OMC's now dominate J Class again in 2015??

[Matt Dagostino]

Time to light up Hydroracer with some 'pot stirring'..............In talking to some West Coast J Parents it appears the J Committee's recent decision to allow a larger restrictor plate in J Hydro and J Runabout has allowed the old Omc's to now dominate in early West Coast racing!

Looks like the .500 to .562 opening is enough to put the OMC's back in front!! Anyone interested in buying my OMC in the basement that my kids won 3 Nationals with back in the 90's?

All kidding aside, wonder if this is what is best for the J Hydro and runabout class? Plus it has been disclosed restrictor plate testing for the AX classes is underway!

[brian]

Smells like a pump and dump scam....Penny stock or old omc motor sale?

Does this post drive the merc sales price down....?

I will wait for the west coast merc drivers views. Or better yet the video of the domination. (You still have to sqeeze the merc throttle to win)

B

[Lee Sutter]

There was no foul play or attempts to get an advantage by the persons conducting this lengthy evaluation. They wanted to make the OMC's competitive and allow them to run close to the Mercury's. I stand behind the integrity of this person 100%.

[Matt Dagostino]

Lee...........i was at the J meeting in Detroit and not questioning the test data but it was made CLEAR that the purpose of the larger restrictor for the JSH/JSR was not to make the OMC's competitive with the Merc's but to close up the gap a bit ( a fine line at best). Also in this months Propeller magazine Chairman Gleason restates this position in more dramatic language. I still have access to our ole KILLER OMC J engine and would love to test the new restrictor against the old one but my darn kids grew up on me. Lol.

[ricochet112]

Time to light up Hydroracer with some 'pot stirring'..............In talking to some West Coast J Parents it appears the J Committee's recent decision to allow a larger restrictor plate in J Hydro and J Runabout has allowed the old Omc's to now dominate in early West Coast racing!

Looks like the .500 to .562 opening is enough to put the OMC's back in front!! Anyone interested in buying my OMC in the basement that my kids won 3 Nationals with back in the 90's?

All kidding aside, wonder if this is what is best for the J Hydro and runabout class? Plus it has been disclosed restrictor plate testing for the AX classes is underway!

Before any knee jerk reaction happens, the larger restrictor needs to run against the Hearn/Pavlick Merc motors first...the ones that won a half a lap ahead of the rest.

[yarnoracin]

As a member of the J Committee, I am very confident that we made the right decision at the National Meeting to increase the restrictor plate to .562 for the OMC's!

While SOA has done excellent work to grow the J Class over the years to get new families started. I will admit that our Mercury J's in Region 10 are not the fastest and that was proven to us very quickly at the J Nationals / World Championships in Moses Lake last year. Our fastest Mercury's were not even on the same straightaway as the Hearn / Pavlick / Price kids at the finish.

Based on what I have seen at both Region 10 races this year, the Merc is still the motor to have if you want to win or be competitive on a local or national level. It is going to take work and that is what needs to happen in any class to win. Besides all that hard work make sure you get the seat time to drive a smooth race and being able to make a decent start is a large factor that probably wasn't mentioned during your conversation!

[G Stillwill]

I built about ten Merc motors for out there all have the same stuff in them that's in the Price motors plus one of own personal motors is out the which won a couple of natioals and also set two records if those are getting beat the there is a real issue here

[HydroKyle93R]

I would also like to share my observations as well.

1. Parity in racing does not exist. From one motor to another, there are differences. Even motors of the same brand and serial number. Example: QMSF mercury drivers vs. Hearn/Pavlick mercury drivers.

2. I was a J kid. For the first two or three seasons, I was not fast. Hannon (OMC) was fast. Nilsen (OMC) was fast. Hemp (TheMercKid) was fast. Allan (Merc) was fast. The only advantage I had as a 'slower' OMC driver was to nail the starts. Everyone can agree that a slower boat with a perfect start can beat faster boats with poor starts. I am seeing this trend redevelop: once slower OMC drivers are still nailing their starts and they are beating faster Merc drivers who took their speed advantage for granted.. (no disrespect intended.)

[ricochet112]

George, I know you build every motor to be great. Engine builders know if you build 10 exact motors, 1 will be incredible, 2 will be great, 4-5 will be good, and the rest, just OK. Another variable to consider, some motors are just better than others.

[G Stillwill]

The Mercury motors are ckoser in speed to each other as they are all CNC machined but yes some are still better then others but not by much I had five at one time and there wasn't a mile an hour difference in them I could pull anyone of them out and win with it the very best one I won many ASH races with it that motor won four nationals but I had other ones that won nationals Price got all my motors when I went sidewinder.

[brian]

I would also like to share my observations as well.

I am seeing this trend redevelop: once slower OMC drivers are still nailing their starts and they are beating faster Merc drivers who took their speed advantage for granted.. (no disrespect intended.)

It is true in all classes the fastest boats never need to bang a start but they at least need to be there....in the j class the omc would get passed exiting the first turn. A kid should be able to lead at least one or two laps if you bang your start. Well done j committee!

