Suspension Notice for S/SS by NHRA

[Jason]

Nice logic. Now just sell that idea to the techman when you show up at a race with your car using the wrong strut rod bushings. Good luck.

BTW, I failed to see the disclaimer where just racers that actually drive are the only people allowed to post on this website. There are others interested in seeing Stock and S/S survive without actually strapping themselves in the drivers seat. They are the ones who build the engines, ones who build the chassis, ones who own the racecar, ones who own the tow rig, ones who sit in the stands, ones who tech the cars, ones who put on the fire safety equipment, ones who work the starting line, ones who sponsor the racing, and ones who teardown the engine when the driver does not know which end of the wrench to hold. That's right, there are a lot more people interested in seeing Stock and S/S continue to survive than you ever thought possible.

[69Cobra]

Originally Posted by Jason

Nice logic. Now just sell that idea to the techman when you show up at a race with your car using the wrong strut rod bushings. Good luck.

BTW, I failed to see the disclaimer where just racers that actually drive are the only people allowed to post on this website. There are others interested in seeing Stock and S/S survive without actually strapping themselves in the drivers seat. They are the ones who build the engines, ones who build the chassis, ones who own the racecar, ones who own the tow rig, ones who sit in the stands, ones who tech the cars, ones who put on the fire safety equipment, ones who work the starting line, ones who sponsor the racing, and ones who teardown the engine when the driver does not know which end of the wrench to hold. That's right, there are a lot more people interested in seeing Stock and S/S continue to survive than you ever thought possible.

Nope. There is no disclaimer that I know of but your lack of knowledge of the class is obvious and in my opinion you shouldn't voice your opinion on a situation that could decide a rule change if you are not going to compete in the class. Also, the rule book doesn't state that I have to run the rubber bushings. It just says that it has to be the stock front suspension system as produced by manufacturer for body used. Hey Jason did you see that they allow heim joints for the tie rod ends? Crazy isn't. That's definitely not "stock". I'm happy that you want to see Stock and Super Stock survive as do I but I also want it to be safe as well.

[Mark Madison]

Originally Posted by Jason

Nice logic. Now just sell that idea to the techman when you show up at a race with your car using the wrong strut rod bushings. Good luck.

BTW, I failed to see the disclaimer where just racers that actually drive are the only people allowed to post on this website. There are others interested in seeing Stock and S/S survive without actually strapping themselves in the drivers seat. They are the ones who build the engines, ones who build the chassis, ones who own the racecar, ones who own the tow rig, ones who sit in the stands, ones who tech the cars, ones who put on the fire safety equipment, ones who work the starting line, ones who sponsor the racing, and ones who teardown the engine when the driver does not know which end of the wrench to hold. That's right, there are a lot more people interested in seeing Stock and S/S continue to survive than you ever thought possible.

Well Jason, do you have a dog in the fight or are you just a self appointed member of the tech department? It seem's to me the guy that straps his *** in the seat and the guy that owns the equipment have the most on the line here , What part of this effects you?

Mark Madison 7995

[SSDiv6]

Originally Posted by Jason

Nice logic. Now just sell that idea to the techman when you show up at a race with your car using the wrong strut rod bushings. Good luck.

BTW, I failed to see the disclaimer where just racers that actually drive are the only people allowed to post on this website. There are others interested in seeing Stock and S/S survive without actually strapping themselves in the drivers seat. They are the ones who build the engines, ones who build the chassis, ones who own the racecar, ones who own the tow rig, ones who sit in the stands, ones who tech the cars, ones who put on the fire safety equipment, ones who work the starting line, ones who sponsor the racing, and ones who teardown the engine when the driver does not know which end of the wrench to hold. That's right, there are a lot more people interested in seeing Stock and S/S continue to survive than you ever thought possible.

There are always buffoons like you that open their mouth to make comments on areas they do not know about! Are you a stakeholder on this matter?

First, in addition to control deflection at high speeds and during braking, they must also rotate. Nevertheless, it is a no win situation. If a racer uses an OEM style bushing, they are too soft for racing; if you use a bushing with higher Durometer numbers or stiffer, then it limits the rotation of the bar and creates other issues including damage to the strut.

As for NHRA's statement such as "any car will wander/hunt during hard braking with a narrow front tire"; that is a whole bunch of baloney and shows their lack of knowledge of the dynamics regarding the front suspension of a drag race car.

