I just wanted to give a brief out line of what was done in tech this year so those not in the tech shed can get some idea of how thorough this is getting.
First the front cars were literally brought in every session, I could be wrong but pretty certain Preston and Chris did get teched every session. In addition they pulled in about 8 cars a session and ran the usual tech procedures like stall tests, random checks and sealing.
Post race this year they pulled the same parts off all the cars
Others may add if I forgot something
Engines:
full head inspection per the SCCA compliance tools and visual inspection
CC performed on Cyl 1
pull all valves from cyl 2,3 & 4 for inspection
pull cams to be inspected on cam doctor
pull all four rods and pistons inspect and weigh
pull crank shaft inspect for balancing and weigh for min weight
pull intake manifold off and apart for inspection
pull throttle body off for inspection
pull exhaust manifold off for inspection
pull flywheel off and check for modifications and weigh for minimum weight
block inspect bores, measure bore and stroke before disassembly
Transmission
pull out and apart, inspect gears for coatings and rem. count teeth on each gear to confirm ratios
pull shifter and inspect for short shifter
Diff
Pull diff apart and count teeth for ratio and inspect gears for coating
Driveshaft
make sure it is steel
shocks
pull both left side shocks. dyno them for compliance
inspect springs for correct numbers
pull bump stops and check compared to Fat cat kit
upper control arm
pull off and inspect for modifications
I'm sure there was more, but my memory stinks!
Just an idea on how crazy this is getting.. We were held over night because our intake and exhaust valves did not look like the sample valves from Mazda ( which were 7 years old). the ONLY difference? The raised casting on the valve that reads "4W" looked like a different font than their 7 year old sample valve. Mazda was going to get some new valves sent, but it would have been Monday, so they were doing some research. I asked what i could do and they said find a new valve in a sealed bag that matches mine. Luckily Jim Stewart of Stewart engines had a bag of 8 exhaust valves still in the bag and 5 minutes from the track. I drove over there Saturday morning and picked them up, brought them to tech and showed them that the font had obviously changed and apparently I was the only one who was running new valves and it stuck out. Time to update their samples Thank you Jim Stewart. I was very glad they were looking at things in such detail. But when so many ask, "are you guys good? " while in tech.. My answer is always the same.. We should be fine.. but something can always pop up that catches you completely by surprise. In the end all was good
and we passed, but don't let anyone kid you, it is always stressful.