Back from CMP - BMW Question?

[kthomas]

Originally posted by Tom Donnelly:


And tearing down Chet's car will be a waste of time.

Tom

Bingo! Say, didn't SCCA National Tech get a painful lesson on Miata cams the last time they tore down a Sunbelt engine?

I'm with James on all points. Good post.

------------------
katman

[metalworker]

Originally posted by kthomas:
Bingo! Say, didn't SCCA National Tech get a painful lesson on Miata cams the last time they tore down a Sunbelt engine?

I'm with James on all points. Good post.

You might want to check the news from Lime Rock this weekend. They kick out a couple of Miatas for having the wrong cams, and last I saw they were running Sunbelt engines.

[kthomas]

Guess that lesson didn't take. The Lime Rock cams were within Mazda factory tolerances and they still DQ'd the cars. Sounds like somebody had a bug up their arse. Wait for the appeals to flush out....

------------------
katman

[This message has been edited by kthomas (edited June 03, 2004).]

[zracer22]

Adding weight to the E36:

Whats wrong with adding back the weight that the SCCA took off of it?

The E30 races at 2750, 95 lbs less than the stock weight of 2845. The E36 races at 2850, 237 lbs less than the stock weight of 3087. Where's the harm in adding 150 lbs back to the car?

Arestrictor plate? are you kidding? does anyone want the SCCA figuring out restrictor plate sizes?

[kthomas]

Actually SCCA dictates and manages restrictor plates in other classes so it's not unheard of. It'd be long term cheaper than added weight for the reasons James Clay mentioned.

------------------
katman

[metalworker]

Originally posted by kthomas:
Guess that lesson didn't take. The Lime Rock cams were within Mazda factory tolerances and they still DQ'd the cars. Sounds like somebody had a bug up their arse. Wait for the appeals to flush out....

I'm sorry, but I thought the appeal had already been heard, Sunday morning, that is the reason that they announced the disqualification the next day. SCCA Pro usually gives you the chance to justify yourself before they tell everybody about it.

[oanglade]

According to SCCA.com/Pro, the appeal was heard Sunday morning.
One of the persons disqualified Saturday, won on Monday, I assume, not using the same cams from before the protest.

------------------
Ony Anglade
ITA Miata
Sugar Hill, GA

[This message has been edited by oanglade (edited June 04, 2004).]

[Tom Donnelly]

The restrictor plate dimensions just have to be well defined or your gonna get really ingenious interpretations of a restrictor plate. Adding weight is just gonning to cost more money in repairs, tires, brakes and such. Just like the thread on the power steering pump, I'd like to see allowances for things that break too easy, but thats a real can of worms I guess.

Tom

[bobpink]

Spec Miata issue is better explained here:

http://www.specmiata.com/ubb/ultimatebb.ph...opic/8/378.html

------------------
Bob Pinkowski
Atlanta Region SCCA/NASA Southeast
OPM Autosports
ITS Honda Prelude (for sale)

[This message has been edited by bobpink (edited June 04, 2004).]

[Catch22]

I agree with you about the weight. Adding weight doesn't seen to be a good idea to me either. Stock brakes, even with cooling, are way overloaded in racing. And tires cost money. And overloaded broken parts cause wasted weekends.

BooHooHoo.

Really. Nobody was all that concerned about this when they slapped a 2690lb minimum weight on an Integra GSR. Thats 2700lbs on a car equipped with the exact same brakes that come on the Honda Civic EX and Del Sol that are classed at under 2400lbs. Oh, and thats 2700lbs on a FWD car, you know, a car with the front tires doing everydamnedthing... Yeah, right. As I said... BooFrigginHoo for the BMW boys.

So BMW guys need not start bitching about brake parts and tires due to added weight. All you'd be getting is what other guys already have.

Scott, who laughed when he read that stuff.

[lateapex911]

From what I've seen the E36s are strong in every department. Great torque, strong top end, good handling, good braking, and great traction out of a corner.

The Speed Touring guys have even more tricks up their sleeve, so some trickle down to ITS is occuring and will continue. In other words, I expect a few more tenths out of them at the minimum.


Short of a new class above ITS (ITR???) the solution rests in both weight and restriction.

I would prefer that they were moved up, and maybe got a weight break, but we need other cars in the class, like the RX-8, and the 350Z, etc. So we're too early for a new class.


------------------
Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

[kthomas]

Originally posted by metalworker:
I'm sorry, but I thought the appeal had already been heard, Sunday morning, that is the reason that they announced the disqualification the next day. SCCA Pro usually gives you the chance to justify yourself before they tell everybody about it.

You are correct. What SCCA Pro Racing didn't mention was the fact that all the cams in question were within Mazda factory tolerances as previously mentioned, and one of the DQ'd cars was running the bone stock cams and sprockets from a Mazda crate motor. Hadn't even been "Sunbelted" in that area. I've seen this before (up close and personal), and eventually I'll see it again. When SCCA wants to screw you , no amount of documentation will save you. Some days it's just your turn. But we (I) digress...


------------------
katman