artificial cooling or heating.....

page 143artificial heating or cooling prohibited, see general regs., sec. 1:5 &1:6. notably, 1:5, Any method of artificially cooling or heating fuel prohibited,etc,etc....Ambient-temperature air only. At the div.2 Gainesville race, reichert and gallant both had wraps around the fuel tanks, Gallant with a towel, reichert with a full thermal blanket wrapped around the tank. What would make this not artificial heating or cooling? If I am cold , a blanket makes me warm, If I am hot an umbrella or shade makes me cool, so whats the difference? It is stated in the regs. that its o.k. in et and ss brackets but not in tad.Where am I off in my understanding of these rules?

 

Heating or Cooling ?

Did you see any F/C guys covering their tanks from the sun ?? I think it sounds like they have found ways to maintain the temperature rather than a way artificially changing it ? If you are just protecting the properties from the ability to change, in what way is it artificial ? Is it because the tank does not have the ability to do it ?? If that is your complaint .... who is to say the tank cannot be made with an insulator built in ?? A car cover over the front end during the long Wait in the lanes ?? I'm not sure this stresses the rules as much as you feel it does , I think it merely stabilizes the amount of change in the fuels properties from a drastic change during the staging lane waiting . If the rule is 97% when loading the tank they should be allowed the opportunity to protect it so it reads 97% at the end of the run .

In My opinion when Iam cold the blanket "keeps" me Warm . (by retaing my heat) it is not a supplier of BTU'.
In my opinion the shade from the umbrella provides "shelter" from the sun. (allowing my body to be cooled by the breeze and not offset by the rays) It is not a cooler and not a supplier of BTU'

 

not a complaint really, Just an observation of something I heard a few teams talking about on the two fastest rides that were a the race.

 

We cover our tank while in the lanes to avoid the sun/heat burning off our methanol...We tested the fuel at the trailer and it was dead on at 96.9%...after the run (an hour and a half later) it was at 97.4

KB

 

Not that its anyones business but the reason we put a cover on our car is because its a black car and black draws heat so we cover the fuel tank to keep the fuel at 96.7%. If we didnt cover it the sun heats up the car and the fuel tank gets warm and the nitro percent goes up then we have to add more alcohol to get the percent back down

 

Oh by the way we werent the fastest cars there Oliverz was

 

would a nozzle into the fuel tank from an extra pressurized return line be considered artificial cooling when the motors running?

 

Absolutely NOT! I might be "just a welder", but I've certainly spent plenty of time in front of a flow bench.
Moving liquid under pressure makes friction.
Friction = HEAT !
The Old Guy

 

Hey Mr. Meyer..... Are you still building chassis???? I've been out here in Colorado for the past decade. You built my best freinds car many moons ago. The car that I cut my teeth starting from a crew member to become crew cheif. The Woodard Brothers "ALCOHOL ABUSE" Car, from Oceanside. As a matter of fact, I believe the Vance brothers had a "Sister" car that you built back in 1983 I think? But, anyways...Just wanted to say nice job on building that car...We put about 4000 runs on it including some time with the blown Alcohol Small Block, and it never....NEVER had any problems!
U da man BOB!

 

How about the double wall main fuel line any one using that?, (with or without freeon)

 

Am I missing something here???

I keep hearing about the nitro changing % with the temp change, up or down.
It is my understanding that when checked with the digital meter and temp. corrected at say 80 deg ambient with the meter showing 97 % it should read 97 % at any temp. That is the hole purpose of temp correcting in the first place. I also understand that when checking only by density the nitro will change with the temp. Sombody bring me up to speed if my thought process is out to lunch on this. If I am correct on this It would not matter from a % standpoint if you shaded your tank from the sun except that the motor likes cool fuel. If they checked everyones fuel in the staging lanes they could forget about checking at the other end. The racers would police each other in the staging lanes. Besides I don't believe anyone would take the risk of cheating and getting caught.

 

On paper that is correct Will, however when the temps go up it does burn off the methanol there for uping the nitro percentage. And all the other things do not stay the same....

KB

 

Is the fuel be checked at the tank, or be at the injector line? After the run or befo? Young minds want to know yo!

 

Both to both questions we test before and after (our choice) and have seen a big difference if its hot outside...

KN

 

So where is the % better at the tank or the injector? Acording to Bob Myers it should be better at the injector ( heat from friction when going through the fuel line nitro will increase in %, so it stands to reasion to do what ever, to heat the fuel before it gets to the injector, like run it through a Black rubber hose. like all the top fuel cars do? i always wonderd why they use them ugly black rubber hoses.

 

the idea is to keep the fuel as cool as possible,
not to heat it up.
it has to do with the btu`s in the nitro that change from sitting in the staging lanes for ever,
and having the alcohol percentage to nitro go away.
if you read 97.5% in the lanes and u sit for 40 min. and then make your run
the fuel had a chance to become warmer than when you first put it in. thus with heat alky disapates leaving you with a different reading than what you started with start with 97.5 and finish with 97.7 or even 98.

 

the idea is to keep the fuel as cool as possible,
not to heat it up.
it has to do with the btu`s in the nitro that change from sitting in the staging lanes for ever,
and having the alcohol percentage to nitro go away.
if you read 97.5% @82 degrees in the lanes and u sit for 40 min. and then make your run and its now 85 degrees,
the fuel had a chance to become warmer than when you first put it in. thus with heat alky disapates leaving you with a different reading than what you started with start with 97.5 and finish with 97.7 or even 98.

 

Thats my whole point, if the fuel is checked at the tank by tec. and its 97% then if it gets heated through the fuel line friction and its 98 or more % when it gets to the injector then the car will run quicker and or faster, Yes??? and it leaves the question? where dose tec check the fuel- before, after,the run, at the tank, at the injector,how do they keep every thing kosher???

 

YOU MISSED THE POINT
the car runs better from the fuel being cooler not warmer
it just messes with the fuel check. from staging lanes to finish