Back to BG

[FU]

Ok guy's , going back to BG and PU the white car Wednesday. The car was done before the end of May and JVD kept an eye on it.
In case some of you don't know I had some trouble with the rear at the Gathering and the car was left at Automasters for repair. I'll be explaining the fix and where to get the HD parts when I get back @ Friday.
A quick equasion :
Lotsa H/P + plenty of Torque+ ET Street's + traction compound = Big Problems

[diamond zr1]

whats the new WEAK LINK?

[jonszr1]

for franks wallet, hope he has got it all dialed in , poor fella has had some bad luck, clutch then rear end ,its such an exceptional car/motor pkg .i hope the car gods ease up and let him get the chance to enjoy it for a while .

[Pete]

Frank,good to hear the Monster is up and running again.

Did you use http://www.newmancarcreations.com/differentials.html
Did you go with better U-joints?

Maybe take her to Beech Bend for a test run before taking her home.

Pete

[FU]

Just got settled in from the ride home. I have to thank JVD and Johnny Biffle for helping out. They are a true showing of good ole' southern hospitality. The ride home was uneventful. Fuel mileage is down to 24.0 mpg. Maybe summer blend of fuels or the AC being on the entire ride.

Pete , That is the connection for the HD batwing and carrier. Neuman Enterprises they have some great products. Fast service.
http://www.newmancarcreations.com/differentials.html

Toms differential for HD U joints and many hardened (D44) parts. Also great guy to do business with.
http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/

H/D axles :
http://www.summersbrothersracing.com/
They open up the hole in the knuckle to install a hardened 300 m shaft and larger bearings. A big job but worth it.
Raphiel is THE man.(909) 399-5121 speak with Betty.



Bear in mind that with more bite (tire) there is going to be many more problems. Also understand that the Viper uses the same diff. (D44) that we use. One big difference is the way the Viper's diff. is mounted. The Viper's diff. is mounted at the top. It makes the diff MUCH more stable.
The spider gears are also a weak link. Tom's has hardened spiders but they will only take so much.
The answer : I don't have one. Go to a straight axle and auto. Is one. Naa. These are road cars and not drag cars.

Hey speed cost's money , just how fast ya wanna go ?

Any questions ? Feel free to post ! Any suggestion's ? Again feel free to post.

[ZR1dogan]

Frank,
You asked for questions / suggestions – So here goes.

Any idea if the breakage occurred with the initial shock of dumping the clutch or did the breakage occur just because there is just too much continuous stress on the components (i.e. further down the strip)?

Where I am headed with the question above is: Consideration of Wheel and Tire sizes (and types). Smaller diameter wheels (say 14 or 15”) would absorb some of the initial drive line shock compared to 17 or 18" wheels with the same tire diameter. This would certainly be true if the 14 or 15" tires were wrinkle wall slicks. If the breakage is due to continuous stress down the strip, it probably wouldn’t make much difference, but certainly the greatest magnitude of stress occurs with initial shock. With slicks, you wouldn’t be able to drive to an event, but a lot of people trailer anyway. It would sure be better than breaking stuff – if it made much difference.

Having said this, has anybody checked to see what is the smallest diameter wheel that could be mounted on the rear of a Z without changing brakes – rotor, calipers, etc? With a quick look at my AMolds, it appears that dropping an inch would be easy, but it doesn’t look like dropping 2” would work unless the wheel was specially made (maybe not at all). It seems that almost all aftermarket wheels today start at 17” and get taller. While that works great for big brakes and excellent handling, I think it is at least a contributing factor to breakage at the drag strip.

Interested in others thoughts / opinions.


Robin
'94 Dark Red - Almost Stock
'94 Adm Blue - Not Stock

[FU]

Your points are valid and well taken Robin. Thanks for the feedback.
One of the problem"s with this particular car is the high torque and H/P of the 441 engine.
Also:
Grabby dual disc clutch
3:90 gearing
M/T ET streets (not such a small sidewall)
Gob's and Gob's (did I mention too much ?) Traction compound on the track.
Making a road car do dragstrip duty.Let's be honest. These car' are road warriors.
Weak independent suspension parts.
Driver error

Need's : stronger rear end parts, some were installed. And possibly an automatic. Where it ends......been there.


The ET street drag radial mounted on a Pontiac 16"rim would have been a better choice and would have allowed the car to slip, and not dead hook as on the first run and snap the outer axle.
Should have had trailer with all it's tools and spare parts. It was sold after we decided that health problems would only complicate my own ability to continue to drag race. at that time we ran a 9 sec all steel Buick that was easy as pie to drive on the street.