Quack Quack

The Midget racing engine rules are a whole lot like our income tax law. All we ever do is add on to them to give some special interest people a break or two.

I am for the Libertarian approach to rules throw out all the old rules and amendments. Using the "KISS" philosophy make a new engine rule. Cubic inch is a good number to start with. Stock block and head vs spl built motors might be another. The racer can decide which motor will work best and the cream will rise to the top.

Or maybe we need to divide the class up into National racers with their rules and Division II class with their own set of rules and National racers can not race with Division II cars. Any room for us 1000cc midgets or I'm leaning more to 1500cc midgets.

Honest Dad himself

Sounds about right to Me !

We worked on the stock block midget engine formula for over a year before we released USSA's rules. Our intention was to use them to build a 21st century racing engine on a strict budget, not a cheap engine. Our rules were written with input from several OEM's, one retired individual from a company actively involved in midget racing's racing division, several independent engine builders representing 4 different manufacturer's and USAC's west coast VP. Since we are no longer in the midget racing business, I will be happy to share these rules with anybody who, for legitimate reasons, thinks they would like to use them. Please contact us with your name and affiliation and I will contact you.

I Googled USSA and I came up with www.ussaprostar.com these things look neat. I bet they sit around all summer thinking about this stuff. I see a market for shocks but wheel and tire market don't look so good.

Honest Dad himself

Somewhere out there there is a 2.5 to 3 Liter stock block motor either 4 or 6 cylinder perhaps even a small V8 that would work great in a Midget chassis. Given the chance to explore this new realm of racing I'm very sure we could find a supper motor out there that would be very competitive.

But as long as we are constrained by old outdated and prohibitive rules Midgets racing is starting that slow clockwise journey around the old toilet bowl, not true in Australia? (old wives tail).

Honest Dad himself

We have been racing a Ford Focus in the Illini Racing Series Sportsman group for 5 years with decent results [4th in points twice, heat race wins on dirt and pavement, feature win on dirt]. This past weekend I stooged for a club member who took his 122 cubic inch Honda powered car to the DuQuoin Poweri show. 2 liters of stock DOHC motor isn't going to cut it against those guys. Our friends at SET racing had somewhat better results with their 2.4 Liter DOHC Ecotec Chevys.

We put on some good races with our DOT legal tires and restricted stock block and head motors. In 2012 we had Focus, Quad 4, and Ecotec feature winners.

There is no substitute for cubic inches and that extra camshaft and two tiny valves won't make up for the extra 36 to 15 cubic inches an Esslinger has. The modern 4 cylinder motor is very undersquare for emission reasons. The bore/stroke ratio is actually close to that of a 103 ci Offy.

If you want a peek at this "modern" technology, the SET guys and our TAS [Teer, Allen, & Schultz] Honda gang will be holding a PUBLIC build off at the Circle Track Expo Feb. 22-24 in St. Charles Illinois. We'll each be taking a pick-n-pull 2.4 liter motor and converting it to IRS legal trim during the show. The EcoTec Chevy and K24 Honda will be raced at some point in our 20 race 2013 season.

Chuck Schultz
Winfield, Illinois

Would you guys be opposed to letting us run with you guys with a little ole 1500cc Kawasaki powered Chain Drive Midget? We promise we won't get in your way.

Honest Dad himself

@ DAD Motorcycle chain drive Midget would be Cool ! but the Old Guard will not even let 2.5 EFI stock engines compete. Ecotech & Honda would not be my choice but let all the stock block/head engines in & Let Er Rip !

Our rules package includes provisions for cycle powered chain drive cars. go to www.Illiniracing.com for the rulebook. There is a member/schedule meeting every January in Joliet that welcomes potential teams. Our rumored 2013 slate includes Grundy, Rockford, Sycamore, and maybe APS in Wisconsin.

CS

So what OEM motor would you try? Over the years our members have tried Saturns, Toyotas, BMWs, Subarus, and others. As I said, the modern OEM motor is severely undersquare for emission purposes. I've looked at all of them I can get data on and run them through my DeskTop Dyno. If there is a better 2.4 liter out there than the Honda or Ecotec it would surprise me.

Chuck Schultz