DRAGRCR ONESEAT DEMON WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

[DRAGRCR]

A little trailer Maintinance today. It took most of my life but at least I have a nice place to work on it now.

Found a little surprise. I was just about to call it good and I decided to pull the right front Drum/Hub assy. It had a bad seal and filled the whole thing with grease. I don't like taking these things apart because you can cause more problems by doing so. It was a major bitch to clean everything and install a new seal. Seriously.

I also do NOT like bitching but this is just too much to let go. DEXTER has caused me SO MUCH work and unnecessary expense over the years. YES they are basically good design and function, but their quality control is extremely bad. If anyone wants to argue I will list all the problems I have had over the last 10 years or so.........If I had the chance I would never buy their stuff again. Never ever..............

 

[Ricky Racer]

Dexter? I’m guessing the name of the company that owns intech?

 

[DRAGRCR]

Dexter? I’m guessing the name of the company that owns intech?

Dexter Axles. My Intech Trailer has them and the Featherlite Trailer I had before this had them. Some people working there need to be fired.

https://www.dexteraxle.com/

 

[2fast4u]

@Dragcr...I 100% agree about Dexter, I used to work there years ago. I worked at Alko Axle,( a German company), they got bought by Dexter, and things went to shit in a hurry. We used to machine and fabricate all the structural pieces, but when they got bought, ALL the machining centers and robot cells were sold and they started buying cheap Chinese crap....I also would not do any business with them, they just don't care about their products anymore!

 

[Marc W]

It’s what in the RV manufacturing world is called “industry standard”. Anybody that has had the experience of owning a basic RV (trailer or motor home) has seen the stapled together cardboard walls and wtf plumbing. The high end trailers like Intech are made to a much higher standard but I would guess when it comes to the running gear, they’re stuck with using what’s available. My experience has been that if you don’t have it checked and serviced once a year, you’ll have a bad experience.

 

[2fast4u]

100% correct, I am in the "RV Capitol of the world", and have seen exactly what Marc described...lets not forget about the paper covered MDF that is used for trim and stiles inside. It sucks, there are only a handful,(optimistic), that hold higher standards and actually use top shelf items to assemble theirs.

 

[DRAGRCR]

OK, gave the trailer a bath today.

But that's not why I am posting. It's the Concrete. The carport sits on a foundation, so to speak. I had them pour it with 12X12 footings, dead level and 5" bigger than the planned finished size of the structure on all 4 sides. 2 strings of rebar all around. 6" floor. Standard stuff, I think, for something like this.

My Cement Guys were really cool. It was a small crew and I got along with them really well., They had a hard time getting cement. All the bigger crews would buy it all. So, many times they had to take second load (for the day) and pour in the afternoon. Sometimes they had planned to pour and they could not get cement at all on that day.

For the foundation he used special cement. He said a lot of the other crews would avoid it because it was something new and they did not know how to finish it. So it was actually cheaper in some cases. It was 4500 PSI and had chopped fiberglass in it. He showed me an invoice to prove it. It's so interesting because you just know it's hard rolling floor jacks over it and it is so smooth. But the real kicker is this. Water will not soak into it. So you have to broom it off if you want it to dry because of that and the fact that it is level and not sloped. In the winter when it rains I worry about damage so I broom it off if it rains and it's going to freeze that night. Probably a waste of time. Because there HAS been ice on it a couple times with no damage......

 

[The Englishman]

We use fibreglass reinforcing on internal screed.

 

[DRAGRCR]

OK, I had this car I am working on out today for a test drive and to take some photos. 315/55R17's on the back.

 

[DRAGRCR]

I also need your help. It has catless mids on it and as far as I can tell they are JBA. Each pipe has 2 welds in it so 3 sections welded together. I had these on my Hellcat and we have them on the Blue Demon. No issues whatsoever. On THIS car the pipes are about 1-1/2" too short. Scratching my head on this one. Anyhow I am looking for a set that will fit properly if anyone has any. NIB if possible. I prefer they do not have adapters. So stainless works are out. I think my first choice is American Racing Headers Catless mids.

THIS PIC: The line on the left is with the pipe inserted all the way. The line on the right is where the pipe hangers are nuetral (hanging straight down). The difference is how much longer they should be.

 

[BULL]

I've bought a trailer (new) and knowing better, I pulled the wheels and hubs off to find nearly dry bearings...

