So, teach me about tire shake!

Never really understood what is going on when you get shake. Reading some posts with Al and Monte's comments about it in some other posts are kinda waking me up to what's happening. I always thought the exact opposite things were the causes/effects.
Seeing one of the videos posted by FastmOp about the shake he was getting is really a good visual on the results of shake. (can you repost that link?)
What I always thought was:

To low tire pressure.
Not enough hook.
To much power for the tire.

What I gather from Monte's posts:

More pressure may make it worse.
To much hook.
Not applying enough power to the tire.

Not sure that these were points he/they was trying to get across, but that's how I read it. Wish I would have been enlightened along time ago.
I only experienced it (shake) when I was in Memphis on a very well prepped track For the pump gas drags. Felt like I was driving over a stair case. I was testing the car with 10.5Ws to get the engine tune up right. They didn't allow those tires for the actual race, but I wanted to save the "legal" tires for racing not engine tuning. Anyway... I had a fair amount of boost in it, got it shakin', and worried about how if I was overpowering the "W" tire what would it do on the et streets?
I ended up turning down the boost, and it got even worse. With my thoughts on shake at that time, nothing was making sense. I wish I weren't so closed minded then. A reasonable person would have logically thought," if it got worse, I should go the other way"
Anyway, what happened then makes a lot more sense to me now. Definetely cost me positions in that race!

So, am I off on this one?

Thats your axle doing a impersonation of a jackhammer. Sort out your suspension.

From what I am beginning to understand, its more of a tire almost folding over on itself.
I think you are more referring to axle hop. Totally different animal.
If we get FastmOp to post that vid again, you will actually see the tire marks it leaves on the track are not normal hopping, its actual shake.

I always wondered if there was any correlation between shake and the individual cylinder power pulses? In the ultra slow motion TF videos you can actually see the tire changing rotational speed up and down as ea cylinderfires as seen by the exhaust.

What year were you at the pump gas drags?

I don't know much about suspension tuning either. My good friend's Regal didn't have a trans brake and had slow 60's for what it was (high 1.30's/low 1.40's, and it would trap over 150). Another coworker races a bunch of super class cars so they're always on the throttle stop immediately after launch, but he has mentioned you can also adjust the IC to hit the tire harder or softer.

I was there in 2006. Didn't do good at all. Middle of the pack. I should have left the car alone and ran it. Never ran on such a well prepped surface. the car could have taken more boost.

Ya, the tire turns into a square more or less.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfJejgODr3E

Never seen too high tire pressure do that however.

Got a vid of your ride when it occurs?

No. That car is long gone. I have a friend that was battling this at the end of last year. No video.
Trying to convince him of shock sensors and video as recommended.
I'm also a huge fan of the whole Dzuster thread on tire hit. Never even realized you could get such good quality video on tire hit. Very informative.

I think I'm dead hooking then the tire goes square.

I was told to hit it harder but the only way I can hit it harder is to turn the trans break launch up. I did and 100 rpm made it spin instant. Same with tire pressure. A 1/4 pound matters lol

I have never pulled timing at the launch. I was trying to get it to leave as hard as I could.

This was a 1.20 sixty foot even with the tire shake and peddle job. Was at a track with a short shutdown so I just worked on getting it to 330'


It's almost ready to get back out.


https://youtu.be/_ir8fG4WmlA

MOST people don't understand shake, what causes it, nor how to fix it. Most think add air.........that generally the exact opposite.

