John,
Just one more comment about "rear" engines.....if you have ever had an
engine explosion accompanied by fire in a "front" engined car, you know the
main advantage for having the engine behind you!
How long was the wheelbase on your friends car? And where was the cockpit?
I'm curious because while I don't recall having trouble sensing drift in
any of my "rear" engined, over 200" cars (including a 300" Alky car), your
friend may have been sitting right up front? Or didn't have enough body in
front of him to help with the alignment problem. Or....didn't have enough
seat time in the new ride?
My 180" front engined car didn't drift a lot due to not enough power but
did oil me down some.....
Skip
At 09:35 AM 12/29/01 +0000, john backus wrote:
>OK, my only comment is that a fellow racer and friend built one of those
>newfangled "rear engined" dragsters. This meant that only the driver was moved
>to in front of the engine, the drivetrain stayed the same. He only made a few
>passes in it and sold it. Said it scared the hell out of him, he"couldn't tell
>which way it was going". I never drove one of those newfangled front driver
>types so I can't give any personal data. I can say that from the back I could
>see and feel everything that was going on even though parts of the engine were
>directly in front of me- I just watched the side/s of the track, 'got
>especially tricky at night with the flames from the headers. And Pork-Pie, the
>frame was a real flexible 200"wb, this helped keep the front wheels on the
>ground some of the time and helped with weight transfer--help me here Joe. It
>also helped when you pulled the chute, the frame would flex and make the pan
>hit the track to help slow you down. :>)
>
>Just a few observations from an old dragster driver
>ps; the pan had a 1/2" skid plate on it
>John Backus
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Tom Neimeyer
>Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2001 11:11 PM
>To: john backus; landspeedracer; land-speed
>Subject: Re: Wheelbase & Driver Relationships
>
>Let's expound on this a little. Where should the driver be in relation to
>the wheelbase? I have been told as far back as possible. It allows him/her
>to see the cars direction as it moves away from straight down the track.
>This then allows time to redirect (steer). Let the thread begin.
>
>Tom
>
>> John, I can only relate to drag racing, you guys are the LSR Guru's. A
>long
>> wheelbase dragster is definitely more stable and easier to keep straight
>than
>> a short wheelbase car- example, Top Fuel vs Fuel Altered or Funny Car. I
>think
>> because most all the lakesters and streamliners that are fast are usually
>a
>> very long wheelbase that is the way to go. But this is only my opinion and
>you
>> know what that is worth.
>>
>> John B.- the other one
>>
>>
>> Don't remember if this has been asked before or not so I hope I'm not
>beating
>> a dead horse.
>> What is the effect of wheelbase on vehicle speed. Another words are long
>> wheelbase cars inherently more stable than short ones? What are the
>> advantages
>> or disadvantages?
>>
>> John Beckett
www.pro-blend.com
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