Just getting into racing at the 1/8 th mile Strip near me.
Questions :
1. Looking to buy a race car in the $10-13,000 range and have found a couple with aluminum rods ; I want to drive the race car from my house to the strip which is 3 miles each way. WIll it be alright to do this with a motor having aluminum rods ?
2. Im looking at cars having a 2 speed Glide trans . Are these reliable for hard launching using a trans brake ? The rwhp on the cars im looking at are about 600 .
3. What is the MINIMUM i should be looking for as far as the suspension goes ?
4. Typically, at what RPM is good to launch at after a good burnout ?
5. Any tips for buying a race car appreciated.
Thanks.
I did want to revist your original post as I seen a couple things.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with running Aluminum rods on the street. That said, you need to follow a VERY CAREFUL warm up routine. Now this is where you have to know not only what brand of connecting rods, but which material; In other words it might have Bill Miller aluminum rods in it, and it's the very best "452" forged rods, or the rods might be say from Brooks, and either that companies 396 material or 496 material. That is where call the manufacturer of the rods ask them which start up/warm up routine they recommend and how long of "heat soak" time before any load such as moving the car. I've had Bill Miller alum. rods in a 428 Pontiac engine go 200,000 miles without any breakage or issues.
Back on suspension, A ladder bar double adjustible is min. set up I would consider. But it you can go 4 link, thats the way. Coil over double adjustable shocks in back, ( and I would go with AFFCO shocks, as they are best value for the money and actualy just as tunable as the high dollar KONI 11 'S used in Pro Stock cars. If you have any questions on a car, you can pm me anytime. If you are wondering, yes, I love drag racing and used to drive a Pro Stock NHRA car. Currently do engine head developement with rolandracing.com for the old Pontiac V8's. And yes, this past weekend in Norwalk ohio was a success for us and the cylinder head program. Rodney Butler's 63 Tempest twin turbo ride went 6.24 at only 228 mph in the 1/4.