$2019 Gastropods - come join us.

In reply to ProDarwin :

I think this is everyone, from a quick chopping up of the results sheet:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Was Steve Stafford doing Gastropods?

In reply to Pete Gossett :

Ah E36 M3, he fell off the bottom of the list, let me see if I can get that row back.  EDIT- added him back in, I missed it because he was in exhibition and not "daily driver"

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Huge tanks for that. Hopefully we can get the list solidified because I'd like to go back to the first post and drop in the list as well as pictures of each to show future competitors who showed up and in what. 

From reports, the class did what it was supposed to do. You guys were great, there was a lot of talking and meeting and it helped solidify community. I think we should do it again. 

If anyone didn't get a shirt already, and wants one, please let me know at ttwo.elm at gmail.com. It's going to be a couple of weeks (at least) but I'm more than willing to get another batch of shirts out. 

Edit: one last thing, rules? Did it work? What should we change? 

Wow, that 91 MR2 killed it in concourse!

In reply to paranoid_android :

You should check out the Build Thread, it was a significantly ambitious project put together by a group of hard working kids (and their enabling adults) and word on the street is thier presentation was top notch. There are lessons to be learned from the cars/teams that do well in the concourse. 

Wow.  Those results are unexpected.

Pete Gossett said:

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

Was Steve Stafford doing Gastropods?

I was running as a Gastropod entry, but not allowed to enter the Concours portion. Something about being a judge and maybe trying to game the system, which was totally my plan.

I re-crunched the numbers and would have come in with total score of 91.76 if I had taken the 12pts (47th overall scoring).

mazdeuce - Seth said:

If anyone didn't get a shirt already, and wants one, please let me know at ttwo.elm at gmail.com. It's going to be a couple of weeks (at least) but I'm more than willing to get another batch of shirts out. 

 

Edit: one last thing, rules? Did it work? What should we change? 

I know A_Florida_Man did not get a shirt because he got distracted for a few months and missed that part of the thread. I will remind him to e-mail you...

On the rules, Tom was concerned about the "adjusted" rule set regarding recoup. Also, he (the magazine) like the cars to be a bit more modified so the self-imposed limit may have been a little too drastic. Just because there is recoup to be had does not mean you have to use it. I would have showed up with my car lowered/stiffened, but otherwise not much else. Paint would have helped but this is a car to beat on.

paranoid_android said:

Wow, that 91 MR2 killed it in concourse!

The team came and asked me some questions after the town hall about how they did (they did not know the results yet). I am quite sure they will be back next year with further development.

stafford1500 said:

paranoid_android said:

Wow, that 91 MR2 killed it in concourse!

The team came and asked me some questions after the town hall about how they did (they did not know the results yet). I am quite sure they will be back next year with further development.

We have already had a team meeting on improvements, and thanks for your honest feedback. We have decided to find a replacement engine, and keep the car a daily driver with full interior, I told the boys they built to nice of a car to strip it race car style. Thanks to everyone that talked to them over the weekend, even if they don't say it it means a lot that other people see the effort they put in. The number of people that came to me and said they talked to them independently and were very impressed is great to hear as a team leader and Father. I know many suspect that the Dads did all of the work, and we did plenty, but all of the boys put in a tremendous amount of time in this build and made all of the decision on the direction of the build as a team. 

I am not sure I have posted this, but at the same time we built the car three of the boys earned there Eagle Scout rank and did projects. This means that everyone on the team was also working on those projects at the same time. 

Thanks agian for all of the positive feedback, we are all looking forward to next year.

stafford1500 said:

mazdeuce - Seth said:

If anyone didn't get a shirt already, and wants one, please let me know at ttwo.elm at gmail.com. It's going to be a couple of weeks (at least) but I'm more than willing to get another batch of shirts out. 

 

Edit: one last thing, rules? Did it work? What should we change? 

I know A_Florida_Man did not get a shirt because he got distracted for a few months and missed that part of the thread. I will remind him to e-mail you...

