It seems to me, this would help the tire shake troubles... (1 Viewer)

[preacher]

I remember in the 80's, Kenny Bernstein was complaining to Dale Armstrong about tire shake and it wasn't until Dale made a pass in the car himself that he found out how violent it was and he went to work on the clutch application and started winning championships!

One idea I have is to bond or encapsulate the outer shell of the drivers seat in about 3" of a shock absorbing jell/silicone type material that would help to absorb the violent shock of tire shake emmitted to the driver.

It doesn't seem to me the size of the cage is the issue but the shake and harmonics only found in drag racing being tramsmitted to the driver

 

[Todd]

You may get some teams complaining about the extra weight there.
That stuff is heavy. And I would think after a few uses that stuff
would fail and need frequent replacing. But it sounds like a pretty good start for a new inovation.

 

[john]

The driver feels the car through his seat. If you used jell it might prevent him from feeling the start of the shake and make things worse.

 

[rocketman]

Good point Sweeney. We run liners in our tires and it cuts down on shake significantly. My partner was woried about the extra load it was putting on the transmission and wanted to take them off. Once I reasoned with him about less shake he was OK with it.

 

[sammi]

Maybe it is time to rethink the soft wrinkley tires that have been in use for so long. Stiff sidewalls and less tire growth would put an end to the tire's tendency to step on itself.

Mark

 

[n/a]

You may get some teams complaining about the extra weight there. That stuff is heavy. And I would think after a few uses that stuff would fail and need frequent replacing. But it sounds like a pretty good start for a new inovation.

This is another great idea... a vibration absorbing gell! A "seat liner". The weight issue would be moot because all teams would be required to utilize this. Make it a safety item that is required, and raise the min. wts.

There has been some other ideas posted on this site, in refference to safety and slowing the cars down in the fuel classes, such as single pump; single mag; spec gear; less sill plate; less wing; etc; etc. I'd be for all of that! The fact is these cars are just too fast, and too quick for the technology that is currently available... And to develope & then to purchase the technology is way too expensive for the manufacturers or individual racers that want to participate. Just look at the declining participants list in all of the PRO catagories. This should be a sign of whats coming if something isn't done to slow down these co$ts. Remember, it's supposed to be about the show, and the competition.

My 2 cents. Larry

 

[Dougster]

I like some of these ideas like the gel/foam around the roll bar and seat area. However I do wonder exactly how effective that would really be - given what apparently happened to Medlen, how much would padding have prevented it? It's usually not the head/helmet banging against the roll bars that causes the damage; it's the brain hitting the skull that's the problem. Somehow we need to stop the WHOLE head and/or body from moving.

A couple of ways I'd deal with this would be either to isolate the cockpit from the rest of the chassis - either have it as a sprung subframe, or put suspension back on these cars; or to move to lower-profile tires with stiffer sidewalls. I'm not sure how feasible these are - personally I'd like to see shake eliminated altogether since in addition to it being dangerous, it robs us fans of an exciting run when the driver has to click off early. If changing tires would take it away, I could deal with what would likely be a significant loss of ET and MPH if we preserved (or improved) the racing. Side-by-side 300 MPH passes are more exciting than one 330 MPH and one 220 MPH pass...

 

[preacher]

personally I'd like to see shake eliminated altogether since in addition to it being dangerous, it robs us fans of an exciting run when the driver has to click off early. ...

The problem is, all the pro classes are suseptable... even TA/FC and Dragster..I even experienced it in a 8 sec Outlaw Mustang I was running in 2001.

It seems to me their are too many dynamics in a drive train/tire combination to eliminate it all together (although it would be nice). I believe the teams and NHRA will come up with a better way to isolate the driver from the chassis! Let the testing begin for the "Car of Tomorrow" (sorry nascar)

 

[Mooseman]

In the 80's didnt dale armstrong test an 18 inch wide rim on bernsteins car to stop tire shake but the nhra wouldnt let him use it .

 

[Joker741]

There has been some other ideas posted on this site, in refference to safety and slowing the cars down in the fuel classes, such as single pump; single mag; spec gear; less sill plate; less wing; etc; etc. I'd be for all of that!

