Depending on who you speak to, we lose 10- to 20-percent of our torque due to friction losses in the drivetrain. Naturally, no one likes losing torque after spending so much money and working so hard to create this rotating force. This is, after all, the force we use to move the car and no matter which class you run, the name of the game is to move the car. So if we’re going to be good racers, one of the many questions we must ask is, “What can I do to reduce torque loss due to friction in the drivetrain?”
James Lawrence Master of Disaster
James started working on a Nostalgia Top Fuel drag racing team in 1992, and the rest has been history. A life-long automotive enthusiast, James is in fierce competition to see whether he can collect more cars or cats. Right now, the cars are winning. James co-founded the NMRA and NMCA Drag Racing Series in 1998 and continues to be an avid and passionate fan on everything 1320. He also thinks he can drive. Thinks, is the key word.
Drivetrain Angles: Increase Torque And Improving Hook
Posted by
James Lawrence
on 08/12/10
Comments (0)
With Project 666, our Fox-body Ford Mustang almost 2 years in the making, this year’s LA Invasion was a day of trials and tribulations. Leading the charge for 666 was shop wizard Sean Goude, trusty wrench and sales guy Tom “Terror” Bobolts, myself, and my pregnant wife Melissa. We were a motley crew. Check out our story, plus videos!
We found a neat goodbye drafted by Angela Sampey – three time Pro Stock Motorcycle Champion – NHRA.com’s Professional driver blogs. Inside are heart-felt comments and a graceful exit for the champion.
Project Grandma got serious in this episode where we removed the stock V6 engine from the ‘78 Malibu and got everything prepped for our big block engine.
We decided to have a little fun with granny before the build begins, so we pulled the fluids out of her, started her up and took bets on how long she would last. Check it out…!!
Today we have an update on Project Grandma as Mike Ryan gets our ‘78 Malibu ready for our Chassis Engineering Mini-tubs, and then the 25.5 Roll Cage. We’re starting with a Chassis Engineering chrome moly cage kit and then adding the bars necessary for the SFI 25.5 spec.
We’ve been working with Currie Enterprises on a few different projects, and it just so happened that Project Grandma’s need for a new rear end intersected perfectly with a top-secret project at Currie.
Think ‘68 Camaro’s are only for restoration or Drag Racing? Naw.. screw that, said one craigslist posting we wondered on recently. A ‘68 Camaro being sold for Dirt Track Racing? Uhhh, yea. Ready to go!
Long time Street Legal racer Todd Moyer stepped it up during a test session for the upcoming ADRL event, ripping a pair of 3 second runs, their first ever. ADRL’s Agent 660 gave us the goods below:
Project Grandma is our most popular build ever: a 1978 G-Body from Pasadena (literally) that we took from an old beater to a 25.5 chassis’d stock-suspension monster. With a 555ci Edelbrock street crate engine, we ran mid 10’s at almost 130 mph all motor. That engine has been stolen for another brand new project car that has yet to be released (you’ll dig it though), and we’ve got a new power plant being wedged into Granny’s pants.
The ‘69 Camaro has always been my favorite Hot Rod. In fact, it’s on my bucket list (you know – that list of everything you are supposed to do before you die) to build an absolutely amazing sixty-nine. You know, the kind of car you’d be afraid to drive. Looking at these new sneak peaks of Hamstra’s and Castellana’s 1969 Camaros’s, built for Pro Nitrous and Pro Extreme respectively – I’m filled with the same feeling. Not sure if I’d be taking these works of art down the 1320.
New ODRA Outlaw Drag Racing Association to feature 6 Races in 2010
Posted by
James Lawrence
on 03/06/10
A new series is has been announced by race director Karen Bryant – the Outlaw Drag Racing Association, also to be known as the ODRA. The press release the ODRA and Karen sent our yesterday lays out plans for a 6-race series featuring Outlaw Pro Mod, Outlaw 10.5/Radial, Ultimate Street, and a variety of index classes.
Officially Official: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ Busch to compete in Gatornationals
Posted by
James Lawrence
on 03/06/10
NHRA confirms and makes it officially official (we can say that – right?) – Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, will return to his drag racing roots during the 41st running of the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals March 11-14 at historic Gainesville Raceway.
So far, it’s been an amazing start to the 1320 activities in Bakersfield, with great car counts and pretty nice weather combining for the start of a historic weekend. It’s been a weekend where old meets new, and Ron Capps, Gary Densham, and some of the Pro NHRA drivers are on hand not to sign autographs, but to race. Capps is qualified in the #1 position as of Friday.
