Who builds a strong legal engine?

#1

Hey everyone.
My name is Noam and I’m from Portland, OR.
I’ve been racing Pro3 this year in the NW and it’s not for me. I’m looking for a more level playing field.
I have horror stories from this pro3 season of racing of cars having a megasquirt ECU, and cars with just so much power that are capable of lapping 2nd place by the end of the race!!! Our governing body ICSCC seems not to care and shuns protests for the benefit of “fun racing” and comrodity.

Being jaded from this season, I put great emphasis on a strong competative motor.

There is nothing more frustrating than getting better exit speed bumper to bumper on the car infront of you, and the other car just “walking” away even though I’m in their draft.

I am looking to buid a spec E30 over the winter and need a good honest suggestion of a reputable shop that builds great spec e30 motors. I don’t care where the shop is located. As long as they can build the engine, dyno it, then ship it.

It is also important to me that the motor is legal. With lots of luck, maybe I can go to national race next year and I want this motor to be competative at the national level but also obviously to be legal!

If you also have any horror stories regarding spec e30 I should know in advance I’d be happy to hear. I don’t want to invest another season to the same zoo I experienced here with Pro3. My main concern, is it a fairly level playing field? Do you ever have 1st place outqualify 2nd place by 1.5 seconds?

#2

[quote=“noamkrief” post=68071]Hey everyone.
Do you ever have 1st place outqualify 2nd place by 1.5 seconds?[/quote]

Yes, this can be normal. It can also be normal for everyone to be within 1 second of each other with a 15 car field.

At Grattan, Cameron ran a 1:31 flat, and I was in second with a 1:32.6. Last mid-ohio race he ran 1:44.4, and I 1:44.2. Anthony M. in that same race ran a 1:43.1 and reset the track record.

It would be fun to put everyone in SE30 in the same car with the same setup (set of tires for everyone) and see where everyone would sit.

#3

Fair enough. But is there a driver that is always 1.5 seconds faster regardless of the track?
Does NASA do a good job making sure engines are legal?

#4

With respect to the cars I’d say that Spec E30 is a very even field. That is not to say that there aren’t cars that are faster than others. But with the right work on the car one can economically bring a slow car up to a fast car’s level. A built engine isn’t a necessity, though it won’t hurt.

It is rather meaningless to talk about differences in qualifying times because that is largely driven by the skills of the relevant drivers in Spec E30. I’d hazard a guess that you won’t see big differences in times among the top 5 in areas that have good sized Spec E30 race groups. But even there it can happen, just depending on who show up to race.

#5

[quote=“noamkrief” post=68075]Fair enough. But is there a driver that is always 1.5 seconds faster regardless of the track?
Does NASA do a good job making sure engines are legal?[/quote]
Because you Pro3 guys allow more flexibility in engine and suspension you are probably used to seeing more variation than we are. We’ve shared a fair amount of dyno plots so most of us know where we are relative to many others. Well, except for when I’m doing “engine of the month” club.

So if I know I have 155hp or so and someone leaves me in their dust I would know something is going on that’s not right. Within a couple weekends peer pressure would develop and the guy would magically lose a few ponies. But this only works because we are used to a relatively narrow variation among engines.

Also, I’ve found that I cannot tell a 3hp delta. I think I can tell a 5hp delta and I don’t know about 4.

Re. Megasquirt. We talked about this idea a bunch last year, but the idea I had at the time was a stock “tune” that could be easily checked by running a checksum. The idea was that it would allow copius engine management logs for troubleshooting, and also be the only real effective way to prevent chipping a DME. Maybe you could suggest a stock tune for Pro3.

#6

Contact Walter Ford at Valley Motorwerks/Pointsix racing in Rancho Cordova…I can guarantee that he can build you a 160+hp motor that is legal & will last a few seasons.I have have been running a VMW motor for now just over 3 years. It started life with 161hp & 160T…A few months back I was down on power just a little (mid 150’s) & a quick refresh put me back slightly above original numbers. I also now own a second car that VMW/Pointsix built a .020 motor with even better numbers…I will gladly entertain any level of scrutineering.
As for what Jlevie wrote, I would agree…Top guys in qualifying will have similar times but those times may be considerably faster than those in mid pack or behind. Keep in mind that Qualifying is a combination of art/skill/ability to focus/ tires & track position. Some guys will optimize there tires to be in great shape when it comes down to laying a fast 1 or 2 laps. Walter can be reached at 916-390-3846

#7

From the PRO3 community to the SpecE30 community, good luck with this guy! We will miss him. :slight_smile:

#8

[quote=“Steve Ferrario” post=68080]Contact Walter Ford at Valley Motorwerks/Pointsix racing in Rancho Cordova…I can guarantee that he can build you a 160+hp motor that is legal & will last a few seasons.I have have been running a VMW motor for now just over 3 years. It started life with 161hp & 160T…A few months back I was down on power just a little (mid 150’s) & a quick refresh put me back slightly above original numbers. I also now own a second car that VMW/Pointsix built a .020 motor with even better numbers…I will gladly entertain any level of scrutineering.
As for what Jlevie wrote, I would agree…Top guys in qualifying will have similar times but those times may be considerably faster than those in mid pack or behind. Keep in mind that Qualifying is a combination of art/skill/ability to focus/ tires & track position. Some guys will optimize there tires to be in great shape when it comes down to laying a fast 1 or 2 laps. Walter can be reached at 916-390-3846[/quote]

+1