Event Coverage Welcome to the 2017 Meltdown Drags

scary handling is bad...hmmm....

I wound up fixing most of my handling issues by adding air to the rear tires, and taking some out of the front tires.

 

Been getting this set up along new shifter for reverse pattern. Also has a transbrake. Other trans lost 3rd gear. Havnt pulled it apart yet to see whats wrong . Going racing this weekend to make sure all is good.

 

Can someone please tell me what the spectator admission price is for an adult & children under 12 for Saturday ? Also what time do the gates open? Thank You!

 

http://meltdowndrags.com/schedule/
I think most of that info is here?

 

I'm good with the Canadian stuff... don't drink nearly as much as I used to. Health concerns and common sense have taken over. (Stupid old age) I now prefer to sip in a gentlemanly manner and enjoy the company.

We talked briefly about a Nitro tune up for the Prefect... but it keeps getting faster every time we take it out and we do nothing to it - so why mess with it. As for the Scout - I'm about ready to take a sledgehammer to it these days. Once I get it sorted out I plan to encase it in plastic so I don't screw it up and then - maybe - have a winter where I'm not messing with the combination.

 

Saturday is $20 for adults... best deal you will ever find. 10 plus hours of racing... not just 60 cars racing!

Kids are free under 12

The gates open at 10 am for spectators.


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Ok thank you very much, see ya's there!

 

"Back to Byron" Evil Twin Shirts AVAILABLE!

 

What's that Uncle Dirt!? Can't ya see I'm thrashing here! Cleaned up our other set of magnesium 5 spokes, and bringing some short shoes for the Child. A 1" reduction (6" less roll out) ought to put a little more scat in her scoot!.., and way easier than changing the rear cogs!

 

Lookin forward to seeing you guys too Joel.It's been too long!

 

That's actually one of the issues we're addressing today,Jim.I thought 15psi was tons,but Jon T told me some of his buddies run 18-20psi in the same size tire and they actually hook BETTER,not worse!You learn something every day.
Also booked in a front end alignment for Thursday morning.

Most importantly: Happy Independence Day to all our American Brothers!

Scott

 

Tires are a very miss understood thing. Every car has different needs. The tires side wall has to be matched to the weight of the car. A 3500lb super stock takes a stiffer side wall than a 2500lb altered. Some cheating can be done with tubes. Tubes stiffen the tire. Either way you have to have the right tire to start with. The more pressure you can run the faster the car will go period. Photos taken of the launch are great tuning aides. If the front of the tire is wrinked up or folding over itself the pressure is too low. Big burnouts look cool but destroy sidewalls. The sidewall turns brown when they get burned making the tire junk. Tires with white letters show it real good. Most tires today only need a few seconds to get up to temp. The ideal tire temp is a temp that matches the track. Thats why some crews uses a temp gun. So on a sunny
day with a air temp of 80 and a track temp of 130 only 50 degrees is needed. That only takes a few seconds to get that kind of heat. The additional temp will also increase pressure by a few pounds so there is a balancing act there. No tire even setup properly can make up for a poor suspension. Measure the circumferance of the tires to make sure they are even. Missmatched tires really effect handling. If not even we inflate the small one to 35lbs and let it sit in the hot sun. It will stretch. Keep a eye on it. If the tires are dry and worn tire softener does work. We have a home made brew we use that can bring a tire with a durometer reading of 50 down to 35 real fast. It brushes on.

 

Help me out here - what's "less roll out"?

 

And...I got some great advice from an old Lions Gasser Guy. He mentioned all the old school Gasser tricks we replicated on the Austin...quarter eliptics, 60" ladder bars etc., etc., were done back in the day for a reason: crappy tires and slick race tracks. Take those same successful weight transfering techniques and ad state of the art rubber and VHT soaked start lines and it is over kill. We run 18 to 20 lbs. in the slicks to help replicate some slippage and let the old school stuff do their job!

