Well, now, I have no doubt that nearly all of us would like to drive around on "decent" shocks AND SPRINGS than on various increasingly complicated forms of rubber dampers. But which shocks shall we choose? Road racing, smooth? Road racing rough? Autocrossing smooth, rough, wet, dry? And some shocks will better suit certain chassis, and certain driving styles. . . So this isn't a "one size fits all" proposition. Or is it?
A free shock/spring rule would instantly escalate into multi-thousand dollar shocks (even with a claim rule, I will say). But then so is the initial cost of three inch pucks, IMHO. Certainly, all trophy winners' shocks would have to be tested on a shock dyno. And springs. . . I know how quickly clutch springs change force - what about suspension springs? Shocks can easily be re-valved, pressure changed, fluid changed, and modified back to look precisely stock. A claim rule would be absolutely impractical for both road racers and autocrossers. "Adequate" shocks would be about the same cost for me as 3 inch pucks, and give a better drive, so I'm rather open. Easier to install on my car, too, I think. Bellcrank changes would not be a very good way of varying the shocks (varying motion ratio does not really change dampening characteristics much, I would think). As others have said, this will not happen now (for the 2008 season), and I think not in the next few years, regardless of whether we ALL agree to do it. Our class is being "held back", for relatively justifiable reasons, like it or not. And John just gave me ideas for another three options of puck dampers, so another grand or so there (internals). . . Chris Eckles Atlanta >> Joe, I have been reading with great interest all the postings about 3" pucks and spec coil over shocks for our class. The BOD's decision to turn down the 3" puck may have been a blessing in disguise. Earlier I was in favor of 3" pucks but as I have learned more about the need for dampening as the main method of reducing the shock to the chassis I am now in favor of ONE cost controlled, spec'ed, sealed coil over shock that has a supplier's "promise" not to discontinue it in the near future. The spec's should be compiled. A thorough search of the market must be done to ensure that all possible candidates have been uncovered and properly considered. A track test of the top three or four candidates should then be done to provide a comparative analysis. Once the choice is made and approved by SCCA we can then publisize the dickens out of this improvement in hopes of attracting more drivers. When can we start to poll the drivers? Jim << ________________________________ FormulaCar Magazine - A Proud Supporter of Formula 500 The Official Publication of Junior Formula Car Racing Subscribe Today! www.formulacarmag.com or 519-624-2003 _________________________________ _______________________________________________ F500 mailing list - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change options please visit: http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! ***
