Those Loud Pipes

[888race]

I had a day where we went and did a noise test session for a local town to try and get back a race site , where we had been asked to not come back for all kinds of reasons but mostly because of the noise. I had asked a pro driver to do the test session for me and in my calls I found out that most pro drivers have the quiet pipes , then I found out that some of the new motors come only with the quiet pipes and the drivers take them off. I have had a lot of experience with town meetings and this is the # 1 topic always.I have been told that if I ask the pro drivers to run the pipes then they will not show, and others tell me it is not a problem and would prefer to run them.The pipe issue has been around for a # of years and trust me when I tell you it is not going to go away.In some places you can get away with it for now but that will change. The reason I am telling you this is because I want everyone to be able to race, so it is your choice. With the noise you are not a sellable program, when noise is the #1 objection . It is very hard to get a race site and sponsorship and it is even harder to keep a race site and sponsor when the people who love boat racing the most are there own worst enemies I would like to thank John Maddrell and Ken Godwin for there help

[hunter grimes]

loud pipes

...try going to LockHaven,Pa.Race site is right in the middle of the city and they love the noise ! I suspect those places that have a big problem with noise will have a problem with something else.Any motor sport racing has a distinctive noise associated with it.It adds to the excitement for participants and spectators.But,I will admit to finding the 20-h"cornpopper" a particularly obnoxious noise.

[Dick Tyndall]

...try going to LockHaven,Pa.Race site is right in the middle of the city and they love the noise ! I suspect those places that have a big problem with noise will have a problem with something else.Any motor sport racing has a distinctive noise associated with it.It adds to the excitement for participants and spectators.But,I will admit to finding the 20-h"cornpopper" a particularly obnoxious noise.

Since I was 12 years old I have been chased away from many school yards and open fields for flying model airplanes with non-muffled engines. For the last 22 years that I raced R/C boats, I have seen too many lakes and ponds that were raced on lost because of the noise. The model airplane organizations have db restrictions in place for most of their activities now. Also, R/C boat organizations have db restrictions in place to keep from losing race sites and to aid in finding new ones. The biggest grip I always heard was that NOISE IS RACING. Well, too many of us old guys have a hard time hearing that because of all of the NOISE we put up with for so many years has made us hard of hearing.The second biggest grip going around is that quiet pipes or muffled pipes slow the boats down too much. NOT TRUE!!! Look at what is going on in Europe...........with the R/C boats and the big boats as well. There is too much tecnology out there for anyone to make their engines quieter AND run faster as well. Most of the lakes and rivers that the outboards race on are inhabited with people who have built homes there to enjoy the peace and quiet on the water..............not to have to listen to a Rossi or a VRP with megaphones blasting up and down the water for 2 or three days straight.
Like I said to the R/C boat people more than 10 years ago............It's coming.........new rules on noise are going to come if you want to keep racing and be a responsible organization to the communities that we race in. APBA and others like us don't have the money nor the "clout" that larger organizations have in order for us to "buy our way in" to having nice places to race. It sounds sad, but it's true.

[paul jillings]

Over here in Europe we all run with the silenced pipes. It might make the boats slower - I don't think so - but because everyone has them then there is no advantage / disadvantage to using them.

So what are you waiting for?

[888race]

pro commisioners and APBA

You would think that the pro catigory and APBA would mandate the silencer pipes so this would not be a issiue to the conducting clubs .db , noise polution is a major issiue and every loud motor wheather it be racing or not is subject to the laws that the goverment have put in place. If I had to make the desission for my racing catigory , I would not hesitate to run the pipes so I could continue racing

[Dick Tyndall]

You would think that the pro catigory and APBA would mandate the silencer pipes so this would not be a issiue to the conducting clubs .db , noise polution is a major issiue and every loud motor wheather it be racing or not is subject to the laws that the goverment have put in place. If I had to make the desission for my racing catigory , I would not hesitate to run the pipes so I could continue racing

The whole idea is to NOT wait for the goverment to come in and tell us how, when, what and where we are going to race. It is to govern ourselves and leave the goverment agencies out of OUR business!

