Ask any car enthusiast if wheelies are cool, and they’ll say yes – wheelies are awesome! But I recently learned that my El Camino does wheelies after some slight changes, and it’s hard to believe that what I always wanted is now causing problems. Why? The car is reacting too fast.
In Bracket Racing, we’re playing a game in the thousandths of a second. A change that makes the car react even .010 of a second faster can totally alter what the driver needs to do to stay on the green side of the reaction time. My El Camino was now getting out of the staging beams too quickly, causing red lights. Going red means I beat myself, with no chance to win down track.
This string of red lights cost me several rounds before I figured it out. One of my competitors clued me in to how much of a wheelie the car was actually doing – I was surprised! It’s hard to feel from the driver’s seat exactly how far the front suspension rises.
Armed with this new information, I made some adjustments. I tightened the rebound (extension) on the Viking Double Adjustable front shocks by 4 clicks. This made a measurable difference on the track, getting the car closer to where I need it for optimal performance.
With some work on the car and a lot of work on the driver, I’m confident I can get back to turning on those win lights!
#DragRacing #ElCamino #BracketRacing #Wheelies #CarTuning
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