How to: Truck Pull

[dzchey21]

Originally Posted by generalee31184

Pulled my 08' 6.4 tonight. 4 hi and 2 gear. 334 ft and a first place as the one guy that beat me was disqualified. I think next time I am going to try 4low and drive or 3rd with tow haul.

congrats thats what i like to see. post some vids if you got them

[generalee31184]

I did manage to get it posted on you tube last night. Yeah the guy that beat my pull beat me by 25ft and the head guys called it a no go right away. It was ridiculous. Nitrous tank hidden very well! YouTube - Spartan diesel F250 6.4 truck pull 334ft

[dzchey21]

very nice pull bro, you would have gone much farther and probably beat the dude reguardless of the nitrous had your truck not shifted, nice job.

[generalee31184]

This was my first pull with this truck so I was kind of clueless on what it was going to do on me as far as shifting and what to pull in. That was 4 hi 2nd gear. I believe it shifted to 3rd on me then dropped back to 2nd. If I could keep it in the that second and no shift on me it would go I think. I think next time im going to try low range and just put it drive and let it do its thing.

[dzchey21]

i had the same problems with 4low and drive, i think if you pull in 4low your going to want to start in 2nd and shift to 3rd manually and then back down if you start to run out of power.

[generalee31184]

Will I get the wheel speed I need in low range? That is the only reason I pulled in high this time was thinking about getting the momentum really going but it did not get going quite as much as I would have liked it too, especially when it shifted on me of course. Just didnt know if I would run out of gear in low range.

[cliford]

got this off of the dmax forum thanks to durallymax
Well Ive finally had some time to write this up. First time I was almost done and my computer went haywire and I lost it all.

I was going to write it last night but the website was having some problems.

The purpose of this write up is for the pulling rookie who wants to make a few hooks, or the street stock guy who plans on pulling a lot, but doesn’t quite have the full blown truck. The majority of this is just how to pull and what to do to the driveline of your truck. None of it is power related as that is a different topic. There are many other things to do for pulling, but these are the basics.

So here it is, its lengthy but I tried to space it out. Enjoy.

Part 1.

Preparing your Duramax:

1. Front End As many of you know, the IFS on GMs provides a smooth ride, however it has its weak points. The most common failed part in high stress 4x4 applications is The tie rods. To prevent having to walk home from the pull take a few simple steps to relieve stress on your tie rods and/or strengthen them.

a. Lower the torsion bars into the dirt. This not only helps prevent tie rod breakage, but it also gives you a better CV angle and thus less stress on the CV joints. It’s a simple easy thing to do at the track, just let the bars a few turns and away you go. It costs nothing, and should be done no matter what you have done to your truck, from a stock daily driver to a full blown twin everything truck.

b. Tie Rod sleeves. These are massive pieces of solid steel, stainless steel, or billet. They simply slide over your existing tie rods and replace the factory jamb nut. They will prevent tie rod breakage as they basically turn your wimpy tie rod into a 1-1.5” thick tie rod that is virtually bullet proof, but not completely.

c. Centerlink. Our factory centerlink gets the job done, but it has its flaws in competition trucks. Our factory centerlink is curved at both ends which creates a steeper, less straight angle on the tie rods. Replacing it with an aftermarket straight centerlink will give the tie rods a better angle and also keep your front wheels pointed straight. Without it youll be fighting the steering wheel the whole way down the track and will loose some distance because of it. It’s a fairly cheap mod and is easy to install. However it is not 100% necessary.

d. Weight bracket. Hanging weights on the front will help keep the front end down and give you more traction to the front wheels. The rear end will always get traction as that is the physics of pulling. The easiest approach is to make a bracket that slides into the tow hook holes. Look for a write up on this in the future. Check with the sanctioning body first though, as some don’t allow hanging weights in the smaller more stock classes.

e. And finally if you want to get the most out of your front wheels you can install a locker.


