Post by themagician17 on May 5, 2015 18:07:16 GMT 12
The Wellington Ministock class have discussed this at tonights remit meeting and have drafted a response on some points we disagree (or agree) with.
You may or may not think the same thing, however submissions close on Monday, so if you have an interest in the class, you need to make sure you have your say - no point complaining if you don't like the changes after they have been decided!
15mm Restrictor plate – we disagree.
• Despite the significantly decreased lap times over the last 12 years, have the rate of injuries changed significantly in that time? Figures quoted over 8 seasons in 2012 seem to have fluctuated both up and down in that time, (there are no snapshot records on the SNZ website since 2012)? The highest injuries in 2012 seem to have been amongst the first year competitors, and the lowest amongst the oldest. Logically then the slower drivers have more accidents, and the fastest have the fewest - so is there an actual problem with the speed of the vehicles, or just the level of experience?
• The performance figures quoted seem odd – peak torque and peak power do not occur at the same revs, so how can they both be achieved at 72.3km/h? (Measured by a constant rolling road speed)?
• The decrease in both power and torque is significant at around 30% - is this really justified? Has such a modified engine been tried on a track – what is the increase in lap time? What are the engine characteristics, does a “standard” engine even run correctly with such a large restriction in air flow? Presumably such a radical change is also going to require significant jetting/tuning changes – increasing costs as those who can afford it will dyno tune to adjust to the changed set up, those who can’t afford it will presumably have engines wrongly jetted – possibly increasing engine failures.
• Again, is this extra expense justified when there will still be a difference between good “optimised” engines and average ones?
Nissan M30-071 Head – we disagree.
• Has any dyno or flow bench testing been done to show these heads have a power advantage, or is it just conjecture?
• The A12 engine is very popular for tuning worldwide, a Google search doesn’t show any websites claiming these specific heads to be “the performance head to have”?
• Nissan parts are getting harder to find all the time, excluding a source of components based on rumour seems over the top?
Control Camshaft – we disagree.
• The existing rule already specifies a standard OEM Cam - many engines have been impounded and inspected over recent seasons (presumably the fastest ones), can you confirm exactly how many have been found to have illegal camshafts?
• Many families competing in this class do not build their own engines, so the cost of having a $200-300 SNZ camshaft installed is no doubt going to be more like $400-500. (Incidentally, a “SNZ standard” regrind costs around $180 exchange – with around 500 Ministocks running in NZ, surely a bulk purchase of reground cams would not therefore be in the $200-300 range?) The intention of the class is that a standard road car engine can be put straight into a car and raced – the cost of doing this has just gone up by a substantial amount.
• How will this “serial numbered/coded” SNZ camshaft be inspected to still be standard, what stops someone from grinding a new profile on an SNZ numbered cam? The engine still needs to be sealed/impounded to be checked, and it’s now EXACTLY the same as the current situation, except 500 people have spent $100,000 dollars, minimum, with SNZ for NO increase in compliance over the current rule…
Racing in Both Directions – we disagree.
• Ministocks are an introductory class that trains new drivers in racing “and setting up” a Speedway vehicle. Most drivers progress to classes that race in one direction, and have asymmetric set ups for stagger, shocks, springs, etc. Stats show practically NO Youth Ministock drivers progress to Streetstocks, so why teach them techniques applicable only to this class?
• If offset chassis are such a problem, surely it would be better to tighten the chassis construction rules? Engines must be mounted on the centreline with a 25mm tolerance, how can this be turned into an extreme offset? Very few components can be radically moved around, probably the battery being the most obvious, yet fast cars have these mounted in lots of different positions.
• Faced with a situation where there is likely to be one race run “backwards” at most meetings, people will be tempted to leave the set up exactly as it currently is (especially if the car is already built that way), so optimised for probably two races, bad for one. The older, faster, drivers will still be just as fast, the younger less experienced drivers will crash… how is this an improvement?
• Head nets will now need to be installed on both sides, a doubled cost on an item that already has a limited life. How easy is it to get out of a car that now has impediments to quickly exiting the car on BOTH sides?
• Containment seats – are these designed/safe for driving in both directions?
Rolling Starts – we agree.
• These have been used at Wellington for some time now and work well.
