Randy
Nitro Member
Did you know....Recently, well respected engineers and a chassis builder (all who had nothing to gain) got together on a project to do significant tests on todays top fuel chassis and failures that have resulted? Did you know they conducted these test looking for answers without bias and spent enough money to buy a house in the suburbs in the process of doing it? Did you hear about the alarming results?
Over the course of several months computer stress tests were done on the most prominant TF team cars racing at national events under all conditions. The frames were tested during several runs from the wheelie bar to the weight bar. The wing and struts were included. These were based on aircraft type stress analysis sensors from many multiple points and all the data was recorded on onboard computers. Just to outfit the engine area of one TF car with the computer and hook-ups took 6 hours and 20 pounds worth of equipment.
The group got together with a prominant chassis builder and two identical latest state of the art frames were ordered. Why two? Because one was ordered of the heat treated variety and the other was not. Neither of these cars were ever destined to make a lap down the quarter mile but they were assembled anyway. These people felt it was time to do what NASA or Boeing or any other similar company would do when stress testing equipment that is expected to carry lives.
A state of the art 36 foot long hydraulic stress test machine was commissioned. This machine was coupled to the computer data that the group had assembled over the course of months and events.
Long story short. The machine was able to duplicate full runs. It produced loads on the two chassis that duplicated the launch, the settling of the cars at two seconds, the arc of the chassis and wing loads front and rear at half track all the way to the shut down. These loads were verified accurate by the same multitude of probes that were placed on the various race cars at the tracks.
What happened? The normailzed (non-heat treated) chassis lasted test after test. But the heat treated (ab-normailzed) chassis broke apart in an area similar to the on track failures that have taken place several times after only a few attempts.
Armed with this alarming yet undeniably important and live saving information the group took the information, test results, videos, etc., to the powers that be and were told they weren't interested in what they had to offer.
The group spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to seek the truth. The truth still remains today. Yet fingers seem to remain firmly planted today, one in each ear.
Did you know this?
RG
Over the course of several months computer stress tests were done on the most prominant TF team cars racing at national events under all conditions. The frames were tested during several runs from the wheelie bar to the weight bar. The wing and struts were included. These were based on aircraft type stress analysis sensors from many multiple points and all the data was recorded on onboard computers. Just to outfit the engine area of one TF car with the computer and hook-ups took 6 hours and 20 pounds worth of equipment.
The group got together with a prominant chassis builder and two identical latest state of the art frames were ordered. Why two? Because one was ordered of the heat treated variety and the other was not. Neither of these cars were ever destined to make a lap down the quarter mile but they were assembled anyway. These people felt it was time to do what NASA or Boeing or any other similar company would do when stress testing equipment that is expected to carry lives.
A state of the art 36 foot long hydraulic stress test machine was commissioned. This machine was coupled to the computer data that the group had assembled over the course of months and events.
Long story short. The machine was able to duplicate full runs. It produced loads on the two chassis that duplicated the launch, the settling of the cars at two seconds, the arc of the chassis and wing loads front and rear at half track all the way to the shut down. These loads were verified accurate by the same multitude of probes that were placed on the various race cars at the tracks.
What happened? The normailzed (non-heat treated) chassis lasted test after test. But the heat treated (ab-normailzed) chassis broke apart in an area similar to the on track failures that have taken place several times after only a few attempts.
Armed with this alarming yet undeniably important and live saving information the group took the information, test results, videos, etc., to the powers that be and were told they weren't interested in what they had to offer.
The group spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to seek the truth. The truth still remains today. Yet fingers seem to remain firmly planted today, one in each ear.
Did you know this?
RG
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