2. The rear end on the truck. You can drop the front as much as you want but without doing any mods to the rear suspension your front end will still be in the air and you wont get as much traction to the front as you could.


a. Traction bars. Any form of traction bars will help but for pulling, longer bars will be more suitable. You can make these yourself or buy them. A lot of times they aren’t necessarily streetable though.

b. Suspension blocks. These are a key part in keeping the rear in the air. They are simply just blocks that prevent the rear leaf springs from compressing. Check with the sanctioning body as some require a minimum of 1” travel. If they don’t then jack it up. However, these really shouldn’t be used without a set of traction bars as you may start hopping. And hopping is no good.

c. Overload spring clamps. These are a great addition to the traction bars and blocks. Basically what you are doing is clamping to overload springs to the rest of the spring pack. All you need is square axle u-bolts, and some homemade plates for the bottom. Slip them on a crank them down with a cordless impact.


3. The hitch area.


a. The factory hitch willl work for a couple hooks, but if you plan on pulling a lot, and upgrade is in store. Most every puller runs a Reese Tow Beast. And a lot of sanctioning bodies require it.

b. Pulling hitch. An adjustable hitch is best so that you can always adjust at the pull for the maximum hitch height. If you plan on building one make sure it has at least a 3” eye. Look for a write up in the future. For those guys who just want to pull a couple times, a big twisted clevis will work.

c. Bump stops. These serve one purpose, to prevent the sled from smashing up the back of your truck. Look for another write up in the future as well.


4. Safety


a. Driveshaft loops and u-joint explosion shields, these are for he safety of you, the crowd and the track officials. Check with the sanctioning body for the requirements on how they should be built. The driveshaft hoops will also help prevent a hole in your bed when the driveshaft snaps. Again look for another writie up

b. Turbo cross bolts. A lot of organizations require cross bolts in the exhaust as close to the turbo as practical. These help contain shrapnel when the turbine explodes.

c. Exhaust, most all organizations also require that the exhaust go down or up. So stack(s) and turndown tips are what you are looking at. They don’t have to be permanent, just for pulling.

d. Engine kill switch, when you get up into the bigger pullers youll need some sort of a shutoff routed to the back and terminating in a closed loop. This can simply be a battery cutoff or a full blown air shutoff.

e. The rest of the safety includes helmets, fire extinguishers and SFI approved parts, such as flywheels and tranny blankets. As long as you are pulling work or street stock and under 4500RPm you shouldn’t have to worry about these.

This basically concludes part 1 of the how to pull series. The next two series will be what to do at the pull and how to pull.

[cliford]

Part 2.

What to do at the track and puller courtesy.

1. Don’t be late. As a general rule of thumb 1 hour early is about the latest you’d wanna get there. This allows time to get set up, weigh in and attend the drivers meeting.

2. Before you even leave though make sure you have everything you need.

3. When you arrive go straight to registration, if it is not open yet then start setting up your truck. At registration you will have to sign a liability waiver, pay the entry fee, write down your info and draw the number that you will pull.

4. The number you draw doesn’t always represent where you will end up in the class so make sure you check ahead of time to see where your at.

5. When setting up your truck and maneuvering around the pits be polite to others, stay out of the main traffic areas and try to keep the flow going.

6. Once your truck is set up go weigh in. This part is simple, you just simply drive on the scale and drive off. Some pulls will also tech your truck so be prepared for that. Its no big deal they just look over it to make sure it fits within the rules.

7. Now you wait. Towards the end of the class before you go get in your truck and start moving closer to the track and getting in line. Do not leave your truck while it is running, technically you can be DQ’d for this, and some places will even enforce the rule. Once you get in your truck engage 4LO.

8. Know who the two trucks in front of you are and whos behind you, this way you can be in the right spot in the lineup and also help others. Remember pullers are one big family for the most part. Also listen to the announcer hell say things like on deck and in the hole. For those who don’t know on deck is the next puller after the current one and in the hole is two pullers after the current one. Make sure you are up there on time, they should not have to wait for you. Its your job to keep the pull moving, every minute counts. After all the pull isn’t about you, its about the fans and the charity/community organization that some of the profits will go to. So keeping it moving makes everybody happier in the end and doesn’t get the pull organizers in trouble with the city for running too late.

9. When your name is called pull on the track and back up square to the sled. Don’t mash the throttle intentionally to blow smoke or anything like that just drive out there appropriately yet quickly. However at the same time mistakes happen and when your nervous and have a touchy tune in and your driving in LOW, its very easy to accidentally mash the throttle. When backing up there will be a guy on the sled directing you, when he says stop, stop. He’ll then hook you up and get the hell out of there or tell you to tighten up the chain.

