All is not well in Spec E30 Mid-Atlantic. Drivers are dropping like flies from the series, and you’re proposing a Spec E30 flag and a canopy? Gimme a break! You have a problem that a shiny silkscreen banner is not going to fix. The South-East racers are having a good laugh at us, and they are completely justified, and quite funny I might add. Sadly, Mid-Atlantic has become a joke.
For those of you who are relatively new, and do not know me, I was at the very first Spec E30 race. I have been an active and outspoken member of this community since day one. I supported Carter when he was doing great things getting this series going. But now I support change. The dictatorship is a detriment to the series. Carter, you may dismiss my opinion based on perceived biases. By doing so, you will lose valuable insights into why this series is floundering in the Mid Atlantic. I hate internet arguments, since they always degrade into 5th-grade attacks, so I will try to keep my discussion fact-based.
The way I see it, there are three serious issues with the way things are run in Mid-Atlantic:
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Lack of Technical justification for rules changes;
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Failure to keep cost in mind, and;
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Lack of transparency in decision making.
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Lack of Technical justification for rules changes
As an engineer, this is most worrisome. The 2008 changes to the rules did not make technical sense. I agree that the rules needed modification – there are too many loopholes as-is. But, the haphazard shotgun approach to fixing the rules only caused more problems. Spec3 is taking note, and is trying not to repeat the mistakes that Spec E30 has made. I wish them luck! SouthEast got around our rulemaking by allowing exemptions for 2008. Genius. It got me to drive 8 hours (in my racecar no less) to the Rock. I won’t drive one hour to Summit to race with Mid-Atlantic though.
Let me hit some high points for the rules. I promised these to a couple people who asked, and here are just some of my thoughts:
- Spec a camber plate instead of setting a max camber – otherwise you leave ride height open. You’re just begging for someone to come up with a custom high dollar plate.
- Disallow adjustable fuel pressure regulators. Why where these allowed in the first place?! There are gains to be had in messing with Fuel and timing.
- Why were brass brake bushings allowed?
- Spec a Sway Bar
- Spec a control arm bushing
- Spec a trailing arm bushing
- Limit wheel and spacer choices. Right now, I can run a 15mm spacer with my Koseis. Really should just be bottlecaps or basketweaves all around.
- Why was a second overbore on motors ever allowed in the first place? That’s just BEGGING to have people build to the limit. What’s wrong with the first overbore? They would be closer in displacement to a virgin motor.
- Diff fluid
- Gas-tank size for endures. Carter and Carlton benefited tremendously by having the only legal “big” tank at last year’s VIR enduro. We screamed about it as a community yet nothing was done.
Meanwhile, the most banal things remain concrete – no bumper swaps, silly ballast rules, and we have a rule that allows an oil-pan cover. Last time I checked, cracking oil pans on the rally-circuit has not been a problem. This has not been Spec E30. It’s been Spec Carter. Whatever is on his car, them’s the rules. By the way – your transmission breathers are illegal: Not in the rules.
- Cost
The big draw of this series to most of us is the relative low cost to run an E30…in theory. I do all my own work – everything from welding my own cage, to any motor work. I simply can’t afford to do it any other way. So when you change the rules, and cost me money, you had better give me a darn good reason why.
In 5 years of running Spec E30, I have had 3 exhaust designs. I was REQUIRED by the rules to go to a 2-pipe-out system because Carter mandated this. We then went to the ‘Spec exhaust’ to start 2008 – and we know the heartburn that caused for everyone. And instead of going the route that almost ALL the cars had (a 2-pipe glasspack system), Carter went 180 degrees out, and picked a monotube system that from just a couple cars (coincidentally including his). Add to the trouble of dealing with just one supplier, and you start to wonder if any logic went into this decision at all? Furthermore, when the Spec exhaust was finally announced, Carlton posted dyno sheets showing a 7HP gain. Because the rule was changed right before season’s start, I could not get an exhaust before VIR. A handful of cars got them – Carter, and the cars in the NC area. But not the rest of us. You essentially gave a nice little HP-gain to a small part of the field at the first event. Nothing spec about that. And there have been many complaints about the build quality itself. This falls into my thoughts on technical validity, but how much thought was put into this exhaust? Did you look to see if it made more power if you cut an inch above the x-over, or 2 inches? Think it makes a difference? Someone with deep pockets could certainly find out, and I’ll be you that there is a nice little gain to be had in finding the optimum place for the x-over.