On the rules, Tom was concerned about the "adjusted" rule set regarding recoup. Also, he (the magazine) like the cars to be a bit more modified so the self-imposed limit may have been a little too drastic. Just because there is recoup to be had does not mean you have to use it. I would have showed up with my car lowered/stiffened, but otherwise not much else. Paint would have helped but this is a car to beat on.

Watching the results come in and comparing the Gastro cars to "open" cars, it seems like the 250TW tire rule heavily levels the field. Maybe we can do away with the budget stuff and stick with interiors and tires? Or are we getting too much overlap with the current Daily Driver and 200TW classes negating the need for Gastropods other than as a social group? 

I think the idea of the class is great. It shows that you do not have to think too hard about what to bring, just bring something and have fun.

stafford1500 said:

I think the idea of the class is great. It shows that you do not have to think too hard about what to bring, just bring something and have fun.

This was my first time actually competing in anything automotive. Mentally and in spirit, I think I was totally Gastropod, but due to circumstances (finding a Challenge priced Boxster) I didn't officially fit the class. Knowing that the Gastropods were there made me comfortable going. Yes, I did want to compete in the sense of knowing what I could do compared with others, but it was more about having fun and being with a bunch of like-minded car guys. I had a great time, met lots of awesome people, and learned a lot. Thanks for everything Seth, I'm really looking forward to next year.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

stafford1500 said:

mazdeuce - Seth said:

If anyone didn't get a shirt already, and wants one, please let me know at ttwo.elm at gmail.com. It's going to be a couple of weeks (at least) but I'm more than willing to get another batch of shirts out. 

 

Edit: one last thing, rules? Did it work? What should we change? 

I know A_Florida_Man did not get a shirt because he got distracted for a few months and missed that part of the thread. I will remind him to e-mail you...

On the rules, Tom was concerned about the "adjusted" rule set regarding recoup. Also, he (the magazine) like the cars to be a bit more modified so the self-imposed limit may have been a little too drastic. Just because there is recoup to be had does not mean you have to use it. I would have showed up with my car lowered/stiffened, but otherwise not much else. Paint would have helped but this is a car to beat on.

Watching the results come in and comparing the Gastro cars to "open" cars, it seems like the 250TW tire rule heavily levels the field. Maybe we can do away with the budget stuff and stick with interiors and tires? Or are we getting too much overlap with the current Daily Driver and 200TW classes negating the need for Gastropods other than as a social group? 

I really liked the class and thought the re coup rules made us think more on our decisions, but I understand the magazine wants a more consistent set of rules. How about petitioning to change hte daily driver class to include things like full interior, wipers, lights ect. This would basically be Gastropods without the extra budget rules, and more aligned editorially with guys that want dual purpose cars.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Watching the results come in and comparing the Gastro cars to "open" cars, it seems like the 250TW tire rule heavily levels the field. Maybe we can do away with the budget stuff and stick with interiors and tires? Or are we getting too much overlap with the current Daily Driver and 200TW classes negating the need for Gastropods other than as a social group? 

Before registering, I hadn't heard of the Daily Driver class. I found it on MSR and was confused with the potential overlap. I have not found the DD specifics listed anyplace. Anybody got a link?

mazdeuce - Seth said:

stafford1500 said:

mazdeuce - Seth said:

If anyone didn't get a shirt already, and wants one, please let me know at ttwo.elm at gmail.com. It's going to be a couple of weeks (at least) but I'm more than willing to get another batch of shirts out. 

 

Edit: one last thing, rules? Did it work? What should we change? 

I know A_Florida_Man did not get a shirt because he got distracted for a few months and missed that part of the thread. I will remind him to e-mail you...

On the rules, Tom was concerned about the "adjusted" rule set regarding recoup. Also, he (the magazine) like the cars to be a bit more modified so the self-imposed limit may have been a little too drastic. Just because there is recoup to be had does not mean you have to use it. I would have showed up with my car lowered/stiffened, but otherwise not much else. Paint would have helped but this is a car to beat on.

