![]() The reason I decided to research and experiment on parachute mounting is due to an accident I saw at Bonneville Speedweek. If you’re running a wheelie bar, you need a net on it to ensure it won’t get entangled in it. If it’s under the spoiler, it may not come in contact with enough air to deploy properly, or possibly even get entangled with the spoiler. The parachute pack should be at 45-degrees from the horizontal line, this allows it to get in contact with the air coming through. Having the parachute mounted wrong could cause the rear of the vehicle to lift off, or get thrown to one of the sides if it’s not in the center. Having the parachute perfectly centered from left to right, as well as vertically centered in the rear, would provide the safest operation. The general rule is to mount it to the chassis at the crankshaft centerline. When you’re driving at 200mph, the parachute is designed to increase safety and help you slow down, not risk your life. Mounting a parachute should always be done by a professional chassis builder. As for the height, a good rule of thumb is to mount it straight to the crankshaft center line. Mount the bracket in the center from left to right. This allows it to catch the air upon release and deploy properly using the incoming air flow. ![]() The parachute pack should be angled at 45-degrees upwards. The soft deployment doesn’t throw off the rear of the vehicle as much, making it safer and even easier to pack. ![]() In the Stroud design, the shroud lines’ slack is taken out before the canopy opens, which causes it to open up softer. The hard impact could potentially lift the rear of the vehicle or cause loss of control. This generates a hard hit on the car when the shroud lines are finally fully extended. The cross form design tends to open the canopy before the shroud lines are tight. This design deployed too roughly and would end up dragging the car up causing it to lose control. The Stroud design came later after finding out that the cross form design wasn’t effective in cars that don’t surpass the 200mph mark. The cross form design is effective in quicker cars, like top fuel and funny cars that go over the 200mph mark. There are two main designs to drag racing parachutes: the cross form design and the Stroud design. If your car hits the 200mph mark in the quarter-mile, then you are required to run dual-chutes. NHRA and IHRA require any race car that goes over 150mph in the quarter-mile to have and use a parachute. Whether you love the idea or hate it, if you’re increasing your drag car’s performance, there will come a time when you will need a parachute. So, the goal is to reduce drag until the finish line, then create drag to slow down the vehicle using a parachute. The larger the parachute, the greater the drag. A parachute is designed to create drag due to its size and shape in the air. The aerodynamic characteristics of a car reduces drag. The same theory is true when driving a boxy bus as opposed to an aerodynamic R35 GT-R through the wind. If you do a belly flop in a pool, you will get much more resistance than if you jump in the same pool in a sharply pointed shape. Just like you feel resistance when walking through a pool filled with water, a similar effect can be felt through the air. Ensuring it’s centered from left to right and in-line with the crankshaft allows it to work properly and not throw the car out of control. Mounting the parachute is the most important part. Text by Bassem Girgis // Photos from DSPORT Archive Here, we will talk about how these parachutes work, the different types and regulations, and what you need to know to mount one on your drag car properly. That’s when drag racing parachutes come in play. While you need an aerodynamic car to reach extremely quick status, eventually, you will need to undo all of that to stop in time after the finish line. The very same car when built for 8-second runs on the drag strip would have to create a lot of resistance in order to slow down in time and meet NHRA requirements. T he Nissan R35 GT-R had to go through a wind tunnel during testing to ensure there is nearly no resistance as it drives through the wind.
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