CRX - is it still competitive?

[Catch22]

Well, I've been driving an ITA CRX all year, and I'll say this...

Its still fast.
But that 110lbs is taking its toll in other places. Our formerly dead nuts reliable chassis is now a brake, hub and halfshaft eating monster, and we aren't the only ones. Other folks in the divsion are also struggling with front end reliability.

As a result, we've punted on the ECR series. The car is just too brutal on front end parts now to try to do longer races. We're now just looking at SARRC and ProIT races.
Very unfortunate indeed, but continually replacing front end parts is not in the budget and we're having a hard time even finishing the long races.

My opinion (and remember that I wasn't against the weight addition when the news first broke) is now that the adjustment went too far. The percentage of weight added vs. the total weight of the chassis is larger than any other car's adjustment (I think, but I'm admittedly bad at math) and its going to prove to be too much in my opinion. The car is still capable of burning some fast laps, but it can't do it in a sustaned manner anymore. The problem is that a Miata (both flavors), RX7 and an Integra can.

My suggestion, after 1/2 a season in a 2250lb CRX (that started the season with all new front end parts BTW), is for the ITAC to revisit the addition and consider dropping the weight to 2200lbs.
I'm afraid if some sort of compromise isn't made, we'll see these very good and formerly hot dog cars start to disappear.
That would be extremely unfortunate, and is not what the ITAC or the comp board wants.
We need balance, but not at the expense of obsoleting a popular chassis.

If you do the math, a 60lb addition as opposed to 110 more closely matches what other chassis got percentage-wise in "The Great Adjustment of 2006."

JMVHO

[Andy Bettencourt]

If you do the math, a 60lb addition as opposed to 110 more closely matches what other chassis got percentage-wise in "The Great Adjustment of 2006."

JMVHO
[/b]

What every other car 'got' has nothing to do with it. The fact it got the 'most' percentage-wise, just means it was the furthest 'off' pre-correction.

People are selling them because they aren't overdogs anymore. Now you have to actually race - oh no!

110lbs turns the car from perfect to a parts eating monster? Hmmmm...

Remember, these were not comp adjustments. They were just run through the process like everything else. The CRX SHOULD be a car that is track dependent - it's small and nimble. Others will have strengths elsewhere.

You boys better keep developing - Greg Amy is coming to Atlanta with a real sharp knife.

AB

[Catch22]

What every other car 'got' has nothing to do with it. The fact it got the 'most' percentage-wise, just means it was the furthest 'off' pre-correction.

People are selling them because they aren't overdogs anymore. Now you have to actually race - oh no!

110lbs turns the car from perfect to a parts eating monster? Hmmmm...

Remember, these were not comp adjustments. They were just run through the process like everything else. The CRX SHOULD be a car that is track dependent - it's small and nimble. Others will have strengths elsewhere.

You boys better keep developing - Greg Amy is coming to Atlanta with a real sharp knife.

AB
[/b]

I don't care about "dominating" anything.
What I do care about is a car that keeps tearing up brand new parts.

Yes Andy, 110lbs does qualify as a shit ton of weight on a 2140lb FWD "grocery getter." It has significantly handicapped the car, not in speed, but in reliability.
I don't really think that was the goal of the addition. I hope I'm correct about that.

And I'm very familiar with Mr. Amy and his sharp knife. He is my pick to win the ARRC this year as the VanSteenburg Miatae are rarely spotted at Road Atlanta.
That said, Thats not even what I'm talking about here.

Please understand that I'm not talking about speed or competitiveness or winning the ARRC. What I'm talking about is a formerly spot-on reliable car that is now systematically killing components that it has not historically killed nearly as quickly.
Out of 4 races, we've had ONE race that we finished without a complete failure or a major repair. Yes, these are 1.5 hour races, but CRXs have been doing these races for years in the SE without these issues.
Now (maybe coincidentally???), hubs, bearings, CV Joints, and brake components are being terminated with extreme predjudice and not on just one car. Earlier this year at VIR if you had a supply of CRX hubs and bearings you could name your price. I'm not kidding.

I know its easy to poo poo this and say "Oh, 110lbs isn't wreaking THAT much havoc." And honestly, if I wasn't in the middle of the havoc I might say the same thing.
But we keep breaking parts, NEW parts, and we keep looking around and seeing other guys breaking parts. I just can't bring myself to buy that its all a coincidence.

Again... The car isn't any slower. I can turn just as fast a lap at 2250 that I could at 2140.
I just can't manage to finish the race at 2250.
Meanwhile, Bowies Miata with something like 30 races on the motor just keeps on going like the energizer bunny. He readily admits that his "beat a CRX" strategy is now to just pressure it a bit and wait for the front end to burn to the ground. So far its worked for him flawlessly.

Again, and I can't stress this enough... This isn't about speed.
If Christian decides to bail out and sell his CRX it won't be about competitiveness or because he got spanked by Greg Amy, it'll be because he's tired of replacing front end components after EVERY weekend.
Thats how my Integra GSR used to be, and its why I sold the damned thing.

I'm just trying to provide information for you guys. I don't own an ITA CRX and don't plan to buy one. I likely won't be driving the one I'm currently driving after this year.
In short, I have no dog in this hunt.
I just truly believe that the CRX adjustment needs to be revisited because its not accomplishing what you guys in the ITAC intended for it to accomplish, and in the long term that is going to hurt ITA, not help it.

We've scratched the ECR series and the ARRC enduro off our schedule. At this point, based on what we've seen so far, we don't see the point in even trying to do those races.