News & Notes by FCHP

We started off the 2008 season with a national win and podium finishes at Daytona for the WKA NRRS series, and we are at it again.

With the ONLY FCHP motor that showed up for the WKA Gold Cup Nationals at Jacksonville, FL, Jeff Webb came away from the weekend with a 4th place finish in his FCHP powered Bandit Y2K in the Senior Stock Animal class.

Not bad after taking a year off and minimal seat time to prepare for this race!!

Ok, it's been a while since I updated my news/Blog.

If you have browsed my site looking for certain products and or services lately, you will notice some changes. First off, I have reduced a LOT of the "accessory" type products. Second, I have removed links to new and kit Raptor engines.

The reason for the removal of the "accesories" is just due to the short amount of time I have right now. All my time is being spent just trying to keep up with new motor orders and rebuilds. I do have a lot of plans to add new items back later in the year and I'm working with Vmax (Terry Parker) on several new items that will also be available through FCHP. So stay tuned, I will make an announcement here that they are added back here or announced in the Kartshop forum on www.4ycle.com.

The reason for the removal of the Raptor engines is merely due to parts availability. For all my current customers, I will continue to do rebuilds on current builds for as long as we can get parts. I will still do new builds for current customers, but not for new customers. If you have any questions on this, please don't hesitate to call or write an email.

Time is shorter than ever right now for me, so I have to focus all my time I can on engines. That is my main focus and I don't plan to fall behind in the HP market.

Stay tuned!

It has been a while since I updated my news/blog. Fact is, it has been busy here. More new customers, a LOT of return business, and doing a lot of testing.

On top of being busier than I any time I can remember since I started the business in January 2001, I have also had a lot of family issues to deal with that have kept me out of the shop and tied up. Inlaws in and out of the hospital, grandparents in and out of nursing home/physical rehab and getting grandparents home ready to come home to has taken up a lot of time. Being a "Jack of all trades" has its benefits, but it also means you get the first phone call when something needs working on.

But it looks like everyone is doing good now, all is taken care of, and it's back to work in the shop to get it all done before Daytona hits us in a few weeks.

I will be returning phone calls starting this afternoon in the order they were received. If you do not hear from me by tommorow afternoon and you left a message, give me another call, I may have misplaced your message. Call me in the shop after 6pm at 904-259-7604 or anytime at 904-210-8351.

Labor day weekend is good for an extra day off work, AND to get a couple dyno runs in testing different things. Among other things, I got a chance to test the new oil on the dyno this weekend.

I don't want to say I'm suprised at the results because I put a LOT of homework and studying what works and what doesn't before I ever mixed the first bottle, I guess I could say I am happy with the results. The CHT was right in line with other known good oils. The peak HP and Torqe and HP and Torque curves were also right in line with other good karting oils. I did see a slight increase in accelleration, but I don't know that it's enough to jump up and down about yet.

I did not get to put a lot of dyno time on the motor with this oil but I did make several pulls (around 30 minutes total). I tore the engine down and wear looks good. Now it's time to do some long runs and several races on different tracks to observe long term wear.

Let me start off by saying there are already some great oils on the market and I have become good friends with several of the kart oil manufacturers over the years as they have worked with me and other builders to develop what we needed (or thought we needed).

But anyone that knows me knows that I am always on the lookout for ways to do something cheaper and get the same results from higher priced products. I myself am a karter on a budget as many of you are.

Cheap, budget, low cost, you get what you pay for.... you have heard all the sayings. That is just not always so. I have studied oils, additives, and karting oils for over 5 years now trying to decide if I really wanted to jump into producing an oil or not. I recently made up my mind to go forward with it. The #1 reason that made up my mind... LACK OF INFORMATION from other karting oil manufacturers. What do I mean?? Look at any website for any major oil production company and you can find a data sheet on the oil that list several things about the oil. Things like what the base stock is made of, the weight of the oil, the viscosity index (VI), and several other important factors that help you make your decision on what oil you choose to use. I do not know of one karting oil that will tell you this. Good thing for us is, a few onces of each oil and a couple dollars will tell you just about anything about the oil you want to know. Let me just say some of the oils are overpriced for what is in them and there are actually some very good oils on the market, but they come at a hefty price.

My goal and my promise to you is to deliver an oil to the karting market that will be less than $20 per gallon and will offer the same or better protection as some of the $30+ gallon oils provide. I will also provide a data sheet on the oil that will list the technical properties of the oil. But no, I will not reveal the exact mixture of my oil, but you will get a good look at what makes up the oil and enough information to make your decision of whether to try it or not. Not snake oil marketing, not promises I can not deliver, and no smoke & mirrors.

With that out of the way, let me tell you a little about what I am using and what I am planning.

My oil will use Group III base stock. It will included additives that prevent and/or reduce: oxidation, corrosion, foam and aeration (which makes it good for our "splash oiling systems", and will also include rust inhibitors and most important of all, it is loaded up with anti-wear and anti-scuffing additives.

Is it a synthetic oil. Well, MANY oil engineers and courts are still trying to settle that debate. There have been some BIG court battles going on between some major oil companies to try and nail down EXACTLY what that means. But I will tell you this, just because an oil is synthetic based, does not make it a better oil. Some oils get away with being "synthetic-blend" oils by just adding a couple drops of a synthetic additive. So what is in the FCHP oil?? I will tell you this, it is not PAO based synthetic oil. Very few karting oils are (can count them on less fingers than I have on one hand). But there are base oils out there that are MUCH cheaper than PAO base stocks but deliver similar performance. And I found one I like and will use. And here is the good part. Initial testing shows this oil is compatible with many additive packages AND is also compatible with a wide range of conventional oils and synthetic oils. It mixes EXCELLENT with the cheap automotive oils so break-in and dyno testing can be done with the cheap Wal-Mart brand oils to seal the rings and then swap over to the racing oil without having to worry about oil compatibilty, sludge in the engine, or seized up motors due to gel forming from incompatible oils like we have seen in the past.

