Discussion on lowering nitro %

[John Beardslee]

Did he talk about his ride in a drag boat in the book? His one and only wet ride?

 

[Steve White]

But the more nitro you run the longer it will take to burn which turns into degrees of rotation at a given rpm . The trick is to burn all the nitro you put in the fuel . Some guys are using multi plug heads , pulling plug elements out to advance timing , restricting water cooling etc .

Correct - that's a given.

Tuning is tuning. Optimization of the tune is optimization of the tune. As the fuel changes (% of nitromethane) the tune needs to change. As the conditions change, the tune needs to change to maintain an "optimal" setup. The more nitromethane, the narrower the tuning window.

Going from 5% to 65% fuel isn't a linear transition, it's more of an exponential curve with things becoming more critical as the percentage increases. This is as much the result of changing the ratio of methanol/nitromethane as it is the increase in nitromethane in the mix. Methanol is a much more forgiving fuel.

That's why I enjoy tuning nitromethane fueled engines and don't care for electric motors. I use battery power in the retrieve boat. No disrespect meant for the electric guys, it's just not my cup of tea.

 

[Timbo Whalen]

Well, Ron & Gene are in Michigan Motorsports HOF, NHRA HOF, and last year the International Drag Racing HOF. My friendship with them started in 1968, sure miss them!

They certainly deserve the accolades.
I think I was trying to say is there are/were people who actually contributed less but got more recognition.

Logghe Bros. Stamping built chassis' for an awful lot of the bigger names back in the 60's, in virtually all the go fast classes.

Chrysler Corp. had a small engineering and development team compared to GM and Ford. Tom Hoover (Father of the Hemi) organized a lot of Chrysler development through The Ram chargers, Gratiot Auto Supply, etc., and they basically used Woodward Ave. as their proving grounds.

All good stuff.

 

[Timbo Whalen]

The 1982 Indy incident...a charade.

The whole inside story-

https://www.competitionplus.com/drag-racing/news/the-weekend-when-nitro-got-nitrous-banned

 

[Norm Doerr]

Did he talk about his ride in a drag boat in the book? His one and only wet ride?

Yes. I will loan it to you when you come back down here.

 

[John Beardslee]

Yes. I will loan it to you when you come back down here.

Thanks, heading south on Sunday. Still have lots to do after the hurricane but plan to make it to the Nitro Championships but only running 2 classes due to space constraints.
Ron Logghe and I visited Prudhomme’s shop in Indianapolis one year and he told us the story. I lost a good friend in one.

 

[RaceMechaniX]

Speaking of methanol I see VP has M1 and M5, what are you guys using? Any difference?

 

[John Beardslee]

M1, never used anything but the straight pure stuff.

 

[bermudadude]

Correct - that's a given.

Tuning is tuning. Optimization of the tune is optimization of the tune. As the fuel changes (% of nitromethane) the tune needs to change. As the conditions change, the tune needs to change to maintain an "optimal" setup. The more nitromethane, the narrower the tuning window.

Going from 5% to 65% fuel isn't a linear transition, it's more of an exponential curve with things becoming more critical as the percentage increases. This is as much the result of changing the ratio of methanol/nitromethane as it is the increase in nitromethane in the mix. Methanol is a much more forgiving fuel.

That's why I enjoy tuning nitromethane fueled engines and don't care for electric motors. I use battery power in the retrieve boat. No disrespect meant for the electric guys, it's just not my cup of tea.

this is it.
most people that say they dont like or dont see the difference with high[er] nitro are probably slow millers,break for corner-ers,and short time future[of the heat] anticipators also not willing to accept the consequences of a bad decision or able /willing to re-stratagize after a bad decision
so yea for slow boating and on and off throttle and creepy crawl starts pretty much anything under 70 by all means run 25%
(serious tho i thought there was a rule in impba that prevented that,maybe its gone)
most people destroy nitro engines by tuning them like the car guys or gas guys do . a-la instant acceleration and a general screamy-dry sound. this will roast a 2stroke every time. it supposed to sound "wet" and have a hesitation before accelerating to full rpm. in fact full r's shouldnt be reached unloaded because the engine takes load to advance ignition that will give full rpm
also nitro =torque. methanol=rpm . move the dial left or right to find the balance that works for you.
to keep it short -u dont just throw 90% in an engine that works great with 10% its a waste of both.
rpm with high nitro takes timing and pipe adjustments. bigger pipe. higher timings both cool the engine. after higher timing u need headbutton/squish/clearance set . leave that unburned fuel ring around the edge of the piston that cools as well .
then u get that angry,snappy,crackly,growling spitting sound with the occasional miss ....a pure joy to listen to . i really need the non-muffled pipe to enjoy it fully which is 1 reason im not into racing anymore
but yea this is the basics

 

[Terry Keeley]

Speaking of methanol I see VP has M1 and M5, what are you guys using? Any difference?

M1. If it ain't broke...