What are peoples views on the current trend in 2wd?

[dwp102]

In particular I am referring to the more frequent use of more than one car at a single event, for wet and dry. Do people think its a good idea? Personally I would like to see the BRCA enforce a rule whereby only one chassis can be used per meeting. As currently it appears that the people who spend the most are at a distinct advantage. Which will eventually lead to a drop off of 2WD numbers. Any one agree or disagree. It would be nice to hear peoples thoughts on the issue.

[dazp83]

At what level would you like people to use one car? Regional, national or club racing?
Seems harsh to say people can only use one car, a low grip car can always be picked up cheap for the few occasions you'll need it.
Unless you're racing through the winter, then you do need both.

[discostu]

Deal with it

[dwp102]

I was thinking at BRCA sanctioned events. So regionals and nationals. I just don't like the idea of carrying around half a dozen cars for half a dozen tracks and conditions. It seems to go against the spirit of the sport. Personally I can see the appeal of having two cars set up for two different conditions. But for those who do not have the funds to be in such a position I can see it being a deterrent.

[Tone]

I agree, never had two cars back in the day and you don't see Hamilton asking for a wet car when it rains, he gets new tyres on it

[Adam F]

Originally Posted by Tone

I agree, never had two cars back in the day and you don't see Hamilton asking for a wet car when it rains, he gets new tyres on it

I bet he would if they switched the tarmac for dirt or astro...

[discostu]

Moto gp do

[mark christopher]

Touring cars allow a wet and dry car.

Don't see an issue

[neallewis]

Just buy 5 or 6 2wd cars like I have and be done with it. One for everything, one for each hand, one for each track, one for each weather condition.

Personally I don't see an issue with running a different layout chassis for the conditions. It actually makes sense to have say a wet and dry car, high grip/low grip, or an indoor or outdoor car, etc.
Someone with more money available to spend will always find a way to throw more money at it if chassis are limited to one/meeting. Fresh tyres every run, for example.
Also with some chassis you are able to swap gearbox layouts, so one chassis rule still allows for significant change to the handling of the car for the prevailing conditions, which someone without that capability may claim that as unfair.
Don't let money or lack of it be an issue to your enjoyment of your racing, its not . Too many strict rules makes racing dull.

[buggy#0]

Originally Posted by Tone

I agree, never had two cars back in the day and you don't see Hamilton asking for a wet car when it rains, he gets new tyres on it

Because there are rules in most series that forbid the use of multiple cars. Backup cars used to be common in motorsport (still virtually a necessity in NASCAR), and if possible nowadays I can safely say that teams with big enough budgets would have a second car.

You can't compare something that you can hold in your hand that costs a few hundred pounds with something that needs towing round in a huge trailer and costs tens, hundreds of thousands, in some cases millions of pounds. There's a reason people do scale motorsport, and it's because in the grand scheme of things it doesn't cost a lot of money. It's not cheap, but a full professional setup will cost you about the same as some basic club autograss or rallycross. Similarly, you can lump a car, a pit box/hauler bag full of tools, charger, batteries, wheels, tyres, tables, chairs and everything in between in the back of a car quite easily. If you want to throw a couple of spare cars in (that might have only cost you the same as a couple of new motors), it takes up the back seat of the car. If you want a 1:1 spare car, you'll either need a bigger truck or a second trailer and car to tow it with, as well as all the extra logistical issues and expenses. If you're looking for, say, a secondhand backup GT3 car, that's going to be an extra £100-200k of expenditure for something you might never need during the season, and something that's going to depreciate quite quickly. Not many people can easily afford to do that, and even if they could, I'm sure they would much rather spend it on ensuring they have all the necessary consumables and spares covered - or even increasing the amount of races they attend.

If the BRCA were to introduce said rule, it would probably turn just as many people away as this current situation ever will. I've heard people voice frustration at not wanting to spend money on multiple platforms, but I've not heard anyone wish to completely give up racing 2wd because of it. The average racer who can only afford one car would only really need a normal mid motor car and two solid wet and dry setups. If you're an average racer who has the money to spend on more cars, it won't be an issue for you. If you're an above average driver and you're competing at a higher level, then the chances are you'll have some kind of sponsorship deal, in which case you won't have to spend that much (if anything at all) on multiple cars.

