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bill dedman · 01-20-2009, 01:06 AM

In regards to the McGee DOHC T/F motor "ban", Jim Bailey said, "I think it had something to do with cost to the racers?"

Are you kidding me?

If NHRA had ANY concern for the racers' pocketbooks, they would have allowed compressed air valve springs, screw compressors, and 2.80:1 rear gearsets in these cars years ago.

ALL F-1 cars have used nothing BUT compressed air valve springs for many years now; steel valve springs won't hold up at 20,000 rpm in a F-1 engine for very long... and, the compressed air springs only have to be bought ONCE. T/AD and Alky Funny car racers, particularly, spend a FORTUNE on valve springs, unnecessarily, because of NHRA's insistence on steel springs. Ask yourself, why would NHRA do that if they were seriously interested in keeping the cost of racing down? Who has convinced them that steel springs are a good thing in a 10,000 rpm Hemi (the alky engines turn that fast, routinely, killing expensive "battleship" springs in just a few runs.)

From what I've heard, screw-type compressors don't require the maintenance that GMC-style Roots blowers do... another cost savings.... but you can't (legally) put one on a Fueler. Why????????

At 335 mph, a Fuel motor is wound up like an 8-day clock with the requisite 3.2:1 ring gear and pinion... spitting pieces of valves and pistons out at the finish line due to the excessive rpms that wouldn't be at all necessary if NHRA would let the racers choose a numerically-lower final drive ratio.

Is that supposed to save money for the racers? I don't see how...

If NHRA is trying to keep the cost of running a Fuel car down they sure have a funny way of doing it (no pun intended.)

Jim, I know you ran a Fueler for a long time, and probably know a LOT more about this stuff than I ever will, but am I off-base with this, or what? What do you think about the foregoing? Am I nuts, or is NHRA deliberately ignoring some ways they could be saving the racers some dollars, here?

Thanks for any information...

Blown Stockers' boost numbers would be easy to police with a tamper-proof telltale boost gauge read by the fuel check Tech guy. But, getting the Ford factory guys to come up with a legitimate boost number for the Tech inspector to observe might be the hard part.... with NHRA on their side.... and, you can bet they are.

01-20-2009, 01:06 AM	#215
bill dedman VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Conway, AR Posts: 1,739 Likes: 0 Liked 6 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Factory experimental In regards to the McGee DOHC T/F motor "ban", Jim Bailey said, "I think it had something to do with cost to the racers?" Are you kidding me? If NHRA had ANY concern for the racers' pocketbooks, they would have allowed compressed air valve springs, screw compressors, and 2.80:1 rear gearsets in these cars years ago. ALL F-1 cars have used nothing BUT compressed air valve springs for many years now; steel valve springs won't hold up at 20,000 rpm in a F-1 engine for very long... and, the compressed air springs only have to be bought ONCE. T/AD and Alky Funny car racers, particularly, spend a FORTUNE on valve springs, unnecessarily, because of NHRA's insistence on steel springs. Ask yourself, why would NHRA do that if they were seriously interested in keeping the cost of racing down? Who has convinced them that steel springs are a good thing in a 10,000 rpm Hemi (the alky engines turn that fast, routinely, killing expensive "battleship" springs in just a few runs.) From what I've heard, screw-type compressors don't require the maintenance that GMC-style Roots blowers do... another cost savings.... but you can't (legally) put one on a Fueler. Why???????? At 335 mph, a Fuel motor is wound up like an 8-day clock with the requisite 3.2:1 ring gear and pinion... spitting pieces of valves and pistons out at the finish line due to the excessive rpms that wouldn't be at all necessary if NHRA would let the racers choose a numerically-lower final drive ratio. Is that supposed to save money for the racers? I don't see how... If NHRA is trying to keep the cost of running a Fuel car down they sure have a funny way of doing it (no pun intended.) Jim, I know you ran a Fueler for a long time, and probably know a LOT more about this stuff than I ever will, but am I off-base with this, or what? What do you think about the foregoing? Am I nuts, or is NHRA deliberately ignoring some ways they could be saving the racers some dollars, here? Thanks for any information... Blown Stockers' boost numbers would be easy to police with a tamper-proof telltale boost gauge read by the fuel check Tech guy. But, getting the Ford factory guys to come up with a legitimate boost number for the Tech inspector to observe might be the hard part.... with NHRA on their side.... and, you can bet they are. __________________ Bill Last edited by bill dedman; 01-20-2009 at 01:14 AM.