In 5 years of running Spec E30 (this is going to sound familiar), there have been 3 spec tires. First, we dropped money on Kumhos. Then the RA-1, and now the 888. Here’s where Mid-Atlantic really dropped the ball. Don’t feed me some BS about NASA making us go to the 888’s – Spec Miata and 944 ran just fine on ra-1’s – did they not? Not only did we go to the more expensive, shorter-life 888, we did it MID-SEASON. I drove my racecar to Rockingham so that I could race on my old RA-1s. Expecting me to drop $1200+ mid season on R888’s (figure on 150/tire for one dry and one rain set) is absurd, especially since I still have racks of RA-1’s (many won with Toyo bucks). I won’t repeat my tirade regarding the DQ from the race at Summit which I won on old RA-1’s. Suffice to say that it was maddening. Meanwhile, at the next Summit Point race, Skip shows up with 20+ HP on everyone and Carter decides NOT to make a compliance call. This all leads me to my next issue:
- Transparency.
Since Day One, Spec E30 has been run as a dictatorship. This was perfect when Carter was seeking to get evenly matched E30’s together cheaply. For a slice of history, Carter went to BMWCCA with the idea. They rejected the idea, since their rules weren’t going to be consistent with Carter’s. Carter found a willing supporter in Chris Cobetto and NASA. Back then, there was plenty of interest in starting this series, and plenty of interest in changing the rules. Carter stuck to his guns, and racers responded very favorably. Spec E30 was born.
It worked to get us going, but the dictatorship has left some of us with deep bruises. There is no transparency when it comes to rules changes and stability, and it scares me, especially when someone who has not shown any technical knowledge of these cars is running the show. And I cringe every time I hear about a statistician looking at HP numbers. Sounds like a politician’s pitch, and it’s a joke around the paddock (at least in the SE). Duck when you hear about a 12-point plan to fix Spec E30.
This issue doesn’t just end with rules – it’s a cancer on the way rulings are made. Let me give an early example: Carter decided mid-season around 2005 (I think?) to make us a 13/13 race group. No discussion. Just blam: we’re 13/13. I paid the price on this one. I admit to some erratic racing back then. My excuse is that I had to drive the wheels off of a car that was down 10+ HP (I had an old exhaust). No excuse, but I was suspended 3 race weekend for contact with Dave Derrecola (944cup) – contact that resulted in only body damage. Dave finished the race. It wasn’t until Carter punted Mike Davidson at VIR a couple Februaries back that the need to change was evident. We then switched to the NASA rules - good for Carter. Even under the NASA rules, it’s tough to get a “fair” ruling. I was DQ’d for a dink on Carter’s quarter-panel that most other racers would have keep driving away on. He decided to pit and end his race, so my punishment for hitting him had to match the offense. He didn’t finish, so I don’t. The NASA officials love Carter, but who the h3ll am I to them? Good for Carter.
And there was the infamous “compliance call” on RA-1’s at Summit…laughable.
Keep in mind that Mid-Atlantic makes the call for the entire series, so when Mid-Atlantic makes a call, it is supposed to stick across the nation. Luckily, South-East chose to do things differently. As a result, they have enjoyed better racing and more camaraderie. The fastest man in a Spec E30 is a product of NASA South-East, and his presence there has made them better. I raced at Rockingham with them and have no doubt that they are the premier group of Spec E30 racers in the country. To heck with a Spec E30 tent, with a banner and flag. You think the racers that you have pissed off are going to want to come have a drink with you? Don’t dress up the problem. Fix it. We deserve someone (or a committee) who will openly find cheap technical solutions to the rules issues. The way we’re headed is not the right direction.
Right now, I would rather travel down South to race. Robert Allen, you’re catching heat for calling the racing down South mediocre, and the guys are right. I raced with them at Rockingham, and the SouthEast can roll with anyone…and they can do it with a bigger smile on their faces. If I was to race with Mid Atlantic (because I really do enjoy the events that Cobetto and his crew runs) then I would run in GTS or PTE for fun. In fact, I encourage anyone who’s thinking of running in the Mid-Atlantic to run in GTS or PTE with the South-East’s version of Spec E30. I do want to be clear though, I think that Cobetto and Co do a fantastic job.
Bottom line, I just want to go racing and not have to worry about the BS that has plagued this season in the MA. Swallow your pride and take note of what the folks in the South East have done. There is a darn good reason that their fields have grown while ours have shrunk.
Respectfully yours, and always open to discussion and criticism,
-Vic
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