Discussion
I have not seen Nitro burning cars since the 80,s. I went to the finals on Sunday. I was very disappointed to see the Nitro burning cars. The burnouts were nowhere near as extreme as in the past and there was no chirping of the cars up to the start line. The most disappointing thing was the sound of the engines they sounded a lot deeper in tone and also as though they were not running properly. The sound was not as sharp as the Funny cars of the 70's and 80's , I remember the sound and performance of cars like Snowman and Blue max and it was far more entertaining than the fuel cars on show this weekend gone. Anyone know why things have changed? Is it something to do with this clutch ,fuel, magneto combination?
kestral said:
I have not seen Nitro burning cars since the 80,s. I went to the finals on Sunday. I was very disappointed to see the Nitro burning cars. The burnouts were nowhere near as extreme as in the past and there was no chirping of the cars up to the start line. The most disappointing thing was the sound of the engines they sounded a lot deeper in tone and also as though they were not running properly. The sound was not as sharp as the Funny cars of the 70's and 80's , I remember the sound and performance of cars like Snowman and Blue max and it was far more entertaining than the fuel cars on show this weekend gone. Anyone know why things have changed? Is it something to do with this clutch ,fuel, magneto combination?
you have been away to long mate!
the drop in nitro percentage is one the many factors in their different sounds of the nitro cars.
Edited by iffy on Monday 10th September 23:10
kestral said:
I have not seen Nitro burning cars since the 80,s. I went to the finals on Sunday. I was very disappointed to see the Nitro burning cars. The burnouts were nowhere near as extreme as in the past and there was no chirping of the cars up to the start line. The most disappointing thing was the sound of the engines they sounded a lot deeper in tone and also as though they were not running properly. The sound was not as sharp as the Funny cars of the 70's and 80's , I remember the sound and performance of cars like Snowman and Blue max and it was far more entertaining than the fuel cars on show this weekend gone. Anyone know why things have changed? Is it something to do with this clutch ,fuel, magneto combination?
As others have said a whole lot has changed - there are a lot more specialist parts on board and the class is a lot more technical than it used to be, hence why 4 second passes are possible. Surely you were impressed by side-by-side 4.8 passes from the dragsters and low 5 second passes from the Funny Cars?If it is wild burnouts and entertainment you want then Pro Mod and NFAA are the classes you need to be watching, and if you like dry hops and a good cackle you want then you should keep an eye out for the Nostalgia Funny Car series next year and again watch the NFAA, though they are not all nitro burners. Top Fuel and Top Methanol have moved on huge amounts in the last 20 years, and performance has shot up with this.
kestral said:
I have not seen Nitro burning cars since the 80,s. I went to the finals on Sunday. I was very disappointed to see the Nitro burning cars. The burnouts were nowhere near as extreme as in the past and there was no chirping of the cars up to the start line. The most disappointing thing was the sound of the engines they sounded a lot deeper in tone and also as though they were not running properly. The sound was not as sharp as the Funny cars of the 70's and 80's , I remember the sound and performance of cars like Snowman and Blue max and it was far more entertaining than the fuel cars on show this weekend gone. Anyone know why things have changed? Is it something to do with this clutch ,fuel, magneto combination?
I do like the current vehicles that run but have been drawn more to the 60s/ 80s era. I didnt see anything from that era but looking at old footage and programmes it looked great. You had to build it, cut it and weld it with limited parts that were available (IE: using superchargers off trucks etc.) Todays Nitro cars run more smoothly which is totaly different from the 70s/80s. Topfuel cars look all the same aswell .It also looked more entertaining back then.(Running old funnycars on unprepped Airfields like Blackbushe.)
Edited by The Enthusiast on Tuesday 11th September 09:56
I remember the good old days , all these nitro cars that more often than not struggled to get down the track without sprinking parts and oil.
The teams nowadays are awesome , those performances at the weekend were stunning and what reliability, years ago a decent side by side run was rare as one if not both cars often broke
The teams nowadays are awesome , those performances at the weekend were stunning and what reliability, years ago a decent side by side run was rare as one if not both cars often broke
Kestral, as everybody has said, things have moved on enormously since the 1980's. Nowadays, the nitro cars have throttle stops fitted for the burnouts and the pedal is only pressed down about 1/8 of an inch when they do a burnout. In the 1980's, they didn't have throttle stops and I've seen a few blocks holed through over revving on the burnout.
If you really were disppointed with what you saw on Sunday, then I would suggest that you are in a minority of about one!
If you really were disppointed with what you saw on Sunday, then I would suggest that you are in a minority of about one!
kestral said:
.....I was very disappointed to see the Nitro burning cars...... .......it was far more entertaining than the fuel cars on show this weekend gone. ......
Kestral ----> 
Welcome to the noughties, i am sorry to hear that 4.6/300mph+ runs are not good enough.
Edited by Flying Toilet on Tuesday 11th September 11:43
Kestral (or Kes 
)
This w,end (15th & 16th sept) some excellent racing at SCR
NSRA Hot Rod Drags
http://www.apira.org.uk/events/index.htm
Also up your way at York on the 23rd
UK Northern finals
http://york-raceway.com/
And then on the 29th and 30th at the Pod
http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_nat_finals.php
so plenty to keep us going for now!
) This w,end (15th & 16th sept) some excellent racing at SCR
NSRA Hot Rod Drags
http://www.apira.org.uk/events/index.htm
Also up your way at York on the 23rd
UK Northern finals
http://york-raceway.com/
And then on the 29th and 30th at the Pod
http://www.santapod.co.uk/e_nat_finals.php
so plenty to keep us going for now!
Edited by feritsbum on Tuesday 11th September 12:52
Heh. No meeting is perfect, and there are always people pointing out things that could have been better. But I can honestly say that I never expected to hear a complaint about the nitro classes from the weekend!
New records in both top fuel and funny car, a top fuel championship that went right to the wire, side by side 4.8s passes in the top fuel final, side by side 5s passes in funny car. I thought it was pretty impressive myself...
New records in both top fuel and funny car, a top fuel championship that went right to the wire, side by side 4.8s passes in the top fuel final, side by side 5s passes in funny car. I thought it was pretty impressive myself...
feritsbum said:
Bigmouse said:
I'm just waiting for someone to say that top fuel has got boring like F1 - I do like a good row
NO never boring, but would also love to see another form of sportsman stuff sprout up involving diesel engines of 12000 to 16000 cc plus, not in truck chassis but in strong built rails! These monsters would obviously have to be tuned to the hilt and even run on exotic fuels as much as financially possible in different classes etc! Another thing to consider, some of them would not req as many strip downs after a run so giving more time on the track! Edited by Bigmouse on Tuesday 11th September 15:58
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