Mike,
Do you even read what you're typing? As Andy said, don't look for sympathy from too many people over this. You want a car that runs at the front w/o putting the time and money into developing both the car and the driver. Nobody else gets that kind of break. That's another reason that ALL cars should be treated the same.
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Do you even think about what other people have written before you fire off an acerbic response in return? Or are you so sure you have all the answers that you have nothing to learn from anyone else's opinon, and just go straight to the flaming?
What basis would you possibly have to assert that I haven't developed myself as a driver? That's as pompous and rude as it is wrong. Post like yours, focused on rhetoric and insults, lacking a desire to understand the point of view of others, are what make extracting real information from this forum so difficult.
Is it just that you're too ineloquent to express your opinion adequately that you have to resort to challenging my ability as a driver?
Back to the issue at hand: of
course the BMWs aren't as prepared and are still competitive, and are overdogs when prepared to the limits (or beyond). They're more than twenty years newer than some of the cars they're running against. Twenty years! The Datsun guys I talk to aren't upset about spending time or money working on prep. They're more worried about getting parts to keep the things running in the first place. (Aside from the introduction of the 240Z, other memorable events of 1969 include the moon landing, the final public performance of the Beatles, and the Boeing 747 made its maiden voyage.)
Most of the E30's and Integras I race against aren't aggressively prepared, either. Sure enough, the ones that are beat me.
I think the classification problems the SCCA is having are caused by the lack of a plan to face progress. Newer models enter ITS every year. Those new models are, at a baseline, better prepared than the older cars in the class. This is going to keep happening—it's progress, and it is undeniable.
Successful organizations plan ahead to deal with progress. After all, it's forseeable that newer cars would out-perform older cars; that they'd have a higher performance potential, at least, and therefore be able to give closer to optimal results with less tweaking. Progress eventually includes abandoning the old and focusing on the new. If there are cars that are too slow to be in the class, let's move them to another class. Or move the newer cars to their own class where they can enjoy their competition without intefering with those who haven't moved on. Perhaps restricting modifications is a good idea; instead of an SIR, why not force the E36es to keep their stock air box?
Instead of hampering progress with weight penalties and intake restrictors, why not let the sport track progress?
