Post by hammerdownpower on Dec 4, 2011 18:48:25 GMT -5
As many of you know and some may not know. There is a rules meeting and general discussion planned for December 10th (Sat) at Speedway Ent. Things like rule changes, suggestions and thoughts on the division will be entertained. Whether you have an idea or not i think this is one of the first times to go to support the division that has been provided and people should take notice.
There have been many different topics discussed privately that may be brought up like body rules, tour bonus points, cawkpit adjustable components, teching, and asphalt/road courses. All very important things to weigh in on.
I would like to bring up the thought of allowing the use of the Aluminum flywheel by ARC racing products. There are two main points to make with the use of the aluminum flywheel. The first and as always most important is with safety. The stock cast flywheel weighs 16.xx lbs. It is designed for use on a stock engine turning a MAX of 3600rpms. It is also designed to be installed/removed correctly and has a tendency to fracture if struck or abused. Many racing organizations using kart or mower engines disallow the use of a stock flywheel because of the dangers that a flywheel coming apart at any speed can create. Life threatening injuries can occur and deaths have been caused to bystanders or participants by stock flywheels that came apart under conditions over 3600rpm. Most of these involved kart racing applications of 5-7lb flywheels. The damage potential for a 16lb flywheel is considerably worse obviously. I myself have witnessed a link of chain flying into a racer's back at a race several years ago and causing injury. Its hard to imagine the negative stigma that something like this could create.
The ARC wheel is ANSI tested and certified to 10,000rpm. It is also much less susceptible to damage during installation/removal. In addition to this, the only situation in which the flywheel would need removal is during an engine rebuild since it has adjustable timing, therefore no keys to check or replace.
The second advantage to running this part is the significant performance increase it provides. I have run these flywheels on my dyno and now several times at the end of the year during open comp shows. The difference it provides is amazing. One of the two engines i tested it on gained 5hp and 7ft lbs. This in an engine normally providing 40-42hp. Typically i will spend days just trying to get a consisten .5 to .75hp gain on an engine. Translated to the racetrack it required a tremendous amount of throttle control to keep wheel spin to a minimum. Therefore, drivers who know how to drive will go to the front and those who are out to inflict damage on each other will spin their tires and go to the rear. More passing is virtually guaranteed with these flywheels on the cars. The basis for slingshots are to provide somewhat limited traction which is why we run the tires we do. This furthers that. They also are supposed to be a learning class for drivers who we continually call the "rising stars". What better way than to teach them throttle control? The ARC wheel is just under 7lbs. Giving a 10lb weight loss to each car. Heavier drivers will enjoy gaining this and lighter drivers can simply add inexpensive weight to make the 775lb mark. Competition more even once again.
The ARC wheel has an adjustable timing hub that doubles as a flywheel puller. This provides a safe and built in means of removal. It also allows you to tune your engine in just minutes to try different timing settings with a 1/4" allen wrench.
The ARC wheel has a replaceable hub and ring gear. This means you can never really wreck this flywheel. It also provides better cooling for your engine with its built in fins. ARC has great customer service and stands behind their products. The argument can also be made that without 16lbs of drag agains the engine at all times, parts inside are under less stress and will last longer. I think everyone will take an engine that lives longer anyday. The cost of not rebuilding as quickly may be enough to pay for the flywheel itself.
ITS TOO EXPENSIVE: The cost off the shelf of this flywheel is $350. Is this excessive? The cost of a new body runs $500, this is without lettering. I know several teams with almost $1000 into a body package with lettering and installation. Is that a necessary cost? The safety and performance alone speaks for itself.
IF this is allowed there is the group buy potential which i have confirmed is MUCH less than $300 per flywheel in bulk club discount. I don't plan on making this a crusade. My team of 3 cars has seen what this can do for our division. Thousands of lawn mower racers see it as well. This isn't something that should be mandatory next year or possibly the year after. But it is something that should be allowed to catch on and take off. If you want your engine to perform better and your racetrack to be safer this is something you should look into.
There have been many different topics discussed privately that may be brought up like body rules, tour bonus points, cawkpit adjustable components, teching, and asphalt/road courses. All very important things to weigh in on.
I would like to bring up the thought of allowing the use of the Aluminum flywheel by ARC racing products. There are two main points to make with the use of the aluminum flywheel. The first and as always most important is with safety. The stock cast flywheel weighs 16.xx lbs. It is designed for use on a stock engine turning a MAX of 3600rpms. It is also designed to be installed/removed correctly and has a tendency to fracture if struck or abused. Many racing organizations using kart or mower engines disallow the use of a stock flywheel because of the dangers that a flywheel coming apart at any speed can create. Life threatening injuries can occur and deaths have been caused to bystanders or participants by stock flywheels that came apart under conditions over 3600rpm. Most of these involved kart racing applications of 5-7lb flywheels. The damage potential for a 16lb flywheel is considerably worse obviously. I myself have witnessed a link of chain flying into a racer's back at a race several years ago and causing injury. Its hard to imagine the negative stigma that something like this could create.
The ARC wheel is ANSI tested and certified to 10,000rpm. It is also much less susceptible to damage during installation/removal. In addition to this, the only situation in which the flywheel would need removal is during an engine rebuild since it has adjustable timing, therefore no keys to check or replace.
The second advantage to running this part is the significant performance increase it provides. I have run these flywheels on my dyno and now several times at the end of the year during open comp shows. The difference it provides is amazing. One of the two engines i tested it on gained 5hp and 7ft lbs. This in an engine normally providing 40-42hp. Typically i will spend days just trying to get a consisten .5 to .75hp gain on an engine. Translated to the racetrack it required a tremendous amount of throttle control to keep wheel spin to a minimum. Therefore, drivers who know how to drive will go to the front and those who are out to inflict damage on each other will spin their tires and go to the rear. More passing is virtually guaranteed with these flywheels on the cars. The basis for slingshots are to provide somewhat limited traction which is why we run the tires we do. This furthers that. They also are supposed to be a learning class for drivers who we continually call the "rising stars". What better way than to teach them throttle control? The ARC wheel is just under 7lbs. Giving a 10lb weight loss to each car. Heavier drivers will enjoy gaining this and lighter drivers can simply add inexpensive weight to make the 775lb mark. Competition more even once again.
The ARC wheel has an adjustable timing hub that doubles as a flywheel puller. This provides a safe and built in means of removal. It also allows you to tune your engine in just minutes to try different timing settings with a 1/4" allen wrench.
The ARC wheel has a replaceable hub and ring gear. This means you can never really wreck this flywheel. It also provides better cooling for your engine with its built in fins. ARC has great customer service and stands behind their products. The argument can also be made that without 16lbs of drag agains the engine at all times, parts inside are under less stress and will last longer. I think everyone will take an engine that lives longer anyday. The cost of not rebuilding as quickly may be enough to pay for the flywheel itself.
ITS TOO EXPENSIVE: The cost off the shelf of this flywheel is $350. Is this excessive? The cost of a new body runs $500, this is without lettering. I know several teams with almost $1000 into a body package with lettering and installation. Is that a necessary cost? The safety and performance alone speaks for itself.
IF this is allowed there is the group buy potential which i have confirmed is MUCH less than $300 per flywheel in bulk club discount. I don't plan on making this a crusade. My team of 3 cars has seen what this can do for our division. Thousands of lawn mower racers see it as well. This isn't something that should be mandatory next year or possibly the year after. But it is something that should be allowed to catch on and take off. If you want your engine to perform better and your racetrack to be safer this is something you should look into.