Im planning on doing some high school bracket racing this upcoming season, and I can't hook up with street tires and I have been wanting to get a set of slicks since my car is for pure drag racing. My question is, if I get a set of slicks, should I get a mini spool as well so my tires wear evenly? Obviously NHRA requires me to have a driveshaft loop and axle retainers etc. Or would I just have to rotate my tires to keep them from wearing unevenly. Also If I put in a mini spool, do I need a chromoly cross shaft or could I run without it? Any info you could give me would be great. Thanks, -Ryan
IMHO, it's not so much of the tires wearing evenly as how well you will hook up and evenly heat up the tires while doing the burnout. Without any type of spool or some kind of limited slip you will be doing one wheel burnouts. And even with a limited slip that does not always guarantee you will not still do a one wheel burnout...I've been there and done that. A mini spool would be the most cost effective way to lock up the rearend for racing.
Hello, if your car is strictly for drag racing then a cheap way to a get get traction to both tires would be the mini spool. You do not need the moly cross shaft if you dont want to buy it. Do not tell track officials that you have a mini spool because if you do you are suppose to have hardened axles to go with it. If your car is going to see some street use I would not put in a mini spool as it creates havoc driving with the wet conditions of the great NW. Are you going to race at PIR or Woodburn
If your going to run a mini spool and slicks upgrade your axles You will be alot safer, as well as the guy in the lane next to you! Broken axle= uncontrolable car off the line
I ran my 64 Fairlane with a 302 and slicks and a mini spool. I called NHRA Headquarters and spoke with the tech department about it and they said I didn't make enough power to worry about it. They said just go out and have fun. Now after saying that I would also say if you are going to do this for a while try to go for a full spool and axles and a 9". Than you don't have to worry about it at all, especially when you start trying to make more HP.
best check on class rules as Don said, never lie about your axles, stick to the rules good luck na what times you running?
Don't know about times... yet, Just dropped in a pretty fresh 302, I don't know much about it, pulled the heads, they're from 72 302(58.4cc chambers), 4 bbl intake, high lift cam, edelbrock 600 cfm performer. As far as I could tell the pistons were flat tops. Long tubes and exhaust cut outs to help it exhale. B&M Hammer Shifter, street and strip converter with a shift kit. The car weighs about 2650 with me in it. Traction bars (the spring slapper kind). The main reason I was asking about a mini spool and slicks was because I was afraid of the slicks wearing unevenly.
they wear unevenly even with a spool. That's why we rotate them side-to-side every few races. The spool eases the loads on the axles plus helps you keep the car going in a straight line. An open or limited slip diff allows slippage of one axle-which makes it easier to turn but it also makes it harder to drag race. Ever driven a 4 wheeler with one axle either broken or not pulling on one wheel? HUGE difference in how it drives compared to when it's fixed!! Ideally if it were a street/strip vehicle, a selectable locker would be great. Don't knwo if they're made for a 8" or 9" though. Like something electric to unlock for street driving and lock for drag racing-all by the flip of a switch. It ain't about how many wheels you can spin...it's about getting down the track safely and reliably. Put those things together, and you'll be having fun.
the rear end in my car is just welded it works great an i havent had any problems for the three years its been in the car and it cost alot less than a spool im runnin 11.30s with stock axles like i said for three years
But if NHRA finds out you welded it you wouldn't be allowed to run. And if the welds break during a pass it would destroy your rearend. If im gonna lock my axles together i'm gonna do it with a mini spool. It's much more professional and a whole lot safer.
the spider gears arent welded together directly the weld is in between the gears to there is absolutely no way it can break in any way a spool can break and there is no sanctiond racing bodys around here its just track rules bracket racing
I agree totally and would also like to add "increase your spline count." 28 won't cut it as I found out ( see pic below ). I had custom Moser axels made but stayed with 28 spline. Lucky they twisted instead of broke. I have since upgraded to 35 spline. If I were you I would go with at least 31. Good luck.
