Strut tower brace & drag racing

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Is there any advantage or disadvantage to having the strut tower brace on the car during a drag race? (besides the obvious extra coupl of pounds).

Going to the track tomorrow and wonder if I ought to leave it off the car - it's currently off since the last car show & fuel regulator swap.

[Injuneer]

If your car is capable of pulling the front wheels off the ground, its a good idea to have it installed.... particularly if you tend to drop it hard on the way down



I would think it would help resist twisting of the front clip in response to high torque loads on the K-member......

Probably doesn't make a big difference one way or the other.

[TraceZ]

If I had a nickel for ever time Fred posted that picture....

I'd be... well...










I'd probably have a dollar.

[Joe 1320]

I would have to agree that if you lift the front wheels, the rebound would put a decent amount of stress on the unibody. Perhaps a chrome moly brace would be a good idea...... lighter than the traditional steel and at least something to help the unibody integrity.

[fastTa]

I subscribe to the theory that anything you can do to keep the chassis from distorting under torque load will help to transfer weight more effectively, maximize traction, and hence make the car launch all the better. You don't have to lift the wheels to reap the benefits of the STB. The chassis will still try to distort even though the tires are still on the ground.

I think you are making enough power Kev that it definitely wouldn't hurt.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

Thanks for the replies. I'll put it on tomorrow before I go.

My biggest problem, though is traction - forget yanking the wheels - I can't get traction out of the hole with the drag radials, especially in colder weather, and the redneck track I go to is always greasy, too. Honestly, though, my car is not set up to be a dragster, suspension wise, anyway, and is also front-heavy - the whole thing weighs 3560#s. Even with lowered LCAs & the torque arm set, shocks set on soft & air bags set up uneven & everything, it spins bad through first & second. I need slicks, but am stuck with big brakes & 17s on the front, so I only have drag radials for now until I can find some narrowed 17s. Also, I'm short shifting it to get into the next gear - I even tried taking out -5 degrees at 1500 rpm and tapered it off to normal timing at 3000 rpm & that didn't help, and I am also taking out 1-1/2 degrees/# of boost which starts coming in at 3 grand. It's got to be killing me to take out timing like that. I'm predicting a high mph and a bad 60 & slower than normal ET - kind of like last time, but faster overall . I have to baby it off the line. I'll let you know what happens