[GrandpaRacer]

Before the Merc guys panic let's look at what happened. At Larence lake Saturday, the whole field missed a bouy except the last place omc, so yes an omc won. On Sunday a Merc and omc hit the start ahead of the pack. The omc was second into the turn and tried everything, inside, out side and could not get past the Merc in heat 1. In heat 2 three Omcs hit the start with the Mercs way late. They finished omc in 1,2,3, the same order they crossed the start line. So omc won again.
Last weekend, I forget what happened on Sat. On Sunday in one heat the fastest Merc jumped the gun which gave the final win to an omc. The good news is there was real competition once again. One OMC definitely looked faster than all the other OMCs. We need more races to see how this shakes out, I think they are pretty well matched now.
John Adams

[jaremad racing]

Special shout out to Preston Reitz from Spokane WA for his 1st first on Saturday in JH!!! Driving Hannon built OMC- from behind passing mercury motors. I also believe Ken Zahn was thrown in to the water at Lawrence for his 1st first in JH either Sat or Sun. Congrats Ken!!! Driving Hannon built OMC-from behind passing mercury motors. Congrats to both families.

[Racerkyle20]

Before the whole country panics maybe the rest of the country should have observable results. This thread was started by a guy 3,000 miles away from the two early season J races. There was no video at these races either. You're basing your theory that the J committee screwed up on facts you (Matt D) didn't even witness. Let's race a few midwest and east coast races, maybe even nationals before we let the grown ups screw up the kids classes again.

[Matt Dagostino]

Ouch..........the facts are that i was in the J Committee meeting when the discussion and vote took place in front of my eyes and the new restrictor plate rule was made for JH/JR. The purpose of the thread is to stimulate conversation as to whether the members think it is a good thing to encourage/enhance the OMC to run competitively with the supposed motor of choice (Merc 15). I never said the J Committee screwed up on the facts??? The facts are now developing as the racing season is under way. I believe the facts are that there have been at least three races now on the West Coast including Bakersfield where the OMC is competing at a high level against the Mercs. I have not witnessed the races. Only been getting a few phone calls from some concerned Merc owners who have invested THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars in Mercs based on these engines being the Motor Of Choice. Guess we will still have to wait and gather more 'facts' before drawing a final conclusion as the season progresses. Gary Pond and i have been talking about trying to get a J kid out our way to do some testing with the larger restrictor plate, but as i said earlier Abby and Val grew up to fast on us...)

[Racerkyle20]

There have only been two weekends of west coast races with J classes (Yelm and Castle Rock). Maybe get those facts straight first....

I was at Bakersfield. There were no J's.In fact there were no MERCURY's racing in Bakersfield, in any class. AGAIN you are 3,000 miles away with second hand information.

[brian]

Pell lake, May 15 central divisionals...my prediction is merc 123. How about some hype for J racing! Maybe we can live stream the j races!

[dholt]

The title of this post looks like something from U.S. politics. Take a piece of anecdotal evidence...start shouting it as prophecy and before too long, people start believing it...whether factual or not.
Brian hit the nail on the head. Top 3 in Pell Lake will be the motors in black.

[Matt Dagostino]

Dana..........funny the main question (that nobody is addressing) i posed was is it a good thing/bad thing if the OMC's run up front with the Merc 15's with the new restrictor?? And actually isn't Hydroracer part U.S Politics from a boat racing perspective for all us armchair QB's..

[Black Sheep]

Let's not confuse this situation with facts. A couple reports I am getting are that there are some Mercury's out here running about 2 MPH faster than my Mercury did in 1983.
See photo:

[David Weaver]

Ugh, the 60-J, my least favorite racing power plant ever. Whatever they run, kids have it made today!!

[GrandpaRacer]

Matt D, if you ask the kids who now have a chance to win they will tell you of course it is a good thing. No longer can they nail a start and be driven around their outside before the end of lap one. To win now all the kids have to start well and drive well and as always have a bit of luck too. The Mercury still should be faster, it is 20% bigger in displacement and according to the specs on the restrictor plates it has a larger area to draw in air (160.94 sq mm vs 160.03 sq mm). Some one check my math please, but I am pretty sure this is right. Having all the kids have a chance to get on the podium has to be a good thing for the Sport.
John Adams

[G Stillwill]

There is more then just cu.in. in a two stroke which determines speed so just because the Merc is bigger means nothing take all the restrictors out and the OMC is faster even though smaller. The plate in the Mercury was designed by them and carries a part number which makes a 15 to a 6 hp motor

[Larry M]

Cubic Dollars will beat about anything!!

Larry Mac

[GrandpaRacer]

G Stillwill, I hope no one is running that 6hp restrictor plate because it is much smaller than the one used by APBA. The 6hp plate has a slot only 0.156 wide. If you are running this plate trash it and get the APBA plate which is much bigger. The APBA Merc motors are generating more like 8-9 hp.

[rabbitears2]

It's about time they made it economical and a (little more competitive)for the youth of boat racing. I only wish they did it years ago when my kid raced J. Thanks to the J commision for passing the new restrictor rule. Hasn't anyone figured out that if you want new membership in racing you should make it at least AFFORDABLE for people, especially if your gonna get your but handed to you when you start out most of the time. I applaud the decision to help the majority and not the minority this time.

[G Stillwill]

First of all no racing is cheap no matter what you race and the reason the Merc was put in place as the motor of chioch was it was new and available and a new person could buy one or a good fishing motor and not buy someones junk get discusted and quit the sport this set the firm direction for the class to go which was dying the class took off and was the fastest growing class in APBA and its very easy to undermine all the hard work that was put into this by making poor decisions.