Driving Perspective

[rguhde]

As many of you already know our own series director Bill Bonow switched cockpits for the 40th anniversary of FF and drove a Lola Club Ford at this event. You may also know that Bill finished sixth in Club Ford while not driving the top possible make of Club Ford for this event. With about 70 cars behind him this was an excellent drive.

Perhaps Bill can give us his impressions of driving a Ford vs. a FST at RA. I know many would be interested.

[Bill Bonow]

Robert is correct in that a fair amount of FF/CFF guys have been lurking around FST to A) see what all the fuss is about and B) see if you can go racing for less. This may be a good way to pass along information

I raced a Tiga CFF 12+ years ago (pre-EWC) and gave it up due to low car counts (no fun racing by yourself) and rising CFF maintenance costs. So, the 40th wasn't my first time in Formula Ford (and hopefully not the last).

In a direct technical comparison, there is a huge difference in the cars. Same engine size, but a single throat 34 mm carb vs twin throat 32/36, single spec gearing/ratios vs boundless Hewland/Webster gears, purpose built suspension vs 30's design swing arm front and swing axle rear. The list goes on, but its basically apples and oranges.

Speed wise, FST is slower in lap times (low top end hp), but because we're running the same tires as CFF (Hoosier R60A) and have 100+ lb ft of torque, cornering and exit speeds are pretty darn close to CFF.

The Lola I drove was a very neutral handling car (thanks to LMI for the chassis set up) and seemed to be as competitive as I wanted to push a borrowed/loaner car. We (general FST group) are still working on the cars to get the handling perfected and are making improvements every time we get on the track. One thing that is nice, the FST zero roll rear suspension means no scales/platforms to set up the car, the four corners are always balanced. Really, all that needs to be set is toe and camber, front and rear.

The driving is very similar other than clutchless shifting a Hewland has major "schwing" factor. The FST fixed ratio gearbox has two useful gears, third and forth (high & low). But at some point, everyone has the same gears. In most caes, the FF/CFF guys are all using the same gears anyway (common knowledge gearcharts by track). Both cars are "momentum" racers and need precision driving to get the most out of the car.

Cost wise, again, no comparison. In another thread, Steve Lathrop made a great point about the varying levels of preparation of new cars. A top notch "hop in and drive" new FST is right at $27k. The same in a new FF could be easily on the north side of $70k. CFF is not available new, but Del's Tiga cost a claimed $38k...... for a 30 year old car. Used cars can potentially contain variables. As with any race car, buyer beware.

Maintenance is also much easier with an FST (should be as the car is built with the equivalent of VW truck parts). Stock ($18.00) brake pads get replaced every second season. Engines are good for 50 hours and a rebuild ranges around $1k. A fresh off the dyno, new race ready engine is $4k and there typically isn't a rod end smaller than 3/8" on an FST (they don't wear out).

I had a blast in the Lola and I wouldn't have missed this event for anything. If another event like that (250 cars) ever comes around again, you can bet I'll be scrounging for a ride. In the mean time, I'll be back racing my FST for less money and having to bust hump to be competitive, let alone win.