Welcome everyone, to the 2011 racing season! The season is well under way for some of the drivers and teams. Although racing is definitely associated with nicer weather, I am not sure if it is a luxury racing in February; I have enough trouble getting ready by May let alone February! Wow. So here we are getting prepared for the 2011 racing season with the INS Dragster.
Getting prepared for this year actually started back in October after my last appearance. I removed the motor and transmission from the INS dragster and proceeded to take them to their respective place for a thorough inspection and “go over”. Preventive maintenance is a definite in this hobby and I’m a firm believer in making sure my equipment is ready to go at the start of the season; not a week or two into the season. While we can’t prevent all things from happening, at least I’ll feel comfortable in knowing I did my part.
The ” bottom end” as we call it was given a check up and new crank and rod bearings were put in place. I then proceeded to pick up the motor and deliver it to a well known engine builder in Carroll, IA. by the name of Larry Demers. Not that I am unhappy with my engine builder, Mr. Sperry @ Sperry Engine’s, I’m not. Larry is not only an engine builder, but he is also a great drag racer who is excellent in the nitrous category.
For those of you that are not familiar with the use of Nitrous Oxide in racing, it is used to create more horsepower. It’s high percentage of oxygen helps burn more fuel. By burning more fuel we create higher cylinder pressure’s, hence more horsepower. Significant horsepower gains can be achieved, from 50 to 500 horsepower depending on your system and application. I actually had this system 75% in place in 2010 but never had the time to complete. Now that everything is in place, I have changed my combination significantly. I now no longer run alcohol as a fuel, but instead use a very high octane racing fuel.
I replaced my alcohol carburetor with a gas carburetor, and also purchased a new torque convertor … again. All of this to try and have the best compatible parts to get the most out of your combination. While the motor was running on the dyno, the fuel/nitrous regulators were set, and the new carburetor was adjusted. Now that all this was completed one would think I was ready, or “somewhat” being close to ready.
With the Nitrous system comes new switches, relays, and lots of new wiring which has been completed. We are still waiting on a few parts for our new oiling system, which I hope will be shipped soon. As anxious as we are, it is a pain when you have to wait on manufacturer’s to get their product to you!
Well race fans, that kind of gets you caught up on what’s been happening to the INS dragster this off season. Stay tuned, as we will have more information on “Team INS Racing ” to follow. Thanks for reading.