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The measured distance a tire rolls in one revolution, its fancy speak for, it's gonna go through the gears sooner, and turn more rpm in the lights, and less tire mass to accelerate, Translation.., better ET . We went from an 11 x 29 (92" roll out) Hoosier to a 10.5W x 28 (88" roll out) M/T. We were turning 7200-7300 before, should be 7500-7600 rpm now. If the air is similar to last year, we should run a mid 10.40, maybe a high 10.30, but that's about it for this engine. It's still got the Skeeter killer oil rings in it, so I finally dumped the dyno oil, lashed the valves, and adjusted the clutch/lightened the counter weight some, so we're are just slightly tweaked from last year. I'm gonna try out my ole 950 Holley 3BBL, but I'm bringing the purple rain carb too. The MSD box we had the last 2 Meltdowns was screwed up, and stuttering the spark at about 1200 feet, so I changed it out to an old reliable box and coil that has been used for dyno work without issue. I'm hoping the old box was holding us up more than we realized, so the replacement box will give us a pleasant surprise. It was a surprise to me that those Hoosiers ever hooked at all, as they were on the car when we bought it, in 2004.., you know, 12 YEARS AGO! Their age was making me nervous, but we're still bringing them for back up.

 

Rocker studs ready for pins! Last box of 3/32 Spiral pins in Grainger's system will be here tomorrow, less than 1 minute per stud



"Back to Byron" Evil Twin Shirts AVAILABLE!

 

The coupe was out at wisconsins largest car show handing out event flyers. I met alot of people who are coming. I passed on alot of info. There should be several new people coming this year. ATTACH=full]3581184[/ATTACH]

 

I realize I am not a racer but a swap meet guy but I have a question. It looks like I am going to try to head out Thursday morning and I was wondering if there was a way for swap meet guys to get in Thursday evening.
if there isn't, Is there a Comfort Suites or a Hampton or something else close by?

 

goes to paint sunday gonna be a long week. still have a lot of concerns about my limited experience level. But we will be there. worst case we will be old and slow. If you are slower then 13.99 do you need a helmet? I find this tech inspection confusing however we are following the rule book one item at a time.

 

i don't know for sure but i do know it's never a bad idea incase stuff hits the fan...


wyatt "the Gasman" Gammel

 

The close by would be Rockford or Rochelle. Super 8 in Rochelle /Dekalb. Also Dixon That makes it a 40 mile away Hope this helps.

 

You should be able to. I know my dad and I are gonna try and get there Thursday a little after noon and there's a grass area we camp at next to the car.


wyatt "the Gasman" Gammel

 

FYI, They had a fatality crash at Byron where the driver was ejected out of a 9 second car recently. I would expect them to be fairly strict on safety equipment inspections at tech. If you know something isn't good, I wouldn't expect them to give you a pass on it at tech.

 

All-

The guys at tech (Byron track staff) have been tightening things up every year. Unfortunately much of it is due to common sense items. Last year racers had to buy over 30 dual carb return spring kits from the Brothers Specialty Auto booth in order to pass tech....THIRTY!

Be safe and be smart...this is not a competitive event or Street Outlaws. I remember last year a guy ran a 9.95 and came over to talk to me to apologize for going under 10.0 and that he wouldn't run that fast again since he didn't have a license...that is smart and the right thing to do.

It goes to the first rule of the Meltdown...BE SAFE!

 

I started researching helmets today.
If everyone (like myself) who bought one of those cool looking Biltwell Bonanza helmets,thinks that just because it's fairly new it will meet Snell 2015 requirements,y'all better check again.
I'm helmet shopping tonight.

Scott


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I will volunteer for tech duty on Thursday. I bet I could get deep into the 150 on the wait list.

 

Be Safe and Have Fun
If you have a question on something about your car just ask someone will be happy to help.

 

I wanna go fast...... Ricky Bobby


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So Gammz when are you buildin a car?

 

Man. That's a good question...... wait didn't I kinda build one already?


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