- wilwood & NASCAR - haha!

Tue May 14 04:58:32 EDT 2002

I agree. $100,000 is trivial money. The entire car is
a consumable item. Its cost has the same financial
impact to the sponsor as does my weekly toilet-paper
expense to my family budget. It's ALL about MONEY and
MARKETING and ADVERTISING, it's not about racing or
safety or keeping costs down - at all. Take a look at
the annual advertising budgets of the major NASCAR
sponsors Vs the cost of the race-cars themselves.....

-glen

OOOO

--- Brett Dikeman <brett at cloud9.net> wrote:
> Keith said:
>
> >  >  Do you have test data to back that up? FYI,
> the dominate
> >>  brake in all levels of NASCAR is Wilwood. The
> top classes
> >>  have a minimum race weight of 3800lbs, are
> limited to a 15"
> >>  wheel, and the hand built chassis can cost over
> $100,000.
> >>  These cars race on road courses, superspeedways,
> and 1/2 mile
> >>  ovals for up to 600 miles. Now with those
> requirements why
> >>  would owners like Roush, Yates, Penske, and
> Childress, who
> >>  can afford any brake in the world, equip their
> cars with an
> >>  inferior product? Subject $100,000 race cars to
> hazard to
> >>  save a few hundred dollars? Put the safety of
> drivers at risk
> >>  for the same reason? Please explain this, I'm
> dying to hear
> >  > your expert opinion on the subject.
> >>
>
>
> Has anyone ever looked at the complete -crap- that
> Nascar drivers and
> teams recommend?  They recommend, wear, drink, and
> eat ANYTHING that
> pays the bills.  NASCAR fans are so numerous that
> NASCAR
> merchandising and sponsorship is an ENORMOUS
> business...the sport has
> turned into a bunch of 200mph billboards.  When I
> hit a NASCAR race
> on TV once by accident, they were showing computer
> generated
> #'s/sponsor logos above each car!
>
> To quote NASCAR for safety/reliability is hilarious.
> NASCAR started
> as a bunch of moonshine runners.  Back in the early
> days, NASCAR went
> through drivers like a chain smoker goes through
> cigarettes...and
> even recently, it took the death of a major player
> to get new safety
> rules into the books(and I believe most teams didn't
> do squat until
> nascar changed the rulebook, but I could be wrong;
> I don't exactly
> follow this sort of stuff.)
>
> Same thing to say that NASCAR's equipment selections
> are "the best."
> Those people who make engine additives get the
> nascar teams to sign
> on.  Sure, they -may- actually use it, since the
> engine's getting
> tossed in the trash after a few races anyway...how
> many average joes
> take out their engine every 2000 miles and dump it
> in the trash and
> install a new one?  I change my -oil- every 5000
> miles.  NASCAR teams
> change CARS quicker than that.
>
> NASCAR may race the ovals for 600 miles and blah
> blah blah...but they
> do so on track surfaces which bear no resemblance to
> real world
> driving...and everything on the car gets stripped
> down.  I'm guessing
> those calipers are benched after every race,
> thoroughly examined for
> damage, new seals, etc etc.  If something improves
> performance
> on-track but needs more maintenance at the end of
> the day, so be it.
>
> Do you strip down your brakes after 600 miles?  I
> don't.  I pulled my
> rear brakes apart after 60,000+ miles(that would be
> 100x longer,
> thanks very much.)  I live in NE where roads are in
> horrible shape,
> I've got some dirt roads near the house I used to
> take on a daily
> basis...and we've got lovely things like road salt
> etc.  I don't know
> too many nascar vehicles that operate on
> sanded+salted slushy roads.
>
>    One piston was cosmetically scratched(fixed with
> some very light
> sanding with 600-grit paper followed by a metal
> polish) and had some
> sort of paste residue which needed removal...but
> neither was
> rusted(oops, thats right, I forgot, Audi pistons are
> chromed, not
> stainless) or damaged beyond repair; the dust boots
> did their jobs.
> Did I mention that one piston was extended quite a
> bit because the
> rotor+pads were both severely worn?
>
> Now, for the icing on the cake, Keith.  Have you
> ever taken to
> studying the manufacturer's recommendations for the
> systems you're
> supposedly expert in, after giving Michael a
> lashing?  Apparently not.
>
>
> "CALIPER REBUILDING:
> If you race on dirt or drag race on a weekly basis
> throughout the
> year, you should disassemble your calipers
> mid-season and inspect the
> caliper seals for excessive wear or hardness caused
> by heat. Asphalt
> racers generally experience more heat and should do
> inspections more
> frequently, especially after racing on a track where
> high
> temperatures are reached. NASCAR's Winston Cup,
> Busch GN, Craftsman
> Truck and Road Race teams usually replace caliper
> seals after each
> race to ensure proper disc brake performance.
> Disassembly and
> replacement of the seals is a simple process and can
> prevent
> catastrophic brake failure.
> "
>
> (pasted from
>
http://www.wilwood.com/products/calipers/calipertech.asp)
>
> Furthermore, I can't help but notice that Wilwood
> continuously
> mentions that they make RACING products throughout
> their website.
> Take a look at:
>
http://www.wilwood.com/products/calipers/calipers.asp
>
> Seems that they go out of their way to talk about
> applications in
> various types of racing...and they don't do a whole
> lot of talking
> about daily drivers -anywhere- on the site.
>
> Everyone I've ever heard about talk about Wilwoods
> has said the same
> thing: cheaper, lighter, but high maintenance and
> for those that do
> little more than drive the car on track and have the
> time to do
> regular brake overhauls.
>
> Brett
> --
> ----
> "They that give up essential liberty to obtain
> temporary
> safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben
> Franklin
> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~brett/
> _______________________________________________
> 200q20v mailing list
> 200q20v at audifans.com
> http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/200q20v

=====
-glen

OOOO

"....if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one"

Jesus Christ to the Eleven Apostles at the Last Supper

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
LAUNCH - Your Yahoo! Music Experience
http://launch.yahoo.com