TRANSCRIPT FROM SPEC RACER COMPLIANCE
SEMINAR
SCCA NATIONAL CONVENTION
MILWAUKEE,
FEBRUARY 17,1995
Seminar given by David Liddle, Engine
Department
Manager and Spec Racer Compliance Director, SCCA Enterprises.
(Editors Note: Renault specific material
removed for brevity)
My name is Dave Liddle and I am employed by SCCA
Enterprises, Incorporated. My position at Enterprises is that of Engine Department Manager
as well as being Compliance Director for Spec Racer, a position which was created at the
request of SCCAs BOD. They felt I was right for the position because of my
familiarity with the engines and the experience Id gained during compliance trips
with the late Dick Martin. The Spec Racer Compliance Program was begun in response to
concerns voiced by a number of Spec Racer owners. In no way did we see this as a criticism
of the Club Racing national compliance crew or the local scrutineers that the club so
heavily relies on. Presently, Spec Racers are nearly 25% of all cars entered in club
races, and with the number of classes that the tech crews have to deal with at every
event, there simply isnt enough time for them to look for all of the subtle
improvements the resourceful owners have attempted. Today Im here to share with you
the knowledge Ive gained from five and a half years at SCCA Enterprises and 31 races
doing SR compliance.
The primary goal of my compliance activity is to maintain
the Spec concept in Spec Racer. Much of this activity is to eliminate
performance-enhancing modifications. My second concern is to protect SCCA
Enterprises interests and therefore the clubs interests in Enterprises being
the sole parts supplier for most of the parts which are used on the Spec Racers. Some of
the participants have taken it upon themselves to duplicate parts that we sell, in an
effort to save themselves a couple of bucks. Unfortunately, this hurts Enterprises
ability to remain in business and supply parts to those competitors who choose to
participate by the class rules.
Ill begin my talk today with those items I consider
to be performance improvement related and then talk about the problems with illegal parts.
One other thing Id like to mention is about the Compliance Team letter that each
nationally and divisionally licensed scrutineer should have received.
As it says in the letter, I am presently accepting
applications for the SCCA Enterprises Spec Racer Compliance Team for 1995. If you are
interested In learning more about this program or becoming a member of the team, Ill
answer any of your questions after my presentation this afternoon. Also, I realize that
you may have questions as we go along, but if you could make a note of your question and
wait until the Q&A session after my presentation, it will make better use of our time.
The Sports Racer Category Specifications book is the
reference I use to clarify any questions that I have when checking cars. Because I have
been managing the engine department of SCCA Enterprises for almost six years, Im
very familiar with the way the engines are assembled and sealed. This inside knowledge of
the engines and the use of the seal database information has proven to be invaluable
during my travels. The counterfeiting of engine seals is a practice which has been done
both to improve performance and to attempt to save money, but I have yet to see an
illegally rebuilt engine that comes close to the level of quality workmanship that SCCA
Enterprises engine department consistently provides.
The tires themselves are particular to Spec Racers -
Yokohama 185/60-13 front and 205/60-13 rear. These tires are marked on the sidewall - the
original run was literally branded with the words SPEC RACER, but currently
the same words are molded in., Its unlikely that you will see any of the
branded tires still in use, unless someone is branding the tires themselves. I
have recently been in contact with Yokohama to discuss the potential problem of
illegally-marked tires and what they were able to tell me is that the production dates can
be checked to correlate whether or not that tire should have the branded or
molded lettering. Tires which are branded and have a production date later than March of
1994 are tires which are illegally marked. The date of manufacture of a tire can be found
in the last three numbers of the DOT serial number on the sidewall. The first two numbers
give you the week and the third number is the second digit of the year. For example the
numbers 513 would be the 51st week of 1993. The tires are to be mounted on wheels supplied
by Enterprises, the most common of these being the familiar 4-spoke alloy, with the
letters SCCA cast into one spoke. The seven inch wide rim with the 205 tire,
is, of course, only to be used at the rear of the car. The other legal wheel is the older,
stamped-steel design which most of the racers only use to mount their rain tires.
