New cars, old cars and horsepower ratings.

[ss wannabee]

Originally Posted by Billy Nees

No sir, Don't like it. Don't like it one bit.

x3!!

[boster]

I agree with Greg Hill let everbody go fast old and new . Great post Greg

[Jeff Lee]

Roll back the HP & weight on the older cars.
No new classes. NHRA will never buy into it.
I do think they would give some consideration to a HP roll back to make the older cars more competitive.
This may not be the ultimate solution that would make everybody happy (is that really possible?) but there's no way NHRA is going to penalize the new Super Cars outside of the confines of the AHFS.

[BadBanana]

NO MATTER WHAT IDEA YOU COME UP WITH IT WILL HELP SOME AND HURT SOME - UNAVOIDABLE.

If I were "King" I would have NHRA:
1.) Become much more proactive in the HP factoring game, especially the newer hi -tech engines;
2.) I would have LESS classes to promote more class racing by using 1 lb. weight breaks; and allowing everyone to add or remove MORE weight to make the newer weight breaks; and
3.) Once the hp factors are in-line, lower the indexes by about .75 sec., so that it takes a decent car to run on or below the index.
But I'm not sure that idea would be very popular with the masses.

..................at least that would make me interested in racing again......................and "yes", I agree about having 7.0 and maybe 7.5 SS/GT weight breaks.

One thing that I never agreed with was how NHRA took the factory hot rod engines (the older ones), that we all aspired to buy and race, and made them totally uncompetitive, Why did most of the tri-power 348's, 409s, 413 and 426 wedges, 406 Fords, etc.go by the wayside (except for nostalgia racing) and become less favorable than a 255hp/350 Chevy to race??? An engine that wasn't what we went to the dealership back in the 60s to purchase because it was such a powerhouse. By comparison some of those factory hot rod combos should have been de-factored because their factory hp rating was due to camshafts, etc. which , at least in S/S can be changed anyway....and in Stock the available cam profiles can really turn on these engines which came with poor camming.
but that's just me, an old racer, speaking !!

[CaptCobrajet]

I agree with Rusty and Tom. NHRA should reinstate the Fuel Injected classes, and combine the sticks and autos. That would keep the number of classes the same and separate the new cars from anything that has a carb in a heads up situation.

People who earn a living building carbed engines are in the same boat with the racers. I have spent my whole life learning how to make a carb work on an old engine. I'm not too interested in learning a new trade at this point. If the carbed cars are forced out, those guys have no place to run their cars, and a guy like me is out of a job. Let the laptop guys race each other with their keyboards, and the carb guys can do mechanical changes. Then, everyone could race cars with the same tools as the guy they are racing when it comes to a heads-up run. Injected engines can tune themselves to some extent because of the O2 sensors, so they should absolutely be separated from carbs...........and blower cars should be separated from other injected cars.

Blair Patrick 2425

[69Cobra]

Originally Posted by CaptCobrajet

I agree with Rusty and Tom. NHRA should reinstate the Fuel Injected classes, and combine the sticks and autos. That would keep the number of classes the same and separate the new cars from anything that has a carb in a heads up situation.

People who earn a living building carbed engines are in the same boat with the racers. I have spent my whole life learning how to make a carb work on an old engine. I'm not too interested in learning a new trade at this point. If the carbed cars are forced out, those guys have no place to run their cars, and a guy like me is out of a job. Let the laptop guys race each other with their keyboards, and the carb guys can do mechanical changes. Then, everyone could race cars with the same tools as the guy they are racing when it comes to a heads-up run. Injected engines can tune themselves to some extent because of the O2 sensors, so they should absolutely be separated from carbs...........and blower cars should be separated from other injected cars.

Blair Patrick 2425

I like the sound of that!!!

[Ed Wright]

Most of the carbureted guys I know tune by a wide band O2 sensor too. If not your behind times.

[69Cobra]

Originally Posted by Ed Wright

Most of the carbureted guys I know tune by a wide band O2 sensor too. If not your behind times.

Yes we can download it after the pass and make changes to it for the next pass but we can not program a Big Stuff 3 and set our optimum A/F and have it tune itself going down track. Big difference!

[KRatcliff]

What Ed said. Plus, I tune my car like a carbureted car.

[KRatcliff]

Originally Posted by 69Cobra

Yes we can download it after the pass and make changes to it for the next pass but we can not program a Big Stuff 3 and set our optimum A/F and have it tune itself going down track. Big difference!

If you rely on the ECU to tune the car going down the track then you will be slower. The ECUs are not capable of reading, correcting, and optimizing the tune within the few seconds of the pass IMHO.

Of course, I am still learning and have a long ways to go.