Jim Geese and his team at R2B2 Race Cars have built some of the quickest and fastest doorslammers on the planet in recent years, and proving they’re not ones to rest on their laurels, a brand new chassis design unlike any other that we’ve seen was publicly unveiled here at the PRI Show in Indianapolis.
The first thing that you’ll notice lookng at the new chassis, which R2B2 is calling the A-Cim 2.7, is that it’s not proportional as all drag racing doorslammer chassis are, and as Geese told us, that was by design. By removing this largely unnecessary portion of the cabin and reducing it’s overall width, R2B2 has been able to reduce weight, create a crumple zone for impacts, and stiffen the chassis in the event of an impact thanks to the use of shorter tubing. The body is mounted with a side tree to fill in the gap between the furthermost edge of the chassis and the passenger-side door and body.
The chassis have always been full-width because it’s the norm, and we thought we could counteract the torsional weight on the rear tires, and so we built is that way to begin with. – Jim Geese
“We basically took the passenger side of the car out, because we don’t have passengers in Pro Modified, Top Sportsman, and other similar classes. The chassis have always been full-width because it’s the norm, and we thought we could counteract the torsional weight on the rear tires, and so we built is that way to begin with.”
The majority of the weight that Geese and company have taken out of this new chassis — a full 48 pounds — is from right of center, and this reduced torsional load takes static weight off the right rear tire, which will allow for quicker short times and early incrementals. As well, because of the torque from the engine at the hit, the balance plays into the racers’ favor.
“We’ve improved in areas of our design that we know for sure are improvements. They aren’t things that we’re just hoping are better — it’s physical and we know it will be better. We picked up a lot of safety features with this chassis, plus it’s much lighter.”
Among the safety feature are:
- Small cabin for increased strength and safety
- Cowl bar does not interrupt the windshield
- Windshield bar is one-piece from the main hoop to the floor
- The main impact area is not a three-piece union at the cowl bar
- Has a true six-point Funny Car cage
- Driver sits correctly and SFI legal within the Funny Car cage
- Crumple zone entire right hand side of the car
- Crumple zone entire back side of car
- Crumple zone entire front of car
- Crumple zone means less G-force impact on the driver because the chassis, side tree, and rear tree absorbs the majority of the impact
For more information on R2B2 Race Cars, visit them at their home on the web at r2b2racecars.com.
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