ET with and without wheelie.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by 1320racer

ok and again, have you owned a car that could/did wheelie with the back tires?

No Ed, I've never raced anything faster than a 15 second car, I get nose bleeds.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Doug Hoven

C'mon Billy, I'll bring up some Marvel Mystery to pour down the cylinders of the "Brat" and you'll be good to go to run Super Pro at Numidia next year. Then you can do your own test of wheelie height vs. E.T. change.

Doug, the Brat has earned it's retirement. It's not going anywhere.

[Mike Gray]

Originally Posted by 1320racer

what you lose or gain in 60 foot directly effects the ET!

Strange thing, I can understand what Ed and everyone else is saying and I think both sides are right. If you pick up or lose 60ft you should pick up or lose incremental and total down track as long as everything else remains the same, such as tune up and weather.
I think Ed's version of changing 60ft times relates to his shock settings, other guys I'm not sure of?
I'll add my own experience from last weekend where a timing change picked up my 60ft from 1.40 to 1.37 but the finish line et and mph were slightly slower.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by Dan Bennett

Billy's already commented but I disagree with this concept as I did yesterday. Remember that "all things being equal" part.

Dan, I'm not quite sure what you are disagreeing with. With "all things being equal", then the car "should" run the same 60', 330' and E.T.. If it doesn't then what changed?

[1320racer]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

No Ed, I've never raced anything faster than a 15 second car, I get nose bleeds.

You should see a doctor about that condition.

[Dan Bennett]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

Dan, I'm not quite sure what you are disagreeing with. With "all things being equal", then the car "should" run the same 60', 330' and E.T.. If it doesn't then what changed?

I could and should have been clearer. I quoted that statement to point out that some previous comments had brought up things that make runs NOT equal and it seemed like those were not being considered. Just like you described when things happen after the initial hit that will change what happens at the finish line.


Went back to find what you typed so as to avoid any further confusion.

" If you shift the car too high and the converter locks up OR you have too much low gear in the trans and you don't have enough wheel speed yet, it can "stagger" the car. Make it hesitate on the shift. A lot (not all) Racers with PGs try and shift the car low enough to "flash" the converter again. Especially in bad air.
In a Stocker with a PG, 60' times are irrelevant."

I got the idea that some might be ignoring the important issues you brought up.

[1320racer]

60 foot times are NEVER irrelevant as it relates to ET!

[Frank Castros]

Ed,
Please stop.
Frank

[KRatcliff]

It is simple physics with a massive amount of variables. You have a stationary object that is being measured by time over a distance. Whether or not a wheelie adds or reduces that time isn't a cookie cutter answer.

There are so many variables which impact each and every car. Some examples are power band, gear ratios, aerodynamics, traction, suspension, and parasitic loss.

Take the last three and apply it to whether or not a wheelie will impact the 60' and eventual ET. A wheelie may aid in traction by the transfer of weight, but it also may be wasted motion to some degree or it may alter the suspension/pinion angle enough to create more parasitic HP loss. Too tight of a front end may keep the engine from reaching the ideal power curve thus negatively impacting the 60'/ET.

Experimenting with different settings and setups will get you closer to the optimum performance and it what makes all of this challenging. It is frustrating a lot, but also gratifying when you see the improvements. It can be binary to some degree if you make limited changes with each pass.

Edited to add: Wheelies are flipping fun.

[Billy Nees]

Originally Posted by KRatcliff

Too tight of a front end may keep the engine from reaching the ideal power curve thus negatively impacting the 60'/ET.

Edited to add: Wheelies are flipping fun.

How tight the frontend is can be very important to a lower-powered car that may just barely lift the front wheels or not lift them at all. Too tight and it can cause the car to struggle through low gear.

Yes, they are!