Something to note, there is a phenomena known as spinning.
As you go faster through air in a car, the amount of thrust your tires produce is applied to the front surfaces of a vehicle. When that force exceeds the lateral traction of your tires, the front tires stop steering and slide sideways. This is especially important for cars that have front axle aero lift. ie - some cars have an airfoil shape and too much air going under the car, the car becomes lighter, starting at the front, which aggravates spins stability. It is the most common way to die when land speed racing, and why all entries must have roll cages.
This is what a spin looks like at Elmo:
The driver walked away. He was a veteran of LSR, that was not his first rodeo.
So play safe out there. If you want to mitigate the risk, bring 2 or more vehicles (cell service is OK, not spectacular, and a ranger station), one as a spotter. Use hand held CB radios. Do not run when winds exceed 10 mph. Overinflate your tires. Add ballast if possible, but it must be secured. Wear a helmet, and complete coverage. Run with your lights on. Pre-drive your selected path slowly, might want to use some reference cones. Look carefully for rocks, glass, wire, nails, pits. tire trenches.
I've tagged 175mph there at a SCTA, but held to a 166.0xx record which was surpassed in 2016. I still hold the A/DT record but I lost an engine during the run, so the speed is low.
As you go faster through air in a car, the amount of thrust your tires produce is applied to the front surfaces of a vehicle. When that force exceeds the lateral traction of your tires, the front tires stop steering and slide sideways. This is especially important for cars that have front axle aero lift. ie - some cars have an airfoil shape and too much air going under the car, the car becomes lighter, starting at the front, which aggravates spins stability. It is the most common way to die when land speed racing, and why all entries must have roll cages.
This is what a spin looks like at Elmo:
So play safe out there. If you want to mitigate the risk, bring 2 or more vehicles (cell service is OK, not spectacular, and a ranger station), one as a spotter. Use hand held CB radios. Do not run when winds exceed 10 mph. Overinflate your tires. Add ballast if possible, but it must be secured. Wear a helmet, and complete coverage. Run with your lights on. Pre-drive your selected path slowly, might want to use some reference cones. Look carefully for rocks, glass, wire, nails, pits. tire trenches.
I've tagged 175mph there at a SCTA, but held to a 166.0xx record which was surpassed in 2016. I still hold the A/DT record but I lost an engine during the run, so the speed is low.