[69Cobra]

Originally Posted by james schaechter

Since they allowed it in Superstock, it would be interesting to hear the logic behind why they allow it in SS now and not in Stock. If they allow it in SS due to the higher speeds that they go, then what was the tipping point on mph?
Could they not also allow certain quasi safety items in higher class cars to protect them the same way? For example, not on a P/SA car, but a D car or higher .

Exactly! If you compare some of the higher class stockers that are running mid to high 9's at 130mph and compare them to a SS/H,I or J car that would have a comparable ET and MPH. Without picking a combo and doing the numbers I would bet that the stocker would be heavier therefor have more of a load on the suspension system under braking conditions. Which again confuses the crap out of me trying to figure out the logic behind this.

[Capri]

Jason, if you have no dog in this hunt, take a hike.

The spherical bearings in question were allowed 10 years ago with no issues. Now out of nowhere, someone decided they didnt like what they saw. How do I know? WE GOT THEM OK'd in Vegas 2003. I would not call that stretching the rules.

I was there when it was fine to use the stuff in question, and I was there when they didnt like what they saw on a mopar this past July.

What I do know, is on a Ford, the way the replacement parts work, it does not allow the lower control arms to flex and will keep them in check, without damaging the frame horns of the suspension after an over violent wheelstand, repetitive wheelstands, or any braking. There is absolutely NO performance advantage to this stuff. It makes the car more stable at speed, and controlable when the car lands the front end. Period.

[69Cobra]

Well I asked if they could explain how this is a safety issue in SS but not Stock and here's the reply.

Kris,

Super Stock can use the spherical bearings / rod ends, just like they are allowed to use a 14 ½ inch tire or a four link, or ported cylinder heads, or a sheet metal intake manifold, etc. As mentioned in my previous reply the decision has been made; should our position change in the future, that change would be reflected in the then current NHRA Rulebook or amendments thereto.

Pat Cvengros

Pacific Division Technical Director

(626) 250-2295

Are you an NHRA member yet? JOIN NOW!

For further NHRA Racer information please visit www.NHRARacer.com

[Hudlow66]

Still didnt answer your question, did he...?

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Capri

Jason, if you have no dog in this hunt, take a hike.

The spherical bearings in question were allowed 10 years ago with no issues. Now out of nowhere, someone decided they didnt like what they saw. How do I know? WE GOT THEM OK'd in Vegas 2003. I would not call that stretching the rules.

I was there when it was fine to use the stuff in question, and I was there when they didnt like what they saw on a mopar this past July.

What I do know, is on a Ford, the way the replacement parts work, it does not allow the lower control arms to flex and will keep them in check, without damaging the frame horns of the suspension after an over violent wheelstand, repetitive wheelstands, or any braking. There is absolutely NO performance advantage to this stuff. It makes the car more stable at speed, and controlable when the car lands the front end. Period.

My dog can hunt wherever and whenever I want it to!!!!!!!

So it is in writing that this modification to Stock frontend suspension parts was okayed 10 years ago? Not a problem. I'm sure showing that letter to the tech dept will put an end to all the controversy. Thanks for letting everyone know that you have the answer.

[69Cobra]

Originally Posted by Jason

My dog can hunt wherever and whenever I want it to!!!!!!!

So it is in writing that this modification to Stock frontend suspension parts was okayed 10 years ago? Not a problem. I'm sure showing that letter to the tech dept will put an end to all the controversy. Thanks for letting everyone know that you have the answer.

Hey Tough Guy,
Since you are so smart and this is your fight can you tell me what NHRA's logic is for correcting a safety issue in one class but not the other when there is absolutely zero performance advantage here and like I said earlier some of these Stockers weight more and are faster than a comparable SS'r. Please tell me how that makes sense. Matter of fact if my info is correct and I understand it correctly there has already been an on track incident related to the rubber bushings in the front suspension on a Mopar that took out about 4 or 5 sections of guardrail out at Mason Dixon in 2007 at a division 1 race. In case you haven't noticed Jason there has been over 22,000 views on this topic. I think its important to 99% of Stock and SS racers for one reason or another. Now that SS racers are in the clear and not sh!ting their pants anymore as far as the ruling in their class we probably wont hear from them anymore on this. But I can promise you if NHRA wasn't passing this for SS there would be more people than me and the few others here wanting answers. You've got million dollar cars going down at 130mph with OEM rubber strut rod bushings. Make sense to you Jason?