...dry...


WTF?


I've seen this on other trailers too which is why I pulled mine off...



.02

 

[TNREDEYE]

I've bought a trailer (new) and knowing better, I pulled the wheels and hubs off to find nearly dry bearings...

...dry...


WTF?


I've seen this on other trailers too which is why I pulled mine off...



.02

When they say that "good help is hard to find" they aren't kidding.

 

[DRAGRCR]

I went to Irwindale last night. I hooked every time despite getting way up on the converter a bunch of times. No cooldowns to speak of and many times I had to idle quite a bit before my run. There always seems to be a "time waster" or 3 right in front of me so it is impossible to judge the ideal time to start the car the final time.

I also had questionable fuel in the car. This would be a good addition to the how long does race fuel last thread. I bought a pail of VP X85 to blend here locally in Kingman. They assured me it was fresh. I got home and found out it was nearly 3 YEARS old. I dislike those people so much I could not even go back over to deal with them. NEVER again!

Anyhow, I ended up blending it with some Sonoco SS100 from the pump. But the car MPH was doing some weird things and I was thinking it was possible the car was not running as good as it could. So, last night I changed out the fuel with some VP M1 ( 7 months old) blended with Sonoco SS100 from the pump. 19 Gal $231.43 total.

Here are all my runs. The Track was working really good all night for me. Try and tell me when I changed out the fuel.

5:14 pm 1.401 6.311 110.89 RL Car was cool, barely warmed up at all

5:25 pm 1.381 6.298 107.81 LL See the speed drop off…..

5.42 pm 1.377 6.284 110.61 LL What?

5.58 pm 1.382 6.300 109.03 LL

6:39 pm 1.371 6.242 108.76 LL

7:03 pm 1.367 6.231 109.66 LL

8:05 pm 1.362 6.233 108.51 LL

8:50 pm 1.360 6.201 110.06 LL

9:24 pm 1.364 6.262 104.73 LL Out of Gas! More heat soaked, Was on track for about a 6.22

 

[Marc W]

Hey Ron…. Quick question about Irwindale. I’m looking to possibly run there next Thursday. What time do I need to be in line to get in early to get to tech before the line us a mile long. I want to get thru tech and have enough time to make a few passes with cooldown between runs. Do they allow towing in staging (golf cart)? The car is wearing M/T Radial Pros right now but I’ll be bringing Hoosier slicks. How’s the prep? Thanks

 

[DRAGRCR]

Hey Ron…. Quick question about Irwindale. I’m looking to possibly run there next Thursday. What time do I need to be in line to get in early to get to tech before the line us a mile long. I want to get thru tech and have enough time to make a few passes with cooldown between runs. Do they allow towing in staging (golf cart)? The car is wearing M/T Radial Pros right now but I’ll be bringing Hoosier slicks. How’s the prep? Thanks

Marc, the Prep can vary. Last night they stopped and he did a full re prep about half way through. But there was supposed to be a 4 car shoot that got cancelled. I ran my 6.20 right after that. I am pretty sure my one modded Friend runs radial pro's. The other runs ET Street R's. Neither one used the Hoosiers after they started making power (that is all the Hoosiers I am selling).
They open the gates at 4PM start racing at 5. Most of the serious Guys show up around 3 abd shoot the breeze. But lately is has not been that crowded. Faster cars run lane 5 and put an EX on the windshield. Tell them in TECH. If you go in at 4 in the initial group and do not take for ever unloading you should be able to make a Pass right at or soon after 5PM. The track is usually decent at the beginning as long as you run in the groove. YES you can tow or push or whatever in staging lane 5. The last 100 feet has to be under your own power as tow vehicles peel off. EX lane runs singles in the left lane (unless you have a grudge race etc.). That is because the right lane has a pinch in the shutdown.

 

[Marc W]

Marc, the Prep can vary. Last night they stopped and he did a full re prep about half way through. But there was supposed to be a 4 car shoot that got cancelled. I ran my 6.20 right after that. I am pretty sure my one modded Friend runs radial pro's. The other runs ET Street R's. Neither one used the Hoosiers after they started making power (that is all the Hoosiers I am selling).
They open the gates at 4PM start racing at 5. Most of the serious Guys show up around 3 abd shoot the breeze. But lately is has not been that crowded. Faster cars run lane 5 and put an EX on the windshield. Tell them in TECH. If you go in at 4 in the initial group and do not take for ever unloading you should be able to make a Pass right at or soon after 5PM. The track is usually decent at the beginning as long as you run in the groove. YES you can tow or push or whatever in staging lane 5. The last 100 feet has to be under your own power as tow vehicles peel off. EX lane runs singles in the left lane (unless you have a grudge race etc.). That is because the right lane has a pinch in the shutdown.

