Should I run a blower screen???

I have a T/S car with a buzzard hat and an O-ringed 14/71.
Should I run a screen?

Thanks, Jim

 

I run one between the hat and restraint plate, its still there. I have heard of people sucking them into the blower though.....just never seen it.

 

Used to run one under my birdcatcher... mainly because if anything of any size could possibly get sucked into the blower, with my luck it probably would!!!!!

 

Exactly this Mike...... LOL

Jim

 

We run a 'blower screen' under our Birdcatcher, and we are only an injected car.... Pulled a couple things out of it, over the past few years, mostly food and candy wrappers, but one time, got a Marlboro box !!

 

Bird catcher

I can say that I actually had a bird in an hat a long time ago , we wondered what the horrible smell was in our garage then found out when we opened the flies and found where the flies were coming from. True

 

Good thing you didn't run a Buzzardcatcher!

After sucking in a 3/8"x1" bolt and wrecking the really nice blower we went to screens. Since then we've stopped another bolt/washer from wrecking anything (it was an inside bolt that holds the hat onto the blower).

Had 2 friends that didn't listen to us and they both wrecked there blowers by sucking in stuff.

I made my screens since the GM screens are too small/not the matching shape to my stuff.

 

I worry most about rocks thrown up from other people tires. We run some pretty backroads tracks sometimes that everything but the race surface is gravel...or sand. Cant do much about the sand though.

 

results of no screen

this is what happened when a injector bolt came loose, broke the blower case, and made the engine go high ! i think he would have liked a screen then. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKE_CwKSCig

 

I was advised to use a screen Looong time ago but a run at Columbus made it all make sense.
Driver in other lane kicked a cone and debris went straight into the hat.

Another time actually found a spark plug in the hat. More than likely vandal but who knows what the front tires kick up

BTW, there is a correct way to put the screen gasket in. Screen up. At least that's what I've been told.

Bob

 

Will running a screen make any difference performance wise? Disruption or less air flow.

Friend I was crewing for just had inside bolt from bird hat come out. Ended up in #1 cylinder. Result, hole in piston & hole in head. Luckily it happened on startup in staging lanes and not at peak rpm.

 

A couple years back i ran off the end at maple grove , into the pea stone trap , it stopped the car without any damage but pea stone everywhere including the top side of screen , glad i had it

 

Ended up ordering a screen that goe's under the hat from Robbin at RBS. It's on the way.
I don't know of any reason to not run one, and it sure can prevent a lot of bad things from happening....
As was mentioned, I would hate to have a $5.00 spark plug go through a $35,000 motor!!

Jim