Ford Racing has joined the big crate small block engine game with an all new 427ci, 351W based on the new Boss 351W Block. With a hydraulic roller cam, it makes an impressive 535 hp and 545 lb ft of torque and 10.5 compression. Not bad, and for a street price likely in the $8000 range, this could make an easy 10-second Fox body street/strip ride.
It could be better than sitting in the stands. If you’re a fan of NHRA check out the NHRA Live Timing system that NHRA debuted with the help of Motorola at this year’s Pomona event. Essentially what “LIVE TIMING” does is allow fans to follow the on-track action with seeing full incremental times and speeds from each pair of racers as they go down the track. I played with this yesterday and it’s trick. Check it out today if
While surfing around on YouTube, we found some really awful engine explosions to share with everyone. We got a few of them from YellowBullet.com – and the rest we found ourselves. Warning – before you watch these, you better give your rod bolts an extra snug! You have a better one, post a link to it!
As a life-long enthusiast of the sport of drag racing, former street racer, promoter, and drag racing journalist, I am filled with mixed emotions when I read about the situation swirling around Al Anabi, Street Racing, ADRL, and Mustapha Mohamed Atat (“Moe Atat”). There are so many layers in this story that, in my opinion, make this situation dark, difficult, and painful to discuss.
We really like it when sportsman racers turn bloggers. Not so much because they are the next Hemingway, but rather – because they tell it like it is. Chris Parent, Street Legal racer and owner of the BB Nova Racing web site, recently wrote a Top 10 Drag Racing Tips article that is a great “101″ guide for the newbie heads-up racer. In the article, he talks about things like safety, tire pressure, and how to read a track — a good starter guide that I’m sure everyone wished they got before their first trip down the 1320.
It came out in late December that Pete Berner was going to be going ADRL Racing with long-time NHRA sponsor Summit Racing Equipment. This was a pretty big-time announcement for the ADRL and Summit, as ADRL goes toe-to-toe with NHRA the fight for sponsorship dollars extends to it’s racers as well. That being said, all we had was a rendering to go off. Now, the photos are in, and the car looks even better…
Since Drag Racers recently hammered some ‘1320 facilities through Yellow Bullet’s “Worst Dragstrips of All Time” Poll, we figured perhaps it was time to give credit to the Greatest Dragstrips of All Time. Kind of like what Jerry Rice is called “GOAT” – “Greatest Of All Time”, there are the nicest, most legendary facilities. What did we, and some top drag racing writers, pick?
Well, this is a big day for the entire powerTV staff – the BETA launch of the new Dragzine.com web site. If you love hard core drag racing, you’re going to love Dragzine. There are many great sources of online content for Drag Racing, and we’re eager to have our voice join the successful pioneers that are already out there in the market place.
The K&N Horsepower Challenge – which is a bonus-style event for NHRA Pro Stock Racers, has been renewed, announced NHRA. In this difficult sponsorship environment, this is a plus for NHRA Pro Stock racers, who have been under pressure financially to keep sponsorship support. Check out all the details.
It’s a rough way to earn a nickname – A nitrous-fueled explosion on the starting line in Phoenix back in 2000 added “Fireball” to the list of names people have called legendary NMRA Super Street Outlaw racer John Urist. Surprisingly, though, for a man who has won an unprecedented four championships in the class, and has successfully run practically every combination allowed by the rules, most of that list is complimentary. We sat down with Urist to get his take on the class and his future.
We all know that big power means big money. Making cars go fast isn’t just an issue of adding ‘go power,’ but making sure the car can withstand the beating. The axle always bears the brunt of the abuse, so let’s compare different aftermarket 9-inch bolt-in rear-ends available on today’s market – and no you don’t always have to break the bank.
MSD’s Pro Data Software is one of the most popular ways you can control your MSD ignition for your race car or street car. However, learning how to use it DOES INVOLVE a learning curve. Whether it’s setting up basics functions such as a rev limiter, or learning how to use traction-aiding functions such as the slew-rate or rev limiter over time – it pays to listen to an expert.
In this tech article and video, we’re going to educate you.. call it MSD Ignition 101. We’ll show you the differences between your STOCK ignition, and MSD Ignition. By the end of the tech article, you’ll not only know how MSD works but what it will do for YOUR Hot Rod!
The weekend of October 16-18th brought the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association’s Second Nostalgia Drags to Bowling Green KY. For those who have never been to a Goodguys event, they really put on a top-notch show. This multi-event weekend had a little bit of everything for everybody. Check out our recap of the event.
