Richard,
Whenever we add "tech inspector" to our reportoir of skills I think we tend to
concentrate on issues that have at one time or another "bitten ourselves on
the posterior". In my case, having once arrived at turn 1 in a dead heat for
the lead, and having discovered upon lifting that the throttle had a mind of
its own, have since placed a great deal of scrutiny on checking throttle
return springs. In my case, salvation came with a flick of the ignition
switch. However, in the future I placed more than cursory inspection on the
means for closing the throttles when the driver intended for that to happen.
I also make it a point of teaching my students (I'm a driving instructor for
HSR-West) that the 'tech inspector' has but a few moments to try and find the
"problems" that the owner/driver of said vehicle already knows exists. Show me
a driver who's never tried to 'slip one past the tech inspector' and I'll show
you a liar.
Ours is a field of amateurs, out there for the sole purpose of our pleasure.
While some of us are participating "in a high speed carshow", others are
driving as if the scout from Maranello is standing at the apex; grading our
performance. I would be the first to say that both scenario's are correct and
neither is wrong. What IS important is that we respect the goals of the other.
I like to quote FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation) 91.9 when discussing this
issue: "The pilot-in-command is directly responsible for, and is the final
authority as to the operation of the aircraft". The same holds true regarding
the operation of our race cars. WE, the driver, are ultimately responsible for
the operation of our race cars, and what our race cars do.
I would be willing to bet my next three retirement checks that the next time
anybody is unsure of anything, asking a tech inspector how to do it better
will result in not only respect from that inspector but a plethora of
information on how to fix whatever it is that may not be 100%.
Happy, and safe racing.....
Carl Lotus 61 formula Ford
----- Original Message -----
From: RICHARD HARDISON
To: Vintage Race List
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2007 11:08 AM
Subject: [Vintage-race] Throttle Return Springs
Having raced with a Lotus TC and worked in tech inspection a few times, I am
a
big believer in multiple throttle return springs. I would use two healthy
external springs in addition to the internal springs. I have little faith
in
the internal springs. Having seen the unhappy result of a stuck throttle
episode, I can attest that it is not pretty!
Tried to respond off list to Christopher, but ran into his spam blocker.
Richard
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