Formula Ford in SOLO

[317nathan]

My apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.

I have a Crossle 71F 2.0 that I have put back together to run SOLO 2 with. Any fellow winged cars running solo? I have gone through the 2011 SCCA SOLO rules and I understand that I am NOT required to have: on board fire system, log books, homologation, fuel test ports, running lights.....etc as per page 135 modified category.

I do have the fire system and will run with it (makes sense, takes me sometime to squeeze out of the car) but are the remainder of the items required? Car has SCCA logbook.



Thank you
Nate

[Dick R.]

My apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.

I have a Crossle 71F 2.0 that I have put back together to run SOLO 2 with. Any fellow winged cars running solo? I have gone through the 2011 SCCA SOLO rules and I understand that I am NOT required to have: on board fire system, log books, homologation, fuel test ports, running lights.....etc as per page 135 modified category.

I do have the fire system and will run with it (makes sense, takes me sometime to squeeze out of the car) but are the remainder of the items required? Car has SCCA logbook.



Thank you
Nate

Nate:

What the rule book says

Don't forget helmet must be current by Solo rules. Belts I'm not sure about. Mine were OLD but aren't now. Fuel cell is NOT required. Neither are mirrors. There are lots of winged cars in AM and BM (where you will run). I run CM. You "should" be faster than the top CM cars. In Indiana you will see the top CM finishers from Nationals in 2011. This means you will have REALLY good cars/drivers to benchmark against!

Dick
CM 85
85 VD 1600

[FC63F]

A 71f would be a lot of fun - but my one concern would be the front wings being vulnerable to the cones - replacements would be expensive. However, I suppose if you really wanted to run solo with a f2000 your could figure out an innovative wing design or protective device. I have often thought it would be a lot of fun to run a solo but not willing to trash one of Averills front wings.

regards,

David Keep

[Greg S.]

The type of Pylon normally used at Solo events will do a tremendous amount of damage to a front wing! Several times my front wing has been bent to the point where it limited front wheel movement or even raised the tire off the ground. My advice - avoid them at all cost.

[317nathan]

Thanks guys for the information. At time of post I was unsure what group I would run in, I believe BM.

The car was fairly inexpensive, runs great, looks OK, mechanically sound. SOLO looks like a good inexpensive place to try it out and have some fun.

Point taken on front wings, sounds like I need to Fab up some spares. No guarantee on beating the top CM cars, I have about 30 minutes of seat time.

Thank you
Nate

[jdp526]

Nate, you might try building up some wings using foam cores covered with fiberglass, kevlar, or a combination of fabrics, and epoxy. Talk to some radio-control flyers in your area and see if anyone has a hotwire bow setup to cut the foam cores.

There are some foam wing shops on the net that can cut out the cores for $20 or so. I think this would be an inexpensive alternative to the alum wings if there's a chance of damaging them often.

[Scootin159]

In reality you would want a different wing profile for solo anyways. For the most part, you really just want to go for maximum downforce, as average speeds aren't high enough for drag to really be a significant factor - at least not a big enough factor to make up for the added grip.

To select a wing profile, figure your average speed to be ~50mph and go with the wing profile that gives you the most downforce at that speed before stall.

[Greg S.]

Also be aware of the additional allowances for FC in the Solo Modified Appendix A.

Unrestricted rim width

FA aerfoil sizes

[jdp526]

Here is one source of airfoil profiles: http://www.ae.illinois.edu/m-selig/a..._database.html

[317nathan]

Excellent information! Thanks to all of you.

One more question I do not have an integral first gear and after some research of cost I will continue with out one for the near future. I think it was Taylor Racing who recommended a Tilton Engineering flow control valve on the clutch. My understanding is this allows me to dump the clutch at RPM and not worry about the torque on the Hewland, the flow control lets the clutch slip.

Anybody try these? Or any thoughts?

Good idea on the front wing, glass over foam. After patching up the body I have became efficient with fiberglass.

Nate
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink


https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4...4/IMAG0996.jpg

[Locked]

Nate, what part of Indiana?

[317nathan]

Hey Nick I am in Franklin about 20 miles south of Indy.

[FC63F]

If I were to make wings for solo, I would cut the wings from foam that recovers its original shape after a hit. I suspect that glass or carbon reinforced covers would be too brittle and would be damaged. I was thinking about the "foam worms" you see kids with in pools and or lakes as the base material.

As for the average speed of an FC on a solo course - My guess is 30-35 MPH. As reference, Waterford Hills Road racing course fc's hit a range of 35-115 with an average of 72 MPH. Waterford is a wonderful tight technical track of 1.5 miles. That impacts gearing of course but I would also consider a flap design with multiple flaps

If you are in Indiana - your might want to consider running with the guys in Great Lakes Challenge. Last year we ran 4 week ends and I think 8 or 10 races. We accommodate both the modern FC's as well as Club Continental cars such as the Reynards, Crossle, Swifts, Citations older than 1990. Come on out and play - good people

David Keep
Reynard90SF # 63

[Dick R.]

Regarding solo average speeds for a CM FF: 30 -35 is more like a typical minimum speed on many, many courses, especially in the Indy area (ask "Locked" (Nick) ). Top speeds are frequently in the mid to high 60's on "slower" courses and well into the 70's on faster courses from what I saw years ago and what I've been told more recently.

For starts you should be able to slip the clutch with leg control as needed to protect a slide on first gear just like launching a street car. With a tall first gear you probably would need to slip the clutch anyway on good sites with warm tires. On low traction sites or cold tires on cold days breaking the tires loose won't require much torque anyway.

Dick (hundreds of wheel spin high traction starts at Solos and Pro Solos).
CM 85

[Locked]

Hey Nick I am in Franklin about 20 miles south of Indy.

I'm 40 minutes west of Indianapolis. Check out indyscca.org if you haven't already.