Re: Chassis Stiffening for Alfa Spiders

["Paul Misencik" <paul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> If a competent race driver who has NO knowledge of my spider's setup
> asks me after about 5 minutes of driving it--"did you install a chassis
> stiffener in this--it's much stiffer than stock?" ther aIN'T no placebo
> involved.

Okay, you win.  Your chassis stiffener has been quantifiably and
scientifically proven to be effective!  Woo hoo!

What if your competant driver had just spent a summer driving his car, which
maybe has rubber bushings, and your car has urethane?  What if the car he's
used to driving is just older and a little tired and a little more flexy for
some reason, or maybe had a different suspension setup or tires?  What if
he's used to an early car, which is flexier to begin with, and your car is a
later model?  Any of these things could be true, and any of them could cause
the guy to say: "Hmmm... this car seems stiffer!  I wonder if it has a
chassis stiffener in place?"

I'm not saying that any of those situations is the case, but the fact that
he asked about it doesn't in any way offer any quantifiable evidence that it
works.  It doesn't offer any quantifiable evidence that it DOESN'T work
either.  It's just an interesting anecdote, that can go into the hopper of
anyone considering the purchase of a stiffener.

The point of my post was in response to someone who asked why anyone cared
whether any quantifiable evidence of its effectiveness existed.  Your
experience, while great, does not fall into this category.

Cheers,

Paul Misencik
Huntersville, NC  28078
email: paul@domain.elided
www.paoloroman.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Lambert" <lechefgerard@domain.elided>
To: "Paul Misencik" <paul@domain.elided>; <alfa@domain.elided>
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 2:03 PM
Subject: Re: Chassis Stiffening for Alfa Spiders


> Please refer to my earlier post.
>
> If a competent race driver who has NO knowledge of my spider's setup
> asks me after about 5 minutes of driving it--"did you install a chassis
> stiffener in this--it's much stiffer than stock?" ther aIN'T no placebo
> involved.
>
>
> --- Paul  Misencik <paul@domain.elided> wrote:
> > > I don't think that just because others have noted improvement after
> > > installing a stiffener means that actual improvement has occurred.
> > > There can be a pretty powerful placebo
> > > effect when one spends $500.00 for a cure.
> >
> > No truer statement has even been made.  Take it from someone who
> > spent most
> > of his professional life promoting aftermarket performance parts in
> > one way
> > or another, the "seat-of-the-pants" impressions of the customers
> > using them
> > has very little relationship to how well the product actually works.
> >
> > Paul Misencik
> > Huntersville, NC  28078
> > email: paul@domain.elided
> > www.paoloroman.com
> > --
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>
> =====
> Best Regards,
>
> Alan Lambert
> Yahoo! Platinum - Watch CBS' NCAA March Madness, live on your desktop!
> http://platinum.yahoo.com
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