Chris Huggins

Yep, I ordered and paid on July 27th! Hoping they deliver them to me on Friday.

Yep, that looks like my M20 exhaust. I used the other Vibrant Bellows. I think because of the increased angle the thermal expansion was correct in the M20 use case and it has survived a long time. In the M54 use case the angle is different because both manifolds are rear exit and the thermal expansion put side-loading on it instead of linear growth. https://vibrantperformance.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=1527_1064_1254

So these, at the slip where the runners enter the merge?

These? How do those give any expansion room?

Any advice on downpipe/exhaust fabircation in relation to thermal expansion compensation? Old down pipe on the right. new downpipe on the left. The old one has survived 100+ hours of abuse with no thermal compoensation. The new one failed with less than 2 hours on it at the bellows. The bellows was a "good idea" that bit me in the tail, right? I'm planning on just welding it back with solid tube and sending it. Any other gotcha's that i'm missing here?

Damn fella, you know how to come out of the gate spittin fire. 1. Champcar doesn't check vin's. You can buy a 2002 focus and race it as a 2003 focus. If there are differences in the years, you need to account for them. You can't take the Best 2002 parts and put them on your 2003 and call it a 2003. It needs to be raced in a factory configuration. You cant take a 2003 focus and race it as a 2008 focus, since that is a 2nd gen chassis. This is for cost control. The focus came with a 2.3 so its not an engine swap to race it with a 2.3, as long as it has the correct 2.3 for the year being claimed, and all the associated parts. All 1st gen foci are 200 points (except the svt) so this is really a minimal issue on this platform. 2. Champcar can and has checked displacement at impound, upon request. 3. You can swap suspension points. Specifically hubs are 2.5 points each.

Yes there is plenty in the paddock. If you need to run tools or a compressor temporarily you can just plug up but of you want to plug in an enclosed trailer all weekend then VIR will want some $

Just learned the situation related to this. A M54 swapped E30 repurposed the sunroof skin as a skid plate, even though the sunroof skin was replaced on the roof with aluminum sheet. This added 2 points to a 500 point car.

I proposed and received approval at the last board meeting a rolling 15 year rule. Cars already on the list <15 yrs old = good to go, no blanket changes. Cars NOT on the list >15 years old = put in a request via tech desk, new cars added quarterly, EC until then (no change from current system) Cars NOT on the list <15 years old = Will not be added to the list at this time. Welcome to come race in EC under current rules (2.2.2)

My suggestion is to make the petitions public as soon as they are submitted. Then everyone can rant and rave about them before the BOD even has to see them. Also would eliminate duplicates (sometimes even from the same person...)

Jez. This got pretty serial real quick like. 1. Meeting Minutes are recorded. The meeting minutes for the annual BOD meeting were published and the meeting was done in real time on live stream. 2. Minutes are kept for every meeting, per the requirement. I have not seen any written requests for additional minutes, but I don't get Champcar mail - the CEO does. I'm sure if he got a certified letter requesting information per legal requirement, the law would be followed. Champcar doesn't need legal trouble - and a lawsuit or similar could and likely would end the fun for all of us. If you want to start making "illegal" accusations, please back up and start thinking seriously. That stuff won't make you popular among your peers. 3. Individual voting results for the petitions are being tabulated per member request. Next year I will be SURE to make the Yes and No for each member accurate as we go. This year, We just recorded Yes or No overall, as had been the previous practice. We were all in a meeting discussing, took a vote of ayes or nays and the overall result was recorded. Seeing Y, N, or N/A for each petition really won't give you the full picture, but its not secret info. The hours of discussion on each petition were not recorded, as we don't have a stenographer on staff. 4. We have fully transitioned from a "benevolent dictator" to a "group of advisors", and part of that is we need a quorum to make decisions, so it cant happen instantly. None of the BOD does this to put food on the table. We all have day jobs, families, etc. The board generally meets once a month for an hour to discuss the goings on and provide guidance for the club. The things we do beyond that are as volunteers to support the club - if we stopped, then the club would have to add employees or contractors to get the same work done, adding cost for everyone. No-one wants that, so some patience on these things is needed. 5. Talked to who? Didn't get anywhere, or didn't get where you wanted to go? In the air of public transparency, here's our conversation re. the rad rule.. Not really sure where you wanted it to go, but I feel I clearly addressed your question. The Radiator Rule and Rain Light Rule were discussed at the July meeting and are pending final wording (which I used this AM's Champcar time to write this post instead of doing) from me to be sent to everyone for approval. The tire rules were hotly debated by everyone on the board. That was pretty well discussed in the meeting I thought. Also covered in the meeting is that only 51 members submitted responses/opinions on the petitions. 25% of those were from the same team. How much stock should the BOD put into 1.15% of the club? Were the responses reviewed and considered - YES. Were Emails, Personal interactions, phone calls, etc reviewed and considered - YES.

I'm just gonna have fun with this in a humorous way from this point, cause I can't take troy seriously... Most people: Bi-Plane Troy: Plane Most People: Tri-Plane Troy: Plane Most People: What the frack?! Troy: Planeeeeee

This is a Tech Desk question. Take photos and send them to the tech desk to get your official answer. Unofficially, I would expect you can do precisely what you are asking with no issue.

My own opinion here: The tech desk was never intended to be its own second rule book. Its gotten way out of hand on both sides. The original intent was to get away from "emails" so everyone was on the same page. Most of the members are using it as intended - asking Tech specific questions about implementation of specific rules that already exist, or asking for VPI updates/additions. Then there are a few people who are using it to probe for angles or loopholes... These are the things that lead to the "second rule book" perception. There is a tough balance to strike here. The whole mantra of champcar is "open rule book" = if the rule book doesn't say you CANT do it, then you can. This is opposite of the normal "if the rule book doesnt say you CAN, then you cant!" Maintaining this for the varying cars we race has always been, and will always be, a challenge. Most of the members don't pay attention to the forums or the tech desk. They build a car with their buddies and come race. I bet they have a ton of fun doing it too.

I've been busy, and other things have been more important for my champcar time. There have been 558 tickets submitted since February. Its honestly a lot of work.