GOT MY LICENSE...FINALLY

[xlr8]

After two years of hurdles and setbacks, my brother Mike, my son Andrew and a long time friend Tom helped me get my NHRA competition license passes completed this past Saturday! Huge respect for all you guys that are faster (almost all of you are) than mine. My adrenaline is just now getting back to normal!

[Supercat]

Congratulations on the achievement....
What was your best ET and MPH as these are just a starting point of the addiction  or the spot where the speed of the car is equal to or slower than the money leaving your bank account 
Nice looking FED by the way.

[AF150]

Way to go...now on to that first round win!  Whoo-hoo!

[xlr8]

Thanks, guys. We got it to go 5.86@123 mph in the eighth. Next time up we will step it up a little. How do you guys handle the bounce after the stripe? I had to let off the brake and reapply a couple times to make it stop bouncing, but I'm pretty sure it was airborne a few times.

[Supercat]

What tires and air pressure on the rear and what air pressure on the front tires.
That will have some to do with the bounce.
Also go easy on the brakes at first with slight increase in pressure as you slow down. Never skid(can be easy to do on some tracks) as it will get you bouncing also.

[glofria]

Congratulations! welcome to the club.

[THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER]

Congratulations! welcome to the club.

Somebody needs to show him our secret handshake.

[janjon]

Hi, xlr8, congrats on getting your license! I too am curious as to what tire pressures you might be running, from the first pic on the post the rear tire is wrinkled a bit which suggests pretty low. I run about 10 psi in my similar car running similar ET and MPH. Someone posted above what front tire pressures might be as far as contributing to bounce, I don't see that as relevant, but I could be wrong and am willing to be schooled if need be. Do you have a parachute on the car? I do, and I do use it every pass, at 125 MPH or so it won't try to pop your eyeballs out of their sockets, but you CAN feel it helping to slow the car.

[xlr8]

We are running 9 psi in the rear and 50 up front.

[BK]

I used to run 4.5 to 5#s in my slicks. No more bounce.

[gregm784]

Congrats.  The needle is in your arm now. 

[xlr8]

Thanks for the info guys! Yes, it has a parachute on it. One other thing (of many) I need to figure out is this: I finally obtained a good quality video of the launch and it appears to be on and off the wheelie bar about 5 times! The wheel is about 2" off the ground before the launch right now and I'm leaving on the trans brake at about 4000 rpm. Is 9 psi too much for the rear slicks? Any other ideas?

[Supercat]

Call Jon Hansen at Hayden Wheel on the best pressure for your combo with the Goodyear's.
Great job

[JrFuel Hayden]

Yes , I think 9 lbs is too much, but it also depends on the brand of slicks you run. Call the slick manufacture for pressure suggestions.
M/T seem to like around 7 #, I use mostly 6 # on our JF Goodyear 31x12x15. Keep in mind the 10.5" tires are designed for the 10.5 class 2500-3000+ door cars not FED's, but I know of some teams running well with 10.5 tires like the NHRA Comp Elim points leader now is A/ND [ JrFuel type car] running 6.80's .
You also posted that you hit the wheelie bar a number of times, I have suggessed to a number of FED racers to add ANOTHER 20 lbs on the front end, and they run quicker I think because it will not hit the wheelie bar hard and unload the slicks, plus it may run straighter because you can steer it. Add more weight if you think you need it and then take some of the weight off to get the weight balance where your cars wants.
I know of some teams that run a total of over 100 lbs.  Less if their engine is further away from the rear end.   
What size and brand slicks are you running ?
Jon, 805-444-4489

[denverflatheader]

"Thanks, guys. We got it to go 5.86@123 mph in the eighth. Next time up we will step it up a little. How do you guys handle the bounce after the stripe? I had to let off the brake and reapply a couple times to make it stop bouncing, but I'm pretty sure it was airborne a few times."

xlr8 – don’t know if this is your first fed.  With repetition comes familiarity what to do; at the stripe, after a dozen or so passes, it’ll just come naturally how to apply the brakes smoothly so you avoid the bounce.  The more passes you make, every part slows down compared to your first time and you become more and more comfortable making passes.  Congratulations.  Alan