Race For Tuning

[Leda Billock]

Somethoughts on tuning your skis as a beginning racer. If you are a high level racer, you don't need to read further - your tuning guy knows more about tuning skis than I. For a lot more info, see Ski Tuning Guides.

As a parent and coach, I read a lot about ski tuning and have developed a routine. There's a lot of material out there, some of it conflicting, so I figured I write down my routine, as it may help you in creating your own routine. Ski tuning for junior racers is about settling into a routine that you can do fast, late at night, which incorporates the most important elements of ski tuning while minimizing errors.

If you got new skis, see Ski Tuning - new skis. If you don't know what angles to use, see Ski Tuning - edge bevels. For more info on equipment and more, see the age-specific guides: U10 U12 and U14 U16 and U18.

Bring the skis inside from the car or they will rust. Wipe the skis of water, then rub on some wax and rub it in with a felt pad, mostly around the boot area, where it wears off. It takes 10 minutes at the most, for 4 pairs - I know. Let the base get polished by the morning training runs...

If it was icy and you expect more tomorrow, polish/maintain the edges, using the 200and 400 diamond stones. If the ski base looks dry, hot wax it, to keep it consistent and protect it from abrasive snow.

Now, polish/maintain the edges. I usually test the edges to see if they need some attention - soft snow and light skiers doesn't really wear them off. My idea of that is to scrape my fingernail and see how sharp the edge still is - does it shave some off or not?

If it doesn't, then use the diamond stones - just a 400 (and maybe a 200), since it's for training. If they feel dull, start with a smooth file, 1-2 passes and don't forget to deburr the base edge - run a diamond stone lightly along the base edge. Also, get a gummi stone and rub it tip to tail, lightly.

Now clean the base - if you think it's dirty or you have used a file on the side edge, hot-scrape it. Otherwise, just the soft steel brush a little and then the brass brush (keep a separate set of brushes for cleaning and another one for wax).

Now hot wax the skis. Let them cool for 20-30 minutes and scrape then brush lightly. I use a rotating horse hair brush and do two passes, no buffing. Here's a simple guide and there's no real need to complicate it beyond this, for training:

The base is the soul of the ski. Edges sharpA sharp edge is critical for carving. Waxing glideGliding fast and consistently in all snow conditions. Routine fastAvoid mistakes and get consistent results.

Or, see the Swix www.swixsport.com Alpine SKi Preparation - Racing, under Download/tech manuals (their website links are too bad to paste here). Also, the base prep and waxing guide, same place.

reed valves. what valve thickness do you guys run 0.5mm or 1mm or 2mm. are these straight fit or require some adjusting of the inlet port ie: removing some material from inlet port to allow better intake flow/volume ie: porting of engines inlet/outlets.

One of the key areas of two stroke tuning is the exhaust - a performance exhaust with engine specific expansion chamber will make a significant difference. Thinner reeds are more responsive, ie they open and close faster - but the downside is that the thinner reeds can be more fragile - you pays your money, and takes your choice.

With regards to other mods - first off, it never hurts to smooth the inlet path a little - matching the output from the carb to the inlet makes sense - but I don't recommend you mirror polish this area because some swirl (turbulence) in this area will help to ensure a thorough, even fuel/air mix. Matching outlet to exhaust again makes sense, and here it is worthwhile getting a nice smooth finish to ensure that the exhaust gas has a nice fast path to follow.

From here, it's down to black magic - as is (and was) all two stroke tuning. Jetting is always a must, to ensure the right mix for your engine, regardless of whether it's modified or not. I spent hours trying for the nice caramelly colour on my spark plugs when I was running a Kwak KH250 triple in race tune! Remember your fuel is carrying your engine lube, better to run slightly rich and adjust over time than to run lean and add lube.

problem with clipping is the flywheel is not balanced. i seen some saying they used a custom made balancing wheel. but the wheels in the pictures they show do not look like they have been shaved for balance, just drilled and routed out. drilled round the outer edge and routed on inner and removing a couple grams in weight.

Also....these are piston ported motors (unless you buy a very expensive one!! ) so no reed valves. All you have to play with is hte port heights and widths to alter the intake.exhaust timing. You can play with the transfer ports...but that is hit and miss.

As far as basic tuning goes, just making sure all the parts line up and removing any nasty steps in the gas flow is one thing. Just be very careful around the plating....chrome plated bores are less forgiving than old fashioned steel liners

Significantly more: depending on the engine in your vehicle and the RaceChip model you choose, you can get up to 30% more power and 30% more torque. And our chip tuning always stays well within the reserves built into an engine.

Chip tuning (via a power box) works without changing the manufacturer's hardware and software; all the systems protecting the engine remain intact, you can easily install the box yourself, and your vehicle can be restored completely to the factory settings.

OBD (on-board diagnostics) tuning accesses the manufacturer's settings for the engine management and electronics systems, and changes them, usually permanently. Installation generally involves significant cost and cannot be reversed completely.

Introducing a revolutionary feature that takes your driving experience to the next level - the Smart Warm-Up!

Our cutting-edge technology checks your vehicle's warm-up process based on coolant or oil temperature and activates the tuning function only if your engine is warm enough. Say goodbye to the old-fashioned timer approach.

Your vehicle's well-being is our top priority, and we're thrilled to unveil a game-changing function that puts you in control - the Engine Health Check.

The Engine Health Check is a cutting-edge diagnostic feature designed to provide you with real-time insights into your vehicle's vital signs. Think of it as a comprehensive health report for your engine, ensuring that your ride stays in peak condition.

With the brand new RaceChip installation check, you can check the installation of your performance upgrade for correctness before starting the engine for the first time. Thanks to our cooperation with the Carista app, you can also read out and analyze existing errors.

The chip communicates with the RaceChip app via Bluetooth and enables you to easily control the performance increase by choosing between 3 tuning modes from your smartphone: Efficiency for saving fuel in urban traffic, Sport for improved mid-range flexibility on open roads, Race for maximum performance.

The RaceChip comes from the factory with the right map for your engine. Should this initial configuration not meet your expectations, our customer service is able to further adapt the settings of the 3 distinct driving modes Efficiency, Sport and Race to the performance characteristics of your engine. The new parameters will then simply be transferred from the app to your RaceChip.

The RaceChip app and our service features allow us to re-calibrate the fine tuning mappings according to your wishes and even to change the optimisation software completely if necessary. The changes are all transmitted by the app to your RaceChip.

Complete race tuning kit includes the Razor-Tune precision edge sharpening tool with 3 grinding wheels (Fine, Medium, and Coarse), 2 wedge, 3 wedge, power supply, and a tool bag. Custom wedge angles available by request.

I know a couple things like clean the carb after races, lube the chain and sprockets, change the tires every 3-4 races, change gearing, but overall what tips should I know in order to keep my chassis and engine running competitive with minimum issues? And what issues should I be aware of?

For the most part we live the chain, top up the gas and send it. The Briggs engine has not us down yet. Use the right oil and change it often. I like to touch up the valves mid season. Otherwise keep the bearing lived and check to make sure all the bolts are tight and nothing is bent. Oh and lightly grease the clutch bearing.

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