Nathan Plemons

Yeah, ok. If you don't like somebody's answer that's fine. But I believe the person who originally wrote the message should be the one complaining about the answer. Sheesh, topics tend to wander. Read what I wrote and you'll see that I didn't mention anything about who is faster as it applies to him. I wrote that as saying that before you can talk about ANYTHING you have to have a common reference or one person won't know what the others are talking about.

Chill out just a little bit man. Questions such as these require physics in the answer. Now I'm sorry if this comes as a shock to you, but physics as it applies to a car probably has something to do with making that car accelerate, or handle, or grip, etc. :crazy:

5abivt

its your alignment. Mine goes straight as an arrow, thats cuz i align it every 1000k ... .autocrossing.

ASRoff

Get some Beam plate's It will go straighter.

Grand Trunk

Exactamundo. If I'm reading the original poster's mind correctly, what he is curious about is outside the bounds of normal. A car with worn bushings will leap to the right under hard acceleration. The first time I experienced it was as a passenger in a friend's ZR1. I thought to myself that something wasn't right, and it turned out that something wasn't.

vette92_1

Marlin's 1st Quote

Marlin's 2nd Quote

Marlin, even though you only asked one question in your original post, (Does anybody know what actually causes this?) which was probaby explained more than once, can you please clarify your original statement, just for the sake of...? Your 1st quote doesn't actually specify if you are breaking traction or not.

If you could clarify this, maybe someone on here can help you determine if you actually have a mechanical problem with your car or if your car is perfectly normal.





[Modified by vette92_1, 9:37 PM 9/23/2002]

whitelite

Not sure if I'm reading this right but my 96 swung to the right under power and it turned out to be rear tie-rod ends. Changed them and the problem was gone........Can everyone just get along....ha.ha... :crazy:

Marlin in Minn

To clarify, I only notice this when I'm actually spinning the tires.

The reason why I originally raised the question is that my family had a race
car when I was a teenager (a long time ago) and it was a 69 Nova SS396.
It would run mid elevens in the quarter and I don't remember having any trouble with the back end swinging around on launch or when hitting the gears. Seemed like it always pulled very straight down the drag strip. On
a few occasions we put 60 series street tires on it and played around on the street and though it would roast the tires, it still would go in a straight line.

I am just a little surprised that my 94 Vette doesn't pull as straight on a launch as a 69 Nova. So I'm wondering if this is normal, or is something wrong? I've only tried launching it just a few times on some deserted back
roads so far...

The Nova had posi-track and so does the Vette. I know the rear ends are different and the Nova had a 4 speed muncie where my Vette has an A4.

I would have thought the Vette, with more modern technology, would be
superior in getting the horsepower to the rear wheels more evenly. Or maybe this is just the difference between the 2 types of rear ends?

I bought some BFG drag radials and, if the weather holds out, I'm going
to try those to see if there is any difference. At least I should find out if
it something to do with the original GSC's versus the new tires....I don't have any experience with drag radials...we ran slicks on the Nova.

Thanks for the replies and interesting discussions. I appreciate any advice I
can get...




[Modified by Marlin in Minn, 11:47 PM 9/27/2002]

Marlin in Minn

One more quick comment on this then I'll shut up :D

Do all Vette's behave this way on a hard launch? Is it the car......or do I need to be doing something different???

Ericthewolf

Think about it like this... The simple answer to your question in normal understandable terms... Ok your flywheel is spinning in one direction correct now your engine has to be held down so to speak so your flywheel-transmission-wheels-tires spin and not your engine right...Or you wouldn't get far... The amount of torue your engine puts out acctually causes your frame to want to twist in the opposite direction that the flywheel spins..Due to the friction of the tires on the road. Hence the twist of the frame on cars that have enough torque to lift the tires off the ground causing one wheel to lift higher or acctually the frame to twist in one direction as the wheels leave the ground. A good deal of that has to do with the enormous amount of torque and the enormous amount of friction from the slick oversized tires usually used in these cases. Enough torque and you could acctually tweak your frame. Correct me if I am wrong but I believe fords motors spin backwards or they would claim Chevy is backwards either way this is the reason for the different direction of twist. I would say if you want to avoid the slide on takeoff try slicks or race rubber and mess with the pressure to get more friction causing the front end to lighten up and take the reaction from the torque rather than the tires... I am no expert by far but this is my 2 ok more like 10 cents..

BBA

Ok...I'll correct you. Your wrong, Ford and Chevy both spin the same direction in factory configuration. There are counterclockwise rotating versions of both for marine dual engine use, but thats the extent of it.


As for all Vettes doing it...my 79 never kicked out to the side on launch. I could burn the tires two blocks and not have it go sideways. I think it's a problem with the C4 suspension. I think something is worn out causing it.

vette92_1

I can only speak for mine. Mine usually stays pretty straight anytime the tires break loose. It might kick to the side just a little, but not much. It certainly isn't enough that I thought anything was abnormal.

One main difference between your Fathers 69 Nova SS396 and your vette is the frame.


[Modified by vette92_1, 8:53 AM 9/29/2002]

Ericthewolf

I appreciate the correction BBA I thought I had read that once before. Never worked on a FORD.. :U

jerryg01

The last 95 I had did the same. Replaced the rear tie rod ends and it straightened out perfectly.