The 1000' Tune-Up (2 Viewers)

[Thurston]

At 300mph a car is traveling about 440ft per second. 320 feet doesn't sound like much, but that will give a driver just under 1 second to react to a bad situation and the drivers of these cars can accomplish a lot in 1 second. If at the 1000ft mark a car is going 290mph in stead of 300 it will now be traveling about 350ft per second giving the driver a whole second more to reach for the chutes, the brakes, hit the fire system, or gather up an out of control car.

The BIG difference will be the calmative effect of the shorten distance, instead of accelerating for the last 320 feet the car will now be decelerating in that same 320 feet, so in fact when it reaches the 1320 foot mark most cars will have already lost even more speed.

I believe NHRA should keep the 1320 clocks running to see just how fast these car decelerate in the much discussed 320ft and use that data when implementing any other changes.

. IMHO, NHRA made the best short-term decision available to them until more significant changes can be engineered.

 

[kd]

Please note: I am not a drag racer, and I have never talked to any racers in the pro categories, so this is probably an ignorant question.

If a top fuel dragster is running 330 mph at 1000' and a funny car is running 300 at 1000' ... honestly -- someone tell me: will the extra 320 feet really make that much of a difference?

As several have said...flame away.

PLEASE READ the post by Alan (duh)

It is stated by the gods ALL of the damage was AFTER 1000ft.

WAY easier to stop a car thats not driving over its rotating assembly!

 

[Nitrohelper]

I am curious if we will still see cars losing the motor going through the lights at 1000' like, for example, the Force teams do sometimes.
If so then Austin Coil DID change his tune-up.

Those pistons are hurt before the finish line, the oil is pulled into the chamber when the blades are closed, that's the smoke cloud.
The blowers and belts should do better without the rev-limiter. Lifters & rods too!
Austin has been killing aluminum with his tune-ups since he quit racing the super stock in the '60s.

 

[kd]

Jesse,

I know that Austin and A.J. wouldn't lie to me. I know them both VERY well, and I'm talking away from the track. They both know that if they tell me something "Off the record" then it stays between us. And in this situation, no secrets are being spilled.

Sherman,

At the 1320 mark the limiters are in full force and the cars are not accelerating much if any. Just like if you run your street car against the limiter, plus the cars have massive amounts of drag.

Alan

Alan...Great Job...Always Awesome posts!

U right! THOSE CATS dont LIE.!

People have to realize the WICK was already short!

Maybe explain that a "candle with no string dont lite!"

Happy 4th bro!

 

[tomcat]

. IMHO, NHRA made the best short-term decision available to them until more significant changes can be engineered.

I couldn't agree more. I love this sport and I love the tradition and history of all aspects of this sport, including the distance of the track. I know that a lot of people are very passionate about this change, and I hope and believe that it is temporary. But let me pose this question since all I am hearing are complaints. What other measure could the NHRA have taken to help buy time until this is settled and still been fair to all, and easy to implement? Keep in mind that with all they have done wrong lately, this time they listened to the over whelming majority of drivers and crew chiefs and reacted swiftly and in a positive manner to a serious issue. Give credit where credit is due.

 

[willy]

Those pistons are hurt before the finish line, the oil is pulled into the chamber when the blades are closed, that's the smoke cloud.
The blowers and belts should do better without the rev-limiter. Lifters & rods too!
Austin has been killing aluminum with his tune-ups since he quit racing the super stock in the '60s.

LOL..what do you know Jerry...pfft.

It's not like you haven't been around since they put water in!!

You gonna be at Cordova for the series?

Oh..your input into this means more than 95% of the people here.

 

[Bobby]

Right on. It's my opinion that these cars have pretty much gone as quick as they will be able to go. Maybe the new track in Charlotte will prove me wrong,the t/f nat. record is 4.42 and was set almost 2 yrs. ago. Seeing e.t.'s in the high 3's will be totally awesome even if it's only a thousand feet

yeah totally awesome . Dude.

 

[farmje]

PLEASE READ the post by Alan (duh)

It is stated by the gods ALL of the damage was AFTER 1000ft.

WAY easier to stop a car thats not driving over its rotating assembly!

I guess my question (I was trying to beat around the bush) was this.

If Scott Kalitta's car would have exploded while crossing the finish line at 1000' at Englishtown, would an extra 320 feet have mattered?

Or was the fact that there was so much other stuff: chutes, brakes, concrete, TV camera, etc. really the cause?

I guess I feel as though when it comes to this huge "change," (and as I said before, I DO NOT KNOW for sure), but would 320 feet really make that much of a difference in a case like Scott Kalitta's accident?

 

[MM]

Those pistons are hurt before the finish line, the oil is pulled into the chamber when the blades are closed, that's the smoke cloud.
The blowers and belts should do better without the rev-limiter. Lifters & rods too!
Austin has been killing aluminum with his tune-ups since he quit racing the super stock in the '60s.

killing aluminum is the key to becoming famous dont ya know!!

 

[Tony]

Jim Thurston:
I believe NHRA should keep the 1320 clocks running to see just how fast these car decelerate in the much discussed 320ft and use that data when implementing any other changes.

Jim, that is an awesome idea!

