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re: Street Tire Handicap

To: autox@autox.team.net
Subject: re: Street Tire Handicap
From: Dave Hillman <hillman@planet-torque.com>
Date: Wed, 12 May 1999 12:08:44 -0400 (EDT)
Gary M. wrote...
> Between the best SS and him the difference was 4.5%, 57.358 for a 
> Corvette vs 60.054 for the Porsche. We also ran a test event last year
> is a bone stock 90 Civic Si on Coper Cobras vs used TA R1's, the times
> were 71 something vs 65 or so. That is almost 8.5% but the Coopers 
> are far from great tires for autocross. The differance could have been 
> more  because the car has manual steerng and the asymetric R1's created
> VERY heavy steering on a tough concrete course in Peru. 

   This is, I think, the biggest problem with a Street Tire Handicap
system.  Which tires do you use for reference?

   If you use anything but the hardest street tires available, people on
those tires will still be at a huge disadvantage.

   If you use anything but the stickiest street tires, then folks on
excellent street tires will beat folks on race tires.  Ray should like
this, since it would probably kill off race tires, but that would simply
leave serious folks buying expensive street tires, and having less fun for
the same money.  ( With the possible exception of the small wheel folks,
like me. )

   As far as the changing PAX goes, the only 'better' alternative I can
think of would be to use a huge sample, including local events and
drivers, from all over the country.  I would guess this would be more
stable than the PAX, but a nightmare to administer, and subject to other
problems too.  Maybe Ray, with his copious spare time, could volunteer to
calculate and maintain this index.

   I have to agree with Jay Mitchell here, I don't see a solution to the
'problem' that some people are more motivated to compete than others.

--
 D a v i d  H i l l m a n
 scscc, nma, scca, imoc



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