Easy Ron
, I wasn't directing my comment toward drag racers, merely agreeing with what you said a few post back about the inability of these cars to get much more than 600 HP to the ground.
The one thing I've noticed being overlooked or at least not commented on when comparing engine weights is rotating inertia. Even if an aluminiun big block engine weighed the same as an iron small block it would still have more rotating inertia than the sm blk. A typical BB crank weighs about 80lbs and an ultra-light about 60lbs. A typical SB crank weighs about 55lbs and about 38lbs for an ultra-light or Cup crank. While the the additional rotating inertia might help to launch a car in drag racing, it hurts times in road racing and circle track. The weight loss, for components that rotate at engine RPM, is 15 times more effective than an equal weight loss for other components of the car.
My reality check came when I began racing (not the Cobra) in a division with the only engine rules being: any 4bbl carb, 2 valves per cyl., and gas or alcohol fuel. We have no restrictions on displacement, aluminium blocks, roller cams, carb size, heads, or anything else. In a class where virtually anything you want to build is legal, short stroke 360ci engines dominate. Why? Because they have the right amount of torque for the tires and chassis to get off corners and their 38lb ultra-light cranks allow them to be driven in deeper and rev quicker. At the national level 430 inch engines like mine are almost non-existent unless its a larger, momentum track.
Good luck in your effort to run 8.5 with your Cobra.
Scott
P.S. go easy on Don, before building Cup engines, where his had 2 poles, 5 front rows, 2 event records, and 1 track record in his first year, he built drag engines where his set 8 NHRA national records.
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