Messages

46

Roo Man's Room / Re: chassis top rail has bowed outwards

« on: December 08, 2020, 07:06:56 PM »

You need to be able to control the wheelies. On my 225" FED I can pick up front wheels 4 feet high and carry them out well past 60 foot? or with just 25 Lbs on front and no other changes will pull them up 4 inches and maybe carry them 2 feet? I do not even run my wheelie bar any more I use weight up front to control wheelies.

47

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: New to the page

« on: December 08, 2020, 06:47:28 PM »

The more research I do, the more it looks like its going to be exponentially cheaper to just buy a complete car.

ABSOLUTELY! When I built mine it cost a lot. Probably put $30,000 in car not including Engine, Transmission and Data Logger which I already had. I spent thousands on stainless steel hoses and fittings alone, everything adds up and and it is not cheap. Chassis, wheels, wiring, tires paint, rear end, steering box man it gets expensive quick.  Now I did build mine different than most which added a lot to the cost. I have a radiator, water pump, alternator, fan, big transmission cooler, dual remote oil filter, and more so I can bracket race it and hot lap it. That makes it more expensive and heavier than typical FED.

There is a few decent looking cars on Racingjunk right now and mine may be for sale after Christmas. Like I said in other post make sure the car works good as is. No aborted runs and capable of winning races AND SAFE!
I have seen some cars that could not get down the track under full power.
A FED is a total blast to drive but it is a balance of weight, power, Traction, horsepower and must all work together just right.

48

Altereds / Re: What did I do

« on: November 15, 2020, 04:35:07 PM »

If I remember right my Altered had 70% on the rear wheels. When it is working right you wil have 100% on the  rear wheels for the first 60 feet.  I ended up moving my IC up and back to limit wheelies. Also put top bar in bottom holes to to limit its leverage to pull front wheels up. I like to use wheelie bars as a fine tuning tool and not rely on them much.

49

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: Frame rail height on FED?

« on: November 15, 2020, 04:26:37 PM »

My motor was down 3* and I had trouble getting it to work right. 225" FED.  I think it was trying to go "over" center of Gravity instead of transferring weight and hooking up rear tires. I took it back to chassis shop and had them move engine up to 1/2* down. That and some other changes now the car hooks up and works better.  Those old school dragsters that had the motor so far down at angle were also smoking tires all way down the track which is not the way to do it now. Of course they did not have the tires we do now but still I do not think the downward angle is a good idea from my experience.

50

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: New to the page

« on: November 15, 2020, 04:19:47 PM »

I would recommend buying a nice rolling chassis with a good pedigree. There are many cars out there that are not safe or competitive and if you are not careful you could build another.
One of the things I have learned about mine is it takes longer to dial them in. I went through 5 different tire combinations and some major chassis changes to get mine working good. Also what works good on my car may not work as well on others because they are all so different. A Front Engine Dragster has a lot of chassis flex to get it to work good and there is no suspension. That makes tire selection and set up important. I have changed engine angle and then went back later and stiffened chassis. Now it works pretty good. I use weight up in the nose to tune it for wheelies. With 25 Lbs on the nose I can pick tires up 6 inches and carry it out 6 feet. By removing it I can pick up front tires 4 feet and carry it out 80 feet or more. Wheelbase, horsepower, torque converter, chassis stiffness, overall weight and weight distribution, tire size and compound all have to work together. 
these are some of the reasons few are the same.  If you have anyone of those off it may be hard to make it work. Once again I recommend buying a good known working car. If you do talk to them and look at their run logs. If they have a bunch of aborted runs then run don't walk.
With that said a front engine car an Altered or Front Engine Dragster are way more fun to drive than other cars. I have bought a new Altered and will be running it next year. Mainly because the 225 inch dragster is a pain to load and unload and with altered drive it in, strap it down and go and I can use my shorter trailer which is a huge plus where I live. After I get the new one ready my dragster may go up for sale.

51

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: October 23, 2020, 06:16:54 PM »

My new Altered handles really well and is easy to drive. I am going to make a bunch of changes in the off season and will run her next year.  The "Long Shot" has been good to me and is fun to drive but the "Short Fuse" is the new ride.

52

Spud Miller's Cave / Re: shift point with small load

« on: October 19, 2020, 06:41:45 PM »

Have you tried to make any more passes with it?

