Haha

 

Putting tape on your car at a track event is the same as any other preventive measure that people take to keep their valuables from being damaged. Would you paint your walls/ceilings without a drop cloth to protect your carpet/tile/hardwood floors? It's the same concept. Sure, you could paint your house without a drop cloth. Maybe you'll get lucky and not splatter paint onto your hardwood floors. But maybe you won't. Same thing with the protective tape. You can run without it. Maybe you'll get lucky and not pick up any rock chips. But maybe you won't.

You can't argue that the risk of rock chips is the same as driving down the street. When driving down the street, the car in front of you generally isn't wearing R-compounds or slicks that pick up every last piece of gravel and fling it into the air. And (for some drivers), you don't follow the car in front of you as closely as you do on the track.

For people that intend to resell their car, the condition of its exterior matters. Doesn't seem like it should be that difficult to grasp that concept.

 

[QUOTE=mxt_77,Feb 25 2008, 06:20 AM] Same thing with the protective tape.

 

mxt_77

with mxt_77
I tired to sum it up in an easy to follow punch-line Its about keeping it clean.....for resale. Not your butt of course

BTW, I dont care that others poke fun about the tape, my friends laugh at me all the time at the track for driving SLOW.

 

NO love

 

Well, if you go outside the realm of its intended area of protection, yeah its a waste. Just like wearing a bulletproof vest only to get shot in the head
Yeah I know extreme example...lets just agree

BLUE TAPE = Poser

 

^Don't be mad because you don't have the skills of a Jedi with painters tape!!! hehehe

touche'!! LMAO!

 

[QUOTE=mxt_77,Feb 25 2008, 06:20 AM] Putting tape on your car at a track event is the same as any other preventive measure that people take to keep their valuables from being damaged.

 

:sigh:
You've spent so much time on the track that your perspective has become skewed. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't agree with the way that most of the rest of the people in the world think.

But feel free to laugh at those that tape their cars. I used to tape mine, and honestly couldn't care less if someone thought it was "overly anal". I liked my car to maintain its finish after I was done playing on the track, and that was all that was important to me. Now that I have a car whose primary purpose is to spend time on the track/autocross course/etc, I don't worry as much about the paint.

BTW... you never answered the question: Would you paint the walls/ceiling in your house without a drop cloth on the floor? If your answer is No, then you might as well tape your car and wrap your couch in plastic. It is EXACTLY the same thing, right?



Edit: I don't think I've posted a pic of my car in this thread... so this is as close to 'track trim' as my car currently gets. Notice the lack of tape (except for the number).

 

I 6 years of tracking I never taped the front end of any of my cars that I've taken on the track.

Your analogy is only applicable in mgarriason's example. Covering the floors is mostly for the BIG spills. And no amount of blue tape is gonna stop a 1" rock coming at you at 100mph. I don't cover my whole house when I'm just touching up a small area on one wall.

A simple wash and good wax will achieve the same result and you don't look like a donkey. As will getting your couch cleaned.

-Ry