If only that problem were confined to triumph parts. In defense of the
vendors, technical information generally doesn't belong in marketing
materials since the overwhelming majority of people are not capable of
interpreting their meaning and don't care much. But the overwhelming
majority of performance parts are made by guesswork or formulaic
approaches. Test data and specs aren't just "guarded", they often don't
exist. When they do, manufacturers have found again and again that buyers
are unsophisticated and always think more is more. More duration is
"racier", bigger carbs mean more power, bigger is better. All anyone needs
to do is to publish a bigger number to outperform your numbers. So they
don't play.
It's stupid and painful, but the mass market trains these folks.
That's why in small, technical markets (like the REAL racing world--F1,
ALMS and Le Mans, Factory work, WRC, anywhere where people race cars for
their one and only job) the technical details abound. In larger markets,
it's all bullshit.
I make my living from that bullshit. Good thing I found something I have a
natural talent for.
Bill
-----Original Message-----
From: Larry Young [mailto:cartravel@pobox.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 7:07 AM
To: fot@autox.team.net
Cc: Fred Houston; Tulsaab; Sam Clark
Subject: Triumph Performance Parts, buying a Pig in a Poke?
Since I'm new to Triumph racing and performance modifications, I've been
spending a lot of time trying to find out what is out there, what is
good and what is not. I've been amazed at how difficult it is to get
technical details. I've paraphrased a typical conversation below.
Larry: Gee, you have a beautiful glossy catalog, but it lacks many
technical details, so I have a few questions.
Vendor: Yes
Larry: Regarding your high performance heads, what flow bench numbers
do you get?
Vendor: I don't have any flow bench figures for our full race head, but
they work extremely well. Trust me.
Larry: Ok then, you offer a distributor which is modified for racing.
What is the advance curve?
Vendor: I don't have advance curve figures, but I know they work real
good. Trust me.
Larry: Ok then, I'd like more information on your performance
camshafts. Your catalog gives no data for timing events or lift. As a
minimum, I would like to know the timing seat-to-seat and at 0.050 or
better yet the complete lift curve.
Vendor: I can supply the seat-to-seat numbers and lift only, but I know
they work real good. We tend not to publish too much data on our
products, because we don't want them to be copied.
Larry: But if I wanted to copy your products I would only have to buy
one. Your secretive policy hurts only those that want to comparison shop
for speed parts. This could be a smoke screen to conceal the inferiority
of your parts. How do I know I'm not buying a pig in a poke?
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