I want to clarify The history of engines in F500 and define my involvement in the engine changes over the last 25 years. This is just the way it happened.
1. I always have been and still am a big fan of F500 and the 2 stroke engines. If I was personally still racing I would be racing with a Rotax.
2. I started in the class in 1985 when I built my first F440 car. This is when we used Kawasaki 440cc 2 stroke engines.
3. After a few years the class switched to the AMW 500 cc 2 stroke due to running out of the Kawasaki engines.
4. The AMW engine was notorisly unreliable.
5. After the 2nd year of the AMW engine debacle I took it upon myself to research other 2 stroke engines. I contacted 4 snowmobile manufacturers about engines.
6. I was finally able to make a deal with Bombardier to supply engines to the class after having a long discussion with the VP of Bombardier.
7. I personally put together the entire mass of paperwork and working directly with the tech department and the CRB. I managed to get approval for the 494 non rave valve Rotax motor.
8. The first cars put together with the 494 were NovaKars and this included conducting dyno tests on both the AMW and the Rotax 494 which I supplied to SCCA. BTW Dave O'Brian and I paid for all the dyno work. Just like everyone else I had to purchase my 494 engine from the distributor that Bombardier defined.
9. Within a year or 2 the vast majority of cars had been converted to the Rotax 494. Engine reliability was dramatically improved with the Rotax. It still took a couple of years to get them developed for use in cars. Frankly, I am certain that the change to the Rotax saved F500 from a certain end of the class.
10. About 8 years ago others, not me, proposed the use of 600cc motorcycle engines.
11. I was originally against the implementation of the MC engines in F500 until I called up the VP of Bombardier again to discuss the continued use of the 494 engine. He then told me that the 494 in all versions was dead and that all 2 strokes would be out of production within 5 years due to emission issues. Of course this info had a huge impact on my position wrt the use of MC engines.
12. I then decided to put a car together with a 600cc bike engine. This I did and then designed and build fixtures to dyno the MC engine on the same engine dyno. The total cost for the dyno work was about $1500 and I received donations form 4 others interested in the MC engines totaling $400. I paid the rest.
13. Now Bombardier is still building 600cc and larger 2 strokes as they have figured out the emission issues but for how long will this continue?
14. Every snowmobile manufacturer now manufactures more 4 stroke sleds than 2 stroke sleds. The time of the 2 stroke engines is coming to an end.
15. I still believe that the future of F500 is with 4 stroke engines if we want this class to be around in another 5-10 years.
What is the purpose of this post? Enough said.
