Wheelie Bars are not needed for Safety on Stockers!

[RAY ADAM]

I was at atco in new jersey when Jim Conte in a stocker went up and over. I was pitted 4 trailers from him. when i spoke with him after he said his next car would have wheelie bars. and it does. NHRA WAKE UP !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Randall Klein]

FACT!

When Bob DeArmand (sp) was chasing the nines he had an incident that as I recall punctured the gas tank along with other damage....as I recall Imbrogno and NHRA then called it a safety issue

NHRA mandates parachutes and can't see the related safety issue of bars? Their recent calls like 69 Camaro hoods and others are insane power plays from ivory tower sycophants while the tower burns

[Notch1320]

This original discussion was about "Stockers" and wheelie bars correct? I'm not sure how SS cars are now in the mix here??? My posts were directed at the "1000HP to 1200HP" car comment. Yes, what the 8.5 guys are doing is WAY different, but a Stock Eliminator car CAN Safely run without wheelie bars if NHRA were to instruct you all to remove them. I'm not trying to stir the pot here, just putting in my 2 cents. Carry on.....

[Jim Wahl]

Originally Posted by Stephen Bell

I just don't understand why 1000 hp cars that run in the 8's at 155 mph plus don't need wheelie bars? I hope that this issue gets resolved... S.Bell

It's because most of them are programed to leave soft and then increase power down track. Most of them 60' @ 1.35 or so. Otherwise there is no way a 1200 hp Cobra Jet can run on a 9" tire. Put a 12" tire on then and leave wide open and watch them run 7.90. Jim


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[SS Engine Guy]

I don't use wheelie bars on stockers or ss'ers as a suspension tuning device. That is what weight and shock adjustments are for. However, with changing track conditions and air they frequently save my car from excessive damage from uncontrolled wheel stands. There probably isn't anyone out there that hasn't spun in a time shot and loosened everything up only to go to the line a few hours later when the track started to come around and hooked and went way too high. Wheelie bars save cars, plain and simple. Comes back to the same old thing: These people making these rules and decisions couldn't build a sbc, ford or Chrysler v-8 that would get them back and forth to work, much less a competitive race car.

[Notch1320]

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

It's because most of them are programed to leave soft and then increase power down track. Most of them 60' @ 1.35 or so. Otherwise there is no way a 1200 hp Cobra Jet can run on a 9" tire. Put a 12" tire on then and leave wide open and watch them run 7.90. Jim


.

I beg to differ........ Outlaw 8.5. ( 26" tall tire, 8.5" wide. Or in this case, the nova was on a DOT legal 235/60/15 Drag Radial. NO WHEELIE BARS!!! Short times are well below 1.35.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVD7LWVGYHY"]Ryan 'Toaster' Jones running 5.00 @ 150+ on 235/60/15 Mickey Thompson Drag Radials - YouTube[/ame]

[Todd Geisler]

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

It's because most of them are programed to leave soft and then increase power down track. Most of them 60' @ 1.35 or so. Otherwise there is no way a 1200 hp Cobra Jet can run on a 9" tire. Put a 12" tire on then and leave wide open and watch them run 7.90. Jim


.

That would be an incorrect assumption.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Stephen Bell

I just don't understand why 1000 hp cars that run in the 8's at 155 mph plus don't need wheelie bars? I hope that this issue gets resolved... S.Bell

Because those cars are entirely different from class cars.

They use gasoline, and the same piece of asphalt. For the most part, that is where any similarity ends.

That is exactly what most people fail to understand about Stock Eliminator and Super Stock. Having to work within a very specific and strict set of rules and constraints forces you to do things entirely different than 99% of all of the other drag racers. It also forces the cars to work completely different.

For example, we have around 600HP, in order to go fairly quick at 3700#, we have a lot of gear, and a lot of converter. We get our ET in the first 1/8 mile. We have a 9" slick, and weight distribution is restricted. As such, in order to get all of that to the track with a 9" slick, we have to have massive and instant weight transfer. That is exactly what causes big wheelstands. That and torque. We make torque, and we multiply the crap out of it. Right there on the starting line.


Sure Pat, we can adjust the suspension to prevent the cars from doing big wheel stands. Then when the track prep sucks dog turds, we can't get the cars to hook at all.

Tell you what NHRA, you prep the track where I can count on it to hook, every, single, time, and I'll tie the front end down more.

Honestly, I don't like wheelie bars, I'd love it if we did not need them. The fact is, they're just something else to get in the way, and something else to be bothered with. But the rules and constraints force us to set the cars up in such a manner that wheelie bars are an absolutely essential safety device.