American Hot Rod Bonneville Car

[836dstr]

I'm sure the comments elicited are a combination of the RV/Tow truck fiasco, the spin, and the notoriety of the Coddington Show and crew.

Glen provided some very useful information when he wrote that Jo Coddington had made 9 runs in the roadster. That caused me to lighten up a little. The fact that they intend to go to the World Finals shows that they are serious.

Watching the first show on the Roadster build was interesting. The comments made during the show put things more in perspective. I look forward to seeing the next show.

It will be interesting to see if "the crew" incorporates some of Al's ideas before running the car @ the W/F's.

Tom

[JackD]

Some useful information about the repeated suggestion to not put the motorhome in the position to get stuck,  and the sideshow to get it out, all help to connect the dots and complete the picture.

[mkilger]

Not all roadsters spin, if they are built right they do well . We have over 200 passes on Gary Brauer's 716 roadster and 4000 pounds in the car  255 at bonneville.and one hell of a driver. If the car is right it's right

[bvillercr]

Not all roadsters spin, if they are built right they do well . We have over 200 passes on Gary Brauer's 716 roadster and 4000 pounds in the car  255 at bonneville.and one hell of a driver. If the car is right it's right

I wonder how fast it would go with only 2000 pounds in it?

[Stan Back]

I wonder how fast it would go with only 2000 pounds in it?

In what direction?

[bvillercr]

I wonder how fast it would go with only 2000 pounds in it?

In what direction?

the direction that you can increase speed.

[Unkl Ian]

There is a reason people add large amounts of ballast.

If they could go faster,weighing a lot less,they would have figured it out by now.

[bvillercr]

There is a reason people add large amounts of ballast.

If they could go faster,weighing a lot less,they would have figured it out by now.

Maybe, maybe not.  I know one thing I don't want another car strapped on the rear end of our car.  That would slow us down a little.

[bvillercr]

Saw the latest episode, the rear end is sprung.  Maybe she spun because she over corrected while she was skating.  Man I hope our sprung car doesn't spin!

[Sumner]

..........................Man I hope our sprung car doesn't spin!

I hope it doesn't either, but there isn't a car out there that doesn't have the potential to spin under the right circumstances.

In 2006 after our 270 degree spin we added about 800 lbs of weight and Hooley said the car went straight as an arrow and he felt totally confident in it the rest of the week.  This year it ran exactly the same on Sat..  Then when we couldn't run until late in the week it was like a totally different car.  On our record qualifying run on Thur. he almost aborted the run a couple times and on the back up run he had to pull the chute early since the car was really unstable.  Since the car was the same I blame changing track conditions, but others say the track was just fine on Thurs./Fri.  Who knows??

c ya in a couple weeks,

Sum

[power58]

I see they put the fuel cell in the back. Al Simon had said water tank in back
fuel in front. I'm guessing because as the fuel load goes down it would reduce the weight (traction) on the rear end. Would have liked to see the engine  let go on the Dyno at 1000 HP. Like the motor home footage it will be deleated.

[bvillercr]

I have never met the Coddington crew and Boyd does seem to be a a$$ on the show, but it is only a show.  If I did meet him I wouldn't treat him with any bad will unless he was an a$$ to me or my friends and family.  That being said, who if any would put any sort of negative light on their business related affairs.  I saw the video on their site and it was a licencing pass, and a clean one at that.  Who wants to show a spin on their business web site?

[836dstr]

Last year I did a partial spin in the Street Roadster between the 2 and 3 on the Short Course. It was on "windy Wednesday" and we were the last car to run. Just before the big gust I noticed some buffeting that was slightly rocking the car from side to side. I'm running "Coil-overs" front and back with what is probably too soft a spring rate. Looks like it's time to stiffen things up a bit. I've also slowed down the steering to avoid "dumb driver overcorrection". Lesson learned is any steering correction is too much and backing off a little on the loud pedal yields better results.

I can see that adding weight on a high horsepower/torque car would help plant it, but is it really that helpful on say "E" Class engines and below?

Tom

[jimmy six]

Over the years I have witnessed many roadsters spinning all for various reasons. Many were 27 styles and for the most part street roadsters. It also seems that violent horespower or rapid horsepower was a contributing factor ei: superchargers of one kind or another. High winding  small cubic inch engines do this too.

Weight was usually a factor due to the lack of room or the ability to plate the bottom as a modified or step pan in a G/F roadster.  I understand the Boyd roadster was not really built as a true modified and the engine makes plenty of HP. Both of these things along with some inexperience can lead to or be contributing factors to spins. It will be interesting at the WF if these items have been addressed or if they even know how to address them. I wish them good luck and to stay on the course to the left this time....

[836dstr]

JD,

If individual lead plates were bolted between frame rails and crossmembers below the floor pan would this be legal in STR? Not too many good places to add ballast keeping it low and between the axles.

Tom