Cars of Technology

This is the Corvette that Dave Hill and his Corvette engineering staff don't want to know about. The C4s, built from early 1983 (as an '84 model) 'til mid-1996, were former chief engineer Dave McLellan's creation, while Hill gets credit for the '97 and newer C5s. Some folks inside at GM have told us that McLellan deserves more credit for the C5 than he's been given, but that's another story entirely. Autocross, or Solo 2 in SCCA, is a unique form of competition. You have to drive around on an artificial course that's usually set up in a giant parking lot. You're racing against the clock, not against other cars, and a lap lasts less than a minute. If you think of an autocross as a qualifying lap in racing, you're pretty close. There's no chance to relax and very little opportunity to think about what you're doing.  Driver ability and a good handling car are the important things for winning in autocross. It also helps for your engine to hav...

If your seat breaks up in a crash your belts and roll cage are totally useless. Your seat is the primary element in your safety system. A lot of effort has gone into both the design and the materials used to create new, and safer, seats. It’s no longer about the look. It’s all about being safe in a crash. There are two items of concern. First, we have the issue of the seat itself. Then we have the issue of how this seat is mounted. Even the best seat is useless if it rips out of the floor. One thing is not more important than the other. A great seat does no good unless it’s mounted correctly. In vintage racing a great deal of attention is paid to the construction of the roll cage and the age of the seat belts. When it comes to seats too many sanctioning groups allow just about anything that looks nice. A brand new 6-point harness won’t do you much good if your seat breaks up in a crash. The various sanctioning groups need to start paying more attention to seats. Certification It’s real...