Mopars at the Rock yesterday. First time running off the 2 step with 3000 chip. Having brake modulating issues as the rear 11 x 2.5 drums aren't holding in the beams and are driving the car forward when I stage it.

Run 1

RT: .008 (nice!)
60' : 1.767
330': 4.706
1/8: 7.192
1/8 MPH: 98.66
1000': 9.368
1/4: 11.233
1/4 MPH: 119.23

Run 2

RT: .410 (hello? McFly?)
60' : 1.696
330': 4.607
1/8: 7.097
1/8 MPH: 98.06
1000': 9.286
1/4: 11.164
1/4 MPH: 119.00

I went right in and the other guy made me pay by burning me down. Joke's on him though since he redlit!


Once I get the brake issue sorted I'm sure I can go up on the chip to maybe 3400-3600 since Stephen Daurity has got the "hemi under glass" launch attitude sorted. If I get a sub 1.6 60 that I know is in there I can easily hit my 6.90/10.90 goal for the car. The heads really need the bigger lift similar duration Bullet grind I have on the shelf but to be honest the 414 runs really great as it is and it's so darn 'no fuss no muss' I'm pretty darn content to leave the motor as it is. It leaves clean and straight and it's more fun to drive than any 4 bracket cars I ever had...combined! And people really LOVE to root for it and flock to see it come back down the return road like nothing I ever had before...it's really fun having a Crowd Pleaser, I'm just glad people get such a kick out of it!
Y
The old Wallace mph calcs I think are out the window with the Rocky's less than swoopy aero through the traps. CD =.65!!! Using Wallace calcs and assuming roughly the same frontal area as a similar weight duster ( which is wider but much shorter and lower) and a lower CD of .5 the aero is costing me close to 50 hp and probably 3-4 tenths in the traps....oh well....sure is FUN though.

Had a Great time pitting with Chip and Steff and my buddy Ben in his 07 Charger R/T. It was a beautiful day, warm (low 80's maybe but there was a fairly nice breeze all day which kept it from feeling too hot.

Work more at that 60'.

I agree the 60 ft is off. Ron

:


2 step and tightening/slowing the chassis reaction is already helping and I think it will help even more....once I get the brake issue I mentioned sorted. Then I can bump up the chip and get more leap off the line. Even still the 1/8 Mph and ET is fairly quick considering that soft of a 60'.

Pretty much any combo I have raced( assuming the convertor is right), leaving at just off idle, at 2000 rpm, or off a trans rake at varying rpm's the cars have always 60 footed within at most a hundredth or two no matter the launch rpm or type.
If your convertor is good, I would bet not re-inventing the wheel and leaving at 1800-2000 rpm off the Foot with the chassis not " tensed up" will or should result in as good and repeatable 60 foot as you are likely going to get.
At your ET, the 60 should be 1.50 ish or so. The fact you are so far from that and it's hooking makes me think launch rpm/ style isn't a place to be looking.

Quick comments vs. my old combination that ran 11.0s usually and squeeked into the 10.9s
- 60s were 1.51-1.53
- 1/8 ETs were 6.9s-7.0s
- 1/8 MPHs were 98+
- 1/4 ETs were 10.9s-11.0s
- 1/4 MPHs were 121-122

If you're looking for 6.9s/10.9s, in addition to the obvious 60-ft improvement required, I think you need to figure out why your 1/4 MPH is dropping off 2-3 MPH compared to mine since the 1/8 MPHs are comparable.

Uhhh....you bracket racer guys realize this thing is essentially a JEEP, don't you? heavy full frame, heavy drive hubs and truck wheels up front, flat springs, etc.

And I believe that Aero drag startsr costing power (in terms of how much it takes to push it through the air relative to one another) long before 119 MPH, if it didn't why would auto companies spend TENS of MILLIONS every year on R&D for cars that can only legally travel 65 mph? There are engineering formulas for calculating the HP costs of Drag for speeds based on frontal area, CD and MPH, the numbers are what they are....and the 40-45 hp at 119 IS reasonably accurate for the .5 vs .65 CD Comparison I cited.....whether you choose to believe them or not is another thing though:

http://gtechprosupport.com/support/AeroDragCalc.htm

Use the same frontal area (say 25 sq ft) and just change the CD, A 4th gen Camaro is .29, a Duster is about .5 and a Daihatsu Rocky is .65.....at 60 mph the difference is 5 hp (18 vs 23.4) but at 119 it's 42.6! (182.6 vs 140). A .65 CD (in this 25 sq ft example) takes as much horsepower to push to 119 as a .5 cd does at 130.

As for the Wheaties for what I spent? LOL, I have less than a tenth of what the guy in the $85K Z06 had in his car that saw Daihatsu taillights all the way down the track, and Way Less than a lot of the 'bracket cars' I saw yesterday that were way slower than mine, I can promise you that. This thing has a full exhuast (with cut outs but they don't really help that much) and if not for emissions would be perfectly fine for driving on the street. And I'm pretty dang sure I could get just about every Net dime I have in this thing back out of it, it really wasn't all that much and I get "That thing is AWESOME, you wanna sell it?" offers just about everywhere I go. Not many racers I know can say that...

Also regarding power I'm running the same 98+ MPH that a lot of 6.90/10.90 combos are running (including Brad's "textbook" example of one)....and that's despite being 1.5-2 tenths slower in the 1/8th which is a couple MPH I gotta make up after 60'.....Plus I'm on drag radials....I suppose I could have bolted on the 26 x 9.50 Hoosier DOT Slicks in the trunk but I'm trying to go tens on real street legal radials.....jeez guys, cut the boy some slack!

