NHRA require sfi engine diapers in 2019 ?

I've heard NHRA will require engine diapers for cars 10:90 and quicker. If so at what point do they have to be sfi?

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for getting on board.

It's been a rule at the div. and nat. level for a few years now. SFI cert. not required to a certain ET or mph.

It is a tough deal for us street car guys that need to keep things cool. If I have to I will put one on but I will complain the whole way lol. I totally get and support the purpose it will just be a PITA on my car.

Who has a diaper on a small block A-body with TTI headers? One of the tubes is almost in the oil pan and the centerlink almost touches the milodon pan.

We can probably thank the LS crowd going 8s on salvage motors for this stuff lol.

Did you just hear that or did you actually see it somewhere from NHRA?

I'd agree with the rule. Yes diapers can be a PIA, but are worth the hassle. I lost my engine going thru the traps in a 11.20 car a few years back and fortunately I only had about a quarter size hole in the bottom of the pan, but crack both sides of the bottom of the block. It sure wasn't the most fun I've had in a car and sure changed how I approach things moving forward.

It's always fun being strapped in, and the guy in front of you oils the track down. Usually at best it's a hour clean up. There are only so many racing hours in a weekend. Don't be the guy that wrecks it for everyone else.

Don't get me wrong, stuff happens, but with what we know today, and the price of a engine diaper, there is no reason to not run one.

x2

In my case, it would be an RB E-body with TTI headers.

I have an sfi diaper but date is run out. Haven't had my car on the track yet, should run low 9's possibly hight 8's. So am curious if I should just buy a new one? Thanks guys

The requirement is levied in class rules and not specifically by ET. In 2018 book bracket racing had no requirement(allowed) while in Superstreet a containment device was required. I assume the 2019 book is the same.

After seeing my motor brake and having a diaper on it and hardly any oil put the bottom end I would not race again with out one is it a pain to get on yes but it’s worth it T he next day I watched a 11:50 car blow his motor and hit the wall 4 times before it came to a stop and totaled out the car both front fenders rear frame rails and quarters with no diaper

thanks Blucuda, I believe I'll put on what I have. I won't got to the track without one.

They sure didn't help

You can also use a belly pan with oil absorbent sheets in it. Might be easier.

All 3 of the .90 classes are required to have an accepted device. Bracket specifications say they are "permitted". No mention of it in S/SS. At this point, I believe it's mostly up to the track. Our local track rules state anything quicker than 10.0 need a oil retention device.

I think this is one of the few recent NHRA rules that is a really good idea.

I wish I had my engine out so I could post some pictures of mine. It cost 200.00 some dollars and can lay right on the headers. It measures about 1/4 inch thick. Inwill be picking up another one for my big block soon from our track manager as he sells them for cost.

Pittsburghracer...... do you know what brand yours is?

I’ll find out. Pretty sure it’s made in Ohio. May be j&j but let me check. I know it’s universal and comes in two sizes.

Here is my "street" car at 108mph, loosing a rod out EACH side of the block...Pretty sure had I not had one on, the car would be toast...Not a drop of oil on the track, 10 quarts of oil....I use a DRE system on both of my cars with Big tube headers....

Greg told me today they are from J&J Performance.


http://jjperformance.com/NHRA-Accepted-Engine-Diapers_c5.htm

I had the same engine failure in Vegas 2011. Except I didn't have a diaper. Same 10 qts of oil, but on the track. Hit the left lane wall jammed the steering. Went across the track and hit the right lane wall. It took me 7 yrs to build the car, 5seconds to wreck it. And another 7 yrs to rebuild. I will not go to the track without a diaper under my motor. Advise the same for everyone else. With 10 qts of oil on the track you have no control of your car. Think about it.
Another point, the pans with liners do not work! A friend with a fed had one. Blew his motor at March Meet two yrs ago. Oiled the track bad.

Thanks, will look into them

We let rods out at a track... car was fine, but I vowed that I didn’t want to be “that guy” at a track ever again. Oildowns cost the track money and downtime for everyone. Do your part!

I have RusslerII diapers for both my engines.

That's pretty good of your track guy to sell them at cost

Yes it is and he’s a good friend but look at it this way. He made the rule at our track before the division officially did. It helps both him financially with track cleanups and us for wasted time waiting on cleanups and possible wrecks. Ohhhh ya we be-itched and moaned and some are still skirting the rule but it kicked us guys on the fence to finally put one on. I wish others would

Rice hull ash is expensive. Guy sounds pretty smart to me.

I have the same question.

