Anyone have thoughts and/or data with respect to the advantages or disadvantages to running the Honda Fit engine in a CM FF?
Torque?
Max. RPM/Gearing?
Weight Change?
CG Location Change?
???
Craig
Anyone have thoughts and/or data with respect to the advantages or disadvantages to running the Honda Fit engine in a CM FF?
Torque?
Max. RPM/Gearing?
Weight Change?
CG Location Change?
???
Craig
No jump battery! :-)
I'm not an autocrosser, but I'd guess any changes to those attributes you listed would be unnoticeable.
Racer Russ
Palm Coast, FL
No data, just thoughts...
Depending on your gearing preference and the course, the lower rev limit might have a potential effect, but not much. I liked having the ability to bump up my revs to 7k from my typical 6.8k to gain a *little* time and save a shift. Other than that, I don't see the engine making a performance difference at Nationals.
The biggest reasons I'm going to run the Honda is that I really prefer a modern engine with fuel injection and that I won't be reluctant to spend time at the local cart track getting seat time. Oh, and no jumper battery :-)
Barry
Recently moving from CSP to CM, one disadvantage of a modern engine with fuel injection that I can think of is its complexity. There are so many sensors, CAS, MAF, O2 to name just a few, that must work right for the engine to work right. Without having OBD-II, it can be a real pain to detect which sensor went bad. Does the FF Fit engine come with OBD-II?
Sho Torii
1985 Citation FF1600
Hmm. I'm not sure about OBD-II, but (if not) it does have two related features:
You can mount an LED and if there are faults, the blink sequence will tell you what is wrong.
Also, you can buy an optional sub harness that will plug into some dashes/data systems. For instance, my Aim dash displays (and logs) lots of sensors provided by the Honda ECU, such as RPM, oil pressure, water temp, fuel pressure, voltage, throttle position (and maybe others that escape me now). That data has been pretty useful.
In autocrossing do you need to make jet changes? That would go away with the Honda.
My Honda is pretty good about starting and idling unattended. Sometimes early mornings at the race track on very cold days I'll need to give it a little throttle for a minute or two and then it will run on its own. It's nice having a formula race car with a modern engine.
Racer Russ
Palm Coast, FL
From what I've been able to conclude by reading between the lines, the Fit seems to have less flywheel inertia than a Kent, so it revs up and down faster. That should be its primary competitive advantage for autox. A smaller benefit is the lack of carburetor misbehavior. A very small additional advantage is better fuel mileage, so it won't need quite as much fuel on board at the beginning of the day. The non-racing clutch provides more options for launch technique, and the option to slip the clutch a bit coming out of a hairpin if the gear you are in isn't short enough.
As others have said, the alternator and other modern conveniences should make the day go smoother. The Fit engine also opens the possibility of sponsorship from Honda dealers.
Another advantage is the possibility of contingency awards. Presently, Honda provides contingency for a couple dozen Solo classes but C Modified is not one of them. Perhaps if someone requested its addition Honda would do so.
http://old.scca.com/documents/contin...da-ProSolo.pdf
Jim
I wish I understood everything I know.
I sent an email to HPD. They're starting to review their contingency program for 2012 and will consider adding CM Obviously, they didn't promise anything, but they didn't say "no"
Barry
Well with Lincoln being almost 1200 higher then sea level it could make a difference (we mostly run at sea level all the time) but we're going to buy a carb. to adjust for that. I know , I know your telling yourselfs why doesn't he just change the jets, Just one less thing to get wrong if you just change out the carb.
Ben
Ahhh...unless your carb is built and tuned to your engine/head/intake combo where bye jets are much easier than having a second dyno tuned carb. Fact of the matter is that once tuned the Weber carb is pretty damn reliable and idle is often the biggest single adjustment for auto-x.
Peter Calhoun
Motorsport Manager- Michelin North America, Inc.
Swift DB1-86 FF1600 (bye-bye 3.12)
2009-10 SCCA CM National Champions
Well my first car was carbureted and at a National Tour I had carb problems on day one and found out it was a clogged jet after I got home. I would bet alot of you have carb stories to tell.
So this would/could solve 2 things, one being the right carb for the National's and two a carb for those unforeseen problems that always seam to happen at the National's.
Ben
Listed on the HPD site, the Honda is 221 lbs. Anyone know the weight of the Kent?
Nick M.
Driving - your car if you'll let me.
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'Stay Hungry'
JK 1964-1996 #25
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