DTMiller

Off topic -- nice work at IMS this weekend, was following along on the facebook live stream.

toddlamb

Thanks - Road America this weekend!

Dr911

I saw Dyno checks at OktoberFAST in Daytona last fall.
It was remarkable to see how quickly the crew was able to swap numbers on that sweet little SPB, and it was re-classified. And was permitted to continue racing.

Dear OP
Is this even a question to ask? OTOH perhaps I should thank you for, by asking the question, restoring my faith in the possible goodness of humanity. A refreshing change from the posturing/ego trips sometimes seen in this sport. (Ref: the PCA regions variability thread )
YT,
Dr911

hf1

What were some of their justifications?
Has this ever been submitted as an official rule-change request?

morsini

At a Limerock race back in 2014 I was right on the bumper of a guy, in my class running the same exact car, on the downhill and by the end of the front straight he was ten car lengths ahead. How's that happen?

hf1

Although ten car-lengths does sound excessive, the difference in execution of the downhill (braking, turn-in, throttle application, line, etc.) can make a huge difference on the front straight.

I had quite a few much simpler episodes at WGI this year. I would gain on a car between T1 and the first 1/4 of the esses, getting on its bumper. The same car would then gain four car-lengths between there and the bus-stop.

This situation is simpler than yours at LRP. I had obviously executed T1 better than the other car (otherwise I wouldn't have caught it before the esses), but in the parts where we're both WOT, and there is almost zero technical action (turning, braking, throttle) to differentiate performance, it sails four car-lengths away. How does that happen?

Astroman

Dynos at PCA races have been debated extensively in the past. This was mostly surrounding the repeated proposed rule change to make GT classing power to weight (instead of the current cryptic displacement rule).

It got nowhere then and it will get nowhere now. PCA does not want to get in the business of buying (or renting) a dyno and I don't blame them. Nor do they want the responsibility of blowing up someone's motor during a dyno pull.

None of the PCA classes are determined by horsepower limits. So what do they do with the info? Does PCA change the entire class structure?

Move on. It ain't gonna happen.

hf1

Whether renting, buying or completely outsourcing the service, cost couldn't possibly be the issue when split between 100-200 registered racers per weekend.

Signed waiver, just like with everything else in racing. And it's not like our race-cars don't spend most of their lives at WOT anyway.

For example, tear down the motors that dyno at >5% higher than the average/median for that class? 5% is a lot for a spec class/motor. Much more efficient (less wasteful, less risky) than tearing down random motors.

toddlamb

Stop confusing the issue with logic and facts!

Astroman

Believe me, I'm not in favor of random major motor disassembly.

But the "outliers" can now be successfully identified with the "black box" data units.

Without a big hp/weight PCA class, it would be a big waste of money and effort.

hf1

What do you mean?

A dyno would be especially revealing in the Spec classes like the large SPB and the now growing SPC, but why wouldn't all classes benefit?

Astroman

Have you never been selected to race with one of the PCA AIM data units in your car? They put them in E cars all the time.

toddlamb

In Spec Boxster with only 190-200hp and with drafting it becomes very difficult to use a data unit to get usable info.

A dyno would tell a much more reliable and convincing story.

hf1

No, this is my first PCA racing season. Not an expert but how would the AIM unit separate which parts of performance variations come from driver's skill and which from the car/motor? Also, there may be a lot of performance variations caused by perfectly legal differences in suspension set-up, tires (old, new), etc. A dyno would clearly reveal any variations in the most important units (the motors) which are also the least amenable to (legal) modifications by the rules of all classes.

Astroman

For years, I've thought about how funny it would be to see a mobile dyno pull into the paddock at one of the big races. How many people would suddenly develop catastrophic "engine failure" and pack it up and go home...

But since I started in 2009, I haven't seen any movement whatsoever. And it used to be proposed as a GT class rule change (hp/wt classing) every year.

Good luck!