The only legal brake pad is the Performance Friction
Carbon Metallic pad sold through Enterprises. This pad can easily be checked
by looking through the gaps between spokes on the cast wheels, but the steel wheels make
checking more difficult. When youre checking brakes, look at the brake caliper for
the open area behind the pad. The older, illegal pads will either show a rivet or
gold-anodized color. The legal pads are black on the outside with either stamped SCCA or
lettered in white the words Performance Friction.. In case clarification is
needed, the pad could be removed from the caliper. I have here for you to examine, some
samples of the legal brake pads and some older, illegal ones.
New for 95 is the cockpit-adjustable brake bias kit.
The only legal part is the one Enterprises sells. This piece can be identified by the Spec
Racer logo sticker on the knob. In case this sticker is absent, look for the reflective
sticker on the aluminum plate that mounts the adjuster. Should this sticker also
mysteriously have vanished, each aluminum plate has been stamped with a diamond containing
the letters SCCA. If the stamp is missing, the guy has an illegal adjuster on his car.
Also new this year is the requirement for every Spec Racer to have the welded-on upper
control arm reinforcing strap. The required start date is March 1st; this updating
information some of you may have heard. The reinforcement was necessary because we are on
our third generation of tires, which are significantly stickier and place higher loads on
the suspension.
Each of you, I would guess, is familiar with the 1580 lb.
weight of the car. Once I saw a car get weighed with the driver on a single axle scale
setup. The problem was the driver was standing up in the car and he would lean forward as
if looking at the scale readings while the front of the car was being weighed. Then, while
the rear of the car was on the scales, he turned around and leaned over the rollbar to
allegedly get a better look at the rear weight. Effectively, he was using his body weight
as ballast to make sure the car would make weight. So, be sure the driver stays put in the
car during weighing.
Many of the SR guys feel their car will handle better with
as much weight as possible up front in the nose. So, we frequently weigh the nose section
of the bodywork. 57 lbs. maximum is right there in the book. New this year in the rules is
a clarification regarding crash damage. The rule now makes it clear that the weights of
body sections must still conform to the specs, even if the bodywork in question has been
repaired at the track. Also, fairly new is the tail cutout and airscoop modification. This
change in the bodywork was developed during testing on the Ford-powered cars and we felt
it was appropriate to allow the Renault cars to use this tail section as well. Many
CSRs, teams and prep shops that simultaneously field cars with both of the
drivelines would have to carry twice as much spare rear bodywork, so we allow both cars to
use it. The stipulation with the tall cutout is that you must perform both modifications
to use either. Specifications for the tail cutout are as follows: The vertical cuts are to
be made at the outer edge of the vent holes in the rear upper panel, with the horizontal
cut being one inch below the crease at the bottom of the upper panel. A one inch radius is
to be maintained at the point of the intersection of the two cuts to help keep cracks from
beginning at the corner. The airscoop is sold through Enterprises and is marked underneath
with a patch that is manufactured into the scoop. The scoop is to be mounted with
its leading edge flush with the forward edge of the tail. It is allowed to
glass in the scoop to improve the appearance of the installation. The tall
minimum weight does not change, so as to not create any weight advantage. On the subject
of bodywork, there are some dimensions given in the specs and perhaps the potentially most
abused violation of dimensional modifications made during crash repairs is the length of
the nose. The thought here seems to be that a couple of advantages could be exploited if
the nose were slightly lengthened. First, the weight would be placed even farther forward
to alter the balance of the car as well as lowering and slightly closing off the radiator
opening to gain a slight aerodynamic advantage. I carry a tape measure to check this one;
at the center of the nose -62 and 1/2" is the legal limit.
The suspension springs and sway bars may not be plated and
the sway bars may be disconnected - not removed - for a wet race. Dimensions for the
spring and bar diameters are called out in the book. I have tested spring rates, but this
is an item Ill normally only be able to check during a major race such as the
Runoffs, but with an appropriate tool, such as this one, its easy to check the
spring and bar diameters. Dimensions are given in the specs book.
