Track Tac

Cheating up the tach

$125.00 claim, has to be raced just like it came out of the box, except the low oil sensor can be un hooked.
Track reserves the right to swap you engines, and there is a tear down every no and then.
Thankfully, locally is seems to be self policing, no money in the class just a trophy.
 
I think the best way to cheat the tech mans tach is to modify the plug wire by building a physical LPF that won’t allow the induction wire to pick up the high frequencies. You would have to hide it under the coating of the wire, but think of something like the door of your microwave.
 
Don't take this as I am being a smart butt, but, you guys that know how to cheat the tach call the two manufacturers and share your knowledge because the people who make the tach have not identified to me in conversation that it can be done
 
DynoDon said:
Last night I was checking tachometers on the predator class when they came off of the track. I have not been putting them on the stand to check the RPM unless they do not have a tack on them. I was informed by a gentleman that races in the southern part of the United States at different race tracks that people are now starting to cheat the tack. That would mean that each time we have to put the cart on the stand to check the RPM 5500 limit. Is there anyone out there that knows any truth to this.
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Here is the original post.

Cheating that would require no more than showing you a race that the rpm fell in your parameters. Not necessarily the one you just saw.
 
95 shaw said:
Here is the original post.

Cheating that would require no more than showing you a race that the rpm fell in your parameters. Not necessarily the one you just saw.
Click to expand...
If the tach is on when they come off the track the recall will show what the event registered. The only way, correct me if I am wrong, for them to show a previous race would be to turn it on as they are approaching the scale. We also watch for things if ya know what I mean. For the most part we have a great group of racers and I have a personal repor with nearly all of them. They respect me for my job. It's when a stranger shows up that I need to be on my toes. With that being said, I don't treat strangers any different than my regular crowd. The guys know as soon as they leave the scale they must go to me for tech. No one has EVER complained about heading straight to tech. With this class it takes a tech with good eyes and good ears.
 
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No offense intended,
It just seems to me that shortcutting tech opens the door to allowing things to slip by.
An example would be the fuel tester calibration and limits.

Someone is always looking for an advantage.
Sometimes it takes no more than exploiting the ego of the techman.
 
With the input of the leads being 5 volts, anyone who knows a little about electronics can cheat a tach. This is the reason we use the house tach for the Predator engine. It takes that element out. Even with this class people with the money have those engines "gone through"! There is no reason for that at all. People who had to run our "house engine" won hands down! So why would you spend money to have an engine "gone through"?!!!!

When it comes down to it, it is all about TIRES, TIRES, TIRES!

We announce the gear ratio of the winner of this class. So, I am thinking about suggesting announcing the air pressure and durometer of the tires.

I mean look at the closes. It was suppose to be a cost effective way for preserving the sport. But for the sport to survive, engines needed to be "built" or "blueprinted". That is where most kart shops earn their money. They either sell their own built engines, or house chassis. Then not long ago, karts shops paired with the big tire guys.

It is a double edged sword. Kart shops cannot survive on selling just parts. Engines and engine maintenance plus tires and tire prep helps them survive. If they are lucky to have their own chassis and it wins then all the better or are associated with a successful chassis manufacturer.

Harrell Wiggins was a marketing genius! Provide a quality product, stellar customer support, saturate the market, hook up with one of the best engine builders and tire guys at the right time and you create an empire. So when you look at some of the other chassis that win big races and even engines, it all boils down to this, DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!

I can and have taken many chassis and won with them. The reason is, I knew what I was doing with that chassis and the tires.

Sorry to stray but I am trying to teach you all something. Just understand your chassis and what it wants based on your driving style. Understand your chassis and all of its adjustments. Know your tires and what they do, "especially the prep and air pressure"!


So, if you cannot figure out my last statement, you have to "pay the price" and if you have a handle on it you can save money.

Like with my chassis manual, I do not tell you what to do to win, but rather to think about what you are doing and why. Next month will be the manuals 20th anniversary. Never did I ever think it would last this long!

Msquared
Understanding Chassis Theory and Dynamics

Msquared
Understanding Chassis Theory and Dynamics
 
Yeah Bob. Cheating, I never understand it. I'd rather beat you by out smarting you within the rules. Like running a foot race without boosting my endurance with anabolic steroids etc. Using the proper dosage of supplementing natural amino acids, supplements and diet is another thing vs. anabolic steroids and other drugs.

I fully understand pushing the limits of the rules. Wear and tear can push you over those limits. Been there done that! But OK with it. But say running any engine part way over the rules or even adding "things" to your fuel to cheat the rules! Geeezzz! There is no excuse!

I remember a time when people ran a bore of .030 over and a piston of .015. They also ran nitro or even hydrozine ("basically rocket fuel"), however you want to spell it!" in the crankcase to gain an advantage. The problem with us was we outran them legally!!! And they were "VERY UPSET".

I had a guy at a local track pay over $5k to have someone come in and do his tires and spend over $10K on new tires just to beat me! And for what? A trophy!!!!???

I out ran him on a budget at that time of under $2k! And to prove that point I lapped the whole field but him by less than a lap! When I wanted to.

The thing is, when I wrote my chassis manual, I wrote it with the intention of giving the average Joe a fair chance of winning. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

Cheating is one thing, pushing the limits of the rules is another thing and accepted. Cheating is NOT!!!! Enough said.

Msquared
 
To DynoDon (original post 2 months ago):

I've been in this sport for 45 years. I absolutely guarantee that modifying ANY gauge to make it read anything desired is entirely possible. And if it's possible, there's a high likelihood that someone is doing it. I was aware of things being done 20+ years ago to "stock" (sealed, potted) ignitions in 2-cycle karting that make modifying a tach display look like child's play.

And cost of engine has nothing to do with it, IMO. If people have unlimited money/resources, they will spend most of it winning a race, even if it's for a trophy and nothing else. It's racing... that that's what racers will do, if at all possible. The trick, of course, is having a tech person or tech team that's *at*least*as*creative as the most creative way around the rules.

PM
 
DynoDon said:
I was using my micron 4 but thought it easier to just read their tach. By doing that I can keep an eye on just how often the rpm keeps increasing thus making it time to look at things. Last night I was told they were cheating up the tach do now it's back on the stand we go. I don't like that
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Do the handheld tacks not work well enough for tech?
 
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I spoke with both tach manufactures. They both informed me that they would look into it but at this time they felt it wasn’t possible. They also told me I had their suspicions aroused and we’re going to investigate. If they found anything they would get back to me. Haven’t heard anything from either. Now on another side of the coin. Since I brought this issue up there has not been one single proof or evidence provided by the karting world that it isn’t anything but rumor. You know as well as I do there are people that would “ let it slip so to speak “ if it was happening
 
This is a 'budget' class after all. There's no requirement that you run an expensive racing tach. Itd be much easier to manipulate the display of a cheapo amazon 'hour meter/max rpm' guage that displays with a 7 segment display.

I agree an RC filter wouldn't be enough because your tach would stop reading when the high frequency signal is attenuated. BUT, that may result in your max rpm for a session being manipulated. Where doing the live rpm check youd see the tach cut out. Idk, I've never messed with it.

I agree, the best policy would be a block of wood under the bumper and a clip on rpm lead for the Track Tachometer, for the top 5 or whole class, whatever is appropriate.

Better yet, write a rule that each kart can only check their rpm once per event, before practice. Be very clear that a legal engine makes no power up that high so they shouldn't be pushing it. And at the very least the racer can use it to get an 'offset' between the tach guage and their own. They can play with the governor as much as they wish on their own time.
 
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