The Place

The rules are not vague it say's 5.5 inches. and if you want to take things to far they should be pegged back.as you say this is classic racing and should be kept in the spirit of classic racing or we all be racing a sort of classic outfit

Mike i know the bike you refer to as looking ridiculous,and totally agree,i think they were 8"rims.tyre manufacturers give min, max, and optimum dimensions for their tyres, this was outside of their recommendations,and even on this rim it made no difference to the contact patch. the gauge the club has stops some tyres which have a 5/5" contact patch!. A tyre which myself and Jeff Hands and myself wanted to use (Michelin) was a no go in the gauge due to the shape of the tyre and had duel markings (overall and tread width's). contact patch measurement was confirmed by Michelin,but the club chose to refuse its use on the basis of its overall width marking on the tyre. The Yokohama AO48x13 has a contact patch of 5.5" on a 7" rim in an outfit with a driver and passenger on it rolled over a flat surface with engineers blue on the tyre but a measurement of the wear patch is 6.5" due to tyre deflection, 0.5" gain on one side and lost on the other when cornering, so still only 5.5".The decision not to allow this tyre must have been a difficult one as with the info we have could be argued either way,so lets accept the rules, as Mike said in his post WE DO THIS FOR FUN. so lets all of us get on with the task of having LOADS of FUN
There are 9 possible tyre choices for us including the 10"Dunlops & Yoko's and Avons 5.0 /22-13 Formula Ford front (control) which most of us use

DUNLOP
140/535R-13 5.5"-7" 5.5" Formula Ford front (control)
CR82 135/545-13 5"-6" 5.3" Formula Ford front (historic)
CR65 450M - 13 4"-7.5" 4.9"
CR65 450L - 13 3.5"-7" 4.5"
CR65 550L - 13 4"- 7" 5"
CR65 450L - 12 4"-7" 4.625"

I have spoken to both Avon & Dunlop and they have no intention of stopping production of their Formula Ford or Historic control tyres which they offer in 3 compounds (both manufacturers) We will be staying with Avon 5/22-13's as we find them affordable @ £77 each. I was told by people in Formula Ford that the the Dunlops give better grip but run fewer heat cycles before their performance reduces dramatically,we found this to be true when we tested them on Ian Mcgee's bike when first built. CR82's which are slightly cheaper @£75.24 each. The CR65 range are available in 2 compounds 204 and 484 the latter being the stickier Most of us use the 484 compound i think.I have no knowledge of Dunlop's latest offering for FF 140/535R-13 but would imagine there would be better grip, the Yokohama AO48 i am told by some car racers i know that it dosn't run many heat cycle's,similar to CR82's so therefor may not be cost effective.

I really cannot understand all this passion about tyres. Nobody who races classic sidecars with our club wants to see a rim width exceeding the present 7" This in itself limits the contact patch, and even if the fitting of a Yokohama or a Mitchelin does exceed the exact measurment of 5.5" by a few mm So what! Nobody will go any faster!

Whilst worrying about tyres our engergies would be far more useful directed upon ignition systems, and I'm not refering to a set of contact breakers or a boyer bransden set up. Perhaps we need a new thread on this subject.

Start one Ed Don't go off topic, the more threads the better honestly, from a moderator's point of view. It's much easier than deciding where to split another rant

There's no need to start a new thread, i'm sure its all ready been stated on here or on the crmc site, programmable ignitions are allowed, active programmable ignitions aren't e.g. you cant have an ignition which has a feed from your carbs adjusting your timing during a race to suit your fuel mixture like a car ECU.

OK, it's just easier to split threads and helps with traffic cheers Jason

I think you are wrong there Jason. If it's out of sight you can have it!

So at the end of the day its all about bending the rules as far as they will go,cos if you bend `em till they break then its "cheating",however as far as I`m concerned if it smells like a rose then it is a rose, I suppose we will never be rid of "pot hunters""big fish in little pools" and "how to win by cheque book"
Actually Steve maybe you should start a "Rant " section so long as the names are changed to protect the innocent.

petercaughlin wrote:So at the end of the day its all about bending the rules as far as they will go,cos if you bend `em till they break then its "cheating"

If you can find an advantage by reading the rules thoroughly - and find something no one else has noticed - then I see no reason not to do so ?

Eddy i think the rule you speak of(must be hidden)refers to ignition boxes and belt drives,and not any modern device that you can hide,one reason belts are allowed is probably a safety issue (oil from chain oilers),although i don't understand why this applies to ignition box's as units such as Lucas Rita which was available in period but it does ! but lets not try to hide things which are obviously out of period,or things like throttle position sensors or any other modern performance enhancers. Peter there are those who want to win and those who race and never win,but enjoy competing and riding as fast as they can. there are a lot of people in classic racing who have loadsa money who don't ever win but still enjoy the chase. those that win will still do so even if the bikes were all the same,its nothing to do with cheque books its talent and prep. Gordon we run to a cut off date of 72 and try to keep the bikes from evolving with components which are clearly out of period,some things are allowed in on safety and others on availability grounds but thats all

Re: Eligibility Clarification
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2010, 10:25:38 PM »

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Quote from: Andy Wilson on December 06, 2010, 10:31:39 PM
Hi Guys + gals, sorry to intrude in your section, but I cant see where it says in the regs for solos or sidecars that programmable ignition systems are prohibited.
All electronic components have to be concealed, so I would agree that the pots fixed to the outside of a carb would be visible and break the rule, but I think to say that the ignition can't be programmable is not strictly accurate as long as it is buried inside the engine cases.

As usual, please shoot me down in flames if I've read it wrong


Under General Points 1.13 "Programmable electronic ignitions are acceptable (but components should be out of view as much as possible) but throttle position sensor devices are not permitted (also known as 3-dimensional ignition systems). "


It is these latter devices that I was referring to in my posting - sorry if that wasn't clear.

Like i said Ed, i think its all ready been stated whats allowed and whats not!

I have got the CMRC tyre gauge in my possesion, I cant see what use it is at all I thought the tyre sidewalls had to go through it You can have 10 " rims the gauge wouldnt measure it Photo tomorrow if I remember my camera

EDDY WHY ARE YOU GOING ON, YOU STARTED ON TRYES AND NOW IGN'S. IN THE PAST THE PEOPLE WHO WANT CHANGE ARE THE ONES WHO WANT AN AVANTAGE, BUT THE PEOPLE THAT UPSET THE REST ARE THE ONES PUSHING FOR THAT ADVANTAGE, MOST OF US DO WANT TO RACE FOR FUN ON BIKES THAT WERE RUN IN THE PERIOD. wHEN A NEW OUTFIT IS BUILT AND YOU HAVE THE MONEY YOU ARE GOING TO FIT THE BEST PUT ALL THAT TOGETHER AND YOU HAVE AN AVANTAGE. (YOU CAN RUN ANY IGN AS LONG AS IT IS OUT OF SIGHT) ALSO YOU SHOULD LOOK CLOSER TO HOME BEFORE COMPLAINING THAT YOU CANT HAVE THIS OR THAT, THERE WERE NEVER ANY 1200 IMPS IN THE PERIOD AND AND THE RULES STATE THE EXTERNAL APPEARANCE OF THE ENGINE MUST REMAIN AS ORIGINAL AND IF YOU STICK A SPACER PLATE BETWEEN THE BLOCK AND HEAD THEN ITS NOT AS ORIGINAL SO JUST LEAVE THINGS AS THEY ARE AND GO AND RACE AND ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND

Richard, please don't shout, there's a good chap