David Spratte wrote:
Jim, you really think there's any significant development left in the 07+ Coopers? I mean. I'm pretty certain Ron Williams was on some custom valved Koni DAs, but even if they tweak the valving. . . how much more we talking?
Honestly, I have no clue. I've never even driven a Mini of any kind so I'm not in a position to make that judgment. The only thing that matters with respect to the PAX numbers is if Rick Ruth thinks they will get faster. I tend to think that some of the numbers are a touch off from year to year and assuming the Minis stay in GS, the GS and DS numbers seem to be off relative to each other for next year. Same thing with ES and STS2. It is interesting to note that GS relative to STS2 is about the same as last year and that seems to be fairly accurate. Of course, we also don't know if the ST* classes will get a huge kick in the pants with the new tires coming out so it is really a crap shoot.
With that said, I don't think they are way off and there are certainly enough other factors that it won't make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. Occasionally there are glaring deficiencies (such as STS and possibly DSP a few years ago) in the numbers but it is such an imprecise science to begin with that I'm glad I'm not responsible for it.
As I've always said, the best way to judge speed between 2 (or more) drivers is to stick them in the same car. Even then, driver preferences play a big role so you need to look beyond just the numbers unless one driver is a *ton* faster than another.
Jim