Big Wheelies - good or bad ?

[Benni]

Hi DragHeads,

I like a good wheels-up launch from a car, have only seen it from the outside

and can only imagine what it looks / feels like from the driver´s seat.

When wheels lift, I think "yes, good weight shift and hooking up correctly", no time wasted there.

From the technical point, it is truly fascinating, because what is happening is that the little crown wheel

inside the rear axle is actually trying to climb up the pinion gear, and lifting the whole weight of the

car in doing so, regardless of vehicle weight and that big iron/alu lump up front.

All this stress on some square inch(es?) of gear contact patch, just WOW.

One of my FIA co-speakers at Hockenheim is Hendrik Modigh, also running Tierp track Radio

and specialising in rear axle gear adjustment for over 30 years, he left one evening and told me

that he has to help a Pro Stock Team because their axle gears "were not friendly to each other".....

But when do big and long wheelies become ineffective, because the power used up in lifting the car

is not used for pushing it forward, or is any (safely and straight landed) big wheelie a good wheelie ?

Yes, I am especially thinking of the Super Stockers, but some other cars in different classes have that habit, too,

do Drivers actually want that or are they eventually trying to tame the uprisal ?

Another thing I noted was that in a wheelie Situation, I can see diffent ways of body behaviour,

some cars stay horizontally straight (as in the relationship between "grille" and asphalt)

while others get all twisted up, is that due to too much torque or bad rear axle alignment ?

[Benni]

Thanks for the answers so far, some good insights and first-hand experience there.