I looked, if there is another topic covering this let me know. I hear an eng change is coming in 2014? In the process of looking for a SRF I am concerned about the $$$ required when the eng change comes. When buying a SRF now what future cost needs to be considered for the change. Secondarly once the change starts it seems the old engs being heaver won't be competivie? Any advice is very welcome. thanks Joel

Premature...waste of time to discuss at this time. We have now secured 2-3 years worth of cylinder heads. Speculation won't do any good. Racers delaying or stopping their normal engine rebuild plans will put us completely and permanently out of business before we get to that point; if it were to occur.

Speaking of engine, how did we end up with the one we have? Ddin't the contemporary Escort that we got our drivetrain from have a better 1.8L Twin cam engine in the Escort GT. Was it not Ford enough (IIRC it was a Mazda design)?

GSR00 wrote:I looked, if there is another topic covering this let me know. I hear an eng change is coming in 2014? In the process of looking for a SRF I am concerned about the $$$ required when the eng change comes. When buying a SRF now what future cost needs to be considered for the change. Secondarly once the change starts it seems the old engs being heaver won't be competivie? Any advice is very welcome. thanks Joel

That didn't come from us.

BFun wrote:Speaking of engine, how did we end up with the one we have? Ddin't the contemporary Escort that we got our drivetrain from have a better 1.8L Twin cam engine in the Escort GT. Was it not Ford enough (IIRC it was a Mazda design)?

I can fill in some of it. The choice of Ford / Roush was certainly Enterprises. But the engine choice was Ford and Roush's recommendation. The issue, now, is that they went with a normal engine bottom end of the era, but (for relatively good reason) went with a unique retooled cylinder head from a prior era. So the engine built for us was never a production item, they ran a batch and that was it. Only in the last 2 years did we find the right, earlier, cylinder heads to corner the market on (just before every junk yard in the country did final purge of engines from this era).

We have many items that have come up and been resolved (some in ideal ways, some not) in terms of obsolescence. Some electronic, some large items like the heads. Some issues have been created by "environmental" changes like replacement part quailty, versus original OEM, and the biggest single impact may have been the degradation of the gas quality in the US. We are usually just barely a step ahead of something. Rest assured that any future changes will be stepped, not all at once (as much as possible). Also if engines are needed...they will be from some high volume, everyday car. Yes, we would love 15 more HP and 60 pounds less weight in the back...a few seconds a lap and making up for slightly more speed with slightly less rear weight would be a wonderful balance. I hear the Renaults, in some ways, were more nimble.

Not that I ever want to migrate to a new engine, but if it ever does happen down the road please try to find an engine without a "farm tractor" exhaust

Erik Skirmants wrote:

BFun wrote:Speaking of engine, how did we end up with the one we have? Ddin't the contemporary Escort that we got our drivetrain from have a better 1.8L Twin cam engine in the Escort GT. Was it not Ford enough (IIRC it was a Mazda design)?

Also if engines are needed...they will be from some high volume, everyday car. Yes, we would love 15 more HP and 60 pounds less weight in the back...a few seconds a lap and making up for slightly more speed with slightly less rear weight would be a wonderful balance. I hear the Renaults, in some ways, were more nimble.

Back in 2003, during my hiatus from Spec Racer Ford, I went back and drove a Sports Renault in Charlie Greenhaus' Entropy Racing fleet at Pocono. Yup -- 85 pounds less weight in the butt makes a big difference. The Renault drivetrain cars are wonderfully toss-able. Very nimble on corner entry with predictable rotation at the apex.

Jerry A. wrote:Not that I ever want to migrate to a new engine, but if it ever does happen down the road please try to find an engine without a "farm tractor" exhaust

You are preaching to the choir on that one...

"Bob Devol Yup -- 85 pounds less weight in the butt makes a big difference. The Renault drivetrain cars are wonderfully toss-able. Very nimble on corner entry with predictable rotation at the apex.

Made for very interesting races back during the transition. They always combined SR with SRF but rarely allowed for a split start because they would look at the similar lap times (and the shape of the car) and make the call that we should run as we qualified.
So, all mixed together at a more technical track like Mid-Ohio we would take off in a gaggle...the Renault would be in the way at the start and on the straights but the Ford would be in the way in the braking/turning zones because they weren't as nimble. At the end of every lap, those that had survived would come across the line at about the same time...then start all over. Add to that the fact that, if you were looking in the mirror, you couldn't tell if it was a good guy or a bad guy nipping on your butt. If you were kind enough to wave the Ford by...it would turn out to be a Renault. DOH!! (and vice versa)
Enterprises made some serious cash back in the mid to late nineties...and not just on motors and conversion kits.

H.(last man in)B.

Just for giggles, how does the Ford tractor motor compare to the 2 other current "spec" motors in use? The FF spec Honda Fit motor and the FE spec Mazda MRZ. How was the transition handled for the Renault to Ford way back when, did they play together right out of the box, or were their some sort of equalization program (balast) to make them more even?

I just got my engine rebuilt (it's first rebuild ever, so it probably lasted 15 light scheduled years), so I am in no hurry to swap. But I am not against it in the long term. My worst complaint about the SRF is it's relative lack of performance and the sound.