Ok, enough about my thoughts. Let's look at this oil a little closer. Here are some of the specs on my base stock oil:

Iso Grade: 68
API Gravity: 31
Viscosity Cst @40c: 68
Viscosity Cst @100c: 11
Viscosity Index: 154
Flash Point: 415F
Pour Point: -45F
Oxidation Stability: >6,000 hours

That is more information on my base oil that you will get from ANY other karting oil manufacturer... but why?? What are they hiding?? The above information does not tell you anything about what my oil is made of, just the physical properties. But trust me, there is more information to come once the testing is completed and I decide on the final formulation. This is going to blow the minds and really tick off some karting oil manufacturers. But I believe they SHOULD be providing the consumer this information. I plan on providing this and more information to the consumer.

And that brings up a good point, or a few good points. What type of testing? Who is doing the testing? How long will the testing take? All good questions. I plan on extensive dyno testing (inertia dyno with Performance Trends data aquisition), extensive track testing, and several months of monitoring and measuring vital engine components. I have a track available to me that I can put a kart on 7 days a week from sun up to sun down. It has a big sprint track and an oval track. So myself and my brothers will do the majority of the initial testing. I expect the testing to take at least 3 months and as much as 6 months if needed. My goal is to have the oil available to the public by the time most people get up and going for the 2008 racing season.

So stay tuned for more info to come.

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Here is a look at the plain base stock. I get it in 55 gallon drums and package it down to gallon containers to make it easier to handle.

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Here is a look at some of the additive packages I'm testing and oil compatibility test I'm working on.

Yes, I know, it's already August in 2007 and it's a little late to welcome new drivers. Well, you are right, I should have done it before now. It has been a busy year.
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First up John St. Jean.

John moved over to FCHP at the first of the year and had an EXCELLENT showing at the WKA Road Racing (Enduro) National at Roebling Road (Savannah), Georgia. Congrats on the run, hope to see more during the year.
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I have more to add and I will get them up on here soon. I am very exited to have the guys above on board and I would also like to thank all my existing customers that continue to recommend FCHP to others that make these new guys keep coming our way.

I can't hardly believe it, still as I write this, that Eric has passed. You sure don't want to think about someone your own age falling sick and passing so soon. Some people in racing we only get to meet a couple times a year and Eric was one that I always looked for when we went to the Gold Cups. Had some real good laughs. Buddy, I sure am going to miss you and it won't be the same without you.

What sets an average Animal engine apart from a "good" Animal engine.... parts selection. WKA has done a good job on clamping down on the Animal rules. There are many areas in the motor that greatly affect how the motor turns out that can NOT be altered by the engine builder. A "good" motor is made by the engine builder having enough "good" parts on hand to build the motor right. A builder can NOT do this building one motor at a time. A builder also needs to have enough data collected on the Animal engines to KNOW what makes a good motor and what is just average. Some builders have more engines on hand at one time to sort through than most build in a month or a year. And not only on hand, but torn apart so parts comparisons and matchups can be made to maximize EVERY motor in the lot at the same time. Again, this can not be done by building one motor at a time.

At FCHP we have been building Animal motors since they were released from Briggs & Stratton. This puts our Animal experience, data collection, and parts knowlege MANY years ahead of a lot of the builders. And we have the selection to give you the best.

That's right, after many many years of flathead/Raptor engine racing, Briggs is finally pulling the plug on that engine and will eventually stop producing any parts for it.

Word is, a few of the parts are already out of production and when the distributor/dealer stock is gone, they are gone. Briggs will not release a timetable schedule of the parts being phased out or release which parts are going out of production first. They are doing this in order to keep distribtors/dealers from "stocking up" on parts and selling them at an increased rate once the parts are gone. They will let the parts go out through the normal channels as usual and when they are gone, they are gone.

Here is what I see happening for 2007. A lot of racers get their motors in for rebuilds over the winter. Those racers will most likely not be affected. Another big rush it typically right before the 2007 season fires up at all the tracks (people waiting to the last minute). Again, they most likely will not be affected. The next big rush typically comes around Income Tax Return time. I think by March we will start seeing parts shortages showing up or at least getting an idea of the parts that are no longer available at the distributor level. The next big rush comes around mid-season when people get mid-season rebuilds (June-July). I think by June-July we will start seeing shortages show up and start to make comprimises in the engine packages. Example: If you need a .015" piston and no .015" pistons are available, you have to go up to the next bore size or larger to find the next available pistons. I suspect .010"-.015" pistons will go first, then .020"-.025", then .030"-.035" as they are used up. By mid to late 2007 (September-October) I think we will start to see where some shops had stocked up on parts and will start to charge a premium for "missing" parts. An by late 2007 (November-December) builders will have to just start telling karters they can not get parts to do their rebuilds no matter how much hunting and "bidding" on parts they do. And once that happens...... say goodbye to the Raptor.... it's done.

I weighed my options and talked to several people and in 2007 I will be riding a Prowler Kart. Prowler is right down the road from us and is generally at every race we attend and from what I have seen in the past, the support from Prowler is 2nd to none. Not to mention all the friends I have now riding Prowlers I can share information with. I am very comfortable with this decision and I know it will be good for FCHP in 2007.