wht resulst is zetec conversions the way to go

[STEVE MAGILL]

After looking at results at wht meeting it still shows that the original ff1600 is still fast so why spend silly money converting a vd .

[spearce]

If it's always wet I'd agree.

[STEVE MAGILL]

look at times in dry joey won his heat on sat

[STEVE MAGILL]

at the end of the day i think ff1600 is back on the way up which is great lets not kill it like we have done with zetec and silly budgets

[Ian Sowman]

On the contrary, a key part of the revival in the formula is the growing number of attractive newer cars coming in to the formula.

[STEVE MAGILL]

how many brand new cars were out not many the grids were full of orginal ff1600

[Ian Sowman]

Eight of around 80 entries were cars of the year 2000 or later. So 10% of the cars representing five years of FF1600 development and 90% representing the previous 33 years. And many fewer Zetec conversions are currently in existence.

Of course the grids were full of the original cars, there's far more of them. It's not really a very good point.

[D_Marshall]

Originally posted by STEVE MAGILL
look at times in dry joey won his heat on sat

Joey Foster could drive a 1950s tractor fast! His times were of course due to a well set up car but also the guy behind the wheel made up for any inadequacies the car has.

The new cars must have some sort of advantage to them otherwise why would so many people be wanting to drive one. The only downside i can see is the cost.

However i don't believe that they would put an average driver to the front of the grid.

[foreversideways]

The only thing is that although an old car may of course have been built in ,whenever. It may still be new due to rebuilds, new parts etc. Lincoln,s axe springs to mind. The shaft and the head may be new but it,s, still Lincoln,s Axe ?. So we are really just talking about contempary versus older design in certain cases.

[Triple J Motorsport]

What about Danny in the SJ01 then??

[JNWRF01]

Steve..PM'd ...hope all is well..Jeremy

[STEVE MAGILL]

sorry i was wrong we need to let zetec conversions in of course. i am just saying restrict to pre 99. so budgets are then lower.This will then boost grids for king of kents ect

[STEVE MAGILL]

sorry i meant zetec grids

[Ian Sowman]

So instantly we would lose over a dozen cars. That would really help grids, wouldn't it?

[STEVE MAGILL]

ok i agree with what you are saying. You have made a stronger piont than i have. I just didnt want to see ff1600 go like zetec with silly budgets

[Ian Sowman]

Neither do I. But we already have people throwing far more money at FF1600 than is strictly necessary.

But equally it is encouraging to see professionally run teams like Avenues coming in to the formula and pledging to run a number of cars next season. That is excellent news for FF1600.

[PaulSands]

What's the difference in price between e.g. a brand new Kent engine Ray or a Zetec one?

[goughy]

Zetecs are big budget because it is a 10 round, 20 race, national championship, competed in by fully professional teams and career drivers. Its entry fees (nearly 12k), tyres (up to 15k), testing etc that make any national championship very expensive.

It is not the chassis that makes it expensive and likewise it would never be the chassis that would make FF1600 budgets go through the roof. The guys winning in regional FF1600 are all doing the same amount of testing and using the same amount of tyres and I see no reason for that to change. Yes, zetec conversions may be the way to go, but I see no reason why your annual budget will go through the roof just because you are running a newer car.

[goughy]

Originally posted by PaulSands
What's the difference in price between e.g. a brand new Kent engine Ray or a Zetec one?

The same give or take, about 17k. 2000/2001 Van Diemens converted are about 11k. It makes sense if you have a Zetec to convert it to sell as they will firstly be worth more and secondly easier to sell as there is more demand.

[PaulSands]

Is one problem the finite supply of Kent engines?

[Ian Sowman]

To be pedantic, I don't think there's an infinite supply of any engine

[Athgoe Racing]

Goughy how does the 04 VD Compare to your old swift?

[goughy]

Well, the 04 I drove at the WHT was straight out of the showroom in terms of spec, where as our 1995 Swift was as developed as I guess it could be, that’s the key.

I think the biggest difference is that the 04 VD has better traction, but it’s hard for me to compare as I have come back to ff1600 from Renault and Zetec and I’ve come on a lot as a driver in that time. It was over a year since I drove the Swift. Racing against Dempsey was good because straight away I could see the difference between the cars which enabled me to tell the team where I feel they need to focus in terms of improving the balance of the car for their drivers next year. It would be nice to do a back to back test actually between a converted Zetec and a pure kent chassis-Maybe an idea for a future article for club FF1600???

I think ultimately when the VD is developed a bit more, needs to loose 10kg and run on adjustable dampers, it will be quicker, but you still need someone in one who can peddle it well. Some people have really struggled in them and gone no quicker than before. I know Jadlam struggled with their RF04 until they put it onto adjustable dampers, so I think there is a lot of time to be unlocked in the car there. Certainly at Silverstone we had problems because of not having them, but overall yes I think they will be quicker, look at Wills times at the WHT for what a fully developed one will do.

[diz]

Originally posted by Ian Sowman
Neither do I. But we already have people throwing far more money at FF1600 than is strictly necessary.

Not just FF1600 Ian.
Every single class, be it 750 Formula, FVee, Road Saloons, XR3i, Classic FF, and any other you care to mention will have the people at the sharp end flinging money at it. It has always been that way and always will be.

[Ian Sowman]

Originally posted by goughy
It would be nice to do a back to back test actually between a converted Zetec and a pure kent chassis-Maybe an idea for a future article for club FF1600???

Indeed it would - can someone please volunteer a couple of cars and a circuit, sort a date with Stu and then he can test his journalistic mettle!