lugnuts

Started this thread because it needs to be improved...NOW.

GRS-Motorsports coverage at MIR - look at the pictures for the qualifying rounds, there are 4 cars with one or both rear wheels completely off of the ground, and that is just the ones they caught on camera.

I will post the pics here in a few minutes.

carbon fiber coupe

iTrader: (2)

Damn thats crazy!

meane30

Wow! I didn't think it was happening to that many cars! Very scary and yes this needs to be addressed immediately! Too many cars are crashing recently!

ashtons300zx

On such light cars it seems the chutes are only causing more and more problems than they are helping. My car with stock small *** brakes that go under a 13" wheel were more than capable of stopping my 2200 lb car from 150+mph without even struggling. That was coasting a bit and then hitting the brakes. Most good tracks have 3/8 to 1/2 mile of braking distance to the last turnoff point. Again i know youll say big difference between 150 and 170, 180, 190 mph which i agree but still most of the guys running those speeds are using larger wheels and can fit bigger brakes front and rear if necessary.

Yeah there have been a lot of fwd crashes this year that were chute related.

For those that have the experience is trapping 170 that much harder to stop in say a 1/2 mile distance than 150 mph.

Either way i dont think there is anything you can do to keep it from picking up the back ends of the car especially if there is any type of cross wind or head winds.

crazes

It just may be me. But from some of the videos i have seen it doesnt seem like these cars have full brakes anymore just stage brakes. I think if you look in the dp vs. Tpr video you can see how he has to use the staging brake to slow down and has to steer at the same time. Maybe full brakes using the pedals should be looked at so you can full control on the steering wheel

Tuner Eddy

damn, those are some scary pics!

ashtons300zx

Yeah if you dont have any more pedal controlled brake that should not be allowed at all. Personally I dont think ditching the rear brakes should be allowed either. And personally I dont think chutes should be required for cars under a certain weight not just trapping 150+. Again seems like they are more harm than good lately.

Its one thing for a 3000+ lb domestic to try and stop from 150mph vs a 2200 lb civic.
Requirements for should be different for fwd cars and under certain weights.

mikesrex

seems like the placement of where the chute tether attaches to the car could be modified to prevent this from happening.

meane30

Look at the supertech integra. The chute isn't even out and it's happening... Plus, light is one thing but that's not the issue, it's the weight in the rear. And all these cars pictured are probably 2400 + lbs

94turbosi

iTrader: (1)

My car last year also hit the wall when I pulled the chute , also my 00 civic coupe also weighed 2550, and has full brakes all around and it also picked up the rear. I'm guessing the chute has something to do with but also the 160+ decelerating my Transfer all the weight to the front being that these cars have 75-85% weight in the front.

ashtons300zx

BAN CHUTES!!!! All in favor.

boostontheD

iTrader: (3)

the reason why the rear brakes are ditched and put only on the staging brake is so they dont lock up the rear wheels. just think how small the surface area that is in contact to the road on the skinnies. there already lifting and if the rear brakes were connected to the pedals the rear wheels would lock up.

meane30

Haha yeah NHRA and tracks will love that! I hope you are joking lol

crazes

Lets be serious that isnt going to happen. You need to have a back up incase break failure. Look what has happened to some of those nhra bikes that brake failures are going into the sand

ashtons300zx

Yes it was a joke.....up to a point. I think some revisions need to be done. A properly set up car shouldnt have any issue stopping from 150-170 mph at a good track that has a good length of shutdown area. There is no need for the chute until after that point. Ive seen speedfactory's car, millers car and many others stop in plenty of time without the use of a chute. Ive seen others pull chutes at 150mph traps and end up wrecking their cars because of crosswinds or improper pulling of them ie braking first then pulling it.

Under normal circumstances braking without the chute and a rear tire coming off the ground isnt going to cause the car to lose control. Now a chute whipping around back there and a tire off the ground....thats cause for disaster. I think I would rather rely on the braking system of a car to stop a car rather than 33% of the braking help from a chute.

lugnuts

The problem is front/rear weight bias, and apparently these cars pictured have virtually zero rear suspension "droop"
Getting rid of the chute would not have helped the Supertech car in the picture.

NOPI used to have a 70%/30% weight bias rule, not sure if they enforced it.

But it is time to now. Corner scales at the return road.
"One time per event" 7 pound "forgiveness" for extra fuel used. If you are light twice, day over.

Before someone gets seriously hurt.

ashtons300zx

Yes i would say have the chutes only as backup again up to a certain point. These cars are too light, too short of a wheelbase to be relying on the chute to help you stop.

Idealy......Lengthen the shutdown area of the tracks but thats probably not going to happen.

SwappedTURBOegg

good luck enforcing that one

carbon fiber coupe

iTrader: (2)

would rather have something and not need it, than need something and not have it

lugnuts

Very easily enforced, corner weight scales in the inspection area. They could get the weight in 30 seconds.
Please stop posting "lol"s in this thread. Many people do not take this lightly.

nonvtecallmotor

I have OEM GSR power brakes on my car and its NOT easy to stop. I have replaced all the pads and rotors with the best.. I try not to pull the chute. I know that the rear wheels have been off the ground many times on the brakes alone.

IMO if the car gets out of shape on the shut down LET OFF the brakes and square the car up before you hit the brakes again. Getting on the brakes harder only makes things worst.

I dont think the chutes are the problem. It has to do with when and how there pulled and how the brakes are applied.

1fstcorrado

Are you guys pulling the chute when off the gas or are you pulling the chute while floored and on the gas. I would think that pulling the chute under load would keep the *** down.

tepid1

Having rear brakes on the pedal is only going to make it worse. You'll see more accidents. Guarenteed.

Enforcing a weight bias is the only way to help with the situitation. Not that I am for it. In fact, i'm against a bias rule.

It also doesn't help that people are not using their chute correctly. You're suppose to drive into a chute when it deploys. Not throw it when you get on the brakes. It's only going to want to lift the car since it's already nosing down. Throw the lever around the 1150-1200' mark and a lot of these problems will be solved. Just watch the real race cars and see for yourselves.

peter.blais

If the chutes were mounted higher up on the car, so that the force was above the center of mass, they would transfer weight backwards, rather then lifting the car up even more in the rear as they will do if they are below the CG.

Could be ugly on a sedan, so that might not make some guys too happy. On a hatch though you could have it transfer the load right onto the top of the cage and that would pull everything backwards and down instead of up.

Perhaps something worth checking into, I'm not sure what the mount height requirements are.

Obviously you need decent brakes- the rules need to force reasonable brakes or people will do anything to reduce rotating weight.

boostontheD

iTrader: (3)

agreed with this one.
cars with problems WITH the chutes may also need to look at where the teather for the chute is mounted. to low or to high could also cause problems when its deployed