Brian Davis wrote:
> Can you clarify this for me? I am currently building an ITS car (Honda
del
> Sol) and was wanting to run it in DSP as well. Why will it be
> uncompetitive? It will be some lighter than I could ever get it in DSP.
It
> won't be allowed a few HP mods (intake manifold, throttle body, and as
> sophisticated of FI), but I get to run whatever FD I want, which should
> close to equalize that. It seems to me that the car fully prepped to
either
> spec would be pretty even.
Brian,
The competitiveness of the del Sol has yet to be established in DSP. With
that in mind there have been many IT cars run in SP, and in at least one
case a competitor tried to exploit the advantages of the IT rules by
building a dedicated autocross car to IT rules. None of these cars were
able to compete successfully at the national level with well prepared,
purpose built SP cars.
The primary limitations of the IT rules are; wheel width, induction and
ignition, ride height. While you can fit a 225/45-13 tire on a 7" wheel it
is hardly the optimum fitment as is the 8-9" width used on SP cars. While
induction and ride height my result in only slight penalty in performance,
when all three of these limits are added up they result in an insurmountable
hurdle to clear.
As for weight and gearing, I seldom see IT cars at minimum weight that are
lighter than their well prepared SP counterparts and gearing is a very
different animal in autocrossing. Most CSP Hondas are geared quite nicely
for nationals courses and I would expect that the del Sol would be likewise.
A shorter final drive would result in having to use 3rd gear too much and
actually result in slower times.
I wouldn't worry too much about running an IT del Sol in DSP unless you are
trying to win a National Championship. If the car is well prepared and well
setup then it would be competitive at most any regional or divisional event.
Steve Hoelscher
#27 DSP
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