Data acquisition systems are allowed, but according to the
rule book, the system data recorder must be removed from the car for the race.
The Spec Racer Ford is probably not nearly as familiar to
you yet as are the older cars. When I wrote the rules for SRF, I tried to understand
exactly what parts and systems had been changed and how to be able to best monitor the
legality of the changes.
Starting with the major changes, lets go over what I
consider to be the differences between the cars. Weight is now 1640 lbs. for both club and
pro racing . Due to an unfortunate typo in the pro rule book, the Fords could run ten
pounds lighter than that in '94, but no longer. When the cars were introduced at the '93
Runoffs, one of the first things we learned was that the welded strap seals on the cam
covers were cracking and sometimes even breaking off completely. All of the engines
currently in use have a version of the familiar Superseal, minus the troublesome wires.
You should see two of these seals on the camcover and two on the oil pan. Here again, the
seal numbers are cross-referenced to the engine serial number. The seals on the oil pan
are not easy to see, especially the one on the forward edge of the engine. Dont pay
attention to the old Roush welded strap seals which may still be on some of the first
thirty-some engines. Everyone should be aware that the only valid seals are of the
Superseal-variety which have proven to work well and that no competitor should be
prosecuted for missing one of the old seals. The gearboxes are also sealed with two of the
new seals. These seals are located on two of the bolts that hold the two halves of the
transaxle together. To locate these seals, stand outboard of the left rear wheel and look
down at the upper control arm. The first seal is just below and forward of this arm. The
second seal goes on the bolt which is just above the lower transmission mount, on the same
bolt flange as the first seal. Its probably easiest to see this seal from the rear
of the car as it is approximately 1 3/4" above the axle centerline and 3" to the
rear of the CV joint. One part of the transaxle that is not sealed is the fifth gear
cover. Removal of this cover is relatively easy and if there is any question about the 5th
gear ratio, this is the place to look. The teeth on the two gears can be counted, and if
correct, should be 41 and 30. Ford offers no other fifth gearset for this box, so changing
the ratio is not a simple task, but that's never stopped them before.
Each Ford competitor is required by the rules to have his
copy of the Roush Ford Spec Racer Installation Instructions to assist tech personnel as
per D.18. Vehicle Logbook. So, if you see anything unusual on any SRF, the RSFRII book,
which is the assembly manual for the conversion, should answer your questions. The rule
book frequently refers back to the RSFRII to define the proper execution of the
conversion. The rule book also specifies the precise Ford part which is legal for
maintenance replacement.
Now lets look at some things you can check at the
racetrack for compliance. Along with the bodywork weights and specs, much of the chassis
is exactly the same.
The engine and its related Systems are the real meat of
the conversion. Since the engine output is essentially restricted by the amount of air
that can get into the hemispherical combustion chambers, I make it a point to examine the
restrictions in the intake system. First and easiest to check is the air filter. To check,
simply undo the clips on the air box and look inside. The rules spell out exactly which
air filter is legal. Ford part number FA1031. The part number is right there on the
filter. Nothing else is legal. The next thing to do is take the hose off of the throttle
body and measure the butterfly inside. I have fabricated a simple, inexpensive
gauge from a long 8MM bolt. I ground a 40mm long notch into the bolt to serve. as a
go-no-go gauge. The technique here is to hold the throttle In the wide open
position and slip the gauge over the butterfly. The gauge should just ft. What youre
looking for here is a larger diameter bore in the throttle body. Also, at the same time,
look carefully inside the throttle body opening to be sure that the sharp comer left by
the machining operations is still in place. I would consider the removal of this sharp
comer to be a modification of the part and thereby illegal. At Mid-Ohio this past year I
looked at intake manifolds as one of the post race items. Removing the manifold is not
difficult but doing so creates two problems. One is the fact that coolant will be allowed
to flow into a couple of the intake ports. Not a big deal if youre aware that
its going to happen, but it made one of the competitors quite upset. The second and
more important problem stems from the fact that the cylinder head on the SRF engine is
whats known as the Mexican Escort Hemi head. This head has a unique port
spacing and thereby does not use the same intake manifold gasket as the standard Escort.
