It’s time for Hot Rod Drag Week!

I still have some more stuff to do like pack for a few days, as home will serve as home for a day of this trek.

BUT.... the drive routes were released today ahead of schedule! See here: HRDW Route

This is a departure from previous years but I'm actually glad because of home reasons.

Leave for Columbus tomorrow after picking up the uhaul trailer and packing it with mostly Explorer things. I can't wait but nervous having the whole family along plus having to deal with potentially 2 vehicles in the same run class.

I like maps!  

And the first hit came 4.5 miles from home.....

This:

Decided to impale the passenger rear tire.

Drag setup to the rescue? Fresh tires on the front to match the bald radials on the back.

Overall, made it without another hiccup the 6.5hr trip to Columbus....

Tech and maybe a few passes tomorrow!

What class(es) are you planning on running?

In reply to preach :

Running street machine eliminator. If this was sick week/summer, explorer would be in the freaks class and I'd probably run stick shift in the mustang.

Good luck!! I'll be following right along with you so keep the posts coming. Looks like the weather will basically be good most days.

Tom Bailey threw in the towel on this year's event already. They broke the chassis in 2.0 a couple weeks ago, thrashed to get that ready, but have zero testing time and he decided he didn't want to go half-ass things (for a change).

I'm betting Bryant Goldstone wins it now. He's got that car running fast lately and it doesn't seem to give him as much grief as other cars of that level

In reply to NickD :

Except he had 4 other choices to choose from to run the event. He should have brought the black 69 Camaro with the sb2.2 in it and tried to win super street sbna, imo. I'm pretty sure the waffle gasser could have won b gas. The twin turbo radial nova would have been a contender for ultimate iron. Then he still had that old pair of shoes/pants in 1.0....

I had the trailer decently packed at home.....

In reply to Ranger50 :

Yeah, they went all in on 2.0, when it had a broken chassis and the engine out and zero testing, and then never attempted to have a plan B.

Watching Bailey's channel is.... frustrating. It's amazing that he has so many Drag Week wins with some of how they operate. They spend so much time and effort on that Durango, that has never worked right, to the neglect of the actual successful racecars. The one Drag Week he was moaning about how 2.0 wasn't running the numbers it should, and then Steve Morris would pull the data and he was never going over 70% throttle and letting off at the 1000ft mark every run. He's constantly breaking valvesprings in his SMX engines because he refuses to run gasoline through them after a pass, no matter how many times he gets burned by it and how much Steve Morris yells at him for it.

Of course ya'll will be in Milan on Thursday while I'm at work. ....

Gearheadotaku (Forum Supporter) said:

Of course ya'll will be in Milan on Thursday while I'm at work. ....

I feel a bad and rare case of anal glaucoma on coming....

Teched in. Awaiting my one pass I'm making today before enjoying some nice ac and maybe an adult beverage.

Edit:

I guess I should put this important piece on....

I made 2 passes and frustrated because of a stupid computer setting both runs netted jackE36 M3 in positive results. Even though the display says that launch control is unavailable doesn't mean it won't still berkeley your run up when it's still berkeleying on. A 3k launch now tho is a large bog off the line.... Going to give it a better go tomorrow.

The oddity:

There is also this:

Ranger50 said:

The oddity:

I saw Jenny at Formula Drift New Jersey last year, although it didn't have a cage or turbo

Day 1 live feed

Ranger50 said:

The oddity:

BlaspHemi sitting in the background.  Neat.

Mr_Asa said:

Ranger50 said:

The oddity:

BlaspHemi sitting in the background.  Neat.

Big changes in that car this year, and I'm curious to see how it does. He dumped the straight axle (which had literally no suspension travel) for a long-travel A-arm front suspension, had Pete Harrell go through the engine and actually get it to make horsepower, and finally stopped futzing around with the diaphragm clutch and that Bangshift Billy thing that literally never worked (the guy who invented it couldn't even get it to work in the video he did with Finn) and just went with a slipper clutch, like he should have done years ago. He did a bunch of testing on it in the lead-up to the event, so he's not going in blind like he always seems to do

In reply to NickD :

Man, thats good to hear.  I love the shenanigans all those guys get up to, but c'mon.  Do it right sometimes.  I wanna see a win almost as much as you want to win.

 

Big changes in that car this year, and I'm curious to see how it does. He dumped the straight axle (which had literally no suspension travel) for a long-travel A-arm front suspension, had Pete Harrell go through the engine and actually get it to make horsepower, and finally stopped futzing around with the diaphragm clutch and that Bangshift Billy thing that literally never worked (the guy who invented it couldn't even get it to work in the video he did with Finn) and just went with a slipper clutch, like he should have done years ago. He did a bunch of testing on it in the lead-up to the event, so he's not going in blind like he always seems to do

Pretty easy to blow thru a centrifugal assist slipper when cruising in overdrive, especially with the low rpm torque of a large roots blown engine. Drag-n-drive slipper clutch applications require repeated pain in the ass chore of going inside the bellhousing to switch between highway and race clutch tune-ups.

Hope those reading this thread don't lump the Bangshift Billy and my Hitmaster system in the same box, as they are very different in the way they operate. Quite a few consistent 7sec cars using my Hitmaster, many with diaphragm clutches. No need to switch setups for cruising in overdrive, far more drag-n-drive friendly than a slipper clutch that's set up as a stand-alone slipper clutch. 

Grant

Explorer is running C class and busted off a 12.77 & a 12.82. All 5000# of it. Probably turn in the 77 and hit the road with that one.

Finally laying down but car just still doesn't want to work and netted a 13.17. 

Lots of sidelining maladies on including an inattentive driver totaling the trailer and hitting another vehicle that hit one of the competitors waiting for a tow.

Florida will allow anything to be titled and registered....

Chevette with a turbo'd Mercedes inline 6....