Not for Nuthin' But Close! - Page 30

Billy Nees · 11-06-2023, 08:26 AM

OK? Were you still "doing" coffee when you wrote this?

Tom Goldman · 11-07-2023, 09:26 PM

[QUOTE

There's a tire company in Indiana Pa. called American Racer Tires that makes road-racing and circle-track tires and makes some short slicks. I have to take some time and go check them out as none of the drag racing tire manufacturers make any really short stuff anymore.[/QUOTE]

Billy ,The American Racer tires are great . Used to be McCreary race tires. I used them for years on my own and others street cars I built . They worked great on the dealerships 9 second street AMX I built . lot of selection on compounds too, and they have a lot of "little" tire sizes.

David Lee · 11-07-2023, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Goldman

[QUOTE

There's a tire company in Indiana Pa. called American Racer Tires that makes road-racing and circle-track tires and makes some short slicks. I have to take some time and go check them out as none of the drag racing tire manufacturers make any really short stuff anymore.

Billy ,The American Racer tires are great . Used to be McCreary race tires. I used them for years on my own and others street cars I built . They worked great on the dealerships 9 second street AMX I built . lot of selection on compounds too, and they have a lot of "little" tire sizes.[/QUOTE]

thanks tom

Billy Nees · 11-19-2023, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

Ummmmm, they may have been "massaged" a little bit.
I'm going to be trying a pair of 22x8-15 M/T slicks (very old and NLA) on it this weekend because my young associate is giving me a "hard time" as I'm constantly going red in the car because of the really short (19.5 Hoosier NLA) slick.

I finally got out to a T&T yesterday. Not surprisingly the 22x8 tires slowed the car down almost exactly a tenth. However surprisingly, they also slowed my RT down about 6 hundredths! I didn't expect so much but it does keep my lights green! I guess that next season I'll be going to "tight" tracks with the 22" slicks and "loose" tracks with the 19.5s.

Oh just one more thing, I'm FINALLY getting zeroed in on getting the engine and trans temps "happy" together and my last run of the year I was rewarded with a 14.625 @ 92.69 MPH! .975 under! Take that Bob.

Curt Rees · 11-20-2023, 11:38 AM

If a car is in the guide, it's a combo.....to be developed. Doesn't have to be a 8 second bomb.

Kudos to someone who will take an oddball combination (slant 6 for an example, Mike Jeffries) and make it run, and run well. And go rounds. Keep it up Billy, you are an innovator!!

#5458

Curt Rees

Billy Nees · 11-30-2023, 09:53 AM

I've been spending some of my spare time moving some things around in the frontend of the Cavalier. The alignment is one of the things that I have neglected on this car simply because I've been keeping myself busy with other things. No excuses.
The car was always a bit "darty"(?) for lack of a better word in high gear but it always stopped straight and isn't at any point a "handful".
I'm setting the camber at zero for lack of a better place to start and assuming that trying to keep the slicks "flat" with the track can't be a bad thing. There is no real caster adjustment on these cars so I'm "slotting" my upper strut plate mounting holes to get myself some positive caster. I'll then be setting my toe and I'm thinking to start at about 3/16 or 1/8 out remembering that FWD cars toe IN under acceleration not out like a RWD car.
Then just the long wait for Spring!

Mark Yacavone · 11-30-2023, 12:47 PM

We had the Monte set slightly negative camber. As the front rose , it started to go positive. Adjustable struts slowed down this motion to where it didn't get to high , or too bad.
(Yes, the front rises, as it reacts to engine torque and rotation.)
1/8th out sounds about right, as the tires try to look at each other, from the torque reaction.

Tom Meyer · 02-20-2024, 10:03 PM

We slotted the holes in the balljoints and used 3/8 grade 8 bolts to get caster. Never had a problem on dirt. Tom

goinbroke2 · 03-11-2024, 12:06 AM

I was going to say "how about an update Billy...then I saw you said you're waiting for spring too....I keep thinking all Americans have Texas weather 24/7/365, LOL!!

How about, "any more progress"?

Billy Nees · 06-15-2024, 09:11 AM

Ya know, it sure would be nice if the NHRA would add a couple of FWD classes! These 3 lb. weight breaks make it almost impossible to change classes. Since they changed the breaks last year, I've been running CF/S mainly because that's really the only practical class that I can run. The way the breaks are now, I would have to ADD 420 lbs.(!?!) to go to DF/S or remove 420 lbs.(not possible) to go to BF/S. Any ideas?

