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Originally Posted by NZSTfan
make it affordable and attractive to competitors
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I'm going to call you on this one.
There seems to be an accepted idea that NZST is 'too expensive'.
Compared to what?
Perhaps someone who knows can enlighten me.
How is this category more expensive than the 'old' NZV8?
I realise that there were 'field-fillers' in the old class who were spending far less than the front runners but it needs to be pointed out that they were underspending and therefore never going to be competitive. Therefore the comparison is useless.
In a category where qualifying times have only a few tenths separating them, everything has to be spot on.
Is the cost thing an 'apples and oranges' measure?
Engine -What is the mileage between rebuilds for the current engine? An what approximately is a rebuild worth?
The old engines wouldn't run a full season and were 20k plus for a build I'm told
Furthermore, I'm not aware of debate about engines being 'different'
G/Box - Plenty has been said about the gearbox but my recollection of the old g/box is that they needed a tickle up every couple of meetings
Diff - no better, no worse
Brakes - I would have thought that these were significantly cheaper. The front running cars in the old category used to throw brake parts at the car
Tyres - Aren't these cheaper? And more importantly the performance over life is more consistent making any running more meaningful.
Development - No can do.
Accident damage - this I can see is an area where cost could be reduced.
Is there a more cost effective alternative to the OEM lights, mirrors, doors etc? The exhaust seems to suffer as well as tear a bit of gear up.
Certainly the upgrade necessary in the first 18 months added to the cost but I would have thought that was to be expected with a new car.
The thing that seems to contribute most to the drive-train cost/maintenance is the way the engine delivers its power. It would make sense to try to soften this somehow.
All the other costs; travel, accommodation, food, pit gear, rental cars etc are the same no matter what class you run - unless you bring everyman and his cousin with you (as some seem to love to do)
Sometimes I think that the problem with equivalent equipment is that there is nowhere to hide. In the old days the field fillers could build their excuses in before they even left home.
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If it ends up being made up mostly of Aussie v8sc hopefuls then so be it, because I, like many, still follow the Aussie v8 series with great interest.
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Given the pallorous state of our feeder classes for the last 5 plus years is it any wonder there are very very few young New Zealanders wanting to have a go. Particularly when there are any number of far less competitive classes to make themselves look good in.
Anyway - if someone who knows can be bothered to comment on the relative costs I'd appreciate that