How high does the beam go for the 60ft timer? I would like to know if my 60 times are from the front or rear tires since the front are still in the air?

 

I think they're solely on the fronts. . .the beams if I understand trigger when light passes between the beams (i.e. your wheels aren't there anymore) make sense how I said it?

 

If your still in the air at the 60 ft beam you are tripping the beam with the rear tires.

 

Isn't staging based on two beams and if your too far forward (ie back beam not broken) or too far back (ie front beam not broken) it changes which staging lights are lit? So that when you break either beam (leaving) the clock starts?

 

I'd say they're about 6-8 inches high.

Generally a 60 ft. wheelie will knock off about .09 in what your 60 ft is with the front tires.

 

You are partially correct.
The first beam is prestage, and the second is stage..
If you are too far forward, then the prestage bulb goes out, but the stage can stay lit. Depending on track rules, "deep staging", [prestage lite out], results in a disqualification.
It's the stage beam that determines the start of the timer[s].
Pull the wheels, and the timer starts. When the wheels, [ft or rear] break the 60' beam, the 60' timer stops, and the display shows the time.
Since the wheebase of the car is involved, breaking the 60' beam w/ the rear wheels will add time to the result.

 

i dont think they are that high. example: the front of a prostock car is only a few inches off the ground. if the beams were 6-8 inches high, the nose of the car would set off the beams and they would be staging with the front bumper.

 

The original question had nothing to do with the height of a car.

Plain and simple.... the 60' beam will trip the first thing that it sees... front or rear tires. If you do a "wheelie" and it is 30' long it will read your tires. If you are still on your back tires after the 60', it will read your rear tires. Who cares about 60' times if you are still on your back tires after the 60'. That is one heck of a launch!!!!

On the height of a car.. I have seen the 60' beams set at 3" all the way up to 6". 60' times are very cool, but the 1/4 time is all that really counts. I believe that IHRA and NHRA both require a car have a minimum of 3" ground clearance - you think that there could be a reason for this?
David

 

I think half of the people on here are thinking they're discussing the staging lights, not the 60' beams.

 

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I heard the down track beams are 12" and the stage beams are 1", depending on track(age & timing system). I tried to find my old file about track info, but it's on my old hard drive. On my slow car I gained ~.14 on my 60' when hitting on the back tires. The reason they changed the overhang rule a few years ago was mainly because of the F-bodies. They had a much longer nose which gave them a few thousands better ET than the ford & dodge guys. It's the 45" rule. The body does trigger all the beams after you leave the starting line.

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Your are your 1/4 mile time is all that counts well 1/8 mile here, but I am trying to dial in the suspension right now so Im more concerned with the 60ft right now. We made some adjustments to the suspension and now the 60ft dropped but the car is coming up to high now. Tonight we almost ended up on the rear bumper. May have to install some travel limters in the end. Is there a rule of thumb on how much et you are loosing with the front end coming up that high?

 

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No rule of thumb. Look at stock & super stock guys. They actually run faster with big wheelies. My fast car can't do a high wheelie, (102" bars) nor would I want to at those ET's. Every car & set up will have it's own sweet spot. My slow car ran quickest with more ballast & bigger wheelies. Go figure. In general, a normal car, does seem to run quicker with a mild wheelie, good traction with less wasted motion. Becareful & have fun testing.

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I don't think it's much. Maybe .03-.04 at most from the cars I'm around as long as you're not dragging the bumper, from what I've seen a lot depends on how hard they come down.

My dad and two of our close buddies all made their fastest passes on 60+ ft. wheelies but the weather was good so the cars were making more HP, I would think they would've been faster had they stayed on the ground.

 

Im going to order the limiters from Madman and try them out. Its just going to suck starting over trying to get the car to hook again. It hooks right now really well but the front wheels are coming up to high.

 

I led this topic astray....sorry...