Track Tac

Want Equal Engines?

Ted Hamilton

Ted Hamilton

Helmet Painter / Racer
Have your local track buy a pallet of HF ghosts or Preds and add chain guards and cheap Max Torque clutches with a fixed gear ratio for the class. Store them in a secured trailer or in the sign-in shed. Have each driver draw a motor number at sign-in and take the 10m to install it each day and return it at end of day. Since it's a fixed gear ratio, their chain will be the same every time, and they probably won't even have to move their motor mount once its' set.
Specify no oil changes during the raceday, but DO check them for LOW oil. Run them on gas so you don't have to worry about methanol issues or flushing them. Have a workday every so often to clean and maintain them in exchange for sign-in credits. (Bonus Tip: ditto for mowing the track.)

There will be one dog, one champion, and a pile of average engines. Over the course of the season, statistics will even things out. Even more so if you discard the 2 outliers. THAT will be the closest thing you'll have to "equal" engines.

I know, because I did it for a decade when I started racing with Tecumseh H35s and then H60s. We had a valve job done at the end of the season on all the engines by a single builder.

Otherwise, head the bandit off at the pass by setting a blueprint spec and let the engine builders earn their keep. Everything else in-between is wasted time and additional frustration.
 
^ Sounds like a plan if the tracks can afford all those engines and there is a very low entry fee for the class(es.)
Most racers don't want to spend $30 entry, $15 pit pass, $5/gallon and spending the entire day at the track on the chance that you might get the "dog."

My experience has been that blueprinting makes engines more equal. Out of the box, the quality of engines (even purpose built spec engines) can be all over the place, especially ChiCom built with little to no concern about performance, conformity, or legality.

Here's a better answer -- just get a bunch of your race buddies together and go visit your local concession track. Same chance that you get a "dog" or a "champion" there. Our family does this a couple times a year -- problem is, I ALWAYS get the "dog." :)

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Carlson Racing Engines
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XXX#40 said:
So Honer tried it?
I know Delmar didn't.
The land owners are the reason Dumplin and Beechnut are gone, not from buying engines
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just saying its been done and don't know what woulda/ coulda happened because its gone now. i heard it was popular They had Welch dyno all the motors to be sure they were all pretty close numbers wise.
make it a $40 entry class and you get the motor pill draw use the box stock sealed 196 so people could buy them when they were down on power to be made into clones.
 
What are the disadvantages to a 180$ claimer rule for box stock predator 212s?

Im new and can not justify a 1000 dollar blueprinted clone, when kart counts are as low at the tracks we run.
 
J'-remy said:
just saying its been done and don't know what woulda/ coulda happened because its gone now. i heard it was popular They had Welch dyno all the motors to be sure they were all pretty close numbers wise.
make it a $40 entry class and you get the motor pill draw use the box stock sealed 196 so people could buy them when they were down on power to be made into clones.
Click to expand...
I think someone lied to you
 
The downside to a claimer system vs. a motor "parc ferme" is that there's always someone willing to buy wins by cheating up the claimer engine and letting it get claimed AFTER the win. Doubly so if there's no real tech or the tech guy is a friend of the track owner, who's the father of the racer involved. Having all the engines controlled by the track eliminates most of this funny business. In my case, we were a "club" and we were paying for the engine rental anyhow...made sense to do since we were all in it for the fun and good of the sport, not "profit."
 
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$99.00 motor can be hopped up with $10 springs and a $3 jet people would be glad to take $180 in a claim they'd be making a profit
 
Ted Hamilton said:
Have your local track buy a pallet of HF ghosts or Preds and add chain guards and cheap Max Torque clutches with a fixed gear ratio for the class. Store them in a secured trailer or in the sign-in shed. Have each driver draw a motor number at sign-in and take the 10m to install it each day and return it at end of day. Since it's a fixed gear ratio, their chain will be the same every time, and they probably won't even have to move their motor mount once its' set.
Specify no oil changes during the raceday, but DO check them for LOW oil. Run them on gas so you don't have to worry about methanol issues or flushing them. Have a workday every so often to clean and maintain them in exchange for sign-in credits. (Bonus Tip: ditto for mowing the track.)

There will be one dog, one champion, and a pile of average engines. Over the course of the season, statistics will even things out. Even more so if you discard the 2 outliers. THAT will be the closest thing you'll have to "equal" engines.

I know, because I did it for a decade when I started racing with Tecumseh H35s and then H60s. We had a valve job done at the end of the season on all the engines by a single builder.

Otherwise, head the bandit off at the pass by setting a blueprint spec and let the engine builders earn their keep. Everything else in-between is wasted time and additional frustration.
Click to expand...
That's nothing new for clones either, Ted. That's basically what I did like more than 10 years ago. I invested a lot of time and money on that. It only works to have a group of friends having fun. Most cheaters don't want to be beaten on same engine, and nobody wanted to use a spec tire with no prep. That's why I like UAS or open, not such a drama as in stock classes.
 
"J'-remy said:
$99.00 motor can be hopped up with $10 springs and a $3 jet people would be glad to take $180 in a claim they'd be making a profit
Click to expand...
Not worried about the $120 motors as much as I am a fully blue printed "box stock" 212s. Also it takes A LOT of time and effort to understand what springs go where(to go fast), but luckily I'll have their cheater engine and time to spare with a claimer rule
Ted Hamilton said:
The downside to a claimer system vs. a motor "parc ferme" is that there's always someone willing to buy wins by cheating up the claimer engine and letting it get claimed AFTER the win. Doubly so if there's no real tech or the tech guy is a friend of the track owner, who's the father of the racer involved. Having all the engines controlled by the track eliminates most of this funny business. In my case, we were a "club" and we were paying for the engine rental anyhow...made sense to do since we were all in it for the fun and good of the sport, not "profit."
Click to expand...
Stateline in Ohio offered this, this year, but didnt get enough interest and sold off all the motors

Also cheat them up however you want, ill either catch on or keep buying yours, especially if my actual stock motor, is simply non competitive. Itl still be cheaper for me, and a pain for you. Also, the word "club", just sounds expensive lol I prefer to call it a track, with enforced/simplified rules.
 
you can always race the fun karts their motor their kart their tires race your buddies call it a club if you want
 
"Club" in NY terms meant that the members ran the whole track through a board of directors, not as a private entity that simply hosted the racers. That meant we had ownership (and pride) in what happened there. With tracks around here (NC) you have no real say in what goes on. I'd rather have a club of people that care in a lot of ways, although it's more "hassle" to get people to agree and move the club forward. Just like any human venture, there's always politics and ego involved...
 
history repeating itself.
There was a dirt track in Norway IL that had what they called the "Iroc" class. The racer would buy into the class at the beginning of the year for $375. That would put together a stock Briggs flathead (on gas) that would stay at the track. When you arrived at the track, you drew a number and then you would get that engine for the night. The engines were maintained by the track and they were tune to be equal (as possible). If you were caught doing anything against the rules, you were banned from the class and lost your buy in money.
The classes was wildly successful with 30+ entries all year long. There were many different different winners all year long and track champion was decided by mere points some years.
 
Trying to save kart racing but also participate actively in tracks that don’t tech and hop on the new motor trend instead of holding your promoters accountable for maintaining a tech regiment. Everyone complains, yet supports the problem. You guys can change the rule sets, usher in a new motor or tire package all you want. It’ll never change a thing until you put your foot down. Until then enjoy losing against $1500 box stocks and illegal clones. 🤷🏽‍♂️
 
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