You do not need an SFI lower containment device until Pro Mod, Alky and Fuel classes. Otherwise you just need a diaper, NOT an SFI one. So in theory you should have zero issues with you expired SFI device.

According to the newest rulebook you do not need one unless you run Advanced ET, S/G, S/C or S/ST and Pro Stock, all non SFI required. Otherwise I don't see anywhere it is required other than those, and the aforementioned pro and alky classes.

occasionally you see big bucks bracket race have the rule for a diaper, not sure if its enforced tho

Hey Scott I believe your referring to my wreck, yes Im a firm believer in diapers on any modified drag car, I did actually have one on the challenger but it was placed back to cover minor rear main leak,not covering but only third of the block,gonna cost me dearly to restore the wifes challenger, I had one on my daytona at pinks all out at martin 131 windowed the block, not a drop of oil on the track, every track should make them a requirement!!

It's mostly the tracks taking the lead on this with bracket racing. Can't blame them. Time and resources to clean up a mess. It's not like they all have their own Safety Safari.

Well I'm a bad boy.......which is better,the diaper or a belly pan?With my centerlink through the oil pan I was thinking a bellypan would easier to put on and take off.I could extend it under the trans as well....

Want to fab one on my two cars as well. A bent/welded alum. pan, 4 or 5 tabs with buttons, Gorilla tape it with pigs and you are done! I think covering the trans. should be mandatory in T/D-T/S. I've seen guys going 240 in T/D.

I run the J&J generic fit on both my 71 Cuda (rack, struts and custom headers so easy fit)and in my 68 Cuda (SB, stock front end, Milodon pan and TTI headers).

It was tight on the A body but worked fine and passed NHRA tech for Super Street.

I agree, everyone should have one and many tracks require it at 10.00. When I was in cali my business paid anyone who won S/Pro at Sonoma $100 if they had a diaper on their car for two years. I have run one for a very long time myself and we have scattered a couple engines and not put anything on the track.

But the OP asked about NHRA and SFI and that's where they stand

SFI or not (The MoPig ain't never gonna see a single-digit 1/4-mile ET), where should I be looking for a diaper for this type of application?

Also, how easy is it to remove one for basic service such as oil & filter change?

I see a lot of good things said about DRE - enginediapers.com. No first hand experience though.

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like it was a good topic to bring up. Thank you Al, just the info I needed. Hopefully will see you in Vegas at the Mopar, Muscle Cars at the Strip in April.To everyone else please use a diaper, it Could save you thousands. And hours at the track for everyone else.

I bought my first diaper for my Daytona back around 2006-2008. It’s still sitting unused on my shelf somewhere . It’s big, bulky, heat resistant, and free to anyone local when I find it. I will post up some pictures and like I said if someone local wants to drive here to pick it up they can have it. Sorry but I will not ship. I will try to post pictures today. This would be perfect for a tube chassis, rack n pinion big block car and was made for a Charlies or Dragster type of oil pan

Not my car, but a representative enough pic to give people an idea of how a diaper would need to fit the application...

I have a Allstar blanket on my Challenger with a 10 quart flat bottom top fuel type oil pan and an Accusump. With the tubular K Frame. It takes no longer then changing the oil to remove for driving on the street

If you run the NHRA Summit Et series and want to go to the ET Finals, a diaper is required if you run faster than 10.0

I have used DRE for three different cars and our dragster. Dennis is a great guy and the stuff fits and works, as we have unfortunately field tested them

Thank you Al, I've been fighting the blanket I have for three days now. The cuss words I have in reserve have surfaced. So I probably will be calling SRE I guess this money pit is still not full.

Pittsburgh Racer, John, you and I have had this discussion many times.

Try putting one on a Hemi B body......ain't no way. What gets me is that everyone makes a big deal out of this, then we all watched on TV the Hemi Shootout and watched Bucky Hess spin around in his own oil and hit the wall.....with an 8.30 second AH Cuda.....and, no diaper. And they spin those to over 10K. The average bracket guy is being busted for this, then we find the big money hitters don't have to have one. Why?

But, the biggest I wonder is this......what about the new cars? There are new Hellcats, and others that run 10.90s, easy. We've all seen the new Hemi Challengers and others do that at your local strip. Tell the guy he has to stick a diaper on his brand new car and see if he comes back. I'd bet he doesn't.

Although I don't have anything against them, at all, if one wants by all means use them.....but, I do think it's a money grab. One of the reasons I've kept my car at C/NSS at 11 flat index is to avoid the hassle.

