Heresy --- Where are those stakes???

[PShipman]

In the October 2007 (#159) issue of Excellence there is an article titled "IS EIGHT ENOUGH?
Putting an 8 in the 968"

Now my question is "Why would Region 8 not allow this particular car to compete in performance events?" ...

NOTE: the 968 in question as well as a referened 944 are allowed to run in their regional events.

Now mind you ... I am not even imagining doing such a thing to our Cab ... I mean ... I religiously do my 10 Hail Ferdinand's morning and at Vespers! ... and besides ... we can barely afford to competeing at the JS level

Seriously, though, if we did a heart transplant on a guy and put in a mechanical heart or a genetically engineered pig's heart (now don't you guys start saying I have the heart of a PIG) ... would't we say that the guy was still human ...

So why do we say that a LT-1 powered 944/968 (or for that matter 914 or 911) is NOT a porsche? It seems to me that the 944/968 is a natural for this upgrade (given, of course, that the doer of such an upgrade is recognized as a deviant renegade) ... You could force these guys to run in the AR1 or AR2 classes but give them a venue to run ???

That would locally pick up at least a few 914s (how does a flexible 914 run with all that rear weight, anyway???) and allow for keeping some of our 944/968s alive.

Just another "inquiring minds" question (ah ... but that was no excuse as Jeanne d’Arc found out!)

[ttweed]

You can run it in X class, just not for points. There's no easy way to classify a car like that.

TT

[PShipman]

no easy way to classify a car like that

hmmmm ... a lot of guys would classify it poorly

But ... seems that we know the hp jump ... we could use option L. of Engine Modifications ... let's say we put in an LS6 944S. After you do the math you have 52 points NOT including heavier springs and larger tires necessary just to put the engine in. At that point it would be sitting in AR1 and most likely AR2 with all the mods.

Not being able to run for points is like saying you can't play (even though I do think we could classify it).

[ttweed]

Not being able to run for points is like saying you can't play

Some might feel that way, but I don't agree, myself. If you get to run the same course and compare your times to other cars, you're playing in the same game, by my way of thinking. The only thing you're missing is the chance for a 50-cent ribbon at the end of the day, or a $15 trophy at the end of the season. We have had some hybrid 914-V8s run with us, as well as some VW-powered 550 replicas, etc., and I don't remember any of them resenting that they couldn't be classified with the other cars.

(even though I do think we could classify it).

Who is "We?" I'm afraid you would get a number of different opinions about how it should be classified from different people. Ultimately, it would probably require an extra official rules committee to determine the appropriate classification for each type of hybrid Porsche that might show up at out events, and it definitely could not be done "on the spot." Each specific instance would have to be analyzed according to the specs of the equipment that was used, some of which might be fairly unfamiliar to a Porschephile, and there are many more possibilities for such "crossbreeding" than just the 968 conversion you have mentioned.

For instance, the "Option L." rule was devised for stock Porsche engines with known qualities. I would suggest that the torque curve of a Chevy V-8 would not resemble that of any Porsche engine of the same HP (except possibly a 928 engine that has been bored and stroked, but then, that is not a stock engine). Would it be fair to establish the points penalty this way, then? Is an engine that makes 350HP at 4,000 RPM the same as an engine that makes 350HP at 7,000? I don't think so, myself, and I think it could be argued that at autox speeds, the car with more low-end torque has an advantage. What extra penalty should be applied for torque, then? The rule only covers HP...

The reason the "Porsche chassis with Porsche engine" rule exists is to prevent this sort of administrative nightmare. By limiting modifications to equipment with which most of us are familiar, with published specs, it is easier to make classing decisions according to pre-prepared, written guidelines. If you step out of those boundaries, you are going to get people yelling "Foul!"

Personally, I have a hard time thinking you could be competitive with a car like that in AR1 or AR2, so why would it matter whether you could earn points or not?

TT