If you over-complicate, you end up turning people away. There are some effective ways of cutting costs through the use of control items, like handout tyres, and then there are the things that are left to the driver themselves, like 17.5 buggy - a "fair" class which essentially involves throwing the most amount of money possible at your car. If you limited people to one chassis, you might eliminate the cost of people buying two kits, but people would still spend an equal amount on high/low grip specific parts that they could bolt on.

It might not please everyone, but capping the consumables is about as far as you can realistically go in terms of meaningful cost control.

[Groomi]

I tried running seperate wet and dry cars but don't anymore. The switch between a wet and dry track is progressive, so I'd till spend all day tweaking settings to match the changing conditions whichever car I ran.

I now just have a complete front-end to swap over for extremes (doubles up as a spare in case major damage) and tweak everything else as necessary.

Each to their own though.

[dodgydiy]

one really good reason for not restricting drivers to one chassis..... if you break something and no parts are available it allows the less well off racer to borrow a friends chassis to complete the meeting. this doesnt affect the drivers with more money and a huge stock of parts, but your average clubman........

[Welshy40]

I only use one, however the cars are no longer bullit proof and made from cheaper materials so makes sense having a back up. The question is this, how would you feel if your chassis got messed up and you needed to do a gearbox replacement, and more so waste time doing that in the rain or put it in the boot of your car and pull out your spare. Even at the worlds they do that but yes you have to get it checked and signed off first

[mattr]

Originally Posted by Tone

I agree, never had two cars back in the day and you don't see Hamilton asking for a wet car when it rains, he gets new tyres on it

Erm, no. He doesn't get "new tyres".
They probably swap £100 grands worth of bits to make sure the car is best suited to the likely conditions for the event, then spend another 24 man hours adjusting the bits they aren't allowed to swap to make sure they are as good as they can be for those same likely conditions.

THEN he'll swap tyres dependent on actual conditions.

[ianjoyner]

I don't see it as a big issue. For a start the ultimate performance difference between the different layouts isn't always as big as you might think. It's just one of many things people can put time and money into.

I don't think trying to prevent it with a one chassis rule is practical. The rules for the class could be tightened, say to fix the motor location in relation to the wheels, but personally I think this would be a shame, the variations are really interesting. It's amazing that such a mature class has such a wide variety of chassis designs.

[daz75]

Got twin boys and myself so I'd need to buy 6 cars wtf bit crazy that

[trekkerkk]

i have low grip and high grip 2wd ,both can be converted to either grip level so no big deal really , just adjust the layout if your cars manufacturer allows, just my thoughts
trekkker

[Dandare]

Originally Posted by daz75

Got twin boys and myself so I'd need to buy 6 cars wtf bit crazy that

Well don't have kids then

[PaulRotheram]

The issue is the clubs have mostly went down the astroturf route. Its like velcro when dry, and lowgrip/greasy when wet. When going over the two extreme ends due to the surface then two cars if you can afford it is the viable option to be competitive.

A second car for the wet can be had reasonably cheap. I've bought a YZ2 recently for £140, and chucking the ymax gearbox on. Wheels and tyres are transferable, spares swap over, and i have a full set of spare electrics for either car, in whichever other car im not using.

[SlowOne]

Er... the BRCA do not make rules, you, the members do. If you want something done about this then get a proposal (with seconder) to the 10th Off-Road Secretary on the appropriate form at the designated time. Turn up at the AGM, explain the proposal, discuss it and vote on it.

At the last AGM nine people turned up at the 10th Off-Road AGM. So, you'd only need to find ten like-minded people to go to the AGM and your new rule would be passed if the same turn-out happens this year.

The BRCA do not make rules, the members do. If this is what you want then follow the procedure, turn up and vote. I realise not everyone can do that, but that's how it works and it means any member with enough support can get the rules changed. HTH