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Jeff Smith's Blog

Dragstrip Safety

Posted April 25 2009 05:00 AM by CarCraft 
Filed under: Editorials

Running 11 Seconds Safely

 


Now that building horsepower is so easy, even a mild 475hp small-block can push a well-built and median-weight car at 3,300 pounds well into the 11s at around 120 mph. That’s a good ride in anybody’s book. Even with these increased speeds, we have become complacent about safety equipment. Line up at the local dragstrip and your 11-second street car is going to need some basic safety equipment. Run between an 11.49 and 10.00 and the car is going to need a minimum of a five-point rollbar with a sidebar on the driver side. This rollbar rule is in force as long as the car’s basic floorpan has not been altered. The rollbar must be a minimum of 1¾-inch mild-steel tubing with a 0.118-inch wall thickness. Chrome-moly tubing can be thinner at the same diameter at 0.083 inch, but it better be TIG-welded. If you’ve tubbed the car, then a full ’cage is required at 10.99 or quicker. We even learned something on the Crow Enterprises website about how to mount seatbelts properly. We’ve always just bolted the lap belt eyelet horizontally to the floor, but it really should be mounted so the eyelet is vertical. This positions the eyelet and belt in the same vertical plane rather than the eyelet at 90 degrees to the belt. So it would be worthwhile to take a little time to study the rules to make your car as safe as possible. Car crafters are a somewhat rare breed, so we want you to be around for a long time—so you can continue to buy Car Craft.

 

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