[Alex Ritchie]

This is what James wrote...

Alex, I am really surprised that you did not know that you are allowed to improve as long as you stay within the limits set by Rotax. In fact the Technical Regulations is available from the Rotax webpage as well as from ours all this while.

James Leong

And this is what the Rotax Technical Regulations 2008 posted in this website say:

Neither the engine nor any of its ancillaries may be modified in any way. "Modified" is
defined as any change in form, content or function that represents a condition of
difference from that originally designed. This is to include the addition and/or omission of
parts and/or material from the engine package assembly unless specifically allowed within
these rules. The adjustment of elements specifically designed for that purpose shall not
be classified as modifications, i.e. carburetor and exhaust valve adjustment screws.


Now I am really confused...

[RocK]

improve and modified is not the same thing.

[Alex Ritchie]

improve and modified is not the same thing.

Ah, thanks for clearing that up. Thus, it is possible to remove material from, say the crankcase, in order to "improve" the engine but it is not possible to remove material from, say the crankcase, in order to "modify" the engine.

It's all in the intention then.

[Ryan104]

From what I saw and heard on the weekend, the drivers with the new reed valves were much faster than those without.
Time for everyone to upgrade to it when the stock comes in then the races will be tight and close again like the previous round.

[RocK]

All I like to know now is, how was the P8?

anyone using P8 engines? heard the new reed come std with the P8.

[Ivan]

I haven’t joined any RMC round yet, but hope I can raise my concern about “engine improvement”

I strongly recommend the organizer release all information about which parts (apart from jetting and power valve) we can adjust or “improve” and which part cannot. Please keep less grey area, keep the rule be clear and fair.

Anyway it is not good to the championship if now people start to spend time and money on race-tune their Rotax Max. I am one of those still having an impression that “the Rotax series is for box-stock, out of the factory spec engine.”

[JohnKing6]

OK, so a few points to allay Ivan's worries:
1) The regs are very clear about what can and what can't be done. But, we all rebuild the engines very carefully - you are allowed to do things like make sure the crack is balanced. So, a really well build engine is a bit more powerful than one that comes straight from the factory.
2) All the engines are inspected and sealed
3) The top 3 positions in each of the classes engines were stripped afterwards as well - this doesn't need to be done but was probably worthwhile.
4) James offered to sell both Nabal's and Mikko's engines - and did sell Nabal's

As far as the P8 and new reed valve was concerned, I had a very close battle with Harry Anthony in the masters final. Harry was running a P8 with the new reed valve, my engine is a P3 with a P7 barrel and no new reed valve. Harry was a little bit faster than me off the corners and I was a bit quicker down the straight. After 25 laps we were .5 secs apart and our fastest laps were within .1 of a second of each other. Did Harry win because he had a P8? No, he won because he made a great overtaking move on me.

Everyone has days when the setup is either perfect (like Mikko's looked) or not so great (like mine was in the heats). The difference between karts over the weekend was setup, not funny engines. In the seniors, the fastest lap over the weekend was, I think, Fei Hoong in the sunday morning warm-up when the track was a bit cooler and there was a bit less grip. I guess that was on older tyres as well so doesn't that suggest that most of us were suffering from too much grip? I know I was.

So, please let's stop worrying about funny engines - the races were great and mostly very close. Mikko had a great set-up and was also helped by the awesome fight between Fei Hoong and James Lee.

[Mikko Nassi]

All I like to know now is, how was the P8?

anyone using P8 engines? heard the new reed come std with the P8.

I believe Nabil who won the Juniors was on a P5 cylinder (engine was sold). I was on a P8 I think. There is no real difference between a P8 and P7 or a P5 cylinder for that matter - all the PX means is that they have taken a new mold out as the previous one has reached the end of its life - there is no difference in design. The only real difference between the older and newer engines is some updated parts such as conrod, piston, clutch drum etc which have all been updated and can all be easily switched over into an old engine.

Not all P8 cylinder engines come with the newer reed cage - the first batch of P8 engines that come into Malaysia did not include it yet. I haven't done back-to-back testing with the different reeds so can't say for certain what the difference is.

OK, so a few points to allay Ivan's worries:
1) The regs are very clear about what can and what can't be done. But, we all rebuild the engines very carefully - you are allowed to do things like make sure the crack is balanced. So, a really well build engine is a bit more powerful than one that comes straight from the factory.
2) All the engines are inspected and sealed
3) The top 3 positions in each of the classes engines were stripped afterwards as well - this doesn't need to be done but was probably worthwhile.
4) James offered to sell both Nabal's and Mikko's engines - and did sell Nabal's

Yeah the regulations are clear - it does have to be mentioned that the "repair manual" does contradict the regulations on some points - so it's always best to check the technical regulations.

