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re: STU Rules Revisions Revised

To: autox@autox.team.net, werace4u@aol.com
Subject: re: STU Rules Revisions Revised
From: dg50@daimlerchrysler.com
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 14:28:14 -0400
Dave Hillman <hillman@planet-torque.com> wrote:

>> Revisions Made:
>>
>> - Bump displacement limit to 3.200l
>> - Expand engine swap language to allow "corporate family" engines.
>> - Re-enforce language that engine mods are indeed unlimited

>   There needs to be some consideration in the rules for changing
> corporate families.  Scott Mitchell already mentioned this, but I haven't
> seen it addressed.  If I swap a VW VR6 into a Skoda, and then Skoda is
> sold to Honda, is my car legal?  When does it become illegal?  Does it
> depend on *when* I did the swap?  How do you protest that?

>   Or alternately, a swap is legal between any two companies that have
> ever been part of the same corporate family.  Wow, is that a nightmare.

You're right.

OK, so limit the engine block to the same make as the chassis. That works for a
big chunk of people.

But:

- Integra motor into a Civic - very popular swap. The motor is badged as a Honda
(there are no Acura motors)

- DSMs come with either the Neon DOHC motor, or a Mitsu DOHC motor. Any Mitsu
motor seems reasonable, as does any Chrysler. But yet, Mitsu never owned
Chrysler or vice versa.

- GM, where Pontiac|Olds|Chev|Buick are all the same company - or not.

Your point is real and valid - but how do we solve it? Allow anything into
anything? (The auto industry is getting more incestuous all the time...)

Show us some wording of how you'd like to see the rule written.

>   Without trying to be antagonistic, this doesn't sound like the same guy
> who has been calling new-STU an 'inclusive' and 'permissive' class.

>   I don't see a downside to forced induction displacement factor.

I'm willing to listen - what do you propose, dividing the max displacement by a
turbocharging factor (say, 1.5)?

That would be 2.000 for OHC motors, 2.700 for pushrods, and 1 for rotories. That
ain't gonna work.

OK, so maybe we _extend_ the displacement limit by the turbo factor, so we get:

OHC -     3.00 turbo, 4.500 N/A
pushrod - 4.00 turbo, 6.000 N/A (!)
rotory -  1.5 turbo,  2.250 N/A

Well... we just let in all the Detroit iron (hey guys, subframe connectors are
legal here! :) and we're starting to get away from the "ST" part of "STU"
but....

Whoo... I don't see anything obviously wrong with this, and we just doubled,
maybe tripled the size of the audience. That can't be bad. But yet....

I dunno, what does everybody else think?

DG




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