I am really glad to get out of that dumpster fire that is the NHRA. I got so tired of being hosed every time I turned around. It's not like it isn't already a huge amount of time and money to field a weekly bracket car but then having to adhere to every stupid little rule and change at the whim of the NHRA is just too much. I totally get some of the rules but seriously, my aluminum trans shield didn't go bad in 5 years or did my window net. It just got stupid ridiculous.

I know a lot of cars that run 14.0 that are held together with duct tape and a prayer that I'm more worried about than most 10.90 cars.

New Challengers have belly pans. It would be nothing to copy one in metal form and line it with pig mat for oil retention.

Keeping oil off the track is far from “stupid” GJ...

Maybe for a serious racer.....but tell the average guy who likes to go to the track and run his new car once in a while, that he has to put on an oil retention device on his brand new car and he won't be back.

Most of the oildowns I've seen in my fifty years of racing don't come from broken rods, etc.....they come from an oil line, a trans line, or something like that coming loose, or a leak. A Diaper won't help those anyway. A 6000 rpm bracket motor does not oil the track all that often.

Maybe those 9500 rpm small blocks do it, but not too many big block anything oil the track.

Just the fact that they are beating on the rank and file bracket guys to let one, but don't make the class racers put one on really makes me suspect of the reasoning behind it.

Serious racers or not, until you have wrecked a perfectly nice 70 Challenger RT or any other collectable mopar you would understand how important oil containment really is.
Id bet Buckey Hess has one on now, how did he pass tech without one? anything can happen and will happen when your on the track beating the snot out of your hotrod!
yes us serious racers have enough downtime at the track let alone having a oil down to boot, not to mention personal safety as well.
I agree SFI requirements are a money maker for suppliers and should be only required for professional classes/ high HP classes.
How much is your car worth to you? mine priceless!!

I haven't the skill to do it, but I've seen some super ingenious dzuz in aluminum catch pans made for street cars, that basically hold the diaper like a glove to the motor. One i saw the guy had siliconed the diaper to the sections. Just kinda unfolded like body armor, tucked up, and slid into place for his street car. 2 wide straps, one in front, and one in back for strength, but dzuz held it off everything.

Hess does not have one now. None of them do. They are not required in NHRA class racing, so it is not a tech item.

Bucky Hess did not have one because Stock and Super Stock are not REQUIRED to have one. Loophole in the rules that gets many S/ST racers upset as its a requirement for them and many of the have stock front end cars. Its part of the enhanced NHRA experience. BTW the oil down policy is in place for EVERYONE that runs National events no matter who they are, hows that for enhanced experience. I diaper CAN be made to fit ANY combo. A belly pan can also be made to work if one really cares about keeping oil off the track. One last tidbit we have had two BB Mopars come apart that WOULD have oiled the track if not for the diapers, and one that in spite of having a diaper oiled the track anyway. All Bracket motors, one Hemi and two wedges. One of the wedges came in a car we purchased and 11 laps later hurt the block bad enough to get water on the track and pieces went THROUGH the diaper, and body panel.

I don't want one, but I will look seriously into getting one. The engine isn't back in the car, yet, so it'll never be easier to do.

There's a reason why NHRA does not mandate diapers for SS and stockers. I've been through this many times with my car over the years. Its just not feasible for certain cars. It goes back to the early 2000's when Holten was building motors on the west coast. NHRA was going to mandate diapers for SS and stock. I don't know if it was him or Mazzolini petitioned the NHRA to let them put a rack on the car because of the drag link going through the middle of the oil pan. Then the guys with the 66 and 67 Chevy II's complained because the drag link on those cars is right on the oil pan also. Within weeks they dropped the mandate because its just not feasible for all cars. When all this was happening I had to get a chassis cert done. I asked the Div 3 tech to look under the car and asked what he thought about a diaper. He came out from under there shaking his head "There's no frikken way". Hemi in an A-body, big tube headers that just about touch the side of the block. Good luck. Its a great idea,just not practical for all cars.

I h ave a b body and a diaper would be difficult With the link through the pan.I'm thinking more and more about a large belly pan back to the trans pan.I wonder if there could be an aero advantage for the brick?
I blew a freeze plug and tagged the wall back in '13.What a SLIDE!!!

I am NOT a competitor,just a sreet car that morphed into what it is,,,,whetever that may be,,,,,,,,,

If you've ever put the header, steering, torsion bar, starter, oil pan puzzle together under a legal Hemi Super Stock car, talking about adding a diaper to the mix would not be a welcome conversation.

Diaper on mine. Though it's a wedge, not a Hemi.
Doug

Not an A-body either

Where's the headers?

Hess has a diaper now.

Doug,

What kind of diaper are you running?

Thanks!