2019. 206 Rules are out .

Elmer Patterson

New member
2019 206 Rules are out. Rules are tightened a bit . Original 206 engines/ Blocks with non painted wire seals will be Phased out by 2020 . Tech tools are being redefined . Also some specs are being redefined. One thing to note No changes were made that will make any engine illegal. If you have altered or changed something however you may find your self in trouble.
 
Thanks for posting Jim! Good to know as the rule change regarding that these engines will require the newer Orange seals for 2020 will obsolete a lot of existing engines. That’s not necessarily a good thing...IMO.
 
The orange seal is not the only one allowed. There are actually three generations of seals. The original was silver cable the the holographic seals . This is the one being phased out. The second had a single black strand of wire intertwined in the cable and also used the holographic seals. The most recent is the orange. Jimbo could tell you the years they were used but the ones phased out are probably 6-7 years old.
 
Gab
You are correct about everything except me being able to tell you about the years of the various seals.
I'm sorry but i haven't kept track of what seal has been used for the various years.:):):)
 
New rules look good -- yes, some tightening up that will help in some areas that have been exploited previously.
Couple typos that I caught, but nothing that isn't understood (ie use .130" no go tool on the pilot.) ;)

Like some others have already mentioned...I am a bit concerned about phasing out older engines by 2020.
I know I've got a few customers that only run their 206s a half dozen times each year.
Others that have their engines freshened once a year.
I'm guessing that will hurt our rebuild sales up until that date.
Looks like when 2020 rolls around, there will be a lot more short block sales with rebuilds.


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Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
29 years of service to the karting industry
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
Fuel Testing???
10. Engine Fuel Recommendations
Premium Gasoline no greater than 94 octane sold at normal roadside fuel
stations open to the public. The addition of fuel additives in any manner is not
permitted. Fuel dispensing location may be specified in Event Supplementary
Regulations. Specific gravity and hydrometer testing are acceptable tests
when used in accordance to sanctioning body guidelines.


So to be devil's advocate:
A specific gravity and hydrometer test are listed as acceptable tests.
A digitron or water test is not spelled out in the rules therefore they are not acceptable tests?
And if they are what are the acceptable results?
 
In the N.W. We use a Non- Ethonal pump gas and use the Digitron Gravity test . Personally I choose a mid range octane fuel . There are a number of sites on the Web that give locations for Non Ethonal Gas. PURE GAS .ORG IS ONE LLP
 
Good question. I'd go to the Briggs racing forum and ask.
 
My opinion:
Because Briggs has the process very well figured out and it helps to prevent people from machining the deck and charging people for something that doesn't make any difference anyhow.
 
Tightening up the piston pop-up measurement is long over due.
Dave & I have discussed this many times in the past (too many.)

When the 206 was introduced (nearly 10 years ago now), the deck height was no different than the current animal blocks of the time, ie not certified (as it is now,) and as a result, piston pop-up was all over the place -- that necessitated machining the deck to get them at least closer to spec. Since then, the verification process was introduced (ie the Sharpie marks) and piston pop-up has been VERY consistent. Dave has said all along that no L206 block (short block or complete engine) has ever left the factory with more than +.003" pop-up. This rule change reflects that. Those that have had blocks cut in excess of that, will now be replacing short blocks. If you think about it, there will be very few engines that this will affect anyhow, since the gain to go from .000" to +.0035" would be very minimal. The blocks that had the most to gain are being phased out in 2020 regardless, due to the seals.




-----
Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
29 years of service to the karting industry
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
If you have a block that fails the deck tech don't be mad at Briggs.
Blame the guy that cut it for you or yourself:)
The rules have always said no machining allowed.
 
^ The rules also said no visual check on the deck surface for the last several years now, Jimbo.
That came around when the deck machining process changed in production and you could no longer tell in the tech barn who/where it had been machined. It was a rule clarification that made our job as tech men (and builders) easier by taking away the visual inspection and going by a black and white measurement - to which I am very thankful.
It also means that any cleaning/scraping of the graphite head gasket (and ensuing "machining" marks left on the deck surface) weren't grounds for disqualification. I know of at least one L206 engine out there that looks like someone took a Dremel or similar rotary tool with a Scotch Brite pad to the gasket surface. The same fellow did this to the head (which DID make it illegal.)
The down-side of removing the visual was that it opened the eyes of some builders to begin cutting the decks right to max (.005" before 2019.) Before that, I would guess that very few builders were cutting decks. I can count on one hand the number of blocks that I have personally cut the decks on since they have been coming with certification - and I seriously doubt that anyone would know the difference. Every one of those engines, by the way, were still under .0035."

I think that Dave, over all, has made some VERY good rules for this engine package, and tightening the piston pop-up will help considerably....Then again, there will always be that guy that wants his deck cut from .002" to .0035." ;)
 
Brian
I think you give some people more credit than they are entitled to. I could point you to a recent facebook discussion i had with someone that had just done some illegal stuff but i'd rather the whole discussion would just go away so not to encourage other people to do it. One of the participants in the discussion stated that he did everything they could do to to gain even the slightest advantage over the other competitors. This person has been in karting for a very long time.
I hope reputable engine shops don't engage in cutting decks but i'm sure there are some that do. I think there are probably more people (not shops) doing things they shouldn't be doing than either one of us knows.
I know Dave (masquerading as Joe Karter) has bought a lot of engines and other parts to inspect and verify legality.
Maybe even some of mine.
The current rules are very good and i've had my share of input into them but as time goes on tweeks have and will be necessary.
I have always had the opinion that i would never do anything (cheat) to jeopardize my Briggs dealership not to mention the fact that cheating is wrong.
 
My only concern is the seal rule. I still have one of my original 206 engines that is as good as any new one and I will have to can it in a year. Makes no sense if it's still legal within the 2019 ruleset (except for seal). I still have not seen a real explanation for making the original sealed engines obsolete.
 
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