4 speed at the strip

-
I

Ironmike

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 11, 2009
Messages
1,563
Reaction score
308
Location
Western Pa
Need some help guys. I know there's not many 4 speed racers, but I hope someone can give me some good info.

Brian at IMM building me a 500 HP smallblock that I plan to race occasionally next season. I'm thinking of buying a dual stage MSD 6AL.

Stage one would be gas pedal on the floor, limiter set at around 3500 RPM. Pop the clutch and go.

Stage 2 would be set at around 6200 RPM, shifting with the gas pedal on the floor. So, I would be shifting on the rev limiter.

Does this sound like a plan, or am I crazy and mis-informed?
 
shifting with a 4speed is tricky.You have to come up with the best way to shift.I learned when there were no rev limiters.Stage one would be gas pedal on the floor, limiter set at around 4800 RPM. Pop the clutch and go.
Stage 2 would be set at around 8600 RPM, shifting with the gas pedal on the floor. I would be shifting at 8400,2000 rpms before the rev limiter.
My car went 10,46 at 126 mph. Mark
 
Same here. No limiters back then. I staged as quick as possible, TRIED to be at 3500, then just dumped the clutch. Powershifting at 6200, with no rev limiter back then was, uh.....an experience. Had an 11 second Chev and went thru 3 Muncies in 2 years racing.

I can shift with the best of 'em, I'm just looking for new technology to save time at stage, and parts down the track.
 
Whoops. in my original post, I meant to say...powershifting just BEFORE the rev limiter.
 
the technology is in the shifters.I had a comp+ shifter and went to a hurst vertagate.It was like lerning hoe to shift all over again. but when I got use to it,Man it was the sweetest thing. Mark
 
hi, in todays real world of stock and super stock, stick shift racing, we use a rev limiter on the launch,3500 to 5000 pedal on the mat, it releases as the clutch comes out, we shift before the rev limiter. the rev limiter is usually set above the RPM in the traps. the shift RPM is not the same as the trap RPM. we shift the 340 at 6500 RPM, geared to run 7200 at the stripe, rev limiter is set at 7600 RPm. the limiter needs to be about 200 RPM more as it will start to misfire before the set limit. just food for thought. also, a jerico trans and a long shifter are the best setup.
 
I hope your getting a scattershield(Lakewood)so can can keep dancing once the stroker is in?LOL.Do you have aftermarket axels?Keep some u-joints around as spares also.Could you tell us a little more about your car/setup?More info needed.Check the video gallery under my name,there,s 1 video of me launching my 4 speed car(the Petty Blue one)Good luck!
 
The car is a 71 Demon 4 spd. Original Hurst shifter. Original 340 car. The 340 will go on a low stand and live under my workbench, once the stroker goes in.

4:10 Detroit Tru-Trac. Stock axles....for now. Haven't thought much about a scattersheild. Just aint in the budget right now. Wish it was, but I won't be revving past 6100 RPM ....so I feel KINDA safe. Definitely will be ordering axles. Strange, Moser...I'm not sure which ones yet.

Bone stock suspension with old fashioned Lakewood traction bars that actually work(at least now, they work). Frame connectors are already on the way.

My next quest is the search for a good, strong clutch that ain't gonna kill my leg.
 
i dont have a two step... i dont race at track.. and isn't best way to launch the car, but i take my 68 cuda 340 4 speed and i hold the line locks with it in first and hold rpms say 3500 4000 with clutch almost engaged and then drop clutch rest of the way and let go of the line locks and then i have a rev limter set for 7000, i hold it to the floor when i shift, i shift fast enough where it doesn't get limiter... but least if i miss gear something is there to hold the ole 340 back lol

everyone in my town knows me as 4 speed ron....
 
hi, the clutch has to be SFI approved. a stock clutch will not stand up to your power level, they come apart. same with theflywheel, steel or aluminum.
stock cast iron is not the way. as the other guy stated, a scatter sheild will be required. just food for thought.
 
