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Drag Racing Discussions => Front Engine Dragsters => Topic started by: retroboy on January 11, 2019, 07:32:19 PM

Title: Chute weight.
Post by: retroboy on January 11, 2019, 07:32:19 PM
Hey.
Has anyone got a 4 line chute and pack off their car at the minute they could drop on their wife's bathroom scales please. Just looking what I don't need to save a bit of weight. So far it's - wheelie bars, battery, sundry wiring, a couple of cables, lead on the nose and get the hole saw out into the gas pedal and sundry brackets. I reckon there's a hundred pounds there with the chute. I hit 200 on the scales last week so I know I can knock 20 off that.  I've just gone to a 12" rear disc so don't reckon I need the chute and hoping I can balance the launch with better use of a little weight on the nose. 120 pounds has to be worth something.
Cheers
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: Paul New on January 11, 2019, 08:02:26 PM
How fast are you planning on going? 150mph+ chute is required
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: retroboy on January 11, 2019, 08:17:26 PM
It's 130 down here in Australia but 1/8th mile only so let's say 129.9 mph
Cheers
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: afaulk on January 12, 2019, 09:54:05 AM
If it ever starts to bounce you will wish you had the chute. Ask me how I know.
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: wideopen231 on January 12, 2019, 08:28:26 PM
Might look  into smaller chute. I know from large to smaller chute can be 3 to 4 lbs saved. A lot of place to cut wieght and would go most before removing chute IMO. Fast is great and be able to come back to next round ain't bad either.
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: crider on January 13, 2019, 04:08:44 AM
I watched a guy with an old Vega funny car go into the woods somewhere around 100mph several years ago. He had pulled his chute off and left it laying in the trailer. Then proceeded to bust a brake line with rear brakes only. The car was totally destroyed, if he had a chute on there at least it would have been a lot slower when he ran out of shutdown area.
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: coupemerc on January 13, 2019, 05:45:34 AM
The total weight of the 4 line chute, chute pack and pop chute on my car is just under 5 lbs.
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: wideopen231 on January 13, 2019, 08:12:17 AM
 5 lbs with careful shopping can cost around 500 bucks to shave off and only .005 in 1/4. Risk to reward ratio ,sounds like bad investment IMO.
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: retroboy on January 13, 2019, 12:28:06 PM
I only go to eighth mile tracks and have just upgraded my brakes. The car is currently in bits it's started to pick up a few extra bits and pieces (as they do) so I'm just asking myself what I can get rid of. A parachute I never use - see ya. Couple of surplus cables and wire - bye bye. I had some starting and stalling issues while sorting my one off injection so fitted a battery - ugly up front so I hid it out back among my wheelie bars. Added weight to the front axle to counter the battery position. Starting stalling issues sorted so time to go back to a plug in battery and get rid of 60 lbs of unsightly fat - you getting the picture? Anything I don't need is going in the bin. Anything I hit with the hole saw I'm hitting, and thing I've made from steel that I can replicate in aluminum like my shifter. will be happening. I'll weigh everything up when I'm done just to see.
Cheers 

Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER on January 14, 2019, 09:54:43 AM
Why not do a back-to-back test, removing and adding the weight of the chute, and report the difference in e.t. to us? I'd be interested to know.
I kept the chute on my altered when we went totally to eighth mile Super Pro racing at the tracks I run for the Kool factor it gives it.
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: dreracecar on January 14, 2019, 11:34:52 AM
There are more track variables out there that will alter ET's then would a pound or so in a chute pack. Drop the weight and work on RT's  those 2 things cost nothing and have the most impact
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: xlr8 on January 14, 2019, 12:03:19 PM
Reaction times are extremely important, but how can they help your ETs?
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: masracingtd1167 on January 14, 2019, 12:56:29 PM
The chute is 5 lbs I would want to keep !
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: coupemerc on January 14, 2019, 01:32:56 PM
Me too!
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: dreracecar on January 14, 2019, 03:07:41 PM
Reaction times are extremely important, but how can they help your ETs?

 ET is not that important if you get to the finish line first
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: glofria on January 14, 2019, 03:10:19 PM
Keep the chute and lay off the beer, ;D
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: tcoupekyle on January 14, 2019, 03:48:59 PM
Keep the chute. Fed I worked on broke the transmission from shutdown on brakes only at 100. After that he always let out the chute
Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: retroboy on January 14, 2019, 07:56:05 PM
You all seem to be missing the point- maybe that's my fault with the initial wording. I'm just trimming off some fat the car has started to acquire and thinking things like the chute are redundant. As for things like busted brake lines, what the?? why would you have flexible lines? Busted the trans while braking - nar it was busted before you started slowwing down - you're never going to hurt a trans on coast, If you had a brake failure by then you probably wouldn't have sufficient room for the 'chute to do its thing anyway. So I'm just being hypothetical when I ask about the weight of the 'chute because it's just a part of the total that I can do away with or without.
Cheers



Title: Re: Chute weight.
Post by: dreracecar on January 15, 2019, 08:20:45 AM
ordering a double cheezburger with a diet coke