Ted Brown
Member
The secret to a real quick launch... (Some things to think about)
When I first let this fact really soak in to my brain, was back many years now, to when Grand Spalding Dodge was running an altered wheelbase, funny type car, called Mr. Norm [if I remember correctly] anyway, That was such an impressive car to watch and listen to. Talk about horsepower, that engine had plenty... When He did a burn out, that got every bodies attention! And when that car backed up, it gave me Goose bumps, as it just idled so wild! WHOOOOOP......... WHOOOOOP and every time it WHOOOOOPED it spun the tires about a turn {backwards, backing up} Then when He came to the line, He sat there just idling, as low as it would idle... Then when He hit that pedal, all Hell broke lose, the car jumped up and out of the gate soooo quick, it was almost unreal just how quick it left, and not a bit of tire spin...
That just confirmed my thoughts of many years before that even, in the days of the 49 - 51 Olds, when that car sat on the line and a Kid held the brake and pushed on the gas pedal all at once, the car raised up and sat there, chomping at the bit, all loaded up, then when He let off the brake, there was nothing left for the suspension to do, but SPIN the tires, no lift to get the car out of the gate quick, and a lot of the bottom end power was used up already.
So, I played with AG/Supercharged cars to prove out this point... (With, the right suspension) If you can get the driver to sit at the line, and not windup the chassis, it would leave the gate without tire spin {at least at that moment} now, getting the chassis to work all the way down the track without spinning in the midrange was a horse of a different color... but workable...
So, I applied this to my Roadster, with a light car and lots of power (most any late engine, has more than enough) one must kill the bottom end, to keep from spinning the tires... the way I did this was to use the big heads and even bigger exhaust system, not much back pressure... and use as tall a gear as my engine will pull....
That combo allows me to idle at the light, when I want to leave real fast, I just press {do not snap it} the pedal down all the way to the floor, and out She jumps, rearing to run, and wanting lots of road to eat up real fast, straight down that ole road.
NOW! Here is how I explain what happens when you have, at you beckon call, too much horse power, and why I keep my Roadster down tuned even today.
That kind of POWER I liken to, having a Woody, and a willing subject, saying you will not put it in very far.... Yeah sure......... what can I say?
When I first let this fact really soak in to my brain, was back many years now, to when Grand Spalding Dodge was running an altered wheelbase, funny type car, called Mr. Norm [if I remember correctly] anyway, That was such an impressive car to watch and listen to. Talk about horsepower, that engine had plenty... When He did a burn out, that got every bodies attention! And when that car backed up, it gave me Goose bumps, as it just idled so wild! WHOOOOOP......... WHOOOOOP and every time it WHOOOOOPED it spun the tires about a turn {backwards, backing up} Then when He came to the line, He sat there just idling, as low as it would idle... Then when He hit that pedal, all Hell broke lose, the car jumped up and out of the gate soooo quick, it was almost unreal just how quick it left, and not a bit of tire spin...
That just confirmed my thoughts of many years before that even, in the days of the 49 - 51 Olds, when that car sat on the line and a Kid held the brake and pushed on the gas pedal all at once, the car raised up and sat there, chomping at the bit, all loaded up, then when He let off the brake, there was nothing left for the suspension to do, but SPIN the tires, no lift to get the car out of the gate quick, and a lot of the bottom end power was used up already.
So, I played with AG/Supercharged cars to prove out this point... (With, the right suspension) If you can get the driver to sit at the line, and not windup the chassis, it would leave the gate without tire spin {at least at that moment} now, getting the chassis to work all the way down the track without spinning in the midrange was a horse of a different color... but workable...
So, I applied this to my Roadster, with a light car and lots of power (most any late engine, has more than enough) one must kill the bottom end, to keep from spinning the tires... the way I did this was to use the big heads and even bigger exhaust system, not much back pressure... and use as tall a gear as my engine will pull....
That combo allows me to idle at the light, when I want to leave real fast, I just press {do not snap it} the pedal down all the way to the floor, and out She jumps, rearing to run, and wanting lots of road to eat up real fast, straight down that ole road.
NOW! Here is how I explain what happens when you have, at you beckon call, too much horse power, and why I keep my Roadster down tuned even today.
That kind of POWER I liken to, having a Woody, and a willing subject, saying you will not put it in very far.... Yeah sure......... what can I say?