2 steps work great when setup properly...take the advice of those on here on how to set them (perfacar knows!)

I have my two step and line lock wired up to my shifter with a switch on the dash...burnout with the linelock only so i dont hit the limiter...then when i go to stage, i flick the dash switch and now the two step is engaged from the same button on the shifter as the linelock..I try not to sit on the limiter too long at the light (depends on what kinda tree though too) and then dump the clutch and let go of the button at the same time...works everytime

stay away from cast iron flywheels and stock bellhousings...a scattershield and a good clutch will go a long way, as will a good shifter...If i was you id look into an adjustable clutch

another good site with more info and TONS of helpful members and past posts is www.umtrnorth.com/forums those guys really know how to row em!

good luck and have fun! it sure is a blast!
 
I'm planning on an SFI clutch, pressure plate and flywheel, but I just can't swing a scattershield for awhile :-(

The car will see strip duty only a few times a season. Mostly cruises and shows. I'm hoping a used Lakewood or Quicktime pops up.......

Any thoughts on what clutch and flywheel?
 
Ironmike said:
I'm planning on an SFI clutch, pressure plate and flywheel, but I just can't swing a scattershield for awhile :-(

The car will see strip duty only a few times a season. Mostly cruises and shows. I'm hoping a used Lakewood or Quicktime pops up.......

Any thoughts on what clutch and flywheel?
Click to expand...

do yourself a favor and spring for a scattershield before you go SFI on the clutch...imo, the two most important things for safety are your flywheel and your bellhousing...dont race without a scattershield is all im gonn say

as far as flywheels go, they dont have to be sfi, but would be nice. I personally use a flywheel from 440source.com that is billet steel...its not aluminum and its not sfi approved, but the price was right at 99 bucks, and with it being billet steel instead of nodular or cast iron, im more than comfortable having it inside my blowproof
 
IF you care so little about the safety of the "People around you"...do everyone a favor and STAY HOME until your car is safe!.

NOT wanting to get a scatterscheild because you can't afford is a lame excuse at best.

Have you ever seen the aftermath of a clutch or flywheel failure and seen how a scattersheild saves the explosion.....???. I have and couldn't believe my eyes.

That's the first thing I bought ....before the Lenco and slipper clutch etc.

Don't cut corners on safety.

Todd
 
You can't afford to do WITHOUT a shield.
should be 1st on the list, before everything else, period.
 
My dad raced a 63 max wedge with a T85 three speed (which is what the car came with)It probably had 450hp (it was a 13/1 engine) And he blew a clutch rhat punched a hole in the car he was running against about the size of a softball, and did nothing to his car. The scattershields were desinged back then to knock down debris and keep it from blowing yuor foot off. What Im trying to say is your car probably will have that much HP and I don't think I would run it without one.
 
I'm still figuring out how to launch, so I can't be much help.

I run a Centerforce Dual Friction. Good on the street, iffy with drag radials at the strip. It might get swapped out for a McLeod.

I picked up a used Lakewood bell housing and block plate at a swap meet for $200. Peace of mind.
 
I no you have herd it over and over, but, Scattershield, Scattershield please. I was just the other day telling the story of a friend loosing his right foot and a complete right off on the car because of ( no Scattershield )
On the other note, I used a Center force flywheel and a McLeod clutch, I also had the switch on the dash usieng my line lock for both burn out and launch. I launched at 4500 my burn out and Rev limit set at 7200 I shifted at 7000. I was running a 360 eng 400 HP to the rear tires and a 833 trans that I super Pro shifted with Liberty gears it ran 11.5 @ 118 mph. I have now stepped it up to a R3 416 cub and a all out adjustable race flywheel and clutch from Advanced Clutches have not put it in yet.

