Crew Safety Questions

Discussion in 'PSI Superchargers Tech Questions' started by Night Moves, Jan 8, 2011.

  1. Night Moves

    Night Moves New Member

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    Hi,
    We have been racing funny cars for the past 6 years, but they have all been nostalgia cars with self starting BBC's. We are building a TA/FC and may have it ready by this spring.

    I have some questions about starting the car to keep the crew and others safe.

    Based on what on I "think" I know......The 3-speeds (Lenco and B&J) have forward and reverse with no neutral. The pedal clutch can be held in by the driver, but if the engine goes to a high RPM the clutch will push the driver's foot off of the clutch pedal.

    With the crew in front of and around the car in general, it seems that a inadvertant blip of the throttle could cause the car to lurch forward or backward. Fo example, could an intake leak or a damaged burst panel cause the rpm to shoot up and move the car? Another scenario would be an accidental blip of the throttle while lowering the body.

    Am I missing something here? Since we are new to this, I would appreciate any tips you can give us on good starting practices. Also, are there safety devices that I am not aware of?

    Thanks!
    Mike L.
     
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  2. secondwindracing

    secondwindracing top alcohol

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    on the burst panel deal you will have a device that will shut the car off in the panel goes,Dave
     
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  3. andy wilfong

    andy wilfong Active Member

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    When I worked on Merts car, We didn't have anybody around the car that didn't need to be there, before I hit the starter button I would yell ready, at that time Mert would take his foot away from the peddle and would grab the brake a little harde, when lowering the body, I would take my time and go slow by the injector, remember it's your turn up there, don't rush it and everybody needs to pay attention
     
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  4. jim phillips

    jim phillips ta/fc

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    practice, practice, practice one person can start the car i have another one standing close when starting the car hold the brake tight till everone is clear
     
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  5. NITROBANDIT1

    NITROBANDIT1 LOST IN SPACE

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    how to eat a fuel tank

    this is what happens when something goes wrong. he wasnt hurt, but car was in gear, and luckily only 1 guy was in a bad spot ........ it can and does happen, never ever turn your back on a race car. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKE_CwKSCig :eek:
     
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  6. ITS IN MY BLOOD

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    Im surprised no one answered your question,.????

    The answer to your question is Air Gap,..I assume you are using a pedal clutch, and not a centrifugal lock up type.

    You set the air gap by having the clutch pedal fully depressed and stick the clutch pack
    with a feeler gauge, This is after you have adjusted the clutch pack with your dial gauge and typically after you have done your warm up procedure..Clutch pedal clearence should be anywhere from .045 to .060 gap, make sure your adjustment is done at the pedal to get a tighter gap or looser gap,.Rotate motor 180 and check again..
    ALSO remember as your discs wear from a run or multiple runs That clutch pedal air gap will increase,.so the gap needs to be checked after you do your warm up before you head to the starting line.
    Even if the motor rpm goes up a bit are blurps as long as the brake is being held the car should not lurch,..especially if you have Carbon Brakes <<<hehehehe the looser the clearense.055-.060 the less chance the static will grab at the discs to lurch,.the tighter the gap the more the discs will grab as the rpms come up and will need a handful of brake,.epecially staging rpm 6500-7200

    If your using a centrifugal clutch/ lock up
    its adjusted with the clutch stands typically .040/.045 here you need the self awareness
    the pedal can over center and allow the discs to grab, just as if you were letting out the clutch.


    Vic
     
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  7. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    safety

    If the airgap is properly set, should't lurch the car unless it revs above staging rpm.

    A leak on an injector seal may cause an high idle, but not high enough to overcome the air gap. Burst panels are on the pressure side and have little affect on idle because if there's a leak, it's going out, not sucking in more air.

    Driver needs a kill switch he/she can get to quick.

    Especially on a FC, make sure you have adequate (I think 2.5" is the rule) body clearance around any injector linkage.

    Never hit the throttle until the body is down and people are out of the way.

    Repetitive communication is key. I make sure my driver is ready, once I get confirmation, I announce "Fire in the hole" before hitting the starter button.

    The Crew Chief or whoever is in charge of the starting process needs to make sure everyone is clear before giving you the thumbs up to move forward.

    Nobody turns their back on the car.

    If your car is stuck in forward or reverse after the burnout, if the crew is going to rock the car, make sure they rock it from the side, not behind the car.

    Never hit the throttle in reverse. You can back up fast enough at idle with the clutch completely disengaged. When in reverse if you accidently goose it when you meant to idle it up, the G forces will throw your foot down on the throttle if not expecting it. This could lead to a bad situation.

    Monitor your turnbuckle on the clutch linkage to insure you have enough threads on the heims seated. Even if you do, from time to time, have seen the turnbuckle strip. When that happens, you have no clutch pedal. Be ready to immediately kill the car.

    Funny cars can go into a 'tank slapper' after the burnout. Get your hands off the wheel! It can break your wrist/hand. Only grab the wheel once you have the car almost stopped with the hand brake.

    Make sure there is open communication with these above things. Everyone has a job and you discuss it before you make a run. Will avoid safety problems and looking like a general dumb ass.

