For what it's worth, racing a 1/4 elliptic car without adding a panhard rod
is asking for trouble. Even 165 series tires will rub the inner fenders
bigtime when cornering hard on a track, since the 1/4 elliptics don't locate
the axles very well.
At 11:18 PM 1/8/98 -0500, you wrote:
>Fred Krampits wrote:
>>
>> Even though I would never modify my Midget, excluding Bugeyes and MK II
>> Sprites and MK I Midgets because of the rear springs serves what
>> purpose? Are the 1/4's an advantage over the 1/2's or vice versa?
>>
>> Fred
>> 1963 Midget MK I 1098CG Fred,
> There is a school of thought that with a 1/4 eliptic spring car
>AND modifications to shock absorbers AND wider wheels AND sticky
>"racing" tires AND panhard rod AND anti-sway bar, an advantage is gained
>over a similarly equipped 1/2 eliptic spring car. The guidelines for a
>Spec-Sprite racer call for no modifications to the rear suspension other
>than lowering kits and addition of a rear anti-sway bar (if desired).
>Factory rostyle wheels of 4 1/2" width and over-the-shelf tires from
>your local Firestone or Goodyear dealer are also specified. It is felt
>that either spring (1/2 or 1/4) won't make much difference if the
>Spec-Sprite rules are adhered to, and because of this, a recent change
>has been added to the rules to allow 1/4 elliptic cars. Check with Dan
>Racine with Mini Mania and he will verify. The reason Roger Williams
>initially excluded 1/4 eliptic cars was a personal preference reason.
>Roger told me that since the value of Bugeyes were going up, while the
>number of remaining Bugeyes is relatively low, he initially excluded 1/4
>eliptics to try to preserve Bugeyes from hitting the track. He reasoned
>that "squarebody Sprites" (and Midgets) were more expendable, at 1/2 the
>value of Bugeyes, handled equally well, and had the advantage of factory
>equipped front disc brakes. Safety (such as good brakes) is of primary
>importance to Roger's way of thinking. He has since relented on the
>"preservation of the Bugeye" line of thinking, because he decided that
>no one put him in charge of protecting an "endangered species".
>However, he does urge conversion of the front drum brakes to disc brakes
>before going out onto the track (which of course equates to an added
>expense that the later Spridgets do not have to incur).
> Cheers,
> Rick Doig
>
>
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