[C Stock Racer]

The whole idea is to NOT wait for the goverment to come in and tell us how, when, what and where we are going to race. It is to govern ourselves and leave the goverment agencies out of OUR business!

I totally agree. A lot of race sights have been lost because of noise. How many more sights are going to be lost before we do something???

[ryan_4z]

Paul,

Maybe you could have it put on the circular that quiet pipes will be required at these race sites. If people show up without them they can't race. Just don't give them an option.

[DougMc]

Watch out Ryan, you may get another red mark in your permant record.

[Dick Tyndall]

Paul,

Maybe you could have it put on the circular that quiet pipes will be required at these race sites. If people show up without them they can't race. Just don't give them an option.

Ryan,
This is NOT the way to go about getting racers to use quiet pipes because if you all of a sudden start putting " quiet or muffled pipes only" on race fliers, racers will NOT go to that race. They'll just find another unrestricted race to go to. This is something that will need one or two years to go into effect. In other words, give the racers one or two years to buy new pipes ( or modify their existing ones ) and test to get the bugs out. When we did this with the R/C boats a few years ago it only cost us the price of a new quiet pipe and some testing at the lake. Same props ( for the most part ) and the same fuels. The boats DID NOT slow down!
Boat racers running tuned exhaust pipes can make those pipes quieter NOW by inserting a length of thin tubing into the stinger of the pipe along the length of the convergent cone up to big diameter of the pipe. Many of the R/C racers are doing this to get their boats under the 95 db limit set by the IMPBA. Again, this hasn't slowed the boats down............just a little more testing to get your"edge" back.

[rich]

pipes

Is there a quiet pipe for a D-MOD?

[888race]

you would think

You would think that we would do it ourseves but we all know that just isn't going to happen. I wonder If this subject will come up at the national meeting somebody ask Steve Greaves and Apba's enviromental gurus to put it on this years agenda if they don't that will tell you the real anwser

[Steve Johnson]

Mind your own backyard

No national Mandate needed here
When some a@@**** decides to raise hell at the city council meeting cause he was inconvinced by a boat race - no amount of quiet piping is going to matter.Do what you will but you are not there to defend your race at all the city functions. IF your club has a sensitive site ya should schedule SO or desinate No PIPES but be prepared for the fallout . better yet find a better venue. The one race in CA I know of Pleasenton(which was lost) the conducting club couldn't have been any more accommodating about noise Issues. Fact Noise was just an excuse. would have been the same over a SO only race I bet. Some DR. didn't get to use the lake that weekend and he won't put up with it any more.
This world is just full of jerks. the more you bend to them the more they take.
Besides, What flys in Fla, ain't what Iowa wants.
Steve
Speak in my good ear

[DougMc]

Paul may be right that racers need to start looking toward the future on the noise issue. The Florida Fish and Wildlife is cracking down on noise in Florida.

Here is a link to the St. Petersburg Times regarding airboats and noise. There was a post or two on hydroracer regarding Florida and airboats in the past, so here is the latest.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/08/He...ats_coul.shtml

[888race]

Stick you head in the sand and your azz will get kicked

I am not sure how many town meetings you have been to, or how many new race sites you have come up with let along get an old race site back it is hard enough then to get sponsorship on top of it in order to afford the race because of declining boat count THE FALL OUT YOU MENTIONED IS ALREADY HERE as far as my own back yard that is where it starts and not all race sites demand this yet but it is coming. the above post are from across the pond MN, Canada, Virgina, NC, CAL, NY., and even Mars so I don't think this is a back yard problem it is all of our problem . Your post is making my point I thank you we need all the help we can get. You say that Cal. lost a site and they did everything to accomdate for the noise, tell me in detail to what links? that is a broad statement!But you are willing to bet the SO would have had the same problem .the point is we will not know the race site is gone. And you are right the noise might be just one of there objections the job is to overcome objection and if you can't you remove the objection. Good luck on finding a better venue and by the way what was the DR's name that lived on the lake and ran the racers off because he couln't use the lake that weekend