on 7/22/2000 11:23 AM, Scott Meyers at solo2@uswest.net wrote:
> Finally, I submit that those that would be most affected are not present
> here to discuss. They are *elsewhere*. There is a huge untapped market
> of potential competitors who would prefer the Stock option (this is my
> opinion, and one that is believed strongly). Say, that could be the
> place for the 5 or 7 year phase-out as stock components needed to be
> replaced.
Not to keep beating the dead horse, but how many people (not necessarily
autocrossers) do you know who drive a car which would actually be legal in
this "pure stock" class? When people put mufflers on their car, they go to
Midas, shocks are from Gabriel or Monroe. Not many people could afford to go
to the dealer for wear items.
The other issue I'm surprised nobody mentioned is that a pure stock class
makes owning the "car of the moment," to borrow a phrase, even more
important. You'd have even more drivers driving cars like the following:
Miata 10th Anniversary or Sport package
Z28 1LE
Neon ACR
Integra Type R
etc.
What would this accomplish? These are already the top cars in their
respective classes. Disallowing modifications in other cars would only serve
to make the other cars *less* competitive. No matter what rules SCCA makes,
nothing can prevent a manufacturer from building a top-performing car.
As for "pure stock" being less expensive than SCCA stock, that doesn't work
either:
Here's what I spent on my '99 Miata sport to prepare it for autocrossing
(and I'd say it's nationally competitive, even though I'm not.)
$125 for a front swaybar
$60 alignment
$490 for a set of stock wheels
(Note that I present these numbers with the knowledge that it appears a non
Sport or R package Miata already isn't competitive in BS, though a good set
of shocks should fairly closely equalize the differences; this is just an
example of what would apply to other classes. If I had numbers available, I
could go over what it would have cost to convert the '99 F-stock
championship car to a 1LE- results would probably be similar.)
Now, here's pricing from Mazda competition to purchase a complete Sport
package suspension to convert the car (a car which started out as being more
expensive than the Sport to begin with) to be a stock legal Sport package
model (quoted from another source):
- All springs (lower ride height and higher compression rate) $45.90 ea
front & $47.15 ea rear
- front sway bars are the same so no change needed
- rear sway bar - $62.45 + $4.80 for bushings
- shocks all the way around $68.80 ea all the way around
- strut tower brace - $417.55
Totals with shocks $936.05
<end quote>
Now take that $936.05 and add:
$60 for an alignment
$490 for the set of stock wheels
If you happen to own a Miata which doesn't have a Torsen differential, you'd
need to add that too at cost of somewhere around $1000.
and we've gone from $550 to prepare the Sport package (I've taken out the
front swaybar) to $1486.05 to make another car competitive just because we
don't want to allow non-factory shocks? Doesn't much seem like we're fixing
a problem to me!
Chris
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