Dan Gamble wrote:
> I kinda figured ST was to be what SP was originally supposed to do. Fill
> the Gap between bone stock and fully race PREPARED cars. Hince the name
> STREET prepared. I guess that concept has gone completely out the window so
> a new class had to be invented. They had to come up with a new name "Street
> touring" since "Street prepared was already taken. Even though for the
> most part, SP has nothing to do with street.
That's right, ST (and STR) are intended for street driven cars with
common bolt-on mods. STU... I won't even get into that, it tends to
take over a discussion.
-----
I guess now's a good time for my Post-Nationals ST observations.
Warning: This is a long post! I'm bucking to be the next Dennis Grant
of ST.
14 entries in ST, one in STL. Not bad for a class that was only
announced about 2 months prior to the event. The mix of cars was
wonderful, with the only duplicates being the three Neons, which were
each prepared quite differently (not to mention wildly different
colors... Barney purple, neon green and black!). As far as the cars go,
I really think they were all capable of being equally competitive. What
decided the trophy positions was mainly tires and driver ability.
The top 3 trophies went to the two most-prepared (we're talking big
bucks, the best of everything that was allowed), but their biggest
advantage was the tires. Both cars were wearing Pilot SX tires, with
the ones on the top car being shaved. The fourth place car was on VERY
street worn Yokohama AVS tires, the least amount of tread in class by
far. Everyone else was on various tires, some new, most with a very
healthy amount of tread.
Here's the breakdown:
1. Mark Allen 97 Integra GSR
215/45-16 Michelin Pilot SX (shaved)
2. Wendi Allen 97 Integra GSR
215/45-16 Michelin Pilot SX (shaved)
3. Vince Bly 93 VTEC Prelude
215/45-16 Michelin Pilot SX
4. Ron Conrad 86 Civic Si
205/50-13 Yokohama AVS (street worn to about 2/32 or less)
5. Matt Grainger 91 Olds 442
225/45-17 BFG G-Force T/A KD (full tread)
6. Ross Atwell 98 Neon
205/45-16 Yokohama AVS Int
7. George Perinis 9x 200SX SE-R (official results say Sentra)
205/50-15 Yokohama AVS Int
8. Pat Griffith 93 Sentra SE-R (the Sentra)
195/55-14 Potenza RE-71
9. Rob Sprandle 93 Probe GT
215/50-16 BFG G-Force T/A KDW
10. Chris Sharpe 91 Olds 442
225/45-17 BFG G-Force T/A KD (full tread)
11. Lance Shueneman 96 Neon
215/40-16 Toyo Proxes T1 (full tread)
12. Loren Williams 94 Saturn SC2
205/50-15 Pirelli P700Z (full tread)
13. Donald Seyfer 98 Escort ZX2
215/40-16 Yokohama A520 (full tread)
14. David Wallens 95 Neon
225/45-17 BFG G-Force T/A KD (full tread)
Tire width is, of course, a factor. But, you'll notice that of the
trophy positions (1-5) the only car with maximum width tires (we're
limited to 225) was Grainger's heavy Olds 442. The other cars either
couldn't fit a tire that wide, or didn't need it.
Tread depth is a factor, as well. I don't think Ron would have finished
as well with a full-tread set of AVS's. But, since we all have the
option of shaving tires, or timing our tire purchases such that we have
perfect tread depth for Nats (or just buying used tires), I'm not going
to gripe about tread depth.
Diameter is another factor. The average street enthusiast goes with
what looks "cool", but I think the majority of this particular group
(experienced autocrossers) is performance-minded, otherwise we'd all
have shown up on 17-18" wheels. For performance reasons, many of us
choose to run on 15", 14" or even 13" wheels... which brings me to my
point.
[Note: The following info is from the Tire Rack website (thanks to the
great and powerful Oz). **Only tires which are legal for ST** were
considered (225 or less width).]
The winning tire in the class was the Pilot SX. Aside from being
obscenely expensive ($179-$229), are primarily only available in 16" &
17" sizes. (with one 15" size)
In my opinion, the next best tire in the class was the G-Force T/A KD.
Also quite pricey ($204-$250), and available only in 17" & 18" sizes.
All of the other tires were not quite as good, but still very
competitive amongst themselves. They were all also much less expensive
and many were available in a wider range of sizes. Here are some that
were seen at Nats, plus some others that weren't:
Yokohama AVS Int ($62-159) available in 13" to 17" sizes.
Potenza RE71 ($68-122) available in 14" to 17" sizes.
Dunlop SP8000 ($70-152) available in 14" to 17" sizes.
Sumitomo HTR-Z ($67-113) available in 15" to 17" sizes. (same tire as
SP8000)
Pirelli P700Z ($61-125) available in 15" to 16" sizes. (discontinued
model)
Dunlop W-10 ($67-142) available in 15" to 18" sizes.
Yokohama A520 ($99-116) available in 16" to 17" sizes.
-----
Now, I agree that part of the purpose of ST is to give newbies a
competitive place to play with their tricked out street cars fresh off
the street. But I believe it also has a secondary purpose, one which
will most likely decide the ultimate success or failure of the class.
That is, to allow people like myself and most of the other Nationals ST
class, who actually LIKE to compete on our street tires a place to
compete in our daily drivers without spending a lot of money.
That last part is important. ST needs to remain inexpensive. In my
opinion, we need to do two things:
1. Ensure that the best tires that are legal for the class are
available to all competitors. The stock class availability rule
(13.3-f: Each tire model must be sold in at least four diameters with a
total of at least 6 sizes.) might help, but even that would allow a size
range of 17" to 20"... which leaves much of the class out in the cold.
2. Eliminate the ultra-expensive tires from the mix. A rule written to
take care of item #1 could take care of this problem... for now. But an
annually updated exclusion list based on the market price of a "standard
size" would be best. (perhaps making the price cap the average price of
an R-tire in the same size?)
Lastly, I'd like to bring up another option (I like this one even
better):
Forget about availability rules and exclusion lists, let people do what
they want on the local level. Define one or a few tire models for
Divisional/National level events as a sort of "spec tire". This may
seem "different" for Solo, but when you consider that to win any stock
class you have to have one of the "spec tires", either BFG, Kumho or
Hoosier... it's not so far fetched. We just need to specify the spec
tires for the class so that they don't end up being the most expensive
tires available! (that aren't available in all sizes) I think a good
"spec tire" set would be the Yokohama AVS Intermediate, Potenza RE71 and
Dunlop SP8000. That would satisfy everyone's needs and give a little
bit of choice to most drivers... and most importantly, not break the
bank!
Okay, I'm done. Your turn.
--
Loren Williams | Homepage - http://home.kscable.com/shad
'94 Saturn SC2 | Wichita Region SCCA - http://www2.southwind.net/~scca
|