Within the last four years, some ETC manufacturers have developed their own tire slip and ignition management circuitry to work inside an MSD spark box or other ignition control. Racetronics and Tri-Mark build theirs in separate ETC units that can be hidden in a race car if so desired. The Tri-Mark main control box is 3.5 X 5 X 1-inch. Not exactly tiny, but hideable from cursory tech inspection. Davis Technologies has produced some impressively small ETC circuitry that integrates inside a spark box. It's a convenient place to put it because plenty of critical inputs are available: power, ground, an engine RPM signal, etc.

ETC that is more current, but still about three to four years old. The custom-built ETC circuitry by Davis Technologies (right, next to 9-volt for scale only) could be mounted inside an MSD ignition control and be tough to detect on casual inspection of an open spark box. Note the ribbon-wire connection to the circuit pack.

I've seen the inside of plenty of stock MSD spark boxes used in racing, and I've seen the inside of one implanted with Davis Technologies ETC circuitry, and to be honest, a tech inspector would be very hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two. A hacksaw would make the job easier, but not too many racers are going to let tech inspectors hack into an ignition control-especially a modified one.

Nevertheless, according to one ETC manufacturer, many new sales are now of ETC units that are not integrated in an ignition control because some tracks have basically gone to a "claimer rule" where they can randomly take an ignition control, or they issue a racer one from the track. The tracks are not going to spend the time policing for ETC, but racers risk losing a relatively expensive ETC unit if their number is in the claimer pool. Consequently, the move to making ETC that is portable, or so small (see below) it can be taped into a wiring harness and look only like a bulge in a wiring loom.

Portable ETC unit (bottom) closer to what's currently available for race teams, just bring your checkbook. This one is not integrated into an ignition control, but its size makes it easy to mount or carry.

DOES ETC WORK?
When is ETC most effective? Any time you are racing at a track that you apply and lift the throttle. When running at Talladega when most of the race is WOT (wide-open throttle), it doesn't offer much of an advantage. But as one crewchief noted after experimenting with ETC recently, "We picked up three seconds on a road course."

ETC can improve fuel mileage because throttle transitions are electronically damped. Tire wear/conservation can be improved because it can calm down all the little tire slips that are going on during racing that wear and heat up the tires-the electronics can react faster than a human can.

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