The ONLY way to do this is to emulate the already-succcessful Open Track events which can be insured and open to street-licensed cars.

what that means is....it has to become a SCHOOL and not be a COMPETITION

If it becomes a RACE...I can foresee bad things...not intentional fender-banging, but maybe chances being taken that shouldn't be (which could result in the same level of bent fenders).

The BEST way I can see accomplishing anything good is to have transponders in each and every participating car for the entire day. Spread the cars out and have them race the CLOCK and only the clock. "Awards" will be for the best lap times. If you've had all day to make laps, surely one of them should show the car/driver potential. If you get hung up behind a slower car, there should be NO NEED to take a chance to pass. You'll have another chance to make a good lap, so just relax.

Having a slalom course set up and also a 200 ft. skid pad would offer more chances for timed "awards" while everyone is "learning."

I say worry LESS about classes and focus more on FUN. Everyone will know who's doing well and who could use some help. It's always quite obvious.

I will have more (maybe MUCH more) to contribute to this subject soon.

SP~

Again, I think we are spiraling out of control. What is the purpose of this competition? What went from Mean69 saying manufacturers should prove their stuff, and me throwing my name in the hat for a competition, has now gone to a version of RSE, what car / driver is baddest? That is fine, but not what originally started this thread. If we want to do a magazine shootout, the manufactures / builders should bring their cars. If we are going to have every member with a modified car come out for a competition, that is cool too. We just need to understand the difference.

If, for some reason, your get together happens in New Jersey (aka "Joisey") . I can put you in contact with the owner of Atco Raceway. (http://www.atcorace.com/) My husband is good friends with him...
~Theresa

People read magazines like Car and Driver, Motor Trend etc. all the time to see how a certain car performs. Wouldn't you like to see a car that you know about on this site, or whatever, and then actually know if all that stuff on the car actually worked?

For example; If a car with the full Global West treatment only performs slightly better then a stocker with a sway bar, I'd be interested in knowing that.

I'm interested in results.

i see this is getting really complicated in a hurry...... maybe the best way would be to throw out the classes and points, run whatcha brung kinda deal, or sit back and watch. it should be more like an informal get together than a hardcore comp event. i can see there might be too many cars to get it organized in a way for everybody to have time to do everything they want, so a pre-registered deal might have to be done... i guess it would kinda be directly in relation to how long we can play on the tracks.

i think we need to elect some chiefs to determine the basics, this way they can ask the questions when they need everyones $.02

im gonna nominate SW...as he has the hook ups for the tracks... i think he should be in the loop.

the cheifs need to be able to make the decisions for everyone, so choose wisely.... or nominate yourself

Just some thoughts off the top of my head....

Scale every car (including 4 corner weights and splits)
0 to 60 times
Quarter mile ET and MPH
0-100-0 (done on the dragtrip)

200 ft skid pad (Lateral-g)
Acceleration g on drag strip
Then multiply/factor those numbers together in some way. This to me would be very interesting. I'd like to see a car pull 1g or more on the skid pad and still put down a killer 60' time on the same tires/suspension setup.

And of course there's the road course track time, but that will only show who the better driver is.

Again, these are just some ideas off the top of my head...

Once again though you're confronted with too many parameters to determine why one car is quicker than the other. Is the faster car driver better, or is the slower driver more concerned about damaging something?.You would never tell if the Global West setup is better, or if something else is helping the car.

For sure we all want to see how the cars perform & that's all we can expect from this, it won't prove anything unless EVERYONE screws the balls off their cars (which they won't), or one driver drives all & that ain't gonna happen is it? Treat it for what it is, ......A good day out, with friends enjoying, :thumbsup: fast cars.

Yea, but those are production cars and all alike.. If a car with GW stuff (for example) did poorly would it be because it was installed wrong, set-up wrong (alignment) or did the driver suck?

But, it would be interesting to see..

I see we are of the same thinking on this...

I like the "run what ya brung" idea with maybe two classes for regular and tube chassis cars. DOT tires with the driving tests as mentioned before. Can be trailered to the event but then has to stay off the trailer till it is over. bonus points for comfort and MPG factored in somehow.

Sounds like a fun way to blow a weekend.. I will bring the beer! (for after the racing)

I nominate Scott, "Bouncer", "MaxHarvard", "KAA", and myself to the location-choosing committee :D (and anyone else from MN :unibrow: )