with this new rule.
Sorry turbo dudes, but you know as well as I do what is possible with small
mods on these cars. I mean, how many cars can you add $200 worth of mods on
and pick up 60hp and 80ft-lb of torque with better low end torque to boot?
If the sport really means as much to you as you guys say it does, then you
can always buy a dedicated NA car or go to another race series or better
yet, run in MOD class. Before you tell me all about how awful turbo cars
are to auto-x and that you need all the help you can get, save it for
someone else, I don't care, you chose to drive that car, I choose to drive
my 944T and that's why I don't complain when I'm slower than Buetow in a
944S2 or Glen in a 924S. I'm so much faster in my buddy's Boxster that I
wonder why I even bring the Turbo out sometimes.
Rules must be made for all, not for one. A competitor always wants the rule
to be changed to favour them. Since I don't race at Nationals, I don't have
a vested interest in this debate and maybe that's why I'm a little more
unbiased than others who write here. I only race in the NW region to learn
from some of the masters of the sport. I've also had many dinners with Gary
Milligan and Joe Cheng and heard stories on how rules meetings usually go
and it's always about competitors trying to further themselves and not the
sport. Frankly, I can't stand rule meetings, I prefer to just take a
rulebook, maximize my car within the rules and race. If I'm slow, then it's
me that's at fault, not the rulebook. I'd rather fix myself than the rules,
that's just my opinion.
In B.C. I feel we have a much better car preparation system. We have four
classes, stock, superstock, streetprepared and mod. For each class, you
have a set number of car-prep points you can accrue. The points system is
difficult to manage on an event level basis, but it makes for much more
interesting and unique race cars within a class. If you ever played Glen
H.'s GT Challenge, it kind of works like that, you have a limited number of
options to choose from, you then choose whatever you feel will work the best
for your car and driving style. In the end, the times are surprisingly
close. You can view our rulebook online at
http://www.pacific-pages.com/cacc The link should be on there somewhere.
Farzaan.
fkassam@direct.ca
Currently 4th in A/SuperStock after one regional :( :( :(
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