It bothers me a little that some folks will start screaming rice as soon as anyone talks about body kits or wings.
I do think a lot of rice cars are silly. To me, the definition of rice is looks fast but nonfunctional. They put giant nonfunctional wings on them. They add stickers. They do all sorts of things which look neat (to some) but have little or no effect on performance.
By contrast, the Greenwood kits are functional motorsports alterations. They really do work. Lumping them in with the poser rice stuff is not fair. I mean come on... this stuff predates the whole rice fad. These are kits for actual race prepared cars.
As far as I can tell, the rice thing got started by the gimmick of putting race prepared style equipment onto cheap commuter cars which couldn't use them (come on... a big rear wing on a front wheel drive car that already understeers like mad? They need front wings, not rear ones! But no matter... they're nonfunctional anyway).
How does it make sense to turn around and say that the real race preparation kits are also rice now? That's lumping the real thing in with the poser fad.
Do you point at race prepared cars on the track and call them rice? Do you point at other race equipment applied to a vette street car and call that rice? So why call it differently when you're talking about body panels rather than larger brake rotors?
Btw... I haven't actually installed a Greenwood wing yet. I wanted one in large part to balance my car at speed, but it turns out that my vette was oversteery because the front spring was damaged (I had hoped to have the car understeer at high speed and oversteer at low speed, my favorite behavior). Now with the new spring, the car is rather neutral, and a wing would likely push it into more understeer than I want at speed. So I guess I'd be looking at the whole kit then... need that front spoiler, too.
But would a vette that's lowered 1.5" in the front already be too low with such a kit? Be nice on the track, I imagine. But parking lot speedbumps might be impossible.
Well, I may not end up getting any of this stuff at all.
Btw... the Greenwood vette motorsport kits are supposed to apply down force even at moderate speeds. Unlike non-functional rice kits, the Greenwood kits do (need to) connect to the car's frame. Of course the additional downforce will drop the top speed. But my vette has more top speed than I could ever use anywhere but salt flats anyway. I'd happily sacrifice some to turn (even) harder.
But not if I can't negotiate speed bumps. *wink*
Btw... I'm not trying to tweek anyone with this message. I really hope I don't. I'm just trying to present my considered opinion. Agree or disagree at your leisure.
- Skant
