A sidewinder post

[daveracerdsh]

A Sidewinder

Like I mentioned in the other post, I was as Bakersfield winter nationals, both as a racer (20SSH) and as a commissioner observing the goings on of the race. I watched both days of A stock heats, with the Sidewinder winning on Saturday and the OMC winning on Sunday....same driver, same boat, same results. I was actually suprised sunday when I realized that Tony was driving the OMC.....the distance between him and the rest of the field was essentialy the same as it was on Saturday. It sure looked to me like if you do your homework you can make EITHER motor fast. The future of stock racing lies in availablilty of new motors...Dave

[rumleyfips]

Dave:

Were the starts similar; 4 first, 4 last , mixed?

Leading all the ways tells a lot but coming through the field is also important.

John McManus

[reed28n]

data?

I know people are busy and testing is hard to find a place and hard to find the time, but the change the parity committee is proposing seems to cut pretty deep with no supporting data.

What is the goal of the parity?

• To keep the keep as many OMC owners happy as possible by putting the sidewinder at best in mid pack?
• To compete with the faster OMC's
• What data was used?
• Was this totally based on observation from the beach?

Did the general membership get to vote or approve the parity commitee rule? Do we not have to vote as a membership on competition rules?

I maintain that the position of chairman holds too much power the way the pairty committee language is written, (no offense Jeff) The Chariman is an admistrative position, the parity rule gives the Chairman legislative powers.

[Ron Hill]

California Got The "Memo"

Last year SoCal got about 12 new drivers. I helped this "Growth Spurt" as I believed the Sidewinder, all 19 would not be allowed to run with the OMC.

This year we had 19 new drivers signed up to drive boats...not one wants to buy an OMC.....Just saying.

1. 84C (sidewinder) 3.25.24 3.28.71
2. 18C (OMC) 3.48.31 3.42.66
3. 1C (OMC) 3.38.54 3.57.03

Heat one Winter Nationals boat 1-C with Tammy Dawe's OMC starts next to 84-C Sidewinder......Sidewinder is 13 seconds faster...than a "GOOD" OMC.

Tony "Raced" the OMC on Sunday. Saturday he drove the Sidewinder...

No prblem with me: SoCal got the memo.......Race AXS or Mod 220 Hydro.

19 Sidewinders: How many have broken a crank shaft? How many OMC's have broken crankshafts??????? I can answer that: NONE!

[csh2z]

Ron,

To complete your thought:
On sunday
1) 84-C (OMC) 3.28.19
2) 18-C (OMC) 3.41.54
No broken crankshafts

What's your point?

[G Stillwill]

Ron Tonys times were almost the same with the OMC and the Sidewinder so what is your point, The only cranks that have broken are the very early ones Which has been fixed with the new style ones, gee I wonder how many Hotrod and early 20-H cranks broke. also the Merc 15 has broke a lot of cranks.

[Boatracer4fun]

All these excuses why not to by a Sidewinder:

Broken cranks, too expensive, motor not available for shipping, price tag is too high, its a Mod motor.

Come on give me a break. This is Racing ladies and Gentlemen. Nothing that has the word racing is "cheap".

[G Stillwill]

Talk about expensive I have a friend that just spent 50000.00 a piece for two motors for his stock car. Yea he does have a lot of money....lol

[rumleyfips]

Ron:

Are you going to believe you lying eyes or us?

John

[Matt Dagostino]

Tony "Raced" the OMC on Sunday. Saturday he drove the Sidewinder...

Ron
Looks like the 84-C won by equal margins with both the Sidewinder on Saturday and the OMC powerplant on Sunday..........i don't see your point either??

Do you think the other 11 OMC's entered would rather get there ass's kicked with 84-C's OMC vs. his Sidewinder..lol.

If the other OMC's in the field want to run with a top flight OMC like the 84-C they would be well served to spend $4600 for a new engine (Sidewinder) and be instantly competitive in lieu of scrounging junkyards and Gary Pond's basement looking for that 'killer' OMC engine to compete up front. Oh, and i imagine that competitor would spend more than $4600 hunting the OMC holy grail!!

Sooner or later Ron all classes have to 'modernize' it's engine program. Perhaps you guys should just start a 'local A' class of nothing but 30 year old motors and race for no points and just have fun???

Seems that whatever 'data' is gathered the perception by many is simply that the Sidewinder 15S needs to be in the middle of the pack somewhere and not running out front.......... stay tuned!

[krazy karl]

Killer OMC

When you talk about about Tony's killer OMC, I don't believe his OMC is any faster than anyone else's. Tony is very diligent and a hard worker when it comes to setting up his boats. Last year at the first Minden race in September I had a little bit on him in ASR and my motor is a good motor but nothing special. At the second race a month later he was going away, I couldn't keep up. Later I asked him what he did to gain that speed. He said it was all testing and setup. Also he is a very smooth driver that doesn't waste a foot or any speed crucial in A. So that he had a killer OMC that was better than the rest isn't necessarily the case. The fact that he can put either on the podium demonstrates his attention to detail and his abilities and less to each of the motors.

Again I hold that the Sidewinders should not be held back to benefit the OMC's, rather maybe give the OMC's a break for a couple of years to gain time for more Sidewinders to get into the game and become the A Class motor of choice.
kk

[Dave M]

Consider This

I wasn't going to comment on this ordeal, but here is a thought I had, and not sure if the parity committee or anyone else considered this when setting the guidelines (rules) for the A Stock class.

Cost - The OMC A is the best value of pretty much ANY engine in outboard racing today. You can build them from the junkyards, you can buy them in like new condition, even today. The cost of these is typically around the 2K mark for a good running engine.

My single biggest point to this whole thing, is the fact you can very easy recoup your money from the OMC A. There are a TON of fishermen, hunters, etc that are looking for the small outboards for kicker motors. Heck, I even had one. And that engine will fetch $1500 all day long. So just consider this when deciding the value of an engine and its place in a class.

[rumleyfips]

Dave:
.
Cost is a factor but scrounging junkyards for parts seems to be frowned upon these days.

I loved scrounging for KG4 parts. It was a much a part of the fun as drinking beer. 10 thou reeds; just find a KE motor. Sandcast reedcage; look for an old Mk20. Lots of different rods and cranks to experiment with. The right card was out there somewhere etc.etc.

I know, I know it was the 60's. The interesting motors to me today are all OMC's ( junkers). A mod, A stock and B1 Bomber offer a chance to use picking and building skills .

John McManus

[Ron Hill]

OMC Started Out Front

OMC started out front an stay out front. Sidewinders started last and won.....The Sidewinder passed at will.

Modernize kneeldown racing????How about sitting down? How about electric starters?

Do what you want, neither of my two OMC's will race again!

[Boatracer4fun]

OMC started out front an stay out front. Sidewinders started last and won.....The Sidewinder passed at will.

Modernize kneeldown racing????How about sitting down? How about electric starters?

Do what you want, neither of my two OMC's will race again!

I heard the Sidewinders will have an option for an electric starter.