Tom,
Interesting reading, comments, and opinions (good)....I enjoyed reading your
comments. Also, thanks for the hospitality at El Mirage. I enjoyed
visiting with you and Jeff and I hope to see you again and perhaps spend a
little more time listening and learning. It's a facinating sport and
passion.
Regards, Steve Pitt
----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas E. Bryant" <saltracer@awwwsome.com>
To: "rtmack" <RTMACK@pop3.concentric.net>
Cc: "Joe Timney" <joetimney@dol.net>; "Land-speed List"
<land-speed@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2001 8:12 AM
Subject: Re: Tire reliabilty, and traction control
> Russ,
>
> I am impressed by your resume. I don't consider myself an expert at
> anything, but I do have an opinion concerning this discussion.
>
> 1. Rooster tails on the salt are not from wheel spin - it is caused by
> the vacuum created behind the car. The severity of the rooster tail has
> much to do with how much loose salt is on the course. I say this because
> of experience in a low HP car that rarely spins its wheels but generally
> carries a tail from about the one mile.
>
> 2. I am not in favor of anything that takes the absolute control of the
> car away from me for any reason. Otherwise why drive, let's put robots
> in the driver's seat. Driving is what it is all about, if it wasn't I
> doubt if many of us would bother to make the trip.
>
> 3. After talking to Earl Wooden, I don't believe his problem was wheel
> spin, rather, I suspect, it was extreme loading of the tires from
> applied HP that was well hooked up. The flexing of a well hooked up tire
> will create more heat than a spinning one, in my opinion. Would traction
> control correct the problem? I don't think so.
>
> 4. Undoubtedly, the most powerful sedan on the Salt this year was the
> Lindsley/Leggitt Firebird, 333 MPH in the middle mile. So far as I know
> the only tire problem they had was front tire shredding, again loading,
> this time from downforce.
>
> Yes Earl was lucky! It is curious when you compare his crash to Tom
> Burkland's. The speed was much different, but the results similar,
> actually Tom's injuries were worse than Earl's. You don't have to be
> going 300 MPH to get hurt. That is why I worry about the 130 MPH Club
> cars at the World of Speed. We had a fatality at the Lakes in 1962 when
> a Pinto crashed at about 140 MPH. (At that time we had a 140+ MPH roll
> bar rule.)
>
> I have been doing crazy this stuff since the middle fifties. I have seen
> many changes in Safety Requirements and I applaud those that have made
> it happen. Most of our Safety Rules have been ushered in by blood, even
> lost lives, but none so far take total control of the car away from the
> driver. To quote one of Murphy's Laws, "You can't make things fool safe,
> fools are to ingenious."
>
> I do appreciate your comments. I just don't think that you really
> understand what we do.
>
> Tom, Redding CA - #216 D/GCC, (still reaching toward the distant 300 MPH
> barrier.)
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