All this talk of SP engines as if they are a fixed formula. Every engine is different whether it is an SP engine or out the box. At the moment SP engines are being cleverly marketed to all and sundry, I'm not privy to exactly what is done, but essentially they can only be carefully built engines with any bad parts removed. Behind this facade though are for want of better words the Real selected parts engines reserved for those in the know or with really big wallets. The idea that everybody can have a real SP engine is like thinking everyone can have a winning lottery ticket. Production engines throw up the odd very good (or bad) part, but as production methods and tolerences get better these parts become fewer and further between, if not non-existant. Thus finally they only remain in the mind of the racer and the bank balance of some engine tuners.
As for power differences, for those who know it's easy to quantify, although they are unlikely to let this information out. But the more power you have the less any difference in time can be seen. This is simple to understand, the more time you spend on max throttle/power the more diffrence driver skill on the brakes and part throttle can make a difference. This is why SP engines make so much more difference in Cadets as they spend so much more of the lap on full throttle, like a drag race.
Thus at 5HP 0.1HP equates to about 2/10th on a 70 second lap, stick on a 7HP engine and this difference halfs to about 1/10th per 0.1HP. Few people would dispute that a Good SP engine is worth 0.5HP or half a second, which is more time than you could ever hope to find in your driving. How these figures translate to Pro-karts I don't know, but it seems to me that only commercial interest keeps it under wraps, is that good for racing?
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