Damn SCCA Options

[Brett W]

After watching the FP race sunday I started doing a little research, hell the SCCA has neutered the 914. They have saddled the car with a ton of weight while giving the advantages to the other guys. Porsche must have historically pissed off the SCCA. THe EP 914 wieghs less than the FP car, what the hell happend there. Why don't all the FP guys go to EP, is the competetion that bad? My street car weights 60lbs more than a legal FP car and I have almost a full interior and some extra chassis bracing.

[ArtechnikA]

Porsche must have historically pissed off the SCCA.

that's no secret ...

in the 50's, "sports car" racing meant MG's, Austin's, Triumph, Morgan maybe the occasional Ferrari, Abarth, Bugatti, Maserati, or OSCA.

Porsches had the nerve to show up against the "veddy, veddy proper" British cars and win all the races ! i don't think there's been an SCCA Pro series yet that Porsche didn't dominate for a while, until the rules got tinkered to eliminate them.

nowadays it is often a case of "do you want to drive a car you like, or do you want to win" ?

endurance racing has always been Porsche's playground, due to reliability. now that they're having to compete overweight and underpowered, they're becoming fragile too.

[r_towle]

what are the weight limits in EP and FP for the 914??? what are they for other cars???

Rich

[Ratt]

Don't really know about Porsche, but thats the way it was with BMW in the american Lemans(I think). Anyways BMW's e46 M3 were to powerful and won every race. so the sanctioning body rewrote the ruels saying the race car had to be a production car of atleast 500 cars. therefor the race E46 due to the differant chassis and what not were DQ'd from the series, which opened the door for all the other teams.
I guess it made the races more fair, But I miss seeing the M3's racing.
Andy Rattley

PS I haveny had speed channel in 3 years! I go to the local store to watch the rallys.

[rdracrdave]

In the late 60's when John Bishop , (a disgruntaled SCCA driver) formed IMSA, Porsche made the corporate decision to side with IMSA.
Since that time , SCCA has treated Porsche as a "red headed stepchild " since .

[BravoHotel]

Brett,

Is that your car in your avatar? We need some pictures...

BH

[fuch toy]

Nothing new here,,,,they have hosed the 914 for years...ask me who I hate more....

Motor Meister
SCCA
Auto Atlanta
Patrick Motorsports

It's a TIE they ALL suck....back your regularly scheduled program.....

[ChrisFoley]

The EP 914 gets the 2 liter engine, four or six. The FP car is 1.7 or 1.8. Car weights include the driver.
Actually the FP car has the potential to be competetive, but it takes a lot of $$ and preparation.

[Brett W]

The wieght for FP:

Midget, Sprite, etc: 1500cc@1660 and 1275cc@1680 (don't get that one)
X19: 1500cc@1815
Civic: 1500cc@1950
CRX: 1500cc@1950
914-4: 1800cc@2020
Shitfire MkII: 1300cc@1620
Shitfire MKIV: 1500cc@1660

EP
914-4: 1971cc@1920


Check the Members cars post for a picture of my car, before the incident and search for a post by me a few months ago about the results of the incident.

SCCA sucks, but I think a 914 could win in EP if you could come up with a motor, 200hp should be easily attainable, and relocated the rear suspension mounting points. This should get you where you need to be.

What makes the Huffaker cars so fast? Surely our little industrial motor can't be outpowered by a smaller tractor motor? I know they dont' have the suspension.



After looking I dont' think the 6 would be the way to go, you would be better off with the four, yes you could have durability advantage but the 6 is heavier, and down on HP, plus suspension is not free.

[steve@ottosvenice.com]

I had a few Spridget's way back when. The are a sweet little car.

http://www.fisc-racing.com/links.html

[ArtechnikA]

After looking I dont' think the 6 would be the way to go, you would be better off with the four, yes you could have durability advantage ...

SCCA events are what - 30 minutes ?

durability is not a factor in a sprint race - it may help keep costs down but it just adds weight. it's about winning, not cruising in the middle of the pack, and for that, sometimes you need a bottle rocket, not a tank.

this is a place where there may be something to be learned from the NHRA boys - they know how to extract the maximum amount of power for a precisely measured amount of time. an engine that's still together at 1321 feet left too much on the table...

the problem, of course, is that none of us is doing this with any kind of real sponsorship or factory support. a very few of the big players can decide they want to win a national championship, and will use new tires and fresh engines for every race - and that just gets you eligible for the winner-take-all shootout - where a car that can complete the cooldown lap probably left too much on the table.