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Re: IN RE: Mechanical Failures

To: S800Racer@aol.com, Tombread@aol.com, WSpohn4@aol.com, PaceCars@aol.com,
Subject: Re: IN RE: Mechanical Failures
From: JWoesvra@aol.com
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 13:23:38 EST
In a message dated 11/29/2000 12:40:07 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
S800Racer@aol.com writes:

<<   Presumably the advantage to widening the body would be to widen the 
track 
 width.  Since the PCS spells out the legal track width, I have to question 
 whether the story is true.  Winners get checked the most and it would 
doesn't 
 seem to make much sense to go to the effort of sectioning the body when the 
 advantage would be nullified the first time an inspector stretched a tape 
 measure across the wheels. >>


Doug,

    Sectioning the body has in fact, been done for many years. Even though 
PCS specifies a track dimension, GCR allows plus or minus 2". That makes a 
tolerance of 4". PCS lists the standard wheel width and GCR allows this plus 
1.5", but with no extra track allowance. Since track is measured centerline 
to centerline, the maximum track and wheel width combination may not fit into 
the wheel wells, even with the lip trimmed and a slight roll. You were 
allowed to vary the wheel offset and could use spacers. Remember that even 
after flares were permitted, the wheel opening had to have the correct 
profile when viewed from the side. Also, the tire tread could not extend 
beyond the opening at its highest point.

On top of that, SCCA never specified tire size. You could sometimes run a 
slightly wider tire than you wheels were designed for. In fact, you may have 
seen the cantilevered tires that Goodyear and others made that would give 8" 
of tread width on a 6" wheel.

Certain cars lended themselves to sectioning better than others. This was 
done on Corvettes for quite a while before tech inspectors figured it out. In 
reality, I don't ever remember having track checked at the races I went to. 
Of course I was never a National Champion either.

It was of course illegal to do this, but it was done. I have seen this in 
vintage racing on Corvettes, Porsche 356's & Lotus Elans, to name a few. 

Jack Woehrle

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