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Good lord get over it already!
If you only want 300' and also a pull off, then pull/watch farm stock. Nothing wrong with beyond 300' run for most organized pulling. Have yet to hear a fan say "geez I sure hated when you went 350'!!!" 
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I understand your point, but if you don't water and care for the roots, there'll soon be no shade to sit in.
No motorsport exists without a ladder to it's top rungs. And other misappropriated metaphors 
CP Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/10/2023 08:14AM by cpr. |
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Registered: 03/27/2008 Posts: 1,144 |
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Registered: 03/27/2008 Posts: 1,144 |
".I was in Germany 3 years in the early 80s and never new there was a such thing as a tractor pulls there "
Cough - and what exactly were my dad and his buddies doing there? 
We don't have 70year olds doing our rules - that helps. What has been our formula to attract young people to take part in the sport: CLEAR perspectives of what they are getting into: 1.5 inch inlet restriction (NOT turbo restriction)- 2700 2.66 inch (NOT turbo restriction) - 2700 at 427 / 3200 at 360 cui and the same rpm-limited classes without the turbo limit They can start with the old farm tractor, A pump, small truck turbo and off they go. They wont make more than 320 hp and sticking a bigger pump or expensive turbo on, doesn't help (it has been tried). If they want more they need no more than a clutch, steel ring around the clutch, two bigger gears in the transmission, 13mm p and a decent HX 55 small HX 60 and intercooler - pushing 1000 hp on stock internals. ( I have a dyno video here to proof that). The "open turbo" stuff is then going component, 1600 hp + and the money party starts. Did the same inlet restriction (2 x 3 inch) for a 7700 lbs modified class and oh surprise - people are building modified tractors again. The 1320 lbs mini rods with "available engines" is also HUGHELY popular with the young folks. Gives our country kids a place to legally play with turbo engines and EFI / computers, without having to street race and being picked up by the cops. Floating Finish - the German Tractor Pulling Web Show and EU Live Streams: [www.youtube.com] Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2023 02:00AM by Sascha. |
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Sascha, your contributions to this forum have been invaluable. Thank you so much for sharing a perspective from outside of our bubble here in the states! John Murray Two-time Pedal Pull World Champion Let's Go Pulling, covering the sport of pulling in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. Watch LGP on YouTube Like LGP on Facebook 
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Registered: 03/27/2008 Posts: 1,144 |
The funny part about this is, we actually looked over across the pond to your side to see how you do it - and then tweaked it a little.
We had the first real "drought" of tractors in the mid to late 90s. The first guys were starting to spend three times the yearly average wage on pulling tractors and most of the pioneers quit. First thing we did, was to enter the light modified class (before that 7500 lbs was the lightest) and then started garden pulling. That's about where my generation got into it. Light mod got totally out of hand in the meanwhile though. After we couldn't get a decent Pro Stock class going here (introduced when the Alky burners became popular in Super Stock) we looked at the US Super Farm class but decided, it went out of hand cost-wise by then already and also looking at the Dutch, started this RPM limited stuff. Since we wanted it to be very affordable without roll cage, our tech guys requested a definite HP limit - which we got with the restrictor. About two years later we had to learn, the restrictor wasn't doing what it was supposed to do (we added steel flywheels and a bunch of other stuff that quickly drove the expenses up). I then got a college student involved who took his thermodynamics teacher aside and together they came up with the restrictor design, we have now - which works like a charm and can be used in various sizes to whatever horsepower we want a class to be. The limited airflow makes bigger pumps pretty obsolete, as they are "too fast" and then the timing is off for the low-end torque they need in these classes and the same happens if you get a turbo that doesn't match the restrictor. Then made a really small restrictor that we were sure wouldn't make more then 400 hp, called it "level 1" and finally stopped the already started spending war with that 2.66 in the "hot farm" class, called it level 2 - and let those guys, who didn't want to downgrade run without a restrictor in "level 3". Many guys have made the step from 1 into 2 into 3 and some even into Pro Stock. But also a few teams, who after a while found the higher level to be too expensive, have gone one level down. What we have learned: It's all about giving them a perspective before they start: Where they can be in 5 years and what it's going to cost them. There are no big improvements in horsepower and finding the right injection timing/track knowledge/gear choice/right tire, ... is much more important than horsepower. They can take the very same tractor and "develop it through the levels". The other thing is, they are not building for the scrap bin. Many teams who lost interest after a while (e.g. starting a family) found out they can still sell their machines for reasonable money, as the tractors are still competitive, even after having been parked for a few years. Actually pretty simple, if you think about it. Now we just entered the very same system for the modifieds - restrictor hp +- 2200 hp - but everything else goes. And guess what we looked at? Nebraska Bush's light lim modified! We have guys building their own ECU or modifying ECUs that were supposed to go on a VR6 VW to work on a Russian V12 tank engine. Building their own electric methanol injectors, writing apps for their data loggers... But also guys who just dragged an old semi-diesel off the junkyard and fitted (obsolete) 13mm P, a used (and obsolete) 4 inch Pro Stock turbo on it and are having fun. Corona hit us a little hard - but this is the class for this season (and more getting built): We just want to have the same fun all the "Boomers" had, when the were young - even if they keep telling us, we need to "pay to play with us" (and be f**king quiet in the pits). They had 30 years to build up what they have. The good thing also is - you learn (also new technologies) and you learn stuff that many of the "old guys" don't handle very well (and try to keep out) and that's the perspective to step up a class (plus the price money in those limited classes stinks). 
Looking what others do, learn from their mistakes but copy what works... Floating Finish - the German Tractor Pulling Web Show and EU Live Streams: [www.youtube.com] Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2023 10:55AM by Sascha. |
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