- Joined
- Jun 18, 2001
Honestly with the aerodynamics of these cars I would stick to 1/8 mile lol!
That said, at 170+mph they handle fine IMO. Like Chuck said they can walk around a little but IME most of that is from soft sidewall tires. With drag radials and more air pressure it wasnt as bad and with a high speed tire it probably wont be an issue. I would definitely run the headlight covers, I cant remember who it was but there was an outlaw 10.5 car a few years back that went to a fiberglass front when he got over 190mph as the air pressure pushed the headlights in and busted the header panel!! That should give you some idea of how much pressure the front end of these bricks can see.
I also kept the weatherstrip across the cowl to keep the pressure down under the hood I agree its a good idea. I did not have a wing or anything else on my car and I never did install the headlight covers or pushed in my headlights lol. I never lost any windshield trim but the windows do blow out and it makes a loud noise when they do so be prepared for it last thing you want to do is be startled at 150+mph. I had more 160mph+ 1/4 mile passes on the car than I can remember and it was a lot of fun but the first 330' was always a lot more exciting than the back half so I wouldn't worry about it to much.
Definitely look at your gearing and figure out where your RPM will be for the MPH you plan to run and dont forget to factor TQ slippage and tire growth which can be substantial in a soft sidewall tire.
That said, at 170+mph they handle fine IMO. Like Chuck said they can walk around a little but IME most of that is from soft sidewall tires. With drag radials and more air pressure it wasnt as bad and with a high speed tire it probably wont be an issue. I would definitely run the headlight covers, I cant remember who it was but there was an outlaw 10.5 car a few years back that went to a fiberglass front when he got over 190mph as the air pressure pushed the headlights in and busted the header panel!! That should give you some idea of how much pressure the front end of these bricks can see.
I also kept the weatherstrip across the cowl to keep the pressure down under the hood I agree its a good idea. I did not have a wing or anything else on my car and I never did install the headlight covers or pushed in my headlights lol. I never lost any windshield trim but the windows do blow out and it makes a loud noise when they do so be prepared for it last thing you want to do is be startled at 150+mph. I had more 160mph+ 1/4 mile passes on the car than I can remember and it was a lot of fun but the first 330' was always a lot more exciting than the back half so I wouldn't worry about it to much.
Definitely look at your gearing and figure out where your RPM will be for the MPH you plan to run and dont forget to factor TQ slippage and tire growth which can be substantial in a soft sidewall tire.