Every year in November one of the most important events in the car audio world takes place in Argentina, South America. In the city of Mendoza one of the most hard-fought battles took place for the dB Drag crown. For those of you who have never been there: Mendoza is next to Chile, where the main national hero crossed the Andes Mountain range, the highest in the Americas, in order to free Chile from the Spanish colonists. Mendoza has a population of approximately 500,000 people. Doesn't sound very big, but the place is renowned for producing some of the best wines in the world. It also attracts many tourists during the year because of all the extreme sports available to sports enthusiasts in the area. For instance, rafting, skiing, para-gliding, hang gliding, mountain biking, etc. It is also there where one will find the highest peak in America, the Aconcagua Mount, which challenges even the most daring climbers. But the people we're talking about were gathering for something a little different. Of course, it was a dB competition.
When we arrived at the event, we were astonished by the location, at the foot of the Andes Mountain with its snow-covered summit. It added a mystical touch to the event. The qualifying rounds were intense as competitors were striving hard to reach the "death match" round. Thirty out of fifty-four competitors got the necessary points to move on. The number of participants, according to Guillermo Blanco, the dB Drag rep there, was very positive, especially in light of the economic situation in Argentina. Considering that, it says quite a lot about the type of people who were there to compete. Certainly no questioning their dedication.
The dB Drag competition in Argentina has a category called "MiniStreet" which allows cars with only one speaker (10", 12", and 15") to join in the fun. This is a very popular category; so much so that organizers are planning to introduce MiniStreet 8 in the event which will be held soon. The birth of this type of category can be attributed to the fact that on this side of the world the products people compete with are much more expensive than in the USA. For example, an amp that costs U.S. $500 will cost three times as much locally. Moreover, the cars that mostly young men (18 to 28) buy are smaller than the vehicles guys in the States are likely to purchase. One which is frequently used is the hatchback type which isn't that conducive to the installation of a bunch of woofers.
The popularity of MiniStreet aside, the star category is the Extreme 1 to 8 woofers. In the final, Miguel Carbel from La Rioja who had a Morris Mini Cooper with eight Lanzar speakers (15") and the same number of Lanzar amps (1000 watts) went up against CIP, an installer company from Cordoba. CIP had a Daewoo minivan with four 18" Rockford Fosgate speakers, three XLC and a single Punch, all powered by three Rockford amps and one from Blaupunkt. Unfortunately the Mini Cooper had three of its speakers burn, so it looked as though the Daewoo had an overwhelming advantage. And it did, scoring a 161.1 dB to its counterpart's 158.6. CIP was named National Champion, but Miguel Carbel is looking to exact revenge. With a complete setup, who knows how he might have fared.