[Roger Miller]

https://new.ekartingnews.com/2017/08/17/nck-thunderhill-west-2-ways-2-days/

[Roger Miller]

Preregistration – at a discount – closes on Friday!!!!!   Get your pre-entry discount now.    After Friday, you will be able to enter at the event.

Also – some big teams are confirming their participation – Giebler racing and Nash Motorsports are just 2 of the major groups coming so far.

Competition level is going up folks – be there to a part of great racing.

 

[Roger Miller]

FYI – David and I have traded some emails about TAG rules.  I think I covered what was needed.

ALL class and rules questions – bring it on….  I will assist as needed.

 

[Roger Miller]

We have a Facebook event page for discussions, questions, announcements, etc.  Feel free to go there as well:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1775663709385642/

 

[Roger Miller]

What you have there is called a pump-around setup – its two pumps and one pump sends fuel to the carb, and one pump evacuates excess fuel from the carb and sends it back to the tank – with a whole heck of a lot of air.  You must vent the tank, and you may need a bigger vent or two vents to not pressurize the tank.

 

 

[Roger Miller]

That would be correct – CIK bodywork only for the Tag Light and Tag Heavy classes.  Tag Enduro is open bodywork, so you can enter that class and run it.  Also, 125/150 Open classes would allow this as well.  So there are options.

 

 

[Roger Miller]

Oilers are limited to 4 oz for 30 minutes and less races, 8 oz for over 30 minutes.

TAG karts often setup a belt drive if they are only road racing.  Although, a top brand chain lube will get you by for the most part.

 

 

[Roger Miller]

21/24 and we have experimented with 23/26

[Roger Miller]

I don’t disagree with much being said here as to areas of concern.  One thing though, the history of IKF and WKA and even today, their focus has been on the grass roots, with some different tiers (club, regional, national).  And while having a limited list of “national” classes, they have offered local clubs, track operators and series organizers, the latitude to add “option” classes that suit their geography and clients.  The dynamics of the engine blizzard that has been happening, and the economic downturn, clubs and tracks have suffered with membership issues, and have “turned down” their programs, left the organizations and gone to independent insurers, and the racers that have remained may or may not be going after the higher level events.

There is that core that is running the SKUSA, ROTAX, Florida series and those programs have held up, kept that hard core following, and have even some growth of late, but this isn’t the local clubs and weekend racers that we need to build the sport again.

Another issue I have seen is the complexity of the sport.  When I hear a person ask “how do I (or my kid) go faster?” and the answer is “Hire a tuner” then to me, something is broken at the grass roots level.  I see directions happening that may improve this area – the clone was a symptom, and the LO206 may be a piece of the answer.  The 2 stroke clutch market is still a mess.  That is where something needs to be done to refocus that sport.  I know when we started through the levels, the KT100 and HPV100 were just about all there was – and with the different exhausts, made it a progression from junior to senior.

jmho

[Roger Miller]

Finally got out to the trailer and got into the carb – pilot we use is a 60 and the needle is a DGH

And we have never messed with either at any track from sea level to Miller Motorsports park.  Not to say that is always golden, but it has been reliable and given me good tuning indications on the main jet.  Perhaps more extended time at higher altitude, I might try a leaner needle, or try a 58 pilot and see what changes.  At most though, maybe moving the clip up one slot might all that is needed to correct a mid richness or something.

[Roger Miller]

The 2014 book – 312.2 – Unlimited 1 and 2 – 250cc twin cylinder @ 490 lbs and then it says see Note #7 which I can’t find.  Although in “Other” there is a #3 that says for twins to refer to USSK rules.

 

[Roger Miller]

I think you are on to something there Chris – sprinters use a leaner pilot – and a bit leaner needle as well to get it to pop out of corners, and they rarely rev out.

Josh – as I said, in my post above we are not anywhere near a 200 (195 even) at the RAD for LS and Sonoma for usual air.  Over the next week or two I will get out there and verify my pilot and needle and report back.  Like I also said, I have run successfully with the engine, never cooking the piston or anything, and, so have a reliable set of data up to 6000′ like at Miller Motorsports down to sea level.  And about every 400′ is the next size.  But still one engine is not the same as another, so plug color, egt, and piston have been my guide and now more folks are using o2 sensors and that will be even more accurate as to how “right” the jetting is.

[Roger Miller]

When we went out in 2011, Ryen ran the Superkart with the CR for both Saturday and Sunday, and picked up a 3rd and a 4th.  The 3rd was behind Brian Wilhelm I and BW II F125s, and the 4th was behind the same 2 plus a B-Stock – so not bad for a CR.  Fast laps were a 2:02.4 and a 2:03.4 – so fairly respectable.

