My replies:
> I'm just jerk'n your chain John...
> Hey I'm going to Buttonwillow June 10th,
> care to join?
I know, as far as BTW on the 10th, I would like to go, but I'm not sure what work travel is in store for me. For the next couple weeks I'll be in Atlanta, New York, London, & Munich. If I do show up on the 10th it will be a last minute thing.
> What do you have to do to them [early
> 240Zs] to make them handle better?
240Zs come stock with lots of steady state understeer and lots of lift throttle oversteer. Understanding that you can make them hustle around an autocross course quickly, just not a quick as more modern vehicles (remember, the 240Z is a 30 year old car!)
To make a good handling BSP 240Z you have to get a lot of front and rear negative camber, lots of postive caster up front, toe-out in front, toe-in in rear, spring rates in the 250 - 300 lb in range, a roll bar/cage to stiffen the chassis, a LSD, and good anti-roll bars.
> If David Z went all out per the rules,
> wouldn't he be just as fast?
David could get more horsepower (although per SM rules I can put a twin turbo VG30DET engine in my 240Z). Unfortunately, I don't think you can get a Countour's weight below 2,500 lbs and still meet the SM rules.
Autocross is all about how quickly a car can transition. Weight is the key factor in determining that; horsepower is much less important.
Now, if we were running on a track like Willow Spring our cars would be much more even (assuming my 3.0L L6 and his 3.0L Duratech). The Contour would have better aerodynamics, top speed, and braking while my Z would have better acceleration.