I was at Cash Days last fall. I wasn't out there to help Doc, but was trying to when I could. He shook in the second round, but won anyway. He changed some stuff for the third, but didn't ask me first and shook the doors off an lost. When I asked what he did, the reply was pull power, more air, raise bars, loosen front and rear shocks. EVERTHING he did was completely backwards. I told him to let 1.5 pounds out of the tires, lower the bars 2 inches, take his launch retard out, tighten the rear extension 6 clicks and also tighten the fronts. His reply......."it will never move". I convinced him to try it at a track they had an exhibition the next week. Out of the trailer it went a 1.10 sixty and the best the car had EVER been before was a 1.18. So he asked what to change when he brought it back to OKC to run on the street..........."not a damn thing" I told him.......LOL!!! It worked..... how well you will see in season 7

Honestly without reading what you've posted here and there, I would have did (and have done) the exact same thing. It's hard to fight what you THINK you know!

Trendz who's your friend? I'm surprised we haven't run into each other by now

Monty, I know I will fight it again this year without some help. I figure I'm looking at it wrong so I'm ready to learn lol

you told me last year I needed wheel speed and to black track down the strip. So I started trying to throw more at it. Then ran out of season.
So over the winter I took 220 pounds off of it. That should help with wheel speed lol.

I bought a hemi to black track 😎

I haven't seen the car do it. He says it happens part way through 2nd gear. It's a small tire car (not radials) with caltracks. May not even be shake. I personally have never taken it down the track to feel it.
It's a blue 69 sb nova twin 76s on it.
He's in the process of a efi change from My old electromotive system to a holley dominator system. With all the extra inputs for logging, we should be able to see whats going on and get this thing haulin.
It's a real nice factory paint "mild" appearing car. Mostly street driven, pump gas car. Been deep 9s, wants to see 8s. Should be out fairly soon.
I sold my car a while ago and live vicariously through working on his.
Bad pic but here it is.

Trendz- that's awesome. I was there with my buddy's Regal in 05. Bummer you sold your car too.



Big Chief just posted video of his Crowmod on slicks shaking the tires hard, and all of the facebook comments are from people telling him to raise the tire pressure.

He has a small motor, not a lot of gear, a super stiff car and a 36" fuel tire...........yep, that's EXACTLY what it needs, MORE rubber on the ground..............LOL!!! Keyboard chassis guys. And the sad part is, guys who have been doing this forever don't know any better either. People thinks slicks and big power is easy.......FAR from it.

Not sure if you caught yesterday's new episode, but Shawn had been battling tire shake on the Nova. He mentioned during one of his interviews after testing that his shake finally went away when he started hitting it with more power on the launch. A previous episode it was so bad it ripped the wheel tub right out of the car!

Had you dropped him enough hints that he finally listened?

It still shakes...........I was there a few weeks ago for the first taping of season 8. Chief was asking all the guys if they were ready and what they had changed. They got to Shawn and he said "I changed nothing. Still the same old tire shaking pile"........LOL. Don Dial is building him a new car, but don't know when its supposed to be ready.

He and Monza were the first pair down a VERY green road and it shook his teeth out. He always likes to be first down a road that has less rubber for that reason.

On another show note. Docs new car is a beast. On his FIRST test pass, it went 4.45 on ONE kit. Faster than it ever went on 3 before. He left it alone for his first street hit and it went right down broadway........He also went 4.10 last weekend at Tulsa. Next pass it broke the driveshaft, or should have been quicker

Season 8 should be awesome, love seeing the nitrous guys running so well. Sounds like Jackie went forced induction with the truck instead, heard he went 4.20 and runnered up in pro mod.

Saw Monza wearing one of your t-shirts last night too. Do you help him and Doc out occasionally?

I've only had tire shake 1 time.. sure did beat the crap
out of me... didnt understand it then and I dont know why
it even happened.. the only thing can think of was the track
prep wasnt too good but I didnt blow the tires off
EDIT
a couple of runs later I broke the anti roll bar in half

I do all Doc, Monza, Reaper, Dominators nitrous. Also tune Derricks since he went EFI, but he still uses Induction solutions parts. The motor in Plan B Corvette at cash days, I tuned. Don't know which motor was in it on last nights show, because it didn't have a tunnel ram

If it has Nitrous and kicks butt on SO, Monte is guilty.