Paddle Shifters

I guess it's too soon to bring up improving the aero on the FE2. LOL.

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Originally Posted by Noah

It won't be at the back of the field if the field is full of F4s.

I'll summarize... With more cheaper F4 cars coming on the market, F4 will likely replace FE2 as the largest Formula car class in SCCA competition, with more new drivers choosing the class over FE2, and potentially some FE2 moving to F4 or other classes as the class shrinks.

It's not a question of if, but when. 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? And because statistically we know that 70% of people racing FE2 today won't be racing it 10 years, that decision will be made by people coming into formula car racing and not the people racing FE2 now, and they will 100% base that decision of the appeal of the class, and 100% they love whizzy bits.

The rights and wrongs of it don't matter. It's just reality.

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Did I miss where F4 is even an SCCA Majors class? How can it replace FE2 when not a single F4 raced at the Runoffs in any class this year? How many "old" F4s were produced? Formula Atlantic appears to be dead, and that's where I saw them being raced. I'm not being argumentative, but it's a stretch to say that in 2 years there's the possibility of it being a bigger class. I have no idea what the future of FE2 will be, regardless of whether we add paddle shifters or not....but I do know that it was tied as the 3rd most prescribed class at this year's Runoffs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Noah

It won't be at the back of the field if the field is full of F4s.

I'll summarize... With more cheaper F4 cars coming on the market, F4 will likely replace FE2 as the largest Formula car class in SCCA competition, with more new drivers choosing the class over FE2, and potentially some FE2 moving to F4 or other classes as the class shrinks.

It's not a question of if, but when. 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? And because statistically we know that 70% of people racing FE2 today won't be racing it 10 years, that decision will be made by people coming into formula car racing and not the people racing FE2 now, and they will 100% base that decision of the appeal of the class, and 100% they love whizzy bits.

The rights and wrongs of it don't matter. It's just reality.

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How many F4 cars meeting spec you describe have been produced? How many FE2s are there? I'm not seeing your asserted reality.

Here’s something to consider when projecting the future of gen 1 F4 cars; will they have trackside support? It is a nice car that can be bought for fairly cheap…but then what?

i can tear a corner off my FE2, and have it repaired in hours at the track. At a Super Tour event, there will be at least two CSRs there with the parts I need. If I break a header, lose a brake line, bend a wing end plate, or need new brake pads, someone will have the parts. If a CSR doesn’t have a part, one of my competitors will.

Decisions on what car to buy are indeed 100% based on the appeal of the class…but not necessarily the car. I chose FE2 because I it’s a fun car to drive, there are healthy fields at most races, and I can get parts easily. I didn’t even consider an F4, even though there were several for sale. What class would I race it in? Will I be able to race it nationally or just regionally? What shops are prepping them? Where do I get parts? Will there be any guarantee that they’ll continue to manufacture parts for it? What rule set will be used? What if they decide on MORE whizzy bits? What’s to stop if from becoming another F1000, FX, Formula Atlantic?

If you feel like we need to appeal to the younger crowd, I don’t think you’ve walked the paddock of a recent event. Yes, there are young drivers, but a majority of us are middle aged guys that have done well enough in life to have a cool hobby. There are places and cars to race all over the world if you aspire to make it to F1 or Indy.

A final note: The track record at VIR in an F4 with “whizzy bits” is more than two seconds slower than an FE2.