Problem is fans want to see the big numbers on the board. They have a slower class that runs 275 mph called Top Alcohol, look at the stands when they are the big guys on the track.

 

[Bobby]

Problem is fans want to see the big numbers on the board. They have a slower class that runs 275 mph called Top Alcohol, look at the stands when they are the big guys on the track.

That's all about perception. Slow the alky cars down too. Look at Nascars Busch cars. They are just as fast as the Cup cars, and NO ONE GIVES A DAMN.

 

[Joker741]

That's all about perception. Slow the alky cars down too. Look at Nascars Busch cars. They are just as fast as the Cup cars, and NO ONE GIVES A DAMN.

Yeah, but they didn't slow the Cup cars down to match the Busch cars.

 

[TAFC 5 81]

That's all about perception. Slow the alky cars down too. Look at Nascars Busch cars. They are just as fast as the Cup cars, and NO ONE GIVES A DAMN.

Just a thought; if TF and FC went to single mag, pump, less OD, less clutch, etc to put them around the 300 MPH mark, how many AFD teams do you think would move up to TF (both full and limited schedule)?

 

[downtime]

I can't believe someone can't configure a sensor to provide input to a computer aided shutoff...

 

[FINMAN]

I can remember years ago that INDY cars were to have a block of rubber type absorbing unit mounted on the rear of the chassis. It was to absorb impact with the wall. Not sure what became of this as I dont follow that type of racing. I think it could absorb 5 G's of force. Is this something that could also help ?
I'm sure most have heard of what happened to Kaylee Greer, the 8 yr old suffered severe neck trauma in her Jr Dragster, My prayers go out to her and her family for a speedy recovery.


Here is the link

Torco Racing Fuel's Competition Plus.com - Drag Racing's Internet Magazine - JR. DRAGSTER RACER NEEDS OUR HELP

 

[preacher]

I can't believe someone can't configure a sensor to provide input to a computer aided shutoff...

I like that as well but my guess it would lead to aborted runs that a driver could have driven "through".

We all know from last year how important each round win is in the big picture.

 

[preacher]

I can remember years ago that INDY cars were to have a block of rubber type absorbing unit mounted on the rear of the chassis. It was to absorb impact with the wall. Not sure what became of this as I dont follow that type of racing. I think it could absorb 5 G's of force. Is this something that could also help ?
I'm sure most have heard of what happened to Kaylee Greer, the 8 yr old suffered severe neck trauma in her Jr Dragster, My prayers go out to her and her family for a speedy recovery.


Here is the link

Torco Racing Fuel's Competition Plus.com - Drag Racing's Internet Magazine - JR. DRAGSTER RACER NEEDS OUR HELP

Ya, thats a sad story and were praying for her. We run two Junior Dragsters and I have a 8 year old nephew who will be making his first pass in our car in a week, kind of makes you think

 

[DCM]

I can remember years ago that INDY cars were to have a block of rubber type absorbing unit mounted on the rear of the chassis. It was to absorb impact with the wall. Not sure what became of this as I dont follow that type of racing. I think it could absorb 5 G's of force. Is this something that could also help ?

I think those were put on because guys were backing into the wall...and the only components behind the driver were the engine and transmissions, ie., very STIFF components.

So cars would back into the wall and break the driver's back.

 

[n/a]

Just a thought; if TF and FC went to single mag, pump, less OD, less clutch, etc to put them around the 300 MPH mark, how many AFD teams do you think would move up to TF (both full and limited schedule)?

Hey, I'm liking THIS IDEA!... This could work for both T/F & AA/FC

It would sure give a guy or a team some realistic hopes or incentives to move up, to transition to the Pro Classes.
Anything to get more involvement.
Get those car counts back up, where it makes it interesting again.

Larry

 

[n/a]

Problem is fans want to see the big numbers on the board. They have a slower class that runs 275 mph called Top Alcohol, look at the stands when they are the big guys on the track.

I'm old enough to remember when the nitro cars (both t/f & f/c )
were going 275, 250, 200, and we all loved it!
It's all about The Show!
The smell.
The noise.
The competition.
And... Lots & Lots of Cars participating...
thats what gets folks excited and wanting more!!

Again this is just my 2cents! Larry