Ps Did I mention a Scattershield
 
Was in a 440 RR that had the clutch explode inside the oem bellhousing, shrapnel ended up going thru the dash and shattering the windshield.
 
you can shift at the rev limiter, but expect the engine momentum to carry it a few hundred RPM's or more past where your rev chip is at. i had a 7400 chip in mine, shifting it at 7200, and i would see 7600 on the tell tale.
 
OK. You guys are ALL right. I have to get a scattershield. I don't worry much about me, but when you throw "others" into the equation it changes everything.
Think I'm gonna go with a Lakewood. I hear they are better set up for the stock clutch linkage. Heard there's a lot of problems with the Quicktime units.

Clutch.....still tryin' to decide. The Centerforce II looks good....I think. When I do race, I will be running slicks. Cforce says the II series will be fine. I'm considering Mcleod also but not sure which one. I don't want a ton of pedal effort.

The pic that 68 Hemi GTS is using looks like Norwalk this past summer. Am I right?
 
mshred said:
do yourself a favor and spring for a scattershield before you go SFI on the clutch...imo, the two most important things for safety are your flywheel and your bellhousing...dont race without a scattershield is all im gonn say

as far as flywheels go, they dont have to be sfi, but would be nice. I personally use a flywheel from 440source.com that is billet steel...its not aluminum and its not sfi approved, but the price was right at 99 bucks, and with it being billet steel instead of nodular or cast iron, im more than comfortable having it inside my blowproof
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip on the flywheel.:cheers:
 
Please get yourself a scattersheild. !!!!
I own several demon 340's and three of them are factory 340 4 speeds.
I used to street race now and then and had the luck of not looseing a foot, BUT then I went to the track and had slicks and read the rule book and knew I needed the blowproof bellhousing and so we got one and put it on the car..

Its One of the first things they look for when you go thru tech! ( even if you only have sticky street tires)

I then raced my brown GSS 71' demon 340 4 speed for two seasons and had the clutch come apart at bandimere speedway when I lived in colorado. back in 1983.

It was running the complete Hay's clutch settup and flywheel and the only thing left was the lakewood scattersheild and input shaft/throwout bearing. when it failed...
I had no indication it was going to go at all.. beforehand.
In fact when it broke, I thought I had broken a driveshaft instead.
Please use the block plate too !!!!
I coasted to the side and shut it off and got towed back to my pit spot.
My girlfriend and I loaded it back on the trailer and took it home and on that monday we tore it apart.

I was being partially sponcered by Foothills Chrylser Dodge & Plymouth in Ft Collins, Colorado,, and when we took it apart in their service department the flywheel was broken in two, and we had to out a entire new settup in it.

Times where consistant 12.48's ( Mile High elevation) and I was shifting it at 6800.
Complete interior and stock body with only 5 13 gears, open headers on it and a crower camshaft, trw 12.5 to 1's, otherwise stock demon 340 with snubber and still running the small bolt pattern 5 on 4" wheels with only 28" tall x9.00 x 14" et slicks at the time it happened.
And changing clutch discs about once a month only before it went.

The disc disintigrated and all the springs and pieces of the pressure plate was a mess of broken chunks!
I had a scattersheild and block plate as it IS REQUIRED when running slicks and a 4 speed!
I am sure that a stock clutch would have only made it worse.

The clutch peices stayed inside the bellhousing and the largest would only barely cover my palm. If I had only a stock bellhousing I surely would have been hurting!
A factory alumiinum bellhousing would have just added more scrapnel to the equasion...

I respectively ask you to find a way to get a scattersheild and use it, EVEN on the street if you are going to race it.
If not, Then you are on borrowed time racing it... Even on street tires

Grant Eaton ( Demon340GSS on moparts,ebay, etc)
1 407-947-9005
Eaton Gear Corp/ Champion Steel
 
Already in my garage. Quicktime...and an SFI flywheel.
Thanks for the input!
 
Do I need a scattersheild if i am putting a 500 HP small block in front of the a stock 833. I may go to the track twice a year but I am not seriously racing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top