There is not a Ford dealership parts department in this country that has ever seen this
gasket before, much less, has access to one. Enterprises even had to pull some strings to
get replacements for the three cars we tore down. So, its probably not a good idea
to inspect intake manifolds on Spec Racer Fords. The first competitor who decides to take
off his manifold is in for a bit of a surprise.
Enterprises now sells a muffler for use at tracks with
sound restrictions. The only legal mufflers are easy to check since they all share the
same three-letter code GDL right on the muffler itself.
Another of the sealed parts on the SRF is the EEC (short
for Electronic Engine Control) module. This part is the brain of the engine management
system. It is located at the forward end of the right-hand side pod and is accessible
after removing the nose section. Enterprises originally used two small stickers on
diagonal comers of the module to prohibit disassembly. These seals will self-destruct if
someone attempts to remove them, so tampering is immediately evident. We soon had larger
stickers of the same design made because we were concerned with the durability of the
small stickers. I am in the process of replacing all the smaller stickers. The large
stickers are installed on the long sides of the EEC, so as to cover two of the bolts that
would need to be removed to get inside. Also, lately Ive begun installing a third
seal across the top end of the box, which is visible in the car, unlike the other two
seals. The penalties for tampering with the EEC module seals are just as severe as the
penalties involved with engine seal tampering. As a part of my traveling arsenal, I carry
several of these EEC modules that I use to exchange with competitors boxes when I
see fit. I wrote into the rules a provision for exchanging parts with the competitors just
to make sure they had no loophole to prevent me from doing so and the board has reiterated
this ruling in a recent Fast-track. The fact that the competitors know they are subject to
these parts swaps, I believe, makes the guys even less likely to attempt to cheat. One
additional item Ive looked at is the wiring harness, essentially to try to find any
non-standard resistors or switches.
Unlike showroom stock cars, our calibration has already
been optimized for performance by the manufacturer in another attempt to discourage
tampering with the EEC. I am very confident in the programming skills of the engineers at
Ford SVO, so I seriously doubt theres any room for improvement.
One other tool Im starting to use is a diagnostic
tester made for Ford vehicles, known as the New Generation Star Tester. This
very complicated instrument replaces the small STAR tester and has the ability to display
real-time data from the engine management system. I believe this tester will be able to
find a faulty sensor or one which has been tampered with. When enough competitors know
that we have the ability to locate modifications of this nature, I imagine itll be
an excellent deterrent.
The second aspect of my compliance checking involves
counterfeited parts. For example, the sheetmetal surrounding the radiator is, by the
rules, to be only an SCCA Enterprises' supplied part. Enterprises initiated a program in
1989 to mark sheetmetal and fabricated parts to prove their origin. Unfortunately, not all
of the parts which were supposed to have been marked, actually left Enterprises with their
stickers in place. We have attempted to prosecute for parts which were even admitted to me
to have been from an alternate source, but we knew we'd lose an appeal. Not wanting to set
a rather destructive precedent, we backed out of prosecution. All of the fiberglass
sections manufactured since 1989 are also supposed to have been marked with a special
identifying patch, but the same problem has been found here too. As for a workable
solution to this problem, Im not sure exactly what to do. It may come down to
marking every piece of fiberglass and sheetmetal on every car that we see at the races and
eventually establishing a date at which unmarked parts are no longer legal. I can just
imagine the problems we'll have trying to enforce that. The logistics of reaching each of
the over 700 cars can only add to the scope of the problem. At the January CSR meeting, we
briefly discussed a registration program for individual cars that would show compliance
with each marked part, and then in the future, should that chassis number show up with any
unmarked parts, it would immediately be illegal. I like the idea of car registration, but
implementation may be met with some resistance. On this subject, I will listen to any
constructive suggestions.
Thanks for attending, and if you have Spec Racer related
compliance questions that come up in the future, I can be reached at SCCA Enterprises,
(303) 693-2111.
Dave Liddle, Engine Department Manager/Compliance Director
SCCA Enterprises, Inc. |