Quote: Originally posted by maciek on 20 February 2003
growing... faster and faster...
there are a couple of companies already doing very good job. some specialised in rally/race prep. strictly. Turbo conversions are now booming.
But its usually starting from zero (not knowledge-wise, as many of the tuning chaps were actually buliding very nice engines years ago - like 650 cc FIAT 2 cyl, pushing crazy far over 100 hp. lifetime 13 hrs.
A couple of very talented electronic- guys working with various Racing teams now, and many, many others. Many people have, and had clever ideas, but its just 10 Years now, since they can sell it, and try to innovate on other engines than Lada/Fiat licensed machines... which were the most popular once..
.
You (Brits, just for example) always had good traditions of motorsport, and motorsport tuning style You had Ford escort, Pinto, than cossie, then Subaru and many other makes - free market.... We had no possibility. 20 Years ago we couldn;t buy fuel without having coupons. We have almost no tracks - so no track-days almost. this year will be the first year (well second let;s say) of official 1/4 mile racing. We have no professional strip yet. ;(
And yes... the money factor - If we earn half of what You do (average salaries I mean) and the cost of car tuning is mostly the same , when You expect highest quality - and most of prts come from abroad (western europe, USA, JP), than You can;t expect it to be so popular as in UK (just an example).
But I think we are chasing... In last Id say 5 years, there has been an incredible leap forward. We had like 2-3 RRs open to public then, now I would not even try to count 30? i think much more.
There are strong groups of enthusiasts fueling up this growth... luckily. I hope we will get out of the margin soon.
The government is not helping the motorists thou...