Wheelie Bars are not needed for Safety on Stockers!

[RAY ADAM]

I was at atco in new jersey when Jim Conte in a stocker went up and over. I was pitted 4 trailers from him. when i spoke with him after he said his next car would have wheelie bars. and it does. NHRA WAKE UP !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Randall Klein]

FACT!

When Bob DeArmand (sp) was chasing the nines he had an incident that as I recall punctured the gas tank along with other damage....as I recall Imbrogno and NHRA then called it a safety issue

NHRA mandates parachutes and can't see the related safety issue of bars? Their recent calls like 69 Camaro hoods and others are insane power plays from ivory tower sycophants while the tower burns

[Jim Wahl]

Originally Posted by Stephen Bell

I just don't understand why 1000 hp cars that run in the 8's at 155 mph plus don't need wheelie bars? I hope that this issue gets resolved... S.Bell

It's because most of them are programed to leave soft and then increase power down track. Most of them 60' @ 1.35 or so. Otherwise there is no way a 1200 hp Cobra Jet can run on a 9" tire. Put a 12" tire on then and leave wide open and watch them run 7.90. Jim


.

[SS Engine Guy]

I don't use wheelie bars on stockers or ss'ers as a suspension tuning device. That is what weight and shock adjustments are for. However, with changing track conditions and air they frequently save my car from excessive damage from uncontrolled wheel stands. There probably isn't anyone out there that hasn't spun in a time shot and loosened everything up only to go to the line a few hours later when the track started to come around and hooked and went way too high. Wheelie bars save cars, plain and simple. Comes back to the same old thing: These people making these rules and decisions couldn't build a sbc, ford or Chrysler v-8 that would get them back and forth to work, much less a competitive race car.

[Alan Roehrich]

Originally Posted by Stephen Bell

I just don't understand why 1000 hp cars that run in the 8's at 155 mph plus don't need wheelie bars? I hope that this issue gets resolved... S.Bell

Because those cars are entirely different from class cars.

They use gasoline, and the same piece of asphalt. For the most part, that is where any similarity ends.

That is exactly what most people fail to understand about Stock Eliminator and Super Stock. Having to work within a very specific and strict set of rules and constraints forces you to do things entirely different than 99% of all of the other drag racers. It also forces the cars to work completely different.

For example, we have around 600HP, in order to go fairly quick at 3700#, we have a lot of gear, and a lot of converter. We get our ET in the first 1/8 mile. We have a 9" slick, and weight distribution is restricted. As such, in order to get all of that to the track with a 9" slick, we have to have massive and instant weight transfer. That is exactly what causes big wheelstands. That and torque. We make torque, and we multiply the crap out of it. Right there on the starting line.


Sure Pat, we can adjust the suspension to prevent the cars from doing big wheel stands. Then when the track prep sucks dog turds, we can't get the cars to hook at all.

Tell you what NHRA, you prep the track where I can count on it to hook, every, single, time, and I'll tie the front end down more.

Honestly, I don't like wheelie bars, I'd love it if we did not need them. The fact is, they're just something else to get in the way, and something else to be bothered with. But the rules and constraints force us to set the cars up in such a manner that wheelie bars are an absolutely essential safety device.

[Notch1320]

Originally Posted by Jim Wahl

It's because most of them are programed to leave soft and then increase power down track. Most of them 60' @ 1.35 or so. Otherwise there is no way a 1200 hp Cobra Jet can run on a 9" tire. Put a 12" tire on then and leave wide open and watch them run 7.90. Jim


.

I beg to differ........ Outlaw 8.5. ( 26" tall tire, 8.5" wide. Or in this case, the nova was on a DOT legal 235/60/15 Drag Radial. NO WHEELIE BARS!!! Short times are well below 1.35.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVD7LWVGYHY"]Ryan 'Toaster' Jones running 5.00 @ 150+ on 235/60/15 Mickey Thompson Drag Radials - YouTube[/ame]

[Alan Roehrich]

Congratulations on proving Jim correct. We run around 1.34 to 1.35 60' times running 10.1X at 129MPH. The car runs 6.35 or so in the 1/8 mile. So he's going 1.35 seconds quicker in the 1/8 mile, on a similar 60' time. Which is EXACTLY the point Jim was making. A car that runs 5.0 @ 150 in the 1/8 mile should be going around 1.20 60' times.

You said "well below" 1.35. Define "well below".

Oh, was that Chevy II using leaf springs and traction bars? How about a stock front clip with near stock front suspension? And around 51-55% of its weight on the front tires?

[Bruce Noland]

Must be one of those newly approved, tubbed, four link, squat, turbo Deuces for Stock. Of course it has nothing to do with wheelie bars on Stockers.

[james schaechter]

I think the best argument for wheelie bars in stock is that no one really uses them right now unless they really have concern for safety or at least damage to their car.

We tried them on our Nova when they were first allowed and found no need afterall. Really, after looking at it, I figured I would hit the rear bumper before any real bad things would happen.
On Bob Gipson's 65 Corvette, we put them on when the 396 went in. I think you could flip that car over without them if you miscued on the chassis set up. I feel a lot better having them on that car.

Honestly, the things that NHRA choses to draw the line on makes you shake your head when they allow lame factors and bogus cars into the stock guide without batting an eye.

In the recent times, the National event track prep has been an issue for many, you would think that NHRA would want to support any allowance that would help racers tune theirway out of that mess safely.

[Notch1320]

Originally Posted by Alan Roehrich

Congratulations on proving Jim correct. We run around 1.34 to 1.35 60' times running 10.1X at 129MPH. The car runs 6.35 or so in the 1/8 mile. So he's going 1.35 seconds quicker in the 1/8 mile, on a similar 60' time. Which is EXACTLY the point Jim was making. A car that runs 5.0 @ 150 in the 1/8 mile should be going around 1.20 60' times.

You said "well below" 1.35. Define "well below".

Oh, was that Chevy II using leaf springs and traction bars? How about a stock front clip with near stock front suspension? And around 51-55% of its weight on the front tires?

1.18 -1.21 on the car I crew on. 3500lbs...........Leaf Springs........Bolt on replacement style front clip. 52-53% on the nose.

Yes, these cars are different from Stockers.........But it can be done safely without sissy sticks.