10. To tighten the chain, just idle forward until it stops the truck.

11. Now you wait for the flagman closest to you to hold up the green. This is the only person you should be watching. He won’t give you a green flag unless everybody else is ready including the sled. If he does, it is not your fault and you shouldn’t be penalized for it, and if you are, don’t get angry.

NOTE: Everybody communicates with hand signals so try to get familiar with them if you are not.

And remember no matter how many times you pull you will always have butterflies.

Now your hooked up and ready to go down the track, which is part 3.

[cliford]

Part 3.

Getting er’ down the track.

NOTE: Every single persons technique and way of reading the track is different, this is merely a broad overview of techniques and you can pick and choose which suits you best and modify it from there.

1. While sitting there with the chain tight you will be nervous and the butterflies will be going like crazy. Make sure your truck is in 4LO, T/H engaged and range selector in “3”. Now your ready to go down the track. A checklist also helps since when your nervous its hard to remember. It doesn’t matter how many times you pull, you can guarantee that every time you will be nervous.

2. Before you let your foot off that brake, pick your line. Basically what YOU think is the best straight line down the track. Try to pick a line that looks consistent with moisture and is smooth with no ruts. You should also be looking ahead of time watching other pullers and where they go and see whats working and whats not.

3. Now that you’ve picked your lines, things get different.

4. As for how to come out of the whole there are many techniques. These include:

Just rolling into it from a standstill which works good on dry sandy tracks so that you don’t spin out right away. This in turn helps you get more speed at the end of the track. However it may be necessary to either manually shift the truck or raise the shift points, because if you feather it out a lot, your truck will shift soon and not be able to really get the RPMs up and it also might downshift when you really get on it.

Hammering it from the get go. Not really sure when to use this as I don’t see the benefit. But I can see it working on a slightly sticky track.

Building boost then rolling into it. This is my prefferd technique. I build to different boost levels depending on the track conditions and then roll into it. I do this by feel, never really watching the gauges or having a mathematical procedure. Just whatever feels right. Which I should add isn’t always right. To build boost, stand on the brake then ramp up the RPMs and let off the brake, it’s as easy as that. Remember you are technically building heat not boost so watch the pyro not the boost gauge.

5. Now keep the truck straight and pointed at your destination point. Obviously you want to keep it between the lines and keep it pinned. Letting off basically costs you the pull and maybe the rear half of your truck.

6. If you start hopping at any time, just stop. Your not going o do anything but break stuff.

7. You can stop before the 100’ mark and rehook if you come out of the hole bad. You are given this opportunity only once. You do not have to stop before 100’ you just have to be off the throttle before the front of the sled surpasses 100’ at the officials discretion. If you want to make it loud and clear you can stick your hands up too.

8. They will give you the option to simply back up and rehook or come back at the end of the class.

9. Once you pass the first flagman start looking at the flagman at the end of the track if there is one. He will wave the red flag when he feels you are no longer progressing forward. When he does this push your shifter lever forward and slightly up. This will glide it into neutral quickly without worry about hitting reverse. The reason for doing this is to prevent turbo barking and to be easier on your clutchpaks.

10. Now back up and unhook from the sled and peacefully drive away.


NOTE: If you pull first you are the test puller. You are usually given the option to turn your pull down or to keep it. You have to make this decision before driving away from the sled. Simply give an official a thumbs up or thumbs down. If you turn it down you will come back at the end of the class. In some cases the sled operator will want you to come back a rehook simply because he doesn’t think he set the sled right. This does not get rid of your right to turn your new hook down. And he will have you immediately rehook to test the settings. Once he has it dialed in you can now turn your hook down if you wish. Then you will have to rehook at the end of the class.

[dzchey21]

Originally Posted by generalee31184

Will I get the wheel speed I need in low range? That is the only reason I pulled in high this time was thinking about getting the momentum really going but it did not get going quite as much as I would have liked it too, especially when it shifted on me of course. Just didnt know if I would run out of gear in low range.

Yeah you'll get plenty of speed. alot of dude pull in 4low, do i agree with it not all the time, but its obvous you should try something different to get some more distance, a win is a win but you always want to be improving, but its a darn good start.