Hi all,
I've been lurking here for a few months trying to soak up all of the info I could, & finally decided that it's time to say hello, join the group, & see if I could get a bit of feedback on my own project. A bit of info about me & my vehicle first - I live in the Denver area so I'm fairly close to the salt, & I try
(whenever possible) to turn my own wrenches.
(Which doesn't necessarily mean that I'm any good at, but so far - knock on wood - they all still run when I'm done, & I don't have too many pieces left over...) Finally, last year my buddy "hotrod" Larry & I went out to Speed Week to size things up & try to get a handle on the best ways to do things.
I suppose that I should add that my goal
(for the moment at least) is pretty modest - I intend to add my name to the list of people in the USFRA '150 Club'.
(Yes, I know that's a different event & a different organization than what most everyone here runs, I'm pretty much just looking for tech help/advice.) Eventually, I might well try to get myself a red hat - OK, hell, I'd just about kill for a red hat
- but for now it seems prudent to kind of "dip my toe in the water" & get a bit of experience first.
The car that I'll be bringing to the salt is my '89 Pontiac T/A GTA. I know that it's supposed to be a decent design aero-wise & I've already started some of the modifications that are either intended to help with aero or dictated by the rules. But the question I have relates to my intention for the car - I really want to keep this as my "street/strip toy" as well as retaining the ability to run the salt. I was able to score a really good deal on a used BMR "Trak-Pak" torque arm
(image below), which is supposed to be a significant aid in planting the tires when it's set up correctly - but I've heard that the flip side of that is that a shorter torque arm can also contribute to brake hop, which is pretty close to the
last thing I want when moving at triple-digit speeds.
With all of that out of the way, would I be better off selling this piece & looking for another torque arm option?
(I know of a de-coupled torque arm that acts as a shorter arm upon acceleration, but "de-links" upon deceleration, acting like a longer arm, but it's selling for $820, & I'd have to do some fabrication to make it work on my car.)Thanks all, I definitely appreciate any help/advice you can provide.