Thread: What is too fast??.

Tweet

This a heart filled reach out.Your whole life the quest is go faster.Then as you start getting there and the raising costs per run and more importantly a honest concern for the driver a question pops up "what is too fast"??.Then if you think your going too fast,what next??.We I think all have been brought up to contently think about going faster,but if you think you have reached a limit that you shouldn't go beyond.Your comments are surely needed.

When you know your limit then you step down. The smart ones do. The rest of us get a better blower.

I don't think there is a thing as going "too fast" though safety and driver experience and mentality surely come to play. Who's to say where Top Fuel and Funny Car speeds would be if the NHRA was still running a 1/4 mile instead of 1000ft? I truly believe that one of the reasons Nostalgia racing is becoming so popular is because they travel the full 1/4 mile and aren't as fast or quick as their big brethren. It also helps that Funny Cars actually more closely resemble a make and model car.

"TOO FAST" are you kidding? Honestly I have a friend 74 years old he runs in the 8s. We talk about this quit a bit. Fast is for the big$$$guys...Consistant is what we'er after. Its just as hard being consistant and less expensive. Then you get the guys that are fast and dial low just to win in a lower class. As I said "TOO FAST" just depends on you ability and bank book. I don't think anyone goes out there want to kill them selves thats why they make you have a physical.

Originally Posted by cffisher

Then you get the guys that are fast and dial low just to win in a lower class..

"Sand- baggers" have been around forever. Never could understand the gratification of beating someone who wouldn't stand a chance in a heads up race.

"The pioneers take the arrows."

Most people are contained by fear. Fear of hieghts, fear of speed, fear of drowning, fear of a looonnnggg list of perceived perils. A few, very few, push the boundaries of comfort. It's called progress, and it's the rare individual who "discovers" what humans are really capable of and shows the way to those of lesser ambition or willingness to risk. Some pay with their lives, some don't, but we learn what's really possible from them...............that's why we don't live in caves anymore. That's why we don't die from a host of diseases that once plagued mankind. That's why we've been to the moon. That's why we can fly from one place to another. Things our ancestors couldn't even imagine we take as commonplace. All because some brave souls had the willingness to test the boundaries and risk losing as well as winning.

Well a young but very experienced driver and with the smallest shot of nitrous hit very briefly in the middle of the run mid 4's and 150 mph in a 1/8 mile where that is a threshold not cross to date scares me.Him pushing for more.I would never forgive myself if something out of his control happened.What do you do??.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

"The pioneers take the arrows."

Most people are contained by fear. Fear of hieghts, fear of speed, fear of drowning, fear of a looonnnggg list of perceived perils. A few, very few, push the boundaries of comfort. It's called progress, and it's the rare individual who "discovers" what humans are really capable of and shows the way to those of lesser ambition or willingness to risk. Some pay with their lives, some don't, but we learn what's really possible from them...............that's why we don't live in caves anymore. That's why we don't die from a host of diseases that once plagued mankind. That's why we've been to the moon. That's why we can fly from one place to another. Things our ancestors couldn't even imagine we take as commonplace. All because some brave souls had the willingness to test the boundaries and risk losing as well as winning.

I agree with everything you've stated. The sanctioning bodies, though, have hindered progress occasionally for one reason or another. Granatelli's turbine powered Novis, Nascar banning the 426 Hemi and using restrictor plates, NHRA going to 1000ft because some of the tracks are antiquated, land locked or both and I guess the list could go on and on. Sure, I've seen people killed at the drag strip, it's part of the sport.

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

"The pioneers take the arrows."

Most people are contained by fear. Fear of hieghts, fear of speed, fear of drowning, fear of a looonnnggg list of perceived perils. A few, very few, push the boundaries of comfort. It's called progress, and it's the rare individual who "discovers" what humans are really capable of and shows the way to those of lesser ambition or willingness to risk. Some pay with their lives, some don't, but we learn what's really possible from them...............that's why we don't live in caves anymore. That's why we don't die from a host of diseases that once plagued mankind. That's why we've been to the moon. That's why we can fly from one place to another. Things our ancestors couldn't even imagine we take as commonplace. All because some brave souls had the willingness to test the boundaries and risk losing as well as winning.

the only fear i have is from you BoB of what you think some 300+ pound honeys??? you post on here some times .many things i do not care for but still like speed on water or land

Originally Posted by 1gary

Well a young but very experienced driver and with the smallest shot of nitrous hit very briefly in the middle of the run mid 4's and 150 mph in a 1/8 mile where that is a threshold not cross to date scares me.Him pushing for more.I would never forgive myself if something out of his control happened.What do you do??.

