[F500] (no subject)

[Ted Rudolph]

On Thu, 29 Jan 2004 18:27:10 -0500 John Whitling
<alliancemillsoft at worldnet.att.net> writes:

>If the people promoting this 493 will spend less time talking and
>more time trying to evaluate it, the rest of us would feel much 
>better about this discussion.

Several folks were. Q was prepping a second car to run in Regionals. The
Sidewinder folks were also building an engine dyno for testing. Jay & Don had
already run a comparison test. Tony sent a 493 to the SCCA so they could make
their own evaluation and that motor hasn't resurfaced. Why aren't you
screaming at the SCCA for some answers? They're sitting on a motor, too (and
Tony should not be considered a charity). All of this at was done at the
Suppliers own expense  what else would you like to see done? And are you
willing to pay them to do more? Are you ready to rent Qs car for the season?

The biggest gripe that many of the 493 folks have is that we are told there
hasn't been enough evaluation of the 493, yet the 494 RAVE parts are instantly
ok for National Competition? And now the "under-evaluated 493" is banned
entirely and the un-evaluated 494 RAVE pieces are legal? This is fair &
rational thinking? Art & Tony established that various 494 RAVE parts can be
interchanged to increase combustion chamber size and change valve timing,
theres still debate over the proper method to block the RAVE port and the
effect it has on performance. No-one pushing the 494 RAVE has mentioned dyno
testing of their parts. Why isnt the 494 RAVE being held to the same
standards as the 493?

I was also preparing to run a 493 engine this year to help the evaluation. As
of last night I told my chassis builder to stop his modifications based on my
493 and determine what is required to fit the (slightly larger?) 494. Not that
I plan on buying a 494 - I can't afford it. And I can't afford to buy one next
spring, either. As it stands right now, the car will be set up for a 494 and
then go up for sale (I'll also have a unused 493 for sale). Unless the Comp
Board manages some type of recto-cranial separation quickly, I'll be out of
F500 and the SCCA before I ever got in (can I get my 8 years of membership
fees back?). It's not worth running one season to have my car banned. I'd
rather save the money for a shifter kart purchase.

My third e-mail to the Comp Board will be sent shortly. I will ask them to
back their "consensus of the community" statement with some statistics.

-Ted

P.S. Thanks to the folks who answered my questions about tire compounds. The
only bright light is that a busy week at work saved me the cost of two sets of
tires.


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