KUDOS to Greg Amy at RAL

[BruceG]

Kudos to Greg for doing a great job as tech inspector for The RAL at NHMS this weekend.Some guys just make it easy for the racers/crews and still do a great job.

THANKS, Greg!!

[StephenB]

We should all clap and whistle for him

Stephen

[RSTPerformance]

We should all clap and whistle for him

Stephen

"like"

Greg- want to share your experience with the rest of IT land... I was VERY impressed with tech this weekend!!!

[rthiele]

+1, thanks Greg!

[Tim Dugan]

+1 to greg and the reast of the workers for making the even happen

[Greg Amy]

Thank you, Bruce, but please note this was not in any way a one-man show. Anthony Parker was The Man who surrendered his FV race weekend to volunteer as Chief of Tech, as we had significant assistance from others like Dave LaPoint, Chuck Evans, Ken Payson (who started teching cars Friday night before we arrived), and others. Nothing would happen without all those volunteers.

And remember, as a licensed driver, you are automatically a Regional Scrutineer, so you can do things like check gear and issue even stickers. Never hesitate to jump in there when things get busy...

But, I suspect Bruce is referring to our Weekend Surprise. I coordinated gaining access to the Division's Whistler compression ratio checker, and we made a concerted effort to check as many Spec Miata (all classes), Improved Touring, and Super Touring cars we could. I'd suggest it was a resounding success. I was actually surprised at the positive feedback we got on the device, with more curious inquiries than any kind of resistance. In fact, there really wasn't any significant resistance that I can recall...

The process went very smoothly. We announced at each post-qually meeting that we were using the device, some only top-2 or -3, some deeper in the field (and made it available to anyone, like the scales, on a volunteer basis). We did not force competitors to stay in Impound until checked, we let the individual drivers know they were officially "impounded" and invited them to come back some time over the weekend to get checked and signed off (hey, if you were motivated enough to swap out engines while we were drinking beer, more power to you). Drivers were responsible for removing their own spark plugs and rotating the engines to TDC, though I brought some limited tools and helped as I could (and I've got blisters on my arm to prove it...) I have to give a big shout out to Nick Leverone, who put their cars toward the front of the line and did a great job moving them through. He even stuck around and helped with subsequent non-Flatout Miatae and really made this a seamless process...thanks, Nick.

I will not release any individual numbers, and each competitor knows their own results (feel free to share them). The end result though was that no one was found non-compliant. Some were very close, as in within the measuring tolerance of the device, which was expected on these higher-level prep cars. Most what I would call "stock" or "junkyard" engines were well under their limits. The only two cars I could not get a good reading on were two VANOS-equipped BMWs; the readings we got on those were just way out-of-the-park low, as in so low the engines would not run if that were accurate. For some reason this device fails on these cars and I'll have to do some research to figure out why. We even tried it on the 12A on JB's IT7 and that was a Big Fale, too, but that's no surprise...

My take from the weekend is that the device, in general, tends to read 0.2 low, sometimes 0.4 low. I had previously measured three Spec Miata engines that have "known" compression ratios, meaning I have information on their direct cc'ing during build; all three read 0.2 low. And, while we found some that were farther than that, all were low. I'm calling 0.2 as my confidence level in the device, and I suggest that if someone ever blew more than allowed it would be sufficient grounds for disassembly and physical checks.

I'm happy with what we learned from this, and would appreciate any other feedback. Based on our success this past weekend we do plan to bring this out on a regular basis.

Greg

[JohnW8]

And remember, as a licensed driver, you are automatically a Regional Scrutineer, so you can do things like check gear and issue even stickers. Never hesitate to jump in there when things get busy...

I did not know this. Either.

[Z3_GoCar]

....And remember, as a licensed driver, you are automatically a Regional Scrutineer, so you can do things like check gear and issue even stickers. Never hesitate to jump in there when things get busy...


The process went very smoothly. We announced at each post-qually meeting that we were using the device, some only top-2 or -3, some deeper in the field (and made it available to anyone, like the scales, on a volunteer basis). We did not force competitors to stay in Impound until checked, we let the individual drivers know they were officially "impounded" and invited them to come back some time over the weekend to get checked and signed off (hey, if you were motivated enough to swap out engines while we were drinking beer, more power to you). Drivers were responsible for removing their own spark plugs and rotating the engines to TDC, though I brought some limited tools and helped as I could (and I've got blisters on my arm to prove it...) I have to give a big shout out to Nick Leverone, who put their cars toward the front of the line and did a great job moving them through. He even stuck around and helped with subsequent non-Flatout Miatae and really made this a seamless process...thanks, Nick.

The only two cars I could not get a good reading on were two VANOS-equipped BMWs; the readings we got on those were just way out-of-the-park low, as in so low the engines would not run if that were accurate. For some reason this device fails on these cars and I'll have to do some research to figure out why. We even tried it on the 12A on JB's IT7 and that was a Big Fale, too, but that's no surprise...

I'm happy with what we learned from this, and would appreciate any other feedback. Based on our success this past weekend we do plan to bring this out on a regular basis.

Greg

First, this goes for all specialties such as grid, F&C, registration, T&S, sound, and emergency. I encourage all drivers to at least try each specialty out once.


I've got to ask you Greg, were those single or double vanos motors? Which class? I can see a ST class double vanos motor maybe having so little overlap that you get the exhaust opening really early with modified cams.

[CRallo]

good stuff Greg! Doing the Pocono National?


I think that everyone should take a turn in tech! I did a few times a couple years ago and I believe it was a very valuable experience. You can learn a lot about the cars, the rules and what is like in their shoes... It is also a good way to meet the people. If everyone did every job, just once, our organization would be SO much better for it!

[Greg Amy]

Doing the Pocono National Greg?

75/25 "for". Need some more track time but trying to conserve resources...probably.