FC 8x10 wheels..Why not?

[DaveW]

Interesting - I think my Citation FC is pretty easy to drive when set up correctly. Otherwise, how does a nearly 65-year-old (me) manage to keep up with the young guys?

[Bob Wright]

ehhh....what do I know. I've never driven a Pro Mazda, only sedans, production, SSB, FF and FC. I got this opinion from others (that always gets you in trouble). However, I have driven a CooperSeries car once and in my humble opinion its easier to drive, what with the bigger tire patch and more oommph under the right foot...more forgiving and easier to get out from under a mistake.

Note to Dave- I suspect you could make more than one 'young guy' a bit uncomfortable with your ability in most any car you choose to drive. I'm not saying the FC isn't easy (I love how it drives), just comparatively requires more skill to go fast than some of the others.

Rick- FF's are NOT easy to drive fast, which is why they're such great teaching machines.

[Bill Steele]

Now I get it, we don't want the cars to be easier to drive; we want them harder to drive, so they are better teaching platforms. We want to stay with 6's and 8's. not because it will cost a bunch of money to buy new wheels and set all the old timers back to square one on their setup data, but to make the cars harder to drive, to be better training platforms, now I get it.

I mean, one walk around the pre-grid before any FC race tells the whole story, scores of young guns just waiting to get out on the track for their learning experience...

Man, why didn't you guys say that in the first place, it sure would have saved a lot of discussion.

One thing we better think about though is beefing up the FC spring board, because the guys bouncing on it these days are a little heavier than was envisioned when we designed the original board. Nothing is more embarrassing than to have some over weight old fart break the spring board.

[Rick Iverson]

ehhh....what do I know. I've never driven a Pro Mazda, only sedans, production, SSB, FF and FC. I got this opinion from others (that always gets you in trouble). However, I have driven a CooperSeries car once and in my humble opinion its easier to drive, what with the bigger tire patch and more oommph under the right foot...more forgiving and easier to get out from under a mistake.

Note to Dave- I suspect you could make more than one 'young guy' a bit uncomfortable with your ability in most any car you choose to drive. I'm not saying the FC isn't easy (I love how it drives), just comparatively requires more skill to go fast than some of the others.

Rick- FF's are NOT easy to drive fast, which is why they're such great teaching machines.

UNCLE ..... it was yet another failed attempt at humor!

[Bob Wright]

That's about the end of this thread...

[Bill Steele]

That's about the end of this thread...

In the memorable words of Bluto Blutarsky, "It's not over until WE say it's over!"

[enjoythetrack]

That's about the end of this thread...

Curve ball... the new Hoosier R35A (versus the old 35) has 2 inches LESS rubber on the rear (for 8-inchers). Of course many of you use other rubber, but felt this was an interesting development. Hoosier claims the tires are faster.

[Rick Iverson]

Fellas;

With deference to the annoyance of most, I'm still not ready to put this to bed. In advance, my most profound apologies if it puts anyone off their AM coffee.

Now that the consensus (for the most part, I think) agrees Pinto and Zetec are in parity with respect to engine performance, what about tires. Anyone, please help me to understand this:

• chassis - identical
• gearboxes - identical
• aero package - identical
• engine performance - parity (I direct you to War and Peace)
• Where the rubber meets the road - not even close.

I am not asking to re-kindle the brawl, just a coherent answer smothered in civility. To tell you the truth, I am about one rude comment away from packing it in.

VR

Iverson

[DaveW]

Fellas;

With deference to the annoyance of most, I'm still not ready to put this to bed. In advance, my most profound apologies if it puts anyone off their AM coffee.


Now that the consensus (for the most part, I think) agrees Pinto and Zetec are in parity with respect to engine performance, what about tires. Anyone, please help me to understand this:

• chassis - identical
• gearboxes - identical
• aero package - identical
• engine performance - parity (I direct you to War and Peace)
• Where the rubber meets the road - not even close.

I am not asking to re-kindle the brawl, just a coherent answer smothered in civility. To tell you the truth, I am about one rude comment away from packing it in.

VR

Iverson

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't understand the question - we are all running on 6 & 8" wheels, and, except for the pro series, which has a spec Hoosier radial tire, we are all (in SCCA racing except for certain local club classes) running whatever tire we want.

[Rick Iverson]

I regret having posted this extremely poorly worded and thought out question. Consider it rescinded.

[rickb99]

I regret having posted this extremely poorly worded and thought out question. Consider it rescinded.

I don't think it's a 'bad' question, Rick. There is some logical reasoning to have the FC SCCA and Pro series cars running the same size wheels. It would make crossing over easier for sure.

As stated above, there seems to be pros/cons given the track configuration to each. On the other hand if SCCA said you can run either, then the point cars would always be on the 'best choice' for the track. Whereas, your 'average' Bobby Budget FC guy just couldn't afford to put $3,000 plus in to two sets of 8's and 10's to have the option no matter how cool they look.

It would be my guess that is why SCCA FC drivers will put up a lot of resistance to a switch or, option. The resistance level would be astronomical if an SCCA 'switch' were suggested. That would mean thousands of 6 and 8 inch wheels become so much scrap metal.

[DaveW]

I regret having posted this extremely poorly worded and thought out question. Consider it rescinded.

Now that I re-read your initial post and read between the lines, are you suggesting a spec tire for FC? Although this would meet with a lot of resistance from those with tire deals, I think it is a good idea for the budget-challenged, like me. However, a problem arises in deciding what tire(s) it should be. Too hard, too soft or the wrong size/carcass-spec combination can cause a lot grief for those whose cars can't easily be made to work acceptably on them.