Tigges Talk - Spring Update

Spring update. It's a balmy 25 degrees F & windy here in Maine today. Out in Las Vegas they are racing, here in the still frozen northeast we are just waiting. The weather is all over the place, yesterday it was in the 60's. Food & play occupy time between home projects & work.

So this installment has some pictures of home & work life, past & present. Other than a new tow vehicle, there is not too much to report on the racing front. Since I really want to be racing, I'll at least talk a little about it… a short lesson about incrementals. One of the pictures is a spreadsheet I made up last month of the regional & national events held down in Gainesville, Florida.

Incrementals measure the performance of the car as it runs down the track. The track's timer starts when the car leaves the starting line. Times are recorded at the 60 foot mark, the 330, the 660 (halftrack) the 1,000 & finally, the 1,320 which is the finish line, 1/4 mile downtrack. MPH is also recorded at the 660 & finish line. All of these numbers are supplied on the timeslip for both lanes. At national events, racers can buy a printout of the info for all the racers in the class also.

The 60 foot time shows a lot about how the car set-up is responding right at the hit of the throttle. Things like wheelspeed & clutch slippage factor largely in this number along with the driver's ability to let out the clutch at the correct engine RPM. The 330 is more of an indicator of systems management. How the ignition timing curves & fuel delivery are set up make all the difference here. The power management combined with clutch application are what lets the car run well here, without tire shake. The 660 is a good marker for how the entire package is working together. By this time the clutch is fully connected. From the 660 to the finish line the main thing we look at is the differential in MPH. That is mostly a reflection of how much horsepower the car can make, and how well the driver can keep the car in the high traction 'groove' in the center of the lane.

It took me a while at the track to figure out the shorthand. Mark would get the timeslip and yell back to the crew '961, two 485, 203 eighty eight'. After about 25 passes, I figured out that that was the 60 foot, the 330, & the 660 MPH. Those three numbers tell you a lot about how successful the tuning decisions were. Looking at the computer data after the run fills in all the details, but those numbers are the first thing you form your opinion about the pass on.

If you are sitting at home like me, instead of racing, the incrementals can also tell you a little about what is happening at the track. A general feel about traction conditions & air quality can be gleaned from the numbers from far away.

So that's it, incrementally moving closer to our first race of the season. It can't come soon enough! Enjoy the pictures, I'd recommend not being hungry.


Spring Update Pictures


Chris Saulnier - Team Tigges
Mechanic Falls, Maine