Originally Posted by
Jspeed
The idea of “Spec & Open” GT class racing wasn’t invented by that group. The only reason the GT field is not big enough anymore for both classes is because the "Open" guys killed off the GT Spec class that we created.
Nowadays, you guys have made GT racing more expensive than 1/8 scale & 200mm cars. And you guys wonder why the class is close to being totally dead now. Just look at the embarrassing and pitiful low declining GT racer attendance levels at most all "big" GT racing events in America for the past three years. lol
I only have been racing GT since last year, so I'm not apart of that beef that went on. But I understand where you come from.
When it is true that the arrival of the Cobra GT changed a lot of things in the GT game (and don't get me wrong, I run the TeamC car so I'm not trying to promote anything here), the Inferno GT2 is still one of the fastest RTR GT8 out of the box, simply because it comes with a waaayyy taller gearing than the other cars on the market and is also delivered with an engine that can handle that gearing.
From what I noticed, what makes top GT8 drivers faster is a combination of setup, durability to finish the race, good electronics and of course good driving.
I started racing GT8 with a bone stock Inferno GT2. The car was very fast but the cost of maintenance was high. Racing is going to be expensive no matter what. We put a lot of stress on the components of the cars which calls for regular replacement of worn or wobbly parts and there is no way around that.
I did notice when reading older threads and visiting inferno only forums that even way back a lot of people were modifying the inferno to get is stronger and faster. I saw mods like the evolva 2 speed (I think they call it blackhawk?), putting the optional straight cut pinion ring to be able to compensate with the heat generated by using 21 engines with such a tall gearing, carbon chassis, optional C-hubs, and some other upgrades to make the GT2 race ready. I had conversations guys who have been racing GT for years and they agreed that the saying "GT is a cheap class" is a myth. They also agreed that GT8 was not a beginners class but that's another debate.
At the end of the day, racing is racing and whether it's in spec class or open everyone will try to get better by either getting more power, hop ups, understanding set-up and driving better. From what I observed on others and myself, what makes a guy faster is his global understanding of what makes a car fast. And I can tell you that it's not the engine that's on top of the list. The engine makes a difference only when you are already battling at the top and that you need that extra edge to keep up with guys who already have understood the other key things that will put them on the podium.
I don't know exactly what damaged this class so much, and my guess is that it's a combination of higher costs, frustration, political beef and arguments on forums, and other things. But you can't deny that if you compare GT a few years back and GT now you will see that cars got better and that the class is being recognized by a larger crowd. If you look at the market there are quite a few RTR cars that came out this year. There's a floury of youtube videos that popped up this year with guys showing off their brand new RTR. My guess is that a lot of these guys will want to put their car on a track at some point and some of them will catch the "race bug".