fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

First off let me state that I am in no way bashing or making gripes against NHRA. The whole point of everything they require is safety, which is I understand. I am on the path of making my car NHRA legal since this is what most big drag races require, but notice that some of the requests leave me scratching my head. I run high 10s and am wondering what other people have done/think regarding the "aftermarket harmonic balancer" and the "tranny shield" since these CAN get pricey and what is wrong with the stock parts? And, I am thinking the tranny shield will encourage the heat in the tranny to stay there longer, right? All my requirements are in the Super Stock Class. (10.90) Also, if my Kirkey light-weight seat is about 6 inches from my roll bar but protects the back of my head because it is so tall, do I still have to weld some rigged-up metal bracket to connect the two? And how many tracks actually enforce the 95 decibel limit? I think the TA is much louder than that. Thanks for the comments and experiences are appreciated!

MADMAN

iTrader: (4)

Unless you race Super Stock use the ET rules. The tranny shield is only to protect your feet, and I have seen the stock balancers come apart. Most people dont check their balancers to see if they are still good so NHRA had to put a rule in.

Bitemark46

All though I agree with you to an extent the other side of me disagrees. Let me point out some of the things I disagree with you. R

Stock parts- were just that. Not made for racing. Can a t56 take a 200 shot out the hole? Yes. Would you want to have your legs right next to it unprotected? Not I.

Balancer- SFI approved. 90% of all parts that spin at high rpms need to be a proven part under extreme conditions (hence SFI).

Tranny shield- Completely disagree. If you have ever witnessed the destruction of a tranny/clutch its not pretty. When it breaks, fragments of the clutch/tranny become high speed projectiles which could easily enforce major damage to your legs. You do like walking right? Life would be very different without them. Even though the t56/TH400 are strong trannys you always side on caution.

Seat/cage requirement- Yes the seat needs to be braced to the cage. Just weld up some thick brackets.

Noise level- Don't know of any tracks here in FL enforce this rule but I do know that Englishtown does cause its close to housing.

The rules are always changing...well updates to the rules are usually done due to the season prior and incident occured which the rule didn't cover whether there was an injury or not. Again they are always gonna go with the side of caution. I do agree that it sucks spending a lot of money on parts that don't make you go faster. -Mark

brandonppr

iTrader: (9)

I don't understand the balancer.
What goes wrong? how do you know when something is wrong with it?
How do you check it?

We were just talking about the tranny shield:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/drag-racing-tech/678909-nhra-question.html

kp

iTrader: (34)

Trans blanket is cheap, they fit with no problem, dont have to worry about a flexplate/shield until you hit 9s.

The balancer rule came about in the early 80s when people would beat a 20 year old stock damper on with the sledgehammer and take their small block chevy to 10,000rpm and it the rubber was so old it just fell apart and the whole thing blew apart.

Since LS1s are fairly new and the outer ring/bonding seems to do pretty well they havent blown apart yet. Even though I have seen a couple C5 damper outer rings where the belts are move forward enough to hit the rack. Since most LSI underdrive pulleys are SFI and 'legal' at least you get a little performance for the safety..

Most tracks these days dont even check for blankets and balancers anyhow. Wheel studs, driveshaft loop, catch can, secure battery, helmet and seat belt dates are about it until you get in the 9s.

TwoFast4Lv

iTrader: (8)

And here I tought you were going to cover the biggest talked about rule this year...The Engine diaper rule.

All the stuff you mentioed is not that bad OR that expensive.

Man the track you guys run at must not have insurance or some thing. You race in Division Six you better have your paper work and prepare to be inspected! If you are not legal just load up and leave

brandonppr

iTrader: (9)

The NHRA track I race at Tech is just signing a paper.
every now in then they check someones car but not very often and it is usually a street car that runs 10-11 second 8th miles and they get them for something wrong with there hood pins or something like that on there honda civic.
I never seen them check race cars.

division 2 here

kp

iTrader: (34)

My car is 100% legal to 8.50, certified and I have a license but no one here (not even NHRA tracks) ever has even looked at the car on a T&T day Except for Commerce. 'Real' events are a different story and a couple 1/8 mile tracks want a roll bar faster then 6.99.

Now in Chicago at the NHRA tracks they looked at everything but around here you can get away with just about anything unless you do something stupid.

It all has to do with getting cars in the track, if tech is too tough most people around here will just hit the outlaw tracks..

fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

Alright, so I need a tranny blanket and SFI Harmonic Balancer. So if I go to tech and do not pass because of something minor, does that mean I get my $200 entry fee back, because this is what it costs for 1 racer and 1 pit crew. I heard Houston was a little tough, and I am in Division 4. Yea, I guess most things are affordable, but it just seems like a lot of requirements!

fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

I see where you are coming from and I never thought about it that way. So not really any trouble with heat disapation?

