Arch,
Before I become a top ranked 300 MPH Top Fuel driver on this list, let me
say that I only work on our race cars and drive them around the pits. I
haven't driven them on the track. I'm looking into it getting a car, but
it would be tough to get a third car in the trailer
. Actually the race
cars only go 145 MPH and 158 MPH at the end of the quarter mile, so they
aren't much faster then we want the GMC to go. I have, however, had the
GMC up to 85 with the trailer on it and felt totally safe. It has been up
past 90 towing a couple of times with no problems at all. The rear sway
bars seemed to help out high speed corners quite a bit, but that is not
something we should have to worry about
. Before we put the Alcoas on,
we couldn't get the tires balanced well enough to stop the shaking and
rattling enough to feel safe over 55
.
We've never had our GMC fast enough that we felt unsafe on a smooth
highway, so I'm sure that it could go much faster without trouble in a
controlled environment. I'd build up on anything past 110-120 though. We
don't know how much aerodynamics are going to come into play. As long as
test runs were made to feel out the >100 MPH range before letting it all
hang out, everything should be fine. Hopefully there aren't any truck ruts
in the salt. That could cause some real problems.
Given our experiences as well as those of others, I don't think we need to
strip anything aerodynamics wise (mirrors, etc) from the GMC to break the
current record. This would show everyone what a regular GMC could do. If
we strip anything off, it isn't going to be nearly as impressive.
I would, however, also like to see the record obliterated by a no holds
barred GMC. If it doesn't get far enough out of reach, those SOBs will try
to get it back
. I'm sure with some more modifications they could do
much better than they did. I was surprised with the backing they had that
they went as slow as they did. They should be able to go much faster.
That motorhome was basically just a van, and the small V10 probably puts
out more power than our big 455.
As far as brakes go, our race cars can coast down with just high gear
engine braking at some of the longer tracks (maybe .5-.75 mile shutdown?)
without using the brakes at all. This is from 145 and 156 with much better
aerodynamics. I'm pretty sure we will have to actually get back into the
gas to go the three miles before turning around. The only time brakes
would come into play would be an emergency situation where the GMC strayed
off course or something unexpected happened.
We've had our GMC on some small highways with only 25 pounds (to get out of
the mud) in the front tires. We try to keep the speed down, but 50 is not
uncommon. We usually just fill up with the trailer air compressor as soon
as we get out. If we aren't towing the trailer, however, we usually wait
till we get to the first gas station which is usually several miles. We
haven't had any problems doing this. This makes me think that the regular
Michelins could withstand the heat of high speeds (at proper inflation of
course) with no problems.
The big question would be if the rules would allow non speed rated tires to
be used for record attempts. I'm sure they have many safety rules (like
NHRA) that may or may not make sense to most. NHRA makes us change the
seat belts every 2 years in our cars because some study showed that nylon
loses some of its strength after being exposed to sun. We had to add a
flywheel shield right after we were required to install a flywheel that was
SFI certified to be strong enough that it wouldn't explode. Roll cages
that were certified safe two years ago are now failing the thickness test
because NHRA got a new meter that is more "sensitive". Did the new meter
make the cars less safe? I'm sure the LSR organizations have similar red
tape rules and policies that we need to find out about.
Zak
>GMCers
>
>I think we are working to hard here. This puppy was designed to run 100 MPH.
>We are not pushing it that much further. Some of you have said that you
>have gone "real fast " in your rigs. Somebody said they got a ticket for
>going over 100 MPH. I honestly dont think we have to worry about this.
>Lets not let fear rule here. I would like to see dreams drive the plan.
>At the same time reality must rule. Zak you have driven things that go fast.
>Would you be worried about going 120 MPH in your rig?
>
>Take Care
>Arch