Everyone has days when the setup is either perfect (like Mikko's looked) or not so great (like mine was in the heats). The difference between karts over the weekend was setup, not funny engines.

My setup was spot-on . I really got the brand new Intrepid sorted during one day of testing (friday) and hardly changed anything other than tyre pressures during the weekend. I started the Final on pressures that were a bit too low because a cloud cover formed but when the sun came back out and the race went on they got up to pressure and I could get the same laptimes towards the end as I could at the start. Last race I struggled and could only manage my fastest laps during the beginning of the races. Finally the more grip that was down on the track the better the kart felt especially on corner entry rather than going worse as the grip went up.

Also one thing that helped me is that I had great condition tyres going into the pre-final and final. I only did 3 laps in qual (only James did less) and didn't even do the warmup lap in heat 2 because of a problem.

In the seniors, the fastest lap over the weekend was, I think, Fei Hoong in the sunday morning warm-up when the track was a bit cooler and there was a bit less grip. I guess that was on older tyres as well so doesn't that suggest that most of us were suffering from too much grip? I know I was.

I only managed a 44.0 in that warmup (Fei Hoong had a 43.1 I think). I had no rear grip.

Mikko's drive in the pre-final from far back was the highlight for me - he just cut thru everyone and looked so comfortable at a speed no-one could get close to.

Thanks John. That was a fun race. I didn't make it any easier by being very cautious and losing a place or two on the start (then again I very nearly got taken out twice so I guess it was good to be cautious).

[RocK]

Not all P8 cylinder engines come with the newer reed cage - the first batch of P8 engines that come into Malaysia did not include it yet.

Ahh cancel order..

[Gary80]

Mikko when will you be posting the championship points for both the Malaysia Max and Asia Max Series

[James Leong]

I would like to comment on the note about engines. All engines coming out of Rotax factory are assembled on the factory line like assembly of a car. Only two technicans does the job. Depending on his mood for that day, the engine can be assembled in an extra-ordinary way or if he has a bad day, certain things may have been omitted. I have had engines that came back on warranty claim that had parts missing. Having said that it does not meant that QC is bad. Things like this happened maybe 1 in 1000.

Coming back to the comments of Alex which I find really disturbing and so I wish to clarify things. Improvement of an engine is not modifying. Modifying is changing the status of the engine. Improvement is making sure that the engine tolerances are tighter and would perform better. Doing this will mean having shorter lifespan of the parts as they undergo more stress. What then is improvement within the legal limits?

1. Balancing of the crank helps. That's incidentally is an improvement not a modification.
2. Playing with the squish clearance within the limits given by Rotax.
3. Doing it the right way of putting in big end bearings. I have seen engines coming back to us with bearings out of alignment. Doing it the right way will let your crank run smoother.
4. Constant checking of the exhaust mat and replacing it more often helps.
5. Changing the piston ring after 2 races will certainly help as piston need not be changed if they are in good conditions. We sell piston rings separately also.
6. Fuel filter and air filter must be checked constantly. Air filter needs to be cleaned after every race and replaced if necessary. Dirty fuel will clogg your fuel filter and that needs to be looked at also.

RMC/AMC races are still run using "out of the box" engines unlike other makes. There are no rules that says you cannot strip a brand new engine down and check through all the components before you run it. We do it all the time. The onus is on you to decide.

I hope this clears the air once and for all.

James Leong
Rotax Distributor

[Alex Ritchie]

.....

RMC/AMC races are still run using "out of the box" engines unlike other makes. There are no rules that says you cannot strip a brand new engine down and check through all the components before you run it. We do it all the time. The onus is on you to decide.

I hope this clears the air once and for all.

James Leong
Rotax Distributor

Got your message loud and clear. See you at Round 5...

[Mikko Nassi]

Mikko when will you be posting the championship points for both the Malaysia Max and Asia Max Series

Asia, and Malaysia.

Hope you're feeling better and ready for the Philippines .

[angelababy]

congrats Mikko.The number of incidents in the Junior Final is something to be looked at in future races. These are young and eager drivers who do not have much experience yet, so we would not like to see anyone getting hurt or getting discouraged and leaving the sport.