New FWD weight breaks!

[Ellis V Buth]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Actually I was talking about Bill O'Conner's car..Shouldn't have called him Billy .Everybody knows who Billy is :-0
I almost went the Ecotec /stick route myself..They are everywhere.. Then I found the Escort , thankfully..I really didn't want to go that fast in the eliminator ;-)

We're going in circles now ..Still want to see the evidence that automatic FWD's are more consistent.

Oh yeah...I agree. I don't think there's any real usable data that'll show a FWD is more consistent than your average stocker...I think the most consistent cars in stock are going to be in the 10.50-12.00 range (slow enough that spin isn't a major concern, quick enough that wind and weather don't affect them quite as much)
Perhaps if you compare to the other 14.00 and slower stockers, you could make that case for FWD vs RWD in that context.
I know for sure that my Ranger is FAR from "consistent" most of the time...but it is at least fairly predictable for the most part.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by Ellis V Buth

Oh yeah...I agree. I don't think there's any real usable data that'll show a FWD is more consistent than your average stocker...I think the most consistent cars in stock are going to be in the 10.50-12.00 range (slow enough that spin isn't a major concern, quick enough that wind and weather don't affect them quite as much)
Perhaps if you compare to the other 14.00 and slower stockers, you could make that case for FWD vs RWD in that context.
I know for sure that my Ranger is FAR from "consistent" most of the time...but it is at least fairly predictable for the most part.

I think the most consistent cars in stock are going to be ....EFI and slippery

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

I think the most consistent cars in stock are going to be ....EFI and slippery

Ya know, when I started out with this Cavalier project, it was because it was/is something different that would put me "out of my comfort zone" and let me learn something. Well, the biggest thing that I have learned or been taught by this car is how consistent OBDII cars are and how aerodynamic they are. I now know why the new stuff is becoming so prevalent and why there are so many Cavaliers/Cobalts in SS/GT.
Of all of the combos that I have played with over the years, this stupid little car is, hands down the most consistent thing that I have driven and that INCLUDES my Bracket cars!
When I can keep from going red, I have never in my life won or lost (mostly lost) more races by .00 something. What ever my weather station says it will go, it usually will and it is no where as affected by the wind as my other stuff even though it doesn't make as much power. The biggest problem that I have (other than fouling) is trusting the numbers and NOT holding a bit. Old habits die hard.

[Ellis V Buth]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

I think the most consistent cars in stock are going to be ....EFI and slippery

Fair...My only concern on the faster cars is their propensity to spin on lesser track surfaces. But that is becoming less of a concern with a lot of these newer cars and the technology.

I certainly agree that the majority of those cars are likely to be more consistent in the class these days.

[doglover44]

How many FWD stockers are running these days ?

[Dave Noll]

Last year in Nitro Joes stat's, I think there were 5 or 6. Those are running in either National or Divisional event's. There's Billy's Cavalier, Yac's Escort, My Escort, Polhill's early Escort, The Underdog early Escort, then who knows how many others built but sitting or being built. I may have doubled up on some of those.

[Dave Noll]

Originally Posted by GarysZ24

I'd rather Billy put an 8" torque converter in it with a shift improver kit

Mine has a 5 speed in it but I have everything to put an Automatic in mine. I asked a well known supplier to build a 7" converter but they didn't have access to a pump drive hub or the spline inserts for this particular trans/converter. He told me he built several Mopar FWD units for some series back east that ran a bunch of Neons, Horizon's etc.

[GarysZ24]

Originally Posted by Mark Yacavone

Actually I was talking about Bill O'Conner's car..Shouldn't have called him Billy .Everybody knows who Billy is :-0
I almost went the Ecotec /stick route myself..They are everywhere.. Then I found the Escort , thankfully..I really didn't want to go that fast in the eliminator ;-)

We're going in circles now ..Still want to see the evidence that automatic FWD's are more consistent.

I think Ellis misunderstood what I was saying. I was referring to FWD automatic Stockers vs FWD manual Stockers. I mentioned all of the recent year FWD Stocker racers who have been going rounds (and Billy just added credibility to my opinion) , and based on what I've seen, all of them have automatics in them. We've been going more rounds than manual trannied Stockers, because our cars are easier to dial what they'll actually run. I wasn't sure about Ron's car, so I looked up this years Indy and saw that he and Owen's Grand Am were automatics, to go with Bill's, Billy's, mine, Brent's and Stan's cars as well. Who's been running a manual that has been going rounds against the RWD contingent like we have? I can't think of anyone, and I try to follow everyone who campaigns a FWD Stocker as well. The race results show it for all of us.

[Mark Yacavone]

Originally Posted by GarysZ24

I think Ellis misunderstood what I was saying. I was referring to FWD automatic Stockers vs FWD manual Stockers. I mentioned all of the recent year FWD Stocker racers who have been going rounds (and Billy just added credibility to my opinion) , and based on what I've seen, all of them have automatics in them. We've been going more rounds than manual trannied Stockers, because our cars are easier to dial what they'll actually run. I wasn't sure about Ron's car, so I looked up this years Indy and saw that he and Owen's Grand Am were automatics, to go with Bill's, Billy's, mine, Brent's and Stan's cars as well. Who's been running a manual that has been going rounds against the RWD contingent like we have? I can't think of anyone, and I try to follow everyone who campaigns a FWD Stocker as well. The race results show it for all of us.

Now you're missing the point . I never said FWD automatics couldn't go rounds. Especially when there are no sticks out there.Dave Noll has been local so far.
The guy in Co. went a few rounds this year. Polhill has been locked down, but has gone deep at Indy several times. Bill Drevo won a Divisional, and don't forget the biggest FWD winner yet. All of this means bupkis ..I know what I see, watching races with all the info right in front of me.
You're not going to convince me stick cars are less consistent. I've been winning races with them for almost 50 years.
Maybe you can convince Chris Knudsen or Brad Zaskowski ;-)

[tscheerer]

Originally Posted by GarysZ24

I hope you take their advice (given both have proven for many years that they're amongst the sharpest tools in the shed so to speak-I wish Billy was an Arizonan that's for sure, as he was helpful to my car 2-3yrs ago. Marks Monte Carlo gave me the mindset to take the space-saver wheels and put front runners on them, which was also what helped my car get to where it was last year, and be more competitive now), and go for it. I'd sure like to see or read about your car out here with us, so I hope you'll get going and do it!

So how much ET was gained from using the space saver wheels and front runners? When I was running a 94 Grand Am in C/FS over 10 yrs ago I never did that, but always wondered how much it was worth. Still have the car and was thinking about putting it back together.