August Fastrack out!

[JeffYoung]

You sure that car in the weeds isn't a TR7?

Let me ask a sort of overall question that might relate to both the ECU issue and the Fiero....

Are we better off with:

1. A rigid, inflexible rule set that does not change (and therefore avoids dangerous creep) but that gets outdated and becomes obsolescent over time, killing the class?

OR

2. A flexible rule set that has the ability for too much change, which pisses off competitors, causes cost increasing creep, and ultimately kills off the class or causes it to morph into something completely different from where we started?

Not taking any sides here, just interested in the thoughts. I tend to think that history of racing has shown that ALL classes go either route 1 or route 2 and die, to be followed by the birth of something new to replace it. Meaning that despite which side of the ECU fence you are one, both courses of action will ultimately kill IT.

[924Guy]

Personally, I think #2 is the way to go, based on my experience writing rulebooks... started the NASA GTS Challenge classes, they did morph into something that priced me right out of the competition. But the class structure did survive, because it evolved to serve the market, fill a new niche (rather than fighting others for the same territory), and it's now one of the most popular NASA classes. But I could never afford to play with those guys.

On the Fiero note - do we need a definitive answer on the suspension swap thing? I know a certain person at GM who worked on the '88 suspension, as I recall, could probably answer that question definitively - but don't want to bug him if it's not critical. Lemme know.

[ScotMac]

I admit that the sum total knowledge about Fieros stems from riding/driving a friend's '85 4-banger MANY years ago. But, I can't believe something like this didn't get the "not consistent w/ IT philosophy" rubber stamp when the letter first hit Topeka. Especially in light of some of the VIN# stupidity that's gone on in the past (e.g. Rabbit/GTI).

Kirk's right, it's the little things that set precedents. Just look at how many people are justifying the new ECU rule based on what's already in the book.
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Note that Kirk's point was not that the fiero change should be thrown out as "not consistent ...", but instead that you can not create a model. ie, you can not have portions of the 84-87 tub and portions of the 88 tub. If you mod the 84-84 tub, it must be modded to be a complete 88 tub.