53

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: October 19, 2020, 06:40:00 PM »

Okay for an update. I changed rear tires to the MT 10.5Wx33 and they seem a little better but did not completely resolve the issues. So I took car to my chassis guy and added in some braces in two compartments in front of motor. Car works pretty good now and Won me my 4 th NE2 Championship. Car works good now and is fun to drive. By just moving a little weight I can do huge wheelies or barely any wheelies. As much fun as it is to drive I am going to sell it soon, prefer driving Altereds and bought me a nice 4 link Altered with Strut Front and four wheel brakes. Much easier to load and unload and can go back to shorter trailer with bathroom package so I can make some long distance races.

54

Altereds / Re: What did I do

« on: September 14, 2020, 05:18:39 PM »

A few things to keep in mind with an Altered. Make sure you get a good burnout and very important make sure you are pointed straight down the track and in the groove. Once you get out of groove it can get ugly quick. If it ever does anything stupid just get out of it and let it settle completely down. Most of crashes I have seen were because they got back on throttle after getting out of it. One of the other things is just get out there and make laps, run every race you can to get good competition seat time. It is a whole different animal than a door car and you will learn a lot.
On my car and probably many other Altered leaving soft does not cut it, the car wants to walk around. Just does not hook up right. I have to line it up good and hit it hard, then it plants rear tires, transfers weight, brings the front end up a little and hauls butt. Rear tire pressure is critical as on mine it is riding rear tires for a while. Your car runs similar to mine so if chassis is set up right should not be too bad. At that speed and faster a rear wing really helps, faster you go smoother it rides. You can run with out a rear wing but after you put one on there you will probably never run with out one again.

55

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: August 05, 2020, 07:39:57 PM »

I will try to pull the body off soon and see if there is a way I can do that.

56

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: August 01, 2020, 05:43:55 PM »

My new tires are here will mount them tomorrow and then try to test soon. Still considering a way to "Tie" the chassis down to make it stiffer to test before I start welding in more diagonals. I do feel part of the problem is this chassis is too flexible but hard to prove with out taking a chance and welding in more bars.

57

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: July 30, 2020, 08:09:43 PM »

New Tires are in going to try that and see if helps before I start welding in more bars. Right now I think tires are only a small part of the problem but anything helps and I think chassis needs to be stiffer. I am trying to get this car to where it will go down any track under any conditions and be competitive all the time.

As for bounce in the shut down I find on this car it stops best if I just let off on the gas and then let it slow a little before I ease into the brakes. When I do that it stops faster and smoother. Sometimes that is hard to do on short tracks with rough shut down areas. If I try to hit brakes hard same time I kill gas it does not like it at all. Also I have been using the parachute more and it helps. For stopping once again I think it would stop better if chassis was stiffer.

Problem here is not many people have a combination like mine so what works on your car may not work on mine. A typical Rear Engine Four link dragster has a much stiffer chassis and suspension to make it work. FED are more flexible and no suspension so we have to work with weight, tires, chassis flex, engine angle etc.

58

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: July 10, 2020, 09:04:18 PM »

I simply do not know just looking for a way to verify it is right direction before I do something more permanent like welding more diagonals.

59

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: June 25, 2020, 02:35:32 PM »

Data logger driveshaft sensor is showing bounce and tire spin. I also feel it and others have seen it. Could chassis be too Rigid? I guess it is possible but I can see flex and feel it flexing so my thinking is it is probably too much.
When the car pulls a wheelie you can see the flex in the chassis. You can also see evidence of chassis flex on the body panels.  It pulls wheels up nicely and carries them out a way then sets them down pretty soft. But I think after that it is still flexing some and causing the bounce in low gear and after the shift.

60

Front Engine Dragsters / Re: FED bounce problem.

« on: June 24, 2020, 05:21:42 PM »

I have tried 4 different tire combinations at all different air pressure. Will try another tire combination soon but I know the chassis is flexing and I know the tire is bouncing until I drop it down and then it wads up and chatters and all over track at the top end.

My thoughts are tire change will help some at the hit and in the shut down. Parachute will help in the shut down but I THINK the bouncing in the middle of the track is chassis flex and that is what I am trying to eliminate here.

This car is not bad and it is very competitive but it is not perfect yet.