Miata Mailing List: August 1998, Message #472

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I've been following their mr2t hopup with some interest b/c my best
friend recently bought a 91.  Their most recent issue has a summary
of the car's modification history.  They got up to almost 500 hp,
apparently.  I tend to believe them b/c they always claim use of a
dyno and show dyno charts in their in-depth reviews.

However, with some of their "reader's rides" or whatever they call
them reviews, i am very wary of claims made.  Lots of these cars
seem to base their hp claims on the type of simple math which
involves buying a header for which the manufacturer claims
a 20 hp increase and adding this number to the 10 hp your 
air filter is supposed to give you etc. and then adding this to
the original hp of the car.  We all know this kind of math is 
incredibly optimistic.

What i hate most about SCC is their bias to Honda cars and FWD
cars in general.  I read the mag regularly but more often than not
just get frustrated at the immaturity and lack of respect for 
what i call real (meaning RWD, and not spun off from a sedan)
sports cars that the editors display.

As far as the really quick ET's -- i'm pretty sure they're for real
too.  Those hondas etc. can be made to run exceptionally quick
quarter miles.  Remember though that these cars -- most of the 
cars in SCC in fact -- are set up for straight line only.  I personally
remember the time when i used to chide american performance
cars (but never the vette -- always loved that) for being 
suitable only for drag racing.  I preferred european cars and 
japanese cars b/c they were more likely to be proper sports cars, 
meaning they could attack a twisty racetrack in a natural
fashion rather than rely on immense power to shoot from
slowly and sloppily taken corner to slowly and sloppily taken
corner.  Over the last 5 years things have changed significantly.
Now the import cars are being modified into the type of muscle cars
that america has largely stopped making.  It is ironic how the 
pony cars, while still not my favorite rides, have gotten more
sporting in their handling and braking while still retaining 
excellent brute power, while the japanese cars and many
many gti's have been converted by owners into poor handling
overly-low riding but wickedly quick stoplight drag racers.  And
RWD, which was once undisputed as the best layout for
a sports car, is largely unappreciated by today's younger
enthusiasts.  

So... SCC is not full of it.  They are merely reflecting what
the majority of young enthusiasts are interested in today.  :-(

angelos