I am a newcomer to land speed racing,since '93 but have raced cars
professionally since I was 22, am 47 now.. So when I am out there I am
at work. Land speed racing is no different than any other that I have
been to. There are a ton of tough decisions to make and I am not afraid
to make them. The most important ones revolve around will I make it to
the other end ? My philosophy may not work for most as I plan on setting
a record when we go and at the end of the meet there does not have to be
much left. This does not work for most people as the cost is $$$$$ . But
every pass other than license passes on the car has been a record pass
or the qualifying one before it. have probably jinxed this year by
saying that but do not believe that much in luck, just hard work and
good engineering. If I were in your shoes I would make all the trades
necessary in order to get down the track and pump up the power as money
allows. The only exception to this would be a transmission that allows
you to change gear ratios at will. Everyone that I have ever helped out
there almost always had an impossible combination of gear ratios. either
overpower the track early on or gear splits that can not be done and
stay in the power band on the big end.. There is as much thought
required in the transmission than almost any other part of the
combination. read you NEED a CLOSE RATIO TRANSMISSION !!
So buy the dry sump,best fire suit and system,best
suspension,transmission. Blow off the 10,000 dollar cylinder heads for
now and the paint well why bother if you do not have the other stuff. It
is not much fun changing bearings in a pretty car, or worse yet dragging
the remains on the trailer after you roll it up in a ball because you
bought the paint instead of the Koni shocks..!
Regards,
Dave Dahlgren
Keith Turk wrote:
>
> and your opinion is worth more then the cup of coffee... thanks.....K
>
> now how to do all that on a budget.... Guess I have to settle for the fun
> eh...
>
> Bud I am dead serious about this one thing in my life... someday I am going
> to be in the two club... if it takes multiple valves and 10 speeds then
> that is what I will acquire... Been down a ton of roads over the years...
> and I have always accomplished the goals I set for myself... this is one
> that has been lurking in the back of my mind since I was twenty years
> old... (41 now)
>
> My Partner has to bring Reality with him and keep me grounded... we are
> here to have fun.... and the record someday will happen... I seriously
> don't expect it this year.... I expect to drive the long course and have a
> ball... hey and meet my newly made friends from here... But most of all I
> expect to take home a ton of lessons on what to and what not to do at
> Bonneville....
>
> Learning Curve here is pretty steep... It was kinda like that with the
> AH-64 Apache when we first started flying it... none of us had a clue and
> the engineers weren't much help in communicating on the Pilot/instructor
> pilot level... we had to assimilate a ton of new information and then
> decide what was important and what wasn't... Based on all the kids we
> trained and the outcome of their work... I would say we did a pretty fair
> job....
>
> This is a ton like that.. for me at least...
>
> I honestly appreciate your being here and lending your knowledge to those
> of us that aren't as well versed..
>
> Keith
>
> ----------
> > From: Dave Dahlgren <dahlgren@uconect.net>
> > To: Chris R Harris <yesford@clear.net.nz>
> > Cc: Land-speed@autox.team.net
> > Subject: Re: Belt camshaft drives
> > Date: Saturday, April 17, 1999 5:05 AM
> >
> > Best pushrod engines belong to NHRA Pro Stock 1250 hp 500 inches..2.5 HP
> > per Cu In that would be 887 hp 355. Winston Cup is around 720 HP.2.03
> > HP per Cu In.. The prostock guys run them... Belt drive is like a dry
> > sump, big money up front hardly any later.. There are many parts like
> > that .. The best is usually cheaper in the long run.. Let's face it we
> > are out there to do 2 things, Have FUN and Break records!!! It is pretty
> > hard to break records if you are not running the best money can buy, and
> > I have the most fun breaking records.. Nothing like coffee in the
> > morning at impound :>) Parts i will not race without, dry sump, EFI, 4
> > valves per cylinder ( or more), slide throttles, and a trans that has
> > many gears.. the rest is usually not a record breaking combination..
> >
> > Just my opinion at least.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Dave Dahlgren
> > Engine Management Systems
> >
> > < Commercial >
> > For those of you that want slide throttles contact me off list we make
> > them here. Do EFI also Won 24 hr Daytona twice set pole etc. and a
> > zillion races in Pro Sports Car. Also G\GL and G\FL at Bonneville went
> > (215 in Australia) for many years.. Have setups for Ford yates
> > head,Chevy 18 deg,Cosworth BD and YB, Porsche 911, ferrari 348, mazda
> > 13b, and any custom thing you can think of.. but it is expensive...
> > <End Commercial >
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