Watching the results come in and comparing the Gastro cars to "open" cars, it seems like the 250TW tire rule heavily levels the field. Maybe we can do away with the budget stuff and stick with interiors and tires? Or are we getting too much overlap with the current Daily Driver and 200TW classes negating the need for Gastropods other than as a social group? 

The sentence in bold is my vote. That way, it simplifies things and allows for some creativity in recoup (i.e. selling your expensive factory recaros and putting in cheap base model seats) but keeps the spirit of the class in my opinion. Daily driver, well, some people would daily a car with no carpets or back seats, so I think gastropods have their own place separate from that.

gumby said:

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Watching the results come in and comparing the Gastro cars to "open" cars, it seems like the 250TW tire rule heavily levels the field. Maybe we can do away with the budget stuff and stick with interiors and tires? Or are we getting too much overlap with the current Daily Driver and 200TW classes negating the need for Gastropods other than as a social group? 

Before registering, I hadn't heard of the Daily Driver class. I found it on MSR and was confused with the potential overlap. I have not found the DD specifics listed anyplace. Anybody got a link?

Trophy page just says "Daily Driver: The highest-placing car on 250-treadwear or higher tires for the duration of the event."

slowbird said:

Trophy page just says "Daily Driver: The highest-placing car on 250-treadwear or higher tires for the duration of the event."

That is what was listed on MSR as well during the registration process. I guess I just imagined there would be more to it, but as a special award vs. a separate class, it makes sense. It would have been more clear to me if it were listed as just 250tw, like the 200tw award is.
Were there any DD competitors with gutted interiors? As a personal rule, I dislike class proliferation and could get behind merging Gastropods and DDs if doing so doesn't exclude popular builds.

I think combining the official Daily Driver class with the Gastropod spirit makes sense. 250+ tw tires, wipers, headlights, full interior, radio, and other je ne sais quoi. 

It seems worth noting that the same car won both this year, so if that’s not enough reason I don’t know what is. I don’t think anyone is going to go through the trouble of gutting an interior but handicap themselves with junk tires just to win the DD class as written. 

n8 said:

I think combining the official Daily Driver class with the Gastropod spirit makes sense. 250+ tw tires, wipers, headlights, full interior, radio, and other je ne sais quoi. 

It seems worth noting that the same car won both this year, so if that’s not enough reason I don’t know what is. I don’t think anyone is going to go through the trouble of gutting an interior but handicap themselves with junk tires just to win the DD class as written. 

I'd agree with this.

Hmm, well, you've convinced me. As long as there's still snail trophies every year. 

Fladiver64 said:

I really liked the class and thought the re coup rules made us think more on our decisions, but I understand the magazine wants a more consistent set of rules. How about petitioning to change the daily driver class to include things like full interior, wipers, lights ect. This would basically be Gastropods without the extra budget rules, and more aligned editorially with guys that want dual purpose cars.

Agree. "Daily driver" class could be road legal with lights, wipers, and a semblance of interior at least. I talked with someone about the idea of having the Gastropod / Daily have to be a registered legal street car. 

That said, I totally get that GRM wants cool stories and editorial fodder for articles. That's cool. But I also see this side of things making the Challenge more approachable and therefore is bringing in future Challenge contenders once they're hooked by a more "fun" side of things. 

A box came from Pete Gossett the other day. There were some shirts that didn't get picked up an award that I wasn't at the Challenge to receive, and something I didn't know about or expect. 

I've always thought the Spirit of the Event is the second highest award they give out. I'm flattered, humbled, and slightly bemused. It's hard to feel like I've earned this, but it motivates me to put effort in so that I can feel worthy. At to the signed shirt, I don't know what the story is, but I'm choked up every time I look at it and read what is written. You are wonderful people and this is a wonderful community. 

Well deserved