So this morning I go out and open up the trailer and find a puddle of oil running out from under the car. Didnt notice any oil when I loaded it. Backed it out and removed the hood. now I see why it quit at the top of the track. Did all the usual checks. No dip stick so I drained and measured the oil. 1 qt missing. That line goes directly into the feed from the pump to the Master Lube . Fitting broke off and was spraying oil directly down onto the track when it broke. NO OP No ing.
Honestly Gary, I think it may have contributed to a mishap on the track. No way to be sure but shortly after I made my run a turbo'd Nova got loose and brushed the wall at the top of the track. Coincidentally right in front of where I was pitted. Very dark down there also
Make sure the fittings are compatible and or the same brand.....not all are and they can fail...the nut obviously pulled the threads on that one
Yeah, that's scary....I remember Etown where Bill Lagna in wagon blew engine on top end and they never cleaned up....sent more Buicks down....Mike Pollack went thru the traps close to sideways and saved it.
What had happened is the Masterlube canister slowly worked its way down in the mounts until the hose was basically supporting it and the #6 90* finally gave way and snapped. Im looking at it and saying to myself theres no way I made it this tight. Looking at the pics its several inches short of where it was connected. Removed that band clamp and put some glue on it and then reassembled. Should hold it now. Will keep an eye on it for sure
Doubtful. However at the very end of the frame as its going down the track I see the starter guy walking over to the staging light area looking at something on the track. The car is set up with a oil pressure kill switch which shuts power off to the box if OP falls below 7-10 psi. Thinking John C is right when he said it wasnt hitting the suspension hard enough to plant the tires. Leaving off the foot brake didnt give it the weight transfer it needed. Just gonna take time to figure it out.
If that were my car, I would replace every hose and fitting on the car that I couldn't identify as Areoquip or Fragola.. I have had Earl's fittings fail, let alone the cheap house brand garbage from the big parts houses manufactured in Asia.. Consider this a warning, that type of serious car needs only quality stainless hose and fittings. I had a customer bring in some of that overseas crap, and just putting it together, you could tell by how little effort it took, that it is not holding as well as the good stuff. If your doing a -8 hose and not struggling a bit with the hose ends, then something is wrong here. And one thing you can't control or identify is the material these fittings are made out of. Beware the inexpensive house brand hose and fittings. Track conditions look questionable for launching that car.. looks like it was on Ice for the first 60 ft. Your going to find that car to be very demanding on the track conditions, more so than anything you have previously raced. Just the nature of the beast with that much torque. Time to take it to an event with good track prep, strap on the big boy pants, and start using the trans brake. I still think you going to be adjusting the suspension... weight distribution, and power are completely different now. Old settings should get you down the track, and I believe they will once you start using the trans brake, but you will have to experiment to find the optimum settings for the current combination, as well as track conditions. While this particular failure of a fitting can be traced to other factors, it does bring into question material strength and quality. JW
Not piling on but Jim is right. This a serious step up with this engine and chassis. With that comes the responsibility of quality race parts and fabrication. That would include not using worm clamps on a copper tube on your oil system. Things that get cobbled up for 11 second cars do not apply here. Too much speed and power to cut corners. The life you save might be your own. You said it yourself, your oil issue may have caused another car to hit the wall. I'm not saying that's what happened but I wouldn't want that on my conscience. Time to get this stuff corrected.
That was a Fragola fitting and everything on the car thats not a solid / hard line has been replaced. Yes I do believe track prep for that TnT was questionable. John C recommended I leave soft using the foot brake a few passes . The time before I was there I left off the T brake and it hooked for a second then broke loose, hooked again. sister was there and said it pulled the tires both times. Getting a better feel for it and will push a bit harder next time out. Probably go to Gainesville. I'm a long way from entering any competition.
Made it back to the track yesterday. Had plans to go to Gainesville but they canceled at the last min due to cold weather. So went 1.5 hours N to South Georgia MP. Track temp was around 50 most of the day and not many guys making any power were hooking. Crew was spraying and dragging throughout the day. After my second pass I put her in the trailer. Did a new PB mph at 151 clocking in at 9.78 which should have been around 8.50. I have a couple in car vids which after I figure out how to get off the Go Pro will post as well
Cold track can be very tricky, on my car it requires more burnout time to fet more heat in the tires. I read you have been fighting this launch issue for awhile. The car seems to drive very straight after and clearly makes big mph. Have you though about about a throttle enchanter to help you get off the line. Something like https://computech.com/product/starting-line-controller/ Or https://www.biondoracing.com/product/co2-precision-control/ These can be set up lots of different ways. Box guy can set them up so they reach wot the same amount of time b4 the transbrake releases No box guys will use then to control starting line rpm when on the trans brake or footbrake.......so your to the floor but maybe only at 2500 or 3000 rpm....but not needing a 2 step. And when you let off the trans brake, foot brake....whatever. it's goes back to wide open throttle........but you can control that rate at which it goes to wide open...........effectively rolling into the throttle the same rate every time.......this can give high hp small tire cars or any car the chance to hook b4 full power comes down the drive shaft.
I know my suggestion seems like a band aid.........butmight help for not alot of money till you can get it sorted out. I can't tell what rpm your sitting at on the brake or if that's you on the 2 step or the other car......just seems like if you could find a way to slow down that big hit off the brake it would give it a chance to hook and ride out a few feet. That looked to be almost pulling the left rear tire off the ground
What part of the track is the most sticky? It looked like once you slid to the right a little and hit the shiny part of the track it hooked. Cliff
I cam only slow a utube video down so much but it planting and lifting but pulling the left rear up causing the quick rotation to the wall.....looks like it's hitting the bar unevenly too. But again this is hard to tell when I can slow it down frame by frame
The left is coming up way higher in the front. Looks like the left rear wants to come off the ground.
I looked at it frame by frame and came to the same conclusion.. Also after looking at the in car vid Im thinking the converter is to loose. Will post that one once its done uploading to youtube
