Diapers - yes or no

[Bigmouse]

I was thinking about Redvictors post regarding the hard work put in by the track crew in turning the track around after oil downs. I was speaking to someone at the weekend who mentioned that in the US now they are bringing in/brought in compulsory engine diapers for _all_ classes.

I'm all in favour of it

Discuss.

[BennettRacing]

I said this few years back on Dragsterworld, In my eyes anything that goes on the track should have one, regardless of class.

Anything 7.50 or faster needs to be SFi tagged, anything slower just needs to be in good condition and no holes/rips etc

[Tet]

Nitro-besty said:

It's a bit of a no-brainer IMO.

Agreed. I can't see any reason not to be running one, regardless of which class you're in.

Nitro-besty said:

However, I've yet to come across a single diaper that isn't a complete nightmare when it comes to attaching it to the car.

Same here, sadly :-(

[Time Machine]

Nitro-besty said:

It's a bit of a no-brainer IMO. Should you not run a diaper, you risk a) getting oil under your tyres and thus skating all over the place, into a rather stiff concrete wall probably, and b) being frowned upon by all for not running a diaper in the first place, and causing a mahoosive oildown.

$370 isn't a lot when you consider it could prevent you from possibly taking a trip sideways into the armco.

However, I've yet to come across a single diaper that isn't a complete nightmare when it comes to attaching it to the car.

I agree, I can't think of a reasonable objection to all classes running diapers. I am not sure they would need to be SFI spec but they would need to be fit for purpose.

Some attach far more easily than others - I remember running one on an alky dragster which was really well designed and took seconds to put on/remove. I seem to recall it needed to be replaced due to SFI changes or something and the new one eas an absolute bitch resulting in many burnt elbows

[NuthinFancy]

I agree with Besty.

Spend $500 on a sfi spec diaper, or spend x amount of thousands of dollars repairing a car when you crash due to oil on the slicks!

I would have thought that was obvious

[Bigmouse]

Naturally, I made my post before actually considering the logistics of fitting one to my engine With a only a fag paper between the bottom of the oil pan and the cross member it would make fitting one almost impossible - still a good idea though

Edited by Bigmouse on Friday 5th October 14:27

[MotorPsycho]

Would it be worth forwarding this idea to the tech committee? It would save on oil down time, trashed race cars - it can only be good.

[NuthinFancy]

BigMouse: Put it into perspective, what's more expensive? Modifying the cross member or replacing the entire car?

BTW: Your camaro is awesome, a pretty sweet example of a sleeper (Well, as much of a sleeper a Camaro can be!)

[Bigmouse]

NuthinFancy said:

BigMouse: Put it into perspective, what's more expensive? Modifying the cross member or replacing the entire car?

Bizarrely its almost the same cost in this case, Joe. The engine sits so tight in between the original chassis walls that I'd have to put a front clip on it to make any difference at all and even then it would be extremely tight to get the engine to sit low enough so as not to affect the weight distribution. And if I'm going to do that I might as well put an extention body shell on to give myself a bit of extra room - and If I'm going to have the extra room I might as well go big block and take the chassis to 7.5, and its if teched to 7.5 then I might as well buy twin......

Jees, how much is a diaper??

NuthinFancy said:

BTW: Your camaro is awesome, a pretty sweet example of a sleeper (Well, as much of a sleeper a Camaro can be!)

Thats what we aimed for. When Jon Webster called me and said the car was going to the Extreme Wheels show in 2005 as a 'work in progress' I was almost moved to tears when I first saw it on wheels with the stock hood, it just looked so....tough! Unfortunately the hood had to be modified to get airflow over the carb, apart from that its exactly as I visualised it

[BB-Q]

Has anyone got links to a Diaper so I can visualise one please?

[MotorPsycho]

http://www.goodvibesracing.com/DJ_Engine_Diapers.h...

[BB-Q]

MotorPsycho said:

http://www.goodvibesracing.com/DJ_Engine_Diapers.h...

Thanks for that- I was just expecting an absorbant blanket that went across the frame rails.

Flicking through that site gave me an insight as to some of the costs of the pro classes- $995 for a magneto ?!

Edited by BB-Q on Saturday 6th October 07:59

[Tet]

BB-Q said:

Flicking through that site gave me an insight as to some of the costs of the pro classes- $995 for a magneto ?!

It's worse than you think! The pro classes tend to use MSD Pro Mag 44s, which are over $2000 each. Add in the coils and points boxes, and the cost of the ignition system starts to add up pretty quickly...

[BennettRacing]

Tet said:

BB-Q said:

Flicking through that site gave me an insight as to some of the costs of the pro classes- $995 for a magneto ?!

It's worse than you think! The pro classes tend to use MSD Pro Mag 44s, which are over $2000 each. Add in the coils and points boxes, and the cost of the ignition system starts to add up pretty quickly...

I can vouch for that, we have had to buy 3 new points boxes for our 44

They could burn water though.......

[BB-Q]

Points? Contact points? You must be joking!

[Bob Jarrett]

They are called points boxes as they eliminate contacts. American terminology at it's best.