[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by blur

In racing, the cheapeast option can turn into the most expensive mistake

So can the most expensive option. I know racers who built serious motors almost to the limit, and they blew up well before the race ended and I know people who pulled a motor out of a junkyard 1-2 days before a race and placed top 10.

Well sorted race cars are great, and usually have a ton of mid-race fixes that last for seasons. No one fixes stuff until it breaks and it's not always fixed with new parts. We took second place at a 14 hour long race with a 215,000 mile motor like that, 78% leakdown in one cylinder (the best cylinder had 50-something%). The motor was still running like a champ at the end, despite tons of gas mixing with oil

Big money parts are not always worth the money. Even if they are arguably better (depends on the part IMO), that extra money spent training the driver and crew can pay off far better than the part.. and a race car is never really the same after the first few races (or first race in endurance racing). Shit breaks, shit gets repaired quick but not to the level it was or the level a street car would be. It works and that's all that matters.