Some good thoughts Marshall. Rubber suspension is OK if we allow longer rubbers. There are only a few who really know how to make the 1 X 2 rubber work & they are tough to maintain & keep right. I think that one of the problems with F500 is the lap time disparity from the front to the middel or the back. I think a lot of this has to do with the difficulties of getting the chassis right. I think there might be a low cost shock that will work but it would certainly need a lot of investigation to make certain the costs are managable. As I said last winter I have a supplier ready to supply us with 3" long rubbers, easy to tune & adjust rates with rockers or by trimming the length.
wide open 600cc bike engine would be extremely expensive. Some of the most expensive engines are F3 engines with SIR. Then you can spend unlimited $$ on other bits. Look at what a modern top level Vee engine costs, now over $7500 for a "blue printed" engine. 600cc will be great but we need to keep the development costs down to ZERO. The question is how to do this? F1000 requires stock engines. Maybe a specific carb for all engines with stock cams & compression a must. Mabe an SIR would work if EVERYTHING was STOCK. We need lots of discussion with top engine guys who know these engines. I agree weight is right at 800 to 850 lbs. Solid axles only are also great at keeping the costs down & they work just fine. Thanks ... Jay Novak -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 2:54 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [F500] Class survival. In a message dated 3/11/2007 1:53:29 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: <<<Let's make a list of ideas for SAVING F500.>>> IMHO: 1) Keep the existing suspension rules. Why? Valved shocks are expensive, and no inexpensive 'spec' shock has proven to have a combination of low-cost, long life, and equal performance. The existing laptime parity with FF has proven that you don't need triple-adjustable $1200 shocks to go fast. IMHO, this is the place where a TON of money is wasted in FF/FC. 2) Allow a completely open 600cc 4-cylinder bike-engine option, including the attached geartrain. No specified engines, as the bike companies redesign them with a very short design life cycle. Use a mandated restrictor box for all 600cc engines to equalize performance and keep the Rotaxes competitive. The restrictor also minimizes the impact of internal engine mods. [Yes, I know it doesn't completely eliminate the benefits of engine mods, but it drastically reduces the value for the money spent.] Why? Because this will give access to a nearly limitless supply of low-cost junkyard engines and trannies. 3) Keep existing 800/850 lb minimum weight. Lower weights help keep costs low by both reducing the need for larger, heavier (read: more expensive) suspension components and by reducing tire consumption. 3/8" rod ends should continue to be the standard for these cars. 4) Keep the solid axle rule. Again, we don't need a diff to go fast, and this is another $1K+ item. Using a chain drive straight from the bike tranny output to our existing axle designs is the cheapest solution, and will allow us to keep our existing performance level. Thoughts? Marshall Mauney WDC Region 2002 Red Devil <BR><BR><BR>**************************************<BR> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com. ________________________________ FormulaCar Magazine - A Proud Supporter of Formula 500 The Official Publication of Junior Formula Car Racing Subscribe Today! www.formulacarmag.com or 519-624-2003 _________________________________ -- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.8/716 - Release Date: 3/9/2007 6:53 PM -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.446 / Virus Database: 268.18.8/716 - Release Date: 3/9/2007 6:53 PM ________________________________ FormulaCar Magazine - A Proud Supporter of Formula 500 The Official Publication of Junior Formula Car Racing Subscribe Today! www.formulacarmag.com or 519-624-2003 _________________________________ _______________________________________________ F500 mailing list - [email protected] To unsubscribe or change options please visit: http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500 *** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! ***