11-06-2023, 08:26 AM	#291
Billy Nees VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: On a hilltop in Pa. Posts: 4,384 Likes: 3,412 Liked 7,318 Times in 1,644 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! OK? Were you still "doing" coffee when you wrote this? __________________ Billy Nees 1188 STK, SS I'm OK..........it's everybody else.

11-07-2023, 09:26 PM	#292
Tom Goldman VIP Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Allentown,PA Posts: 2,453 Likes: 821 Liked 774 Times in 220 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! [QUOTE There's a tire company in Indiana Pa. called American Racer Tires that makes road-racing and circle-track tires and makes some short slicks. I have to take some time and go check them out as none of the drag racing tire manufacturers make any really short stuff anymore.[/QUOTE] Billy ,The American Racer tires are great . Used to be McCreary race tires. I used them for years on my own and others street cars I built . They worked great on the dealerships 9 second street AMX I built . lot of selection on compounds too, and they have a lot of "little" tire sizes. __________________ Tom Goldman 1500 SG , 1506 STK

11-20-2023, 11:38 AM	#295
Curt Rees Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ft. Pierre, SD Posts: 353 Likes: 369 Liked 228 Times in 48 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! If a car is in the guide, it's a combo.....to be developed. Doesn't have to be a 8 second bomb. Kudos to someone who will take an oddball combination (slant 6 for an example, Mike Jeffries) and make it run, and run well. And go rounds. Keep it up Billy, you are an innovator!! #5458 Curt Rees __________________ Curt Rees 5457 SS

11-30-2023, 09:53 AM	#296
Billy Nees VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: On a hilltop in Pa. Posts: 4,384 Likes: 3,412 Liked 7,318 Times in 1,644 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! I've been spending some of my spare time moving some things around in the frontend of the Cavalier. The alignment is one of the things that I have neglected on this car simply because I've been keeping myself busy with other things. No excuses. The car was always a bit "darty"(?) for lack of a better word in high gear but it always stopped straight and isn't at any point a "handful". I'm setting the camber at zero for lack of a better place to start and assuming that trying to keep the slicks "flat" with the track can't be a bad thing. There is no real caster adjustment on these cars so I'm "slotting" my upper strut plate mounting holes to get myself some positive caster. I'll then be setting my toe and I'm thinking to start at about 3/16 or 1/8 out remembering that FWD cars toe IN under acceleration not out like a RWD car. Then just the long wait for Spring! __________________ Billy Nees 1188 STK, SS I'm OK..........it's everybody else.

11-30-2023, 12:47 PM	#297
Mark Yacavone Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Miles From Nowhere Posts: 7,659 Likes: 2,765 Liked 4,848 Times in 1,842 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! We had the Monte set slightly negative camber. As the front rose , it started to go positive. Adjustable struts slowed down this motion to where it didn't get to high , or too bad. (Yes, the front rises, as it reacts to engine torque and rotation.) 1/8th out sounds about right, as the tires try to look at each other, from the torque reaction. __________________ Real life never quite adds up.... Jay Farrar

02-20-2024, 10:03 PM	#298
Tom Meyer Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Pierce NE Posts: 908 Likes: 56 Liked 305 Times in 107 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! We slotted the holes in the balljoints and used 3/8 grade 8 bolts to get caster. Never had a problem on dirt. Tom __________________ Tom Meyer 5240 SS Stock ???

03-11-2024, 12:06 AM	#299
goinbroke2 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NS CANADA Posts: 772 Likes: 887 Liked 215 Times in 85 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! I was going to say "how about an update Billy...then I saw you said you're waiting for spring too....I keep thinking all Americans have Texas weather 24/7/365, LOL!! How about, "any more progress"?

06-15-2024, 09:11 AM	#300
Billy Nees VIP Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: On a hilltop in Pa. Posts: 4,384 Likes: 3,412 Liked 7,318 Times in 1,644 Posts	Re: Not for Nuthin' But Close! Ya know, it sure would be nice if the NHRA would add a couple of FWD classes! These 3 lb. weight breaks make it almost impossible to change classes. Since they changed the breaks last year, I've been running CF/S mainly because that's really the only practical class that I can run. The way the breaks are now, I would have to ADD 420 lbs.(!?!) to go to DF/S or remove 420 lbs.(not possible) to go to BF/S. Any ideas? __________________ Billy Nees 1188 STK, SS I'm OK..........it's everybody else.