[Roger Miller]

So looking through my notes – Laguna air is often between 500′ and 1000′ relative air density.   And we have run 182, 180 and 178 – 182 for around 500 and 178 at 1000 and higher.  Again – I am always checking plug color and EGT behavior and adjusting around that.  Laguna is also not very much on long straightaways.  For same air, at places like Thunderhill and Sonoma, I stay on the richer side as the long WFO sections need the fuel.

I don’t have access to the kart to verify the pilot, but I believe we have a 60 in there and the needle I don’t remember either – but there is pretty much just one needle all the road racers use.  This is all on a PWM, without airbox.

 

 

 

 

[Roger Miller]

I will get to my jetting notes tonight – one comment about the fuel system, have used a pump around for several years at all of the road race tracks, and never had a problem.  And Ryen grabbed a couple of club championships during that time.  So it works.  170 does sound a little lean, but it is all about the air.  I have a table built from all of the races, where I have noted the best jet (plug, EGT, and piston top inspection) for whatever the air reads, and now all I do is read the air gauge and go to my table and jet.  Never an issue.

That said, one engine and driver is one jet, and another engine/driver at the same time, could be different.  I know that several folks are usually a jet or 2 smaller than when we run.  I know Ryen is a bit over the class weight, so that may be a factor heavier, needs more power, needs more fuel….

 

[Roger Miller]

Thunderhill, Friday, March 28th, 2014

[Roger Miller]

Thanks to everyone that came out and supported the event.  Several new faces attended which is great.  Didn’t move the ambulance all day which is always a good day.

Pictures, results and the 2014 season will be posted on our website and Facebook over the coming days.

On behalf of NCK we wish you a safe and wonderful holiday season!

[Roger Miller]

George, you might think that will happen, and it might in other parts of the country, but out here in Cali it is still real hard to get dates.  I am putting together 2014 schedule and so far only one of my tracks has even offered dates, and they are Fridays….  recall that we cannot possibly do a multi-day event at this time with low number of entries we are still experiencing.  And Fridays are charged at the same rate as Saturday and Sunday….

And this one track is basically the most expensive venue we operate at outside of Sonoma and Laguna.

The issue seems to be “non-racing” groups are coming out of the woodwork.  Expensive cars and motorcycles doing lapping days and weekends.

And the few times we have tried to partner, they try to saddle us with most of the rent cost for less than half of the available time.

Nothing easy about this yet.

 

 

[Roger Miller]

Similar to Kelly, I am actively working the NCK 2014 schedule, and need to know if I have to schedule around something, or take the limited dates I am offered.

As for club points, that is a real tough one.  Class alignment, and the issue that making races a distance away is a time and money commitment that not all can do.

 

[Roger Miller]

To be clear, event insurance has two parts:

Liability – which covers the facility, the club/promoter, the participants, the landowner, etc etc.

Consider a car goes out of control and mows down 10 people,  Lawyers are gonna go after everyone as being liable.  So, it is usually 5 or 10 Million coverage

Then, there is a secondary medical component that is second in line for covering medical expenses.  Covers what your primary medical doesn’t cover up to 10 or 15K usually.

 

[Roger Miller]

Troy, sounds interesting.  Do you have a link or something?  I tried a searched and got no where.  Thanks

 

[Roger Miller]

The bottom nipple is just a drain.  doesn’t have to connect to anything.  Doesn’t look like a pumparound as it is missing the port for the return pump.  The other thing, pumparounds have no floats so if you have floats still in the carb, then for sure it isn’t a pump around.

The tubes you have shown are all vents.  The two ports that stick out sideways, may or may not be blind.  Meaning, they may not be drilled through.  If they are, then you need another hose wrapped with the ones you have already to control slosh out of those holes  Run a hose from one port, over the top of the carb, to the other port and cut a small hole at the highest point to open that hose to atmosphere.

Usually, we run two tubes for the 4 vents.  like I describe above.  Both just connect a port from one side to the other and then we snip a hole in the area where it is highest above the carb.  So one less hose, and all 4 venting ports covered.

Depending on where you run, you likely also have to update the rear bumper to a full width bumper.  Check Bergfelt bumpers online or contact a local shop that can assist you with proper fitting.

 

[Roger Miller]

Configuration 1, CCW, seems to be about the best ride for most.  That is the front straight going from Sunrise to Sunset.

 

[Roger Miller]

would propose that we have a sticky topic for this, and maybe a couple of other historical links in the same place.

 

[Roger Miller]

Initial Results and updated points are post on the website.

http://www.nckroadracing.com

[Author]

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