V6 Bird

iTrader: (15)

What oil filter and how many quarts do you run in your car on race day? I saw you at Dale last Thursday all over the rev limiter in 2nd gear in the burnout. Im asking because I want to help prevent something before its too late.

Bitemark46

With the shield? No, you'll be fine. Do u have a tranny cooler? You could add one to be safe but I wouldn't worry about it. They don't make a SFI blowproof bellhousing yet for the tranny I'm using so I have a tranny blanket wrapped around it which is considered legal. And its added insurance incase when I drop the hammer at 7100 I'll still have 2 feet and 10 toes on the drive home. -Mark

JUICED96Z

On the tranny sheild. Ask Big Daddy Don Garlits (sp?) if he wish he would of had one when his clutch exploded and took off part of his foot.


Whats the rule on bracing the seats to the cage?

I found out last night that all cages have to have a window net regardless of how slow the car is. Thats the only SILLY rule I have found.

fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

Sprags on 1st and 2nd gear are sticking and not allowing car to shift. A multitude of problems happened on Thursday because my TC is balooning. Getting new TC and tranny refresh this week. What does this have to do with NHRA rules?

RUQWIKR

iTrader: (11)

Like kp, I am also NHRA licensed and the car is approved down to 8.50. What I laugh at is how many of us and so many people I see at various tracks that have 10's of thousands of dollars into their cars to go fast, but at the same time, they have the biggest POS helmet, maybe a 5-pt roll bar, old seatbelts, etc.

It's just like insurance...I hope I, nor anyone, would ever have to test out their safety equipement, but if I do, I feel much better that I have a roll cage that went beyond the rules (extra rocker and frontal bars, etc.), have a HANS device I race with (which next year, all sub 10.0 cars will need one or another SFI approved heck & neck restraint), and so on.

If I had a guarantee that I'd never cut a tire down at speed, get another car in my lane, get out of the groove, etc., I'd rip my cage out, run in shorts, heck, maybe "nekkid" to save some more weight, and not worry about it. More likely, it's my two sons and wife that have changed my perspective a bit to say the least.

I have added less than 200#'s in safety equipment (cage, helmet, trans blanket & shield, window net, driveshaft loop, etc.). I'll take a 0.2-0.25 hit in my ET. Not trying to start any arguments, just stating that, in my opinion, it was money well spent, and that, in fact, I should have gone all the way sooner than keep running so fast without all the required gear.

Safe racing and travels to all. Take care. Dave

kp

iTrader: (34)

I agree 100%, last year I spent the whole summer making the car NHRA legal and getting the license. I would have loved to put all the money and time I spent into making the car go faster instead of safety stuff and having the car lighter to boot but now I can go to ANY track for ANY event and run the car. Thats worth something I guess

JUICED96Z

When it comes to safey I have a WOLFE 10 point in the car, 5 point a brand new full face G-Force helmet, and race seats about to go in and picking up a window net and jacket.


Right now the car runs 13's...........


This year it will run A LOT faster (single digets)

Its like the guys that built thousand plus horse motors then do the suspension later.... just don't understand it...

fasttagurl

iTrader: (12)

Hey, how in the world did you drop 4-5 seconds in 1 season? Must be some pretty extensive mods you have there. That's just amazing - I have never seen anyone drop that much all at once. It took me a few years to shave off 2 seconds in the 1/8 mile. (All motor though) Should be a good run for someone's money.

I have done all my safety mods in between making the car faster, so I think I have given both equal attention. I sure do miss my comfortable leather seat though!!

Bitemark46

Yep, That's the right way to do it. I've always been taught by the old schoolers to build a car from the back to forward. Motor being last.

-Mark

WAHUSKER

iTrader: (4)

Your converter balooning & sticking tranny would make me WANT a shield. The worst part of the tranny blanket is getting the top center bolt installed. Otherwise it's no big deal. My temps didn't go up at all with the blankie, or so little I haven't noticed. But I do run a B&M 24k cooler. (& don't waste your $ on a 700r4 shield - they don't fit)

As for the balancer, the stock ones have been known to fail on certain cars. And any peice weighing that much coming off at 6,000 + rpms can be dangerous. My car is good to 10.0, but nobody has ever looked at anything, not even the ds loop. I have all the SFI #s written down in my book & all they ever look at is my helmet.