Elan DP02 Sealed Engine
#31168 from Chris Vian · Not recommended · Minutes (2021-11 Fastrack)
Thank you for your letter. The Club Racing Board does not recommend this change. The sealed engines are no longer viable
because they have not been used by IMSA for several years and SCCA cannot ensure that power would remain at the level that
previously allowed them to run without an inlet restrictor in P1. While new seals conceivably could be applied after engine
rebuilds, the Club Racing Board and Tech officials would have no means of verifying that the proprietary parts that originally
allowed the engines to run without an inlet restrictor were used during each rebuild. Moreover, even if it were possible to
confirm that the proper parts were used, this would not eliminate the sealed engines' inherent problem. DP02s with sealed
engines are outside the P1 performance envelope – when they were legal in P1, the data showed that their trap speeds were 12-
15 mph slower than the trap speeds of other cars in the class. As a result, DP02s with sealed engines were rarely entered when
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they were legal in P1. For all these reasons, the best option for the class is to do what other DP02 owners have done since 2017:
upgrade the engine components and install the required 30mm SIR, which balances power with much greater precision than
could be achieved by attempting to prescribe allowable parts and modifications for individual engine applications.