The driver will know when quick is too quick. It is not a crewmans' task to push the driver. Shit happens quick at that speed, i posted 'our mishap' if you search this section. That was an easy 4.50 pass and we normally'd run 4.30.
A very good friend, perennial track champion and currant Southern Outlaw Top Sportsman champion and well known bracket racer runs 4.70's in his door car and will not, under any circumstance, make a 1/4mile pass. He will qualify on a quarter mile by lifting at 1000' or so, eliminations are actually run on just the 1/8th mile.
The driver will know his limits, hopefully, and you can't push them.
I've driven mostly door cars and run right quick. I once got to make some passes in a funny car and i never felt so safe in my life - if they had an audio recorder they would've heard me laughin my ass off for 6 seconds. Door cars have too much space.
As far as forfiving yourself if things get out of control. They will get out of control, that is nature of being on the edge. Your job is to see that he is as safe as possible, that there is nothing ready to fall off the car, that all the dots' are dotted and tees' are crossed, your job is to see that when things go wrong they aren't man-made things because somebody didn't do something right. The game changes when you fire that engine and you realize that you are dealing with an innaimate object that will kill you without any remorse. That is when things start to get interesting! It gets very addictive after that.

What I used to do in my 20s-30s wasn't too fast. Today and now that I've 'matured' a bit, it's a lot less. I used to push my '68 fastback Torino well beyond the end of the speedometer and my '63 fastback tri powered 500XL even faster - and on bias rayon tires. Now, the local bikers are killing themselves at a high rate - at least 10 in a 50 or so mile radius in the past couple of weeks and they are usually traveling at close to warp speed which means blotter work for the wipe up crews. In the past couple of weeks, a 193, a 166 and a 143 mph biker has been apprehended on I-87 (amazing how fast those police radios are). Probably many more that got away.

My way of thinking, if you have the vehicle, a decent level of safety equipment, the right place and most importantly, big enough cojones, preferably of tool steel it's what ever limit you want it to be -

Originally Posted by 1gary

Well a young but very experienced driver and with the smallest shot of nitrous hit very briefly in the middle of the run mid 4's and 150 mph in a 1/8 mile where that is a threshold not cross to date scares me.Him pushing for more.I would never forgive myself if something out of his control happened.What do you do??.

So are the things that are "...out of his control" in your control? If not then it's a moot point, as I see it. You say in the first line "...a very experienced driver..." so if you manage to get him ousted from the car he's driving he'll likely pick up another ride or worse, resort to street racing to satisfy his "....need for speed" as stated aptly in "Top Gun". I'm sure you'll feel bad if something bad happens at the track, but then again what do you propose? He's following the rules, running good equipment and pushing the envelope, which is the definition of racing.

I have led my whole life in the thought of need for speed.I am projecting where all this is going to lead when we just gave him a very small taste of the nitrous and that was the result.It is why I am so conflicted in my feelings where I never felt this way before.I'm scared for him not knowing how fast this is going to end up to be.

i worry abit about what i build and hand it off to someone .most guy s never had 500hp engine they say that is what they want so i give it to them and much more .new cars have that 500hp numbers . But its not like a older car were there is no save you ass from doing dumb things where a computer is on boad steps in to helps bail you out or worst case save your life with a air bag or controlled crumple zone built in to the car so you may walk away . i sold engines making over 750+ hp to guys. i try to talk to them about what they have and things to look out for but at the end of the day it is what they want .this is what i do ..if i do not build it.. they will find someone else . i like to think that you will get the most power per dollar from me. i have customers that will say that .so i will not talk you out of something you feel you must have. drag guys i do not wast my speech on them. there coming for numbers. track is some what safe