Preloading wheelie bars in NHRA means which of the 2 below? TIA.

-Allowing the wheels to be compressed on the track surface when the car is staged.

or

-Loading the bars up so that the bar reacts faster once the wheels hit the ground (i.e. straping the bar to put load on the bars without touching the ground).

 

#1 would be the correct answer

 

up

 

#1.

The wheel(s) have to spin freely...so if they are touching the ground (preloaded) that is a no-no.

 

The wheels can NOT contact the track surface at the starting line....I.E. They must spin freely...

 

This is what I figured what NHRA called preload. The reason I asked this question was because I have straps loading the wheelie bar against the chassis to allow the bars to react faster and create tension on the bar. This is really hard to explain. I'll be posting pics soon so you all can see what I mean. Thanks for your input though.

 

I understood what they meant about the preloading,that the wheels cannot touch the track and have to spin freely,but wasnt sure if the wheelie bars could be stiff so that when they do touch the track,they dont push up than stop.