Quick disclaimer - I've never been involved in showroom stock racing, so I
have little detailed knowledge of the rules there, but this tangent thread
was about why ACR's are in Solo 2 Stock class...
>Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 14:25:21 -0400
>From: "Justin Hughes" <ka1ult@channel1.com>
>Subject: Re: non-stock M3 LTW...?
>
>> The problem with putting these cars in Stock are that they had special
>> competition suspension options that are Street Prepared oriented;
adjustable
>> front camber plates, special brake discs, Grupe N adjustable suspension.
<<SNIP>>
>> Hardly the type of vehicle to be classed in Stock.
>Arguably, so is the Neon ACR. OK, so Dodge doesn't hand pick each engine.
>But they do many of the same things that BMW does to the LTW. Before the
>Neonites jump in, yes, I'm aware that the Neon R/T has most of the same
>performance upgrades as the ACR. But the ACR came first, by several years.
And at the time it was remarkably similar to the '95 and '96 sport sedans
that were available to the general public. These models moved away from the
upgraded suspension in '97 if memory serves correctly, and the R/T took
their place.
>The R/T is basically an ACR without the adjustable Konis and with all the
>comfort items most people require in a daily driver that the ACR eliminates
>for weight savings. And if memory serves (I'm sure someone will be quick to
>correct me if I'm wrong), doesn't ACR stand for American Club Racing? If
>that isn't "made for competition," I don't know what is.
Someone else already made the point that much of this discussion might not
be occurring if Chrysler had called it the Neon GTS or something similar,
and I would agree to an extent. Chrysler designed a vehicle within the
rules at the time, and wasn't afraid to name the model for it's main
purpose, racing. I think that was a bold move on their part. In building
this car, they raised the performance level required to win in showroom
stock, and to an extent, DS. _Within the rules_. Now let's see how the
"made for competition" model differs from other Neons...
>Thanks for the extensive description of what differentiates an M3 LTW from
a
>"normal" M3. I've been wondering that myself. Compare that to what
differentiates a Neon ACR from a Neon Highline or a base model. Relatively
>speaking, the basic grocery getter Neon gets an even more extensive
makeover
>to turn it into the class dominating performer it is than the M3
You're comparing an ES highline against a DS ACR, and while you have a point
in that comparison, it would be more appropriate to compare it to an R/T or
an early model Sport; the comparison you make is like comparing the M3 to a
318 (I think, I have no idea how the BMW lineup works :-( ) Off the top of
my head, here are the relevant differences between a highline model and an
ACR:
*four-wheel disc brakes without ABS - Also available on '95 Sports and
R/T's. To my knowledge makes little performance difference, and weighs MORE
than the rear drum setup.
*front (22mm) and rear (16mm) Sway bars* - Slightly larger than what came on
early Sport models, not sure what is on the R/T currently. one or the other
an be changed in solo 2, so no big deal... Hot setup is smaller bar anyway,
isn't it?
*unlimited speed control (130mph limit on ?'97+? models)* - Regular neons
limited to 118, R/T's 130. Not an issue on S2.
*power assisted 16:1 ratio steering* I don't know about this one - can
someone tell me what the R/T's have?
*alloy wheels standard* - same for Sports and R/T's
*performance geared 5-speed manual transmission* - Same as the R/T
*heavier front hubs* - Durability issue for road racing, no performance
advantage in S2
*front camber adjustment* - Same thing can be acheived with legal crash
bolts on any neon
*1997+ ACR models also include Koni adjustable struts* - Free in S2,
although the earliest ACRs had non-adjustable struts standard
*higher rate springs* - Same as the early Sport Coupe and R/T
I'm by no means a neon expert, so some of this may be wrong, but aside from
the steering issue, I see nothing that would bump it out of stock class
compared to any other neon. Into another class from the Highline, yes, but
that's already been handled by the DS/ES Split. Similar many other "GT"
models, the sportier car goes to a different class, but it's still stock...
Just my .02
Brent
'95 Neon Sport Sedan (ES)
No dog in this fight, as I'm nowhere close to being nationally competitive,
but I love the segment of the market the Neon filled, and hope that Chrysler
continues to build cheap pocket rockets like the Neon. ;-)
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