I'll throw this out there: I wonder how many runs (qualifing and eliminations) are actually made under power to 1320? 50%? Less? More? Anybody know how to get this stat?

 

[Stevens24]

I wonder if Scott's motor would have blown up, or as badly if they were running 1000'?? If it is as Austin and Alan say that banging the rev limiter does most of the damage you have a potential chicken or the egg. But I don't now nearly as much as most of you it just seems a lot of kablammos happen at or near the finish.

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Jim Thurston:

I'll throw this out there: I wonder how many runs (qualifing and eliminations) are actually made under power to 1320? 50%? Less? More? Anybody know how to get this stat?

I do! We'll use your computer and hack into DSR and JFR!
Obviously kidding - hell will freeze over before you get that data out of crew chiefs. -

 

[MM]

Jim Thurston:
I believe NHRA should keep the 1320 clocks running to see just how fast these car decelerate in the much discussed 320ft and use that data when implementing any other changes.

Jim, that is an awesome idea!

I'll throw this out there: I wonder how many runs (qualifing and eliminations) are actually made under power to 1320? 50%? Less? More? Anybody know how to get this stat?

are you looking for the season in general or race to race....and what would qualify as being under power? which is to say that means getting to then stripe without getting out of the throttle at all or being in the throttle when you get to the finish line?

Tracks and conditions can vary so much from week to week and even day to day that I'm not sure how much credence you can put into a stat like that

 

[The Counterfeiter]

Jim Thurston:

I'll throw this out there: I wonder how many runs (qualifing and eliminations) are actually made under power to 1320? 50%? Less? More? Anybody know how to get this stat?

I do! We'll use your computer and hack into DSR and JFR!
Obviously kidding - hell will freeze over before you get that data out of crew chiefs. -

 

[kd]

I guess my question (I was trying to beat around the bush) was this.

If Scott Kalitta's car would have exploded while crossing the finish line at 1000' at Englishtown, would an extra 320 feet have mattered?

Or was the fact that there was so much other stuff: chutes, brakes, concrete, TV camera, etc. really the cause?

I guess I feel as though when it comes to this huge "change," (and as I said before, I DO NOT KNOW for sure), but would 320 feet really make that much of a difference in a case like Scott Kalitta's accident?

YES..Sadly it WOULD have made a difference !
Scott didnt BREAK until aprox. 1100 ft.
1000ft = car shut off...chutes out...
Jeremy-too many people are LOST on the FACT that ITS NOT 325 more feet to slow down (that too, to a small degree...) BUT "the danger zone" is minimized" with the motor off at 1000.
We get the races a day late up here...so taped Norwalk AND really paid attention to the "flame pattern" of the exhaust headers.
AFTER 1000 ft...Pattern distorted.
JUST MAYBE...Austin and AJs computer tapes show the same thing (THEY DO!)
Distortion=carnage.
This sport is so simple....HUH?

Happy 4th Bro!

 

[megadeth]

Then the extra 320 feet shouldn't make that big of a safety difference should it!

Yeah, it does.

Running a Nitro motor hard against a device such as a rev limiter for even a split second is not a great way to make it live.

this was a complaint crew chiefs had against the things when they were first mandated.


Drag Racing Online :: News and Analysis - Nitro cars are safer but still fast, dangerous, and expensive despite NHRA’s efforts! - 3/14/06


REX[/QUOTE]

Thanks Rex the article is a good read!

I still maintain if they stay at 1000' for good I will spend my entertaiment dollar else were.
At least in Australia they will continue the tradition.

 

[big guy]

At the 1320 mark the limiters are in full force and the cars are not accelerating much if any. Just like if you run your street car against the limiter, plus the cars have massive amounts of drag.

Alan[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

Then the extra 320 feet shouldn't make that big of a safety difference should it! [/Q

Why is it so hard to comprehend the fact the drvers will have 320 feet more to stop? That in itself is a big safety improvement.

 

[Mooseman]

you guys are talking about how damage is caused after 1000ft and when the limiter kicks in , if the limiter is such a danger then maybe that is something that should be looked at to make the cars safer , I mean something that could make your engine explode doesnt sound like a safety device to me

 

[TooTall999]

This quote from AA/Dale Armstrong sums it up perfectly: "Look, with this thousand foot deal all these guys are going to do is turn things up so they blow up at 800 feet. That’s no good. It’s not going to be any safer, and it’s going to cost just as much money. It just doesn’t work."

 

[Nitrohelper]

You gonna be at Cordova for the series?

We haven't made a deal yet, but we would like to attend , it also will be 1000'.
My first World Series was in 1963 with a fuel dragster. I watched the Greek do a wheelstand in the lights.
One of those years a farmer parked his combine at the end of the track so no one would run onto his crops!
We watched it burn to the ground about midnight that year.

On topic, the average fan has no idea the amount of engine damage that the rev-limiter has caused.
Sure we can hurt pistons anywhere on the track, (plus on the burnout) ,but trying to shove the rods in the pan,
& the valves into the ports makes for a much bigger fire.

I'm a single mag advocate, it limits the fuel volume without tech inspectors, and allows for different tune-ups.
1000' won't end the need for a better catch net system , but now drivers can lift when it "noses over" (like the old days),
instead of driving it on the limiter until the belt comes off, or the fire begins.