Thanks Ron. Very helpful. 👍🏼

 

[Bowtie Guy]

Tough call on the fuel




Here are all my runs. The Track was working really good all night for me. Try and tell me when I changed out the fuel.

5:14 pm 1.401 6.311 110.89 RL Car was cool, barely warmed up at all

5:25 pm 1.381 6.298 107.81 LL See the speed drop off…..

5.42 pm 1.377 6.284 110.61 LL What?

5.58 pm 1.382 6.300 109.03 LL

6:39 pm 1.371 6.242 108.76 LL

7:03 pm 1.367 6.231 109.66 LL

8:05 pm 1.362 6.233 108.51 LL

8:50 pm 1.360 6.201 110.06 LL

9:24 pm 1.364 6.262 104.73 LL Out of Gas! More heat soaked, Was on track for about a 6.22

 

[DRAGRCR]

Tough call on the fuel




Here are all my runs. The Track was working really good all night for me. Try and tell me when I changed out the fuel.

5:14 pm 1.401 6.311 110.89 RL Car was cool, barely warmed up at all

5:25 pm 1.381 6.298 107.81 LL See the speed drop off…..

5.42 pm 1.377 6.284 110.61 LL What?

5.58 pm 1.382 6.300 109.03 LL

6:39 pm 1.371 6.242 108.76 LL

7:03 pm 1.367 6.231 109.66 LL

8:05 pm 1.362 6.233 108.51 LL

8:50 pm 1.360 6.201 110.06 LL

9:24 pm 1.364 6.262 104.73 LL Out of Gas! More heat soaked, Was on track for about a 6.22

The fuel was changed right after the 5:58 run. A complete change out. I pumped out the existing fuel into a Can and poured in new fuel.

 

[Speedy!]

Ron with the way you keep detailed data you would benefit from datalogging your runs. Would tell you a lot I think.

 

[DRAGRCR]

Ron with the way you keep detailed data you would benefit from datalogging your runs. Would tell you a lot I think.

This is a subject that I am very passionate about. I like learning and I like to be smart about things. But keeping and compiling a lot of data is never going to be my thing. It's like bringing homework home from school. Then I have to go dig through it all to find the answer to something etc. I do keep pictures of significant time slips and I do refer to them from time to time. And I have done tire tests and I tried to do them logically and so on. But I also see too many people make assumptions and then they run around with misconceptions and worse, spreading them. Many times there is a coincidence, or maybe the tires are different or maybe the prep is different or maybe the weather is different etc. I have times where the car behaved totally different week to week at Irwindale purely because they changed their stradegy on the prep. Honestly I think at Irwindale they are chasing things many times. The Racers bitching VS the cost and then the convinience of keeping going VS stopping to prep and so on. Many different factors. ALL affect how the car is going to run. So you can log every run or keep every time slip with notes etc. But exactly why did the car do what it did? Don't assume or jump to a hard conclusion. Lately the big thing has been last minute delays for one reason or another. So, do I idle with the power chiller the whole time? How long is it going to be. Then I wait but it takes way longer that I expect and finally shut the car off and then they want me to get going right away. With the Power chiller it is difficult. When the car heat soaks it DOES make a difference. It makes less power and it does not take the throttle as good. I can tell.

Another thing I have been trying to figure out is these darn Hoosiers wobbling on the big end. They will do it quite badly even in the 1/8th. Lately I have been running more pressure. Sometimes as much as 20 PSI. But I am leaning more twoards tire temp. And tire temp means more wear. Because they want to be hot. Here is a good example of assumptions being made. Some People swear that adding pressure has fixed it. But I have found that not to necessarily be true. Because I have tried it. But if someone adds air and it happens to be warmer outside or they go right back and make another pass and the tire happens to be warmer then the assume adding pressure fixed it. I have definately NOT found that to be true.
Hoosier told me it is the front shocks being too loose. Well in a Demon at WOT you are full soft on front rebound. Not really much I can do about that. But a good long burnout seems to help.