STL First Principle - Weight-to-Displacement...?

After talking with Chris briefly about STL at the ARRC, I got to thinking about how to reconcile the first principle of weight based on engine displacement with the desire to allow lots of different manufacturers' cars to be competitive.

(I bring this up because the two are mutually exclusive and lead to the rocky road of "case-by-case" allowances that are invariably going to stink things up.)

How about a formula - yes, I used the F-word - that tweaks the pounds/cc math based on the stock displacement-specific HP?

With the age cut-off, it's not necessary to accommodate all of the generations of induction technology that IT has to suffer through, so the playing field that has to be leveled is smaller. Use the Hondas - I *think* generally accepted to be the best of the bunch in this regard - as the baseline, and grant allowances based on the quotient of each option's specific HP to the that.

Of course, this moves from the position that competition adjustments (bleah!) are bad. If the founding fathers of STL embrace adjustments based on on-track performance, they need to be explicit that this is the case.

K

Somehow I doubt that using stock horsepower in the formula, even if it's not a significant factor, would fly in ST.

I agree with Josh,

It's going to be hard to just have a formula based on either stock hp, or displacement and cam limits, because the intake manifold has to be oe along with the throttle body. The best option would be to take a page from GT, and spec a motor from each manufacturer, and allow it to be installed in any chassis from that manufacturer. Where ST differs from GT is running factory tubs and DOT radial tires.

Not stock HP - the ratio of stock displacement-specific HP of the model in question to the displacement-specific HP of the best car in the class. It would be a reference for volumetric efficiency which is the real determining factor if displacement is the first factor considered to establish weight. It's not my gig though so I've got no inherent interest in pushing an agenda beyond thinking that STL presents an opportunity to do things differently than GT, Prod, Touring, etc. in a substantial way.

K

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood ... what is "stock displacement-specific horsepower?"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JoshS

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood ... what is "stock displacement-specific horsepower?"

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He's talking about the ratio of stock hp to displacement, I initially misunderstood too. I still think it won't be a good predictor of potential. If you've got a 1.8liter four making 136 hp and a 1.9liter making 138. They're pretty close with specific hp, but one has a long convoluted intake manifold and the other doesn't so which is going to perform better to compression and cam bumps. Then if one has a fagile cast crank you can forget about any radial increase in rpm. So the real question should be where's the choke? Is it in the head, cams, exhaust,(which can be opend up in ST) or the intake manifold or throttle body (which can't).

But the ratio of stock hp to displacement would therefore use stock hp in the formula. That's what I assumed it was.