Inex rule changes 2013

[knoxracing]

Grape,
I am calling BS, you posted a photo of a motor you say ran 4 nights with sunken sleeves, you said he JUST paid $5400 ran 4 nights and its the first you did in years. Now you tell me the motor number was around 3300. The engine numbers are near 5000 now, that motor would be WAY older!  I am lost!

[Grape Competition Develop]

Not everybody runs engines immediately after purchased, it prob sat around for a while. None of my business nor do i care.  However, if that $5400 engine had been sold as a $3800 non screwed with piece of japanese equipment, the customer would probably still be running it with no failures.  Ive done plenty of fj and xj stuff in the last few years, this just happened to be the first i had seen inside of after the charlotte folks worked their magic.  The last charlotte engine i fixed was '08 after a broken exhaust cam due to cam caps being stripped while in charlotte.

PS motors are electric.....engines operate with fuel.

Oh, forgot, i can add a 3 speed gearbox to your engine for $1000 that adds a few hp and never have to touch your seals .

[VMS Motorsports]

[justfreaky]

Race within your means and enjoy it.

Dennis,

This is one of the best statements I have seen in awhile. And very true!
I try to tell new members this same bit of advice.

Grape,

Its been in a dwarf car for the last 2 months. 

Dwarf Cars have not run the FJ/XJ engines in a very long time. Water cooled and fuel injected are the norm now days.
Newer GSXRs and ZX10s are pretty common. Most are "built" (to some extent) depending on sanctioning body rules.
Dwarf Cars have their fair share of people who "bend the rules" also. Or have the money that they can afford to throw at their racing program.
Just saying that I don't see why a Dwarf Car racer would throw money into an older engine when they could upgrade to a newer style engine for less money.
Whatever... That persons choice I guess.

Tires...
That always opens up another can of worms.
Used to be that ALL Legends Cars ran the BFGs; Dirt or Pavement.
Now they have seperate tires for for both. Sure, it cost folks to change over to the different tires. In the long run, I think it has been an ok move. Dirt racers got a more dirt friendly tire and pavement racers got a tire more suited to their needs. Are either choices the best.... That will continue to be an ongoing debate. 

SCCA allows a couple of Hoosier tires, and (if I recall correctly) a GoodYear tire as well as the Federal tire. Different Dwarf Car sanctioning bodies require different brands of tires, certain durometer readings, or a spec tire for their rules. The tire debate is just as big a deal as the tire rules for Legends Cars.


I continue to support the idea that "IF racers do not let INEX (or whatever sanctioning body they may run) know their thoughts, then the sanctioning body is going to do what they choose to do. I guess we will all just have to see what the final word is when the rulebook comes out. 

Steve

[knoxracing]

Dwarfs are a disaster, there is no comparison period.

[justfreaky]

The comparison is that Dwarf Cars ARE the roots of Legends Cars.
Dwarf Car sanctioning bodies are not much different from INEX.
They all have their ups and downs. As do any sanctiong body for any sport.

Steve

[Legends57x]

After having a chance to run the new dirt tire this year,  I believe it was a good move also.  Yeah, investment up front, but much more pleasant to drive and faster speeds attained along with good wear.   As far as the asphalt tires, I just was using Hoosier as an example as I ran them for years in my previous racing life.  Sure would like to have some sort of tire with common sizes similar to the old BFG that we wouldn't have to mess around with cutting.   Besides the cutting process costing everyone extra cash, it also significantly shortens life of the tire, especially right side tires, thus increasing tire bills for a season.   Just my opinion....  

[justfreaky]

Mark,

I mostly ran GoodYears and Hoosiers with most of my race cars. The deal isn't so much common tire sizes; Those are available from most tire manufactureres. The biggest deal seems to be tire compounds. There in lies a problem for the sanctioning bodies. Specify a certain brand; Then what compounds? Specify a specific durometer reading. Then what brand, tread design, etc... A lot of sanctioning bodies require DOT approved tires. Many manufaturers have DOT tires in different tread (or lack of. ie: slicks) designs and compounds (soft, medium, hard. Get the picture?) Always a troublesome area for the sanctioning bodies.

Steve

[Legends57x]

Steve,

I still think it could be done....For example, many of our area asphalt tracks have adopted a single tire brand and compound rule for the limited late models,  which in this case is a Hoosier 800 tire.  I have heard several complaints already about the tire being too hard.  The area dealer claims to offer a stiffer sidewall for better overall handling supposedly,  however, says lap times will suffer by 0.5 seconds.  The point here is that everyone is running on the same tire, hard, slower or whatever.  It can be done.....DOT or not, INEX will put there name on it either way and share the proceeds as usual....

Mark

BTW - I wonder if Jim's tummy is getting full after eating all that popcorn 

[justfreaky]

There are several sanctioning bodies that have a specific tire and compound rule. The old BFG rule is a good example of that.
The harder tire compounds tend to last longer and save the budget racer a few bucks. I picked up a few of the BFGs for my autocross cars when people were changing over to the other tires. They should serve me well. Perhaps not as well as the Hoosier slicks; But I will save money in tire bills.

I wonder if Jim is putting a lot of butter and salt on that popcorn?
 

Steve

[knoxracing]

57x.
I agree the tire cutting theory is terrible! I would settle for a tire that only went four races if we did not have to cut it.

An engine program that is WIDE OPEN and out of control is the dwarf program, PERFECT EXAMPLE! It has been the ruin of Dwarfs for a long time.

[amp racing]

we have dwarfs here in the nh.me,and mass area..good program stock 600cc motors on good tires, a lot of legends chassis's... we practice with them and its a challenge ,those cars stick and are fast..the 1200 gets them in the straights but they zip thru the corners.15000 rpm. one set tires at least 10 races no cutting.
joe

[thunder938]

Dwarfs are ok for me, but I really like mod-lits.  In my area there is a nice track and they get around 20 to 25 cars a night, but from what I hear is that the motors..RRRR..engines are built on KILL and no one checks them.  So a top mod lite will cost a ton of cash

[justfreaky]

Dennis,

Not all Dwarf Car sanctioning bodies allow "WIDE OPEN" as a norm. Some limit engines to stock and engine size. Some use weight limits to equalize carbs vs fuel injection. Tire rules, shock rules, etc... SCCA uses the TUSA rules for their tech for Dwarf Cars. They are very similar to Legends Cars, minus the fenders. Dwrafs are a bit more adjustable suspensionwise and most use 4 wheel disc brakes. You can Thank Ernie Adams, John Cain, Humpy Wheeler and Elliott Forbes-Robinson for the current Legends Car. For those that don't know Ernie Adams or John Cain; Ernie is credited with the concept of the "Dwarf" car. John Cain founded the Dwarf Car Company in Phoenix, Arizona. Humpy Wheeler and Elliott Forbes-Robinson borrowed their design for the Legends Car chassis.


Dave,

The modlites remind me a lot of my old modified. I do so love the look of the Legends and classic Dwarf Cars though! They bring back a lot of memories of restoring antique cars with my dad when I was a kid. Just something about the body styles.

Joe,

The smaller 600cc cars still race regularly around the country. The bulk of  Dwarfs are using 1000 - 1250cc engines, anymore.
I think Legends and Dwarfs are fairly equal in speed and agility.
The lack of a "National" set of rules is a problem for racers that would like to race their Dwarf Cars in other regions.
That is what I really like about Legends Cars. INEX has a set of rules that are used everywhere.


Anyway...
Lets get back to figuring out how to work within the current set of rules and how to have fun at the same time. 

Steve