If/when I get a 1.5-1.55 60' that will put me up and over 100 in the 1/8th.....but I'll bet you the 1/4 mph will still be slower than the old 1.24/1 'rule of thumb" ratio....I think that would be mainly due to my barn door aerodynamics but I guess I really must be a Dumb Azz. if you think it takes the same HP to push a jeep from 60 to 120 mph as it does a duster or Camaro....well.

With a loose front end this thing lifted the front wheels instantly off the line just like the Little red wagon, Now it's tight (maybe too tight but we'll see) and I'm sneaking up on the combination that will get me down the track safely....this thing has an 85" wheelbase boys and is 5'-6" tall at the top of the windshield.

I don't get it out much but every time I do, I have a freakin BLAST, and apparently so do a lot of other people who watch it run....I guess that's reward enough.

There's no pressure at all, if I win....the crowd LOVES it, if I lose....hey you just beat a Daihatsu! Congratulations!!

How much does it weigh?
And yes the 60s are way off.

The Rocky weighs 2780 plus I'm 230 so a hair over 3000. It's got a full 6 point cage in it.

I think going to a shorter slick might help it some but I like running th4e drag radials.

I could put an 8" 4400 stall in it ( it has an Ultimate 9 1/2" that footbrakes to ~3600/ flashes to 4400) but with only an 85" Wheelbase it's a bit like buzzing open the chute on a brahma bull at the rodeo every time you try something new.

And although I think Don, you're right it could go quicker by shocking the chassis at 2000 and loosening the suspension back up, I'm much more concerned with launching in a controlled/predicatble way...even if it's costing me a tenth or more out of the gate. I'm more comfortable tuning off the 2-Step and preloading the chassis since I now know it's not gonna roll over on it's back.

If you look at the incrementals you can see that the 7.09/98 mph 1/8th mile is still pretty good power-wise....in spite of a 1.7-ish 60'. and I know if I put this exact same drivetrain in the exact same weighht A body like my 69 dart or 73 Duster the car would go 1.50's and easily hit a 6.80/10.80 ET. But (for me) it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. And you can dismiss the aero factor but believe me this thing feels like it's dragging a chute behind it once it's over about 80 compared to an A body, I don't care what motor is in it. There's 15" of air below the front bumper...static. but the Wow factor and the smiles it brings to people really offsets that by a ton. It's not Optimum right now....but it's not SLOW (almost 99 mph in the 1/8th) by any means.

I really set it up to run the 1/8th since that's what's mainly around here.

Wize,
I agree that getting greedy in the 60ft. with a dual purpose vehicle is not necessarily the best approach, very similar to our Drag Week rides that are on small drag radials. I'd be happy with 1.62-1.67 consistently, but that needs to be tied to a 4.50-4.55 in the 330. That 60-330 interval is the best place for improvement, and that will require getting the engine in it's happy place as quick as possible!

Thanks Billy,

Yeah another tenth in the 330 would help, i might try the smaller stickier tire to get more RPM and wheelspeed since I'm not using up the 4.10's anyway on the big end. I wound up with the 30" (295/65-15) drag radials when i was running a 4.56 but i swapped to the 4.10 when i went to a low gear 904.

That's along the lines I was thinking, just trying to make the most of what i have right now...the key is to HAVE FUN doing it....which I already am...in Spades!!

Dave,

The cam is a low lift 'endurance' Cam Motion solid roller designed for the mid 90's Mopar 358" IROC daytonas. It's 261/268@.050 on 107 and in at 105 but it's only .585/.570 (gross) lift.

I have a 260/268 @ .050 Bullet with .668/645 lift which would be MUCH better suited to my head/intake flow....its on 108. As i saud i'd love to put it in but the motor just runs so good i hate to tear it open just yet....must be gettin' old, lol

FWIW, I swap my slicks from side-to-side after every race weekend. When I do that, I also lightly sand the shoes to eliminate any glazing that may be starting and readjust the brakes manually. I don't use self-adjusters. My theory is to make the rears harness the torque before it gets to the ground. Although important, the fronts only have a little patch from skinny tires to help hold the car on the line.

I turn the drums & smooth (or replace if worn) the shoes every year to insure everything is flat, whether you see anything or not.

I also use the cheapest shoes I can find. The seem to be the softest. Semi-metalic won't hold as well, especially when cold. I've also heard about buying 2 sets of shoes and using the ones with the most surface area on both, front and rear of the backing plate. Experimenting with master cylinders and/or a proportioning valve may help.

Wish I could offer some advice on the 60' times, but I have no experience in setting up a carb for use with a 2-step. I only footbrake.

Did you say it was like a Jeep? Short wheelbase? Got wheelie bars before you get it launching harder?

(Hope I didn't miss anything as I just quickly skimmed through the posts during lunch.)

Got a pic?

Here's an old pic from the Rock 2 years ago. I replaced the scoop with a flat hood (in keeping with its Sleeper image)

Early tuning effort....loose vert with a new Lenny Ultimate converter....was tough to keep from going into low earth orbit. Fortunately it didn't burn up on re-entry

This pic might give you some perspective how tall the Rocky is....I'm 6'-2". you can see Chip
s cuda in the background.