mike
Nitro Member
Call me crazy, but I'm typing this from a magazine, I came across this article whilst going through some old Drag Racing magazines, and thought some of you might enjoy reading. The Article was titled Smaller Goes Bigger and was written by Jeff Burk.
Smaller Goes Bigger.
After Top Fuel racers Frank Bradley, Michael Brotherton and Gary Ormsby all went over 294 mph near the end of the 1989, the National Hot Rod Association came under pressure from their insurance company, K&K Insurance, to make sure that the 300 mph barrier was not broken. The NHRA considered a variety of solutions, including smaller engine displacement, added weight, and restricting the racers to one magneto.
What they finally settled on was to limit the rear-end ratio to a minimum of 3.20.1 This decision accomplished exactly what the NHRA and the insurance company wanted and the speeds that Top Fuel cars were running dropped immediately from the 294 range to the high 270s.
It took the racers nearly nine months to figure out a way to lift the speeds again, but as of the recent NHRA Heartland Nationals the racers have stepped back well and truely up above the 290 mph mark and have even surpassed the 294 top speed of 1989. None other then current speed record holder, Gary Ormsby, ran a 296.05 terminal speed in just 4.881 seconds, and he accomplished the deed with a 3.20.1 gear ratio!
Ormsby's, and others' recent step up in performance began with a set of experimental Mallory magnetos. For the three racers involved it was a "no comment" response to the flood of enquiries for the reason about their sudden improvements, but it didn't take long for the secret to leak out.
The first set of these new magnetos had gone to alcohol Funny Car racer Pat Austin who went straight on to wins at the Northstar Nationals, and US Nationals. Ormsby received the second set while at Indy, and immediately went 4.99 there, plus his 4.93/291.73 at the Keystones. Eddie Hill, with very close ties to Mallory received the third set and immediately cut his first four second pass in 23 months.
Mallory, recently voted the Manufacturer of the Year by Car Craft magazine, claims their Super Mag IV supplies 5.3 to 5.5 amps from the generator (up from their current model's 3.5) and 100 milliamps from the coil (a 40 percent increase), which makes a big difference in burning fuel at the top end. In short, they prevent a fuel car from "dropping cylinders" .Mallory were under so much pressure from all the pro racers for a set of the new product that they immediately withdrewthe three prototypes from circulation so that they couldn't be seen to be favouring any particular race team, especially with the points standings as close as they are in some brackets, but hope to have a full complement available at the Chief Auto Parts Nationals, at the Motorplex.
Mallory is also working on an electronic version of the Super Mag IV, that could be run off the front of the crankshaft in a sedan, instead of one of the conventional multiple spark units. The prediction is to watch for similar big leaps in performance in Pro Stock.
But back at the farm, Ormsby's crew chief , LeeBeard, denies that the Heartland Nationals performance had anything to do with the new Mallory units "It wasn't the magnetos," Beard said. "We had to turn in that equipment after the Keystones. I had a standard pair of Mallory magnetos when we ran the 296, not the hopped up ones".
Beard said that he attibuted his speeds to a change in the size of his engine. He is now running an engine of under 500 cubic inches. According to Beard this engine combination revs to a higher rpm and wants to do it much faster then the old combination, "We changed the engine before Brainerd, but it has taken us a while to figure the clutch out," he said. As a consequence he is now going through the traps at a higher rpm then he did last year.
"At the Motorplex, when we ran 294.88, we went through the traps at 7100 rpm. At Topeka (Heartland Nationals) the engine was turning 7700 rpm in the traps. I used a 3.00:1 at Dallas and I had a 3.20:1 gear at Topeka." Beard believes that the hotter mags may help other Top Fuel cars run quicker and faster because there are many cars that are still dropping cylinders and the hot mags will help those cars.
Perhaps the racer that will benefit the most, and the only other car that currently stands a chance to run with Beard and Ormsby, is Gene Snow. Snow ran a 4.93 at Topeka on just seven cylinders! When asked if he thought that Ormsby might go 300 mph at the Motorplex, Snow answered in the affirmative. "I think that he can, but I hope he doesn't. It will cause trouble if he does." he commented.
NHRA has already talked to the racers about further restrictions for the 1991 season to control speeds. Beard thinks that smaller engines may be the path they choose. Despite the possible repercussions, Beard told us that Ormsby will run 300 mph at the Motorplex if he has temperatures under 70 degrees. It appears that the reason why the 300 mph barrier is going to fall is not some big breakthrough in engine development. after all Dick LaHaie has been running a small motor for some time quite successfully. What has happened is that the racers have found a way to go fast using what they have. The 300 mph barrier will fall. It's just a matter of time and speed.
Hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I did. There was also a quote stating on the old 2.90:1 rear end ratio that pass would have been a 326 mph stormer! And that's back in 1990!!
Smaller Goes Bigger.
After Top Fuel racers Frank Bradley, Michael Brotherton and Gary Ormsby all went over 294 mph near the end of the 1989, the National Hot Rod Association came under pressure from their insurance company, K&K Insurance, to make sure that the 300 mph barrier was not broken. The NHRA considered a variety of solutions, including smaller engine displacement, added weight, and restricting the racers to one magneto.
What they finally settled on was to limit the rear-end ratio to a minimum of 3.20.1 This decision accomplished exactly what the NHRA and the insurance company wanted and the speeds that Top Fuel cars were running dropped immediately from the 294 range to the high 270s.
It took the racers nearly nine months to figure out a way to lift the speeds again, but as of the recent NHRA Heartland Nationals the racers have stepped back well and truely up above the 290 mph mark and have even surpassed the 294 top speed of 1989. None other then current speed record holder, Gary Ormsby, ran a 296.05 terminal speed in just 4.881 seconds, and he accomplished the deed with a 3.20.1 gear ratio!
Ormsby's, and others' recent step up in performance began with a set of experimental Mallory magnetos. For the three racers involved it was a "no comment" response to the flood of enquiries for the reason about their sudden improvements, but it didn't take long for the secret to leak out.
The first set of these new magnetos had gone to alcohol Funny Car racer Pat Austin who went straight on to wins at the Northstar Nationals, and US Nationals. Ormsby received the second set while at Indy, and immediately went 4.99 there, plus his 4.93/291.73 at the Keystones. Eddie Hill, with very close ties to Mallory received the third set and immediately cut his first four second pass in 23 months.
Mallory, recently voted the Manufacturer of the Year by Car Craft magazine, claims their Super Mag IV supplies 5.3 to 5.5 amps from the generator (up from their current model's 3.5) and 100 milliamps from the coil (a 40 percent increase), which makes a big difference in burning fuel at the top end. In short, they prevent a fuel car from "dropping cylinders" .Mallory were under so much pressure from all the pro racers for a set of the new product that they immediately withdrewthe three prototypes from circulation so that they couldn't be seen to be favouring any particular race team, especially with the points standings as close as they are in some brackets, but hope to have a full complement available at the Chief Auto Parts Nationals, at the Motorplex.
Mallory is also working on an electronic version of the Super Mag IV, that could be run off the front of the crankshaft in a sedan, instead of one of the conventional multiple spark units. The prediction is to watch for similar big leaps in performance in Pro Stock.
But back at the farm, Ormsby's crew chief , LeeBeard, denies that the Heartland Nationals performance had anything to do with the new Mallory units "It wasn't the magnetos," Beard said. "We had to turn in that equipment after the Keystones. I had a standard pair of Mallory magnetos when we ran the 296, not the hopped up ones".
Beard said that he attibuted his speeds to a change in the size of his engine. He is now running an engine of under 500 cubic inches. According to Beard this engine combination revs to a higher rpm and wants to do it much faster then the old combination, "We changed the engine before Brainerd, but it has taken us a while to figure the clutch out," he said. As a consequence he is now going through the traps at a higher rpm then he did last year.
"At the Motorplex, when we ran 294.88, we went through the traps at 7100 rpm. At Topeka (Heartland Nationals) the engine was turning 7700 rpm in the traps. I used a 3.00:1 at Dallas and I had a 3.20:1 gear at Topeka." Beard believes that the hotter mags may help other Top Fuel cars run quicker and faster because there are many cars that are still dropping cylinders and the hot mags will help those cars.
Perhaps the racer that will benefit the most, and the only other car that currently stands a chance to run with Beard and Ormsby, is Gene Snow. Snow ran a 4.93 at Topeka on just seven cylinders! When asked if he thought that Ormsby might go 300 mph at the Motorplex, Snow answered in the affirmative. "I think that he can, but I hope he doesn't. It will cause trouble if he does." he commented.
NHRA has already talked to the racers about further restrictions for the 1991 season to control speeds. Beard thinks that smaller engines may be the path they choose. Despite the possible repercussions, Beard told us that Ormsby will run 300 mph at the Motorplex if he has temperatures under 70 degrees. It appears that the reason why the 300 mph barrier is going to fall is not some big breakthrough in engine development. after all Dick LaHaie has been running a small motor for some time quite successfully. What has happened is that the racers have found a way to go fast using what they have. The 300 mph barrier will fall. It's just a matter of time and speed.
Hope you enjoyed reading that as much as I did. There was also a quote stating on the old 2.90:1 rear end ratio that pass would have been a 326 mph stormer! And that's back in 1990!!