    Hope this helps!
     
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  8. Randy G.

    Randy G. Top Alcohol

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    To add to what has been said and to repeat some of what has been said.

    Always start the car in forward gear.

    Make sure the car is pointed down track before starting when sitting in the fire up area. I've seen a handful start their cars with it pointed a number of different directions.

    No one is in front of it when it's being started.

    Before you come to the starting line:

    When fitting the body around the injector opening raise and lower the body by shoving it to the left...then do it again pushing it to the right. The injector/throttle linkage should not touch the body opening at all. This might mean having a bigger opening, but it sure beats running over people if the body grabs the throttle if the guy lowering it slips or the wind grabs it.

    Also, the driver needs to be ready to hit the kill switch when manuevering around the starting line (backing up, etc). Stuff has happened in the past, for example the clutch pedal breaking while backing up from a burn out. Not good.

    With all the runs by all the cars in all the years doing this it has been a very safe environment with few issues. It's more dangerous to be in a convenience store when a senior citizen is parking their car than on the starting line as evidenced by this:

    YouTube.com Senior citizen crashed through store

    Maybe she didn't like the "No pets" sign.
     
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    Last edited: Jan 9, 2011
  9. secondwindracing

    secondwindracing top alcohol

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    Will Hanna do you remember and I can't recall what national it was when a funny car ran over a crew guy.I think it was in 09..that had to hurt..Dave
     
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  10. Night Moves

    Night Moves New Member

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    Thanks for the great responses, they are very helpful!!

    What is the warm-up procedure? How do you "seat the clutch"? The clutch is in the car now, and the air gap is set. I want to make sure that I check the air gap properly when everything is warm, so I need to understand the warm-up procedure.

    Thanks!!

    Mike L.
     
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  11. Dave Germain

    Dave Germain New Member

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    warm up procedure

    Most crew chiefs have their own particular warm up procedure. Our's is two minutes by the clock. Once the motor is warm as tested by the crew chief feeling the front and back of the heads it is brought up to staging RPM for 4-5 seconds. The clutch pedal is on the stop, the brakes are applied. The wheels shouldn't turn and the motor should be clean and crisp. I like to run the data recorder while we are warming the car to check pressures and temps.
    Seating the clutch is a nitro procedure and I haven't ever seen alcohol cars do that. As for setting your clutch I would refer to the instruction booklet that it comes with. Different manufacturers have different procedures but use the one that comes with your clutch. Dave Germain
     
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  12. rb0804

    rb0804 Active Member

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    A few years back Tony Pendregon had one of his guys do a face plant onto the front of the car when the body got hung up on the throttle as he was lifting it up.
     
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  13. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    seating clutch

    If you want to seat your clutch in the warm up, bring the motor up to about 4500, grab a little brake, let out on the clutch and apply enough brake to tug the motor down for no more than a second.

    Thing to remember if you do this, you need to warm the car if for nothing else to seat the clutch in before every run.

    I've also done this with cars that we were leaving the pack in for multiple runs. Seat it in real hard (procedure 2-3 times) on the fresh pack.

    I think this makes the clutch more aggressive, so keep that in mind...
     
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  14. JustinatAce

    JustinatAce Member

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    I've seen on our disc dyno first hand what happens when the clutch isn't seated properly. Usually the first second of the pull is significantly lazier than the last 3 seconds. It does make a difference. Why it may not be so visible every time in the car is the burnout.
     
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  15. wildman

    wildman Member

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    Pretty sure it was 07. Tony P. ran over Bernie at the US nats. when they were lowering the body. Litterally blew his pants off from the header pressure.
     
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  16. TAF 316

    TAF 316 Member

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    T Peds CC was Dickey V and yeah it blew his pants apart, it was the crew member that was lifting the body that got run over
     
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  17. Randy G.

    Randy G. Top Alcohol

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    2005, Indy.

    YouTube: Pedregon Starting Line Incident.

    .
     
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  18. Alkydrag

    Alkydrag Sr. Dragster

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    Every pit crew has a guy who runs up and down the staging lanes telling the driver someone just crashed or "did you see what that guy ran" while he's strapped in the car waiting to make a run. This is the guy I tell to go sit in the stands and watch.
    Don't run around the car like the Keystone Cops.
    Each crew person does the same job everytime so they get good at it.
    Let the crew chief or other designated person relay information to the driver, he doesn't need everyone going to him or her with useless information. A driver needs their time to concentrate.
    If a driver likes to strap themselves in, make sure an experienced person checks the belts. More than once I've found a belt loose.
    On a Funny Car, make sure the person in front of the car is tall enough to see the guy in back guiding him in.
     
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  19. ta455

    ta455 Member

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  20. lucky devil

    lucky devil Member

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    We make sure everyone repeats there job with our car , it makes great sense . You dont need people switching roles , it doesnt work.

    I helped out with a new funny car , the very first time in the pairing lanes , someone caught the throttle linkage during the starting procedure..........the car moved forward , luckily no-one was hurt.
    stuff does and can happen.
     
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