Uncle Tony answered a question about frame connectors on his live stream last night (4/12/20) and he gave a new explanation that had some rational thought behind it.
He acknowledged that a stiffer car with connectors will perform better but the extra flex in a non-reinforced car makes them much easier to control/drive. He says that once you start to “lose it” in a stiff car, it’s harder to regain control.
Assuming that’s the actual difference comparing a stock chassis to a stiffened one, I guess I can see that. If we’re being honest about our reaction times, especially as many of us are well past middle age at this point, a car that flexes and soaks up a percentage of the variables that could upset the car could make some sense.
I fly model planes and on really fast/responsive models, it’s a common practice to set up an exponential curve to the control inputs which essentially allows you to more easily make small inputs and keep the plane from feeling too “twitchy.” You could fly the same plane with linear inputs if you are precise enough with your inputs but most people recognize how much harder it is to do that and that it’s just more fun to soften the controls and not have to change your pants after you land. It seems like a parallel consideration...maybe?
Anyway, I aspire to be able to take advantage of a precise, responsive setup and when I do drive actual sports cars, I feel like I’m still able to calibrate my inputs and enjoy a sporty, snappy driving/handling car without putting it into a telephone pole..:but my Dart Sport is a relatively lazy 300hp small block car on no-season 15” radials. Chassis reinforcement, stiff torsion bars, heavy springs, performance shocks, big sway bars or not, it’s not exactly a Formula 1 platform. Maybe it would be harder to drive like a hooligan if it wasn’t still a bit “compliant.”
