I'm going to enter my truck in the stock street division of the Harrels Truck and Tractor Pull tommarow night and I was wandering what kind of driving techniques are used when truck pulling. Should I hammer it down from the start or wait until the sled gets a little closer to give it all its got? Also should I run in 4-low or 4-high? I know you need a lot of wheel speed in pulling but I think in 4-high I wouldnt be able to keep the engine spinning fast enough to keep the boost up. Any suggestions or past experience would be awsome. Thanks Guys, Justin.
How much power do you have? Manual or automatic? Don't just floorboard it from the beginning. Get the sled moving and try to keep the wheels from spinning for as long as you can and then open it up.
I was kinda kicking around the idea of a hook myself, just to see what the truck would do, but I'm in the same boat as The General. Basically don't know what I'm doing. I too was wondering about the 4-hi vs. 4 low dilemma, and what gear to use. But the first thing I need to address is the wicked rear wheel hop/axle wrap. Don't need her bouncing around trying to break parts.:doah:
First thing, if you just have a programer and no other hard parts,(like anything to make 450+hp) use low range as it will alow the engine to produce a lot more torqu. If you got bid time power then you could try to use high rand but you need big power to do it. Auto: low range and put it in drive with overdrive off. Let the tranny pick its own gear to use. Manual: low range and what gear you would take off in towing a trailer from a stop lite. Now a manual tranny is a little more tricky to use because if you have a stock clutch with some engine mods then slippage is sure to happen. So basicly pick a gear and try it, if it slips then stop and grab the next lowest gear. Just try it out, every truck is different. Nathan: Ford tec for DNMSopcorn:
After watching some truck pulls it seems that most are getting the sled moving slowly and then rolling into the throttle and then developing some tire speed. Also, most are using a very mild mud terrain tire or an all terrain tire. Mud tires I have seen are the Toyo Open Country Mud terrrain and BF Goodrich seems to be a favorite for the all terrains. Also, everyone that I have seen that has done well has had a least some kind of a limited slip or a locker in the rear axle. As for the 4 lo or 4 high question I think that Diesel Nut has your answer. Every truck is going to be diffrent. If it were me and my rig I would use 4 high and then second gear. But, you may find that this is not right for you. Give it a shot. What is the worst thing that could happen? LT.
It also depends on the track conditions too, the slicker the harder it will be to get the sled moving without spinning much. When I pulled a few months back, I started spinning within just a few feet of leaving the line and pretty much laid into it all the way, our local track is very sandy.
Just so long as you don't expect to go out & dominate your very first time, you'll be in good shape. Follow the advice given here, but don't be afraid to experiment either. Your truck's power & setup combined with your driving will give varying results. If you're not afraid to lose a couple in the interest of making sure you pull more successfully in the future, you won't be disappointed waytogo
I believe I read in Diesel Power that whoever wrote the article recommended AT's instead of MT's. They mentioned that the lugs on an MT can actually rip off. That the AT was better suited for pulling. I'll see if I can find that issue later tonight.
I think you're right; Really deep tread can't bite unless it's in deep. An A/T has more biting edges per inch whereas M/T's all the stress gets focused on outer edges of a couple lugs & they either flex & slip or break. An M/T has the advantage in mud because the large gaps clean out better, where an A/T will retain a lot of it & basically cover all of the gripping edges.
Yes - AT is All Terrain and MT is Mud Terrain. I didn't have time to go through the issues last night. It was an article designed for someone who has never drag raced or pulled a sled, etc. The author goes through and explains what you should expect as well as giving a couple of tips to get you going.
As mentioned, usually A/T's work slightly better than M/T's. A/T's seem to grip sand and loose dirt better than the M/T's. If the track is real wet for some reason, guys with M/T's could have the tire of the day.
I've been seeing more and more pullers using these Pro-Comp Xtreme All Terrains around here. It's a pretty aggressive directional A/T with rather large tread blocks and a good amount of siping. I just mounted a set on my Ram in 305-65R17 (33 x 12.50) and so far, I'm pretty darned impressed. While they ain't no mudder, they grab a lot harder in the dirt and even in the snow than most any "standard" all terrain tire I've ran, extremely quiet for most ANY tire and was one of the few in that size that's a 10-ply, load range E, rated for 3200 lbs a piece.
I had some good sucess with the Mickey Thompson Baja Radial MTX's, great siping as well and won't eat the track causing you spin your tires and dig ruts. Remeber air pressure is key as well when it comes to getting traction. BBD
