Competition Pulling next week for the first time...

[SmokinU]

Hey Guys,



I will be pulling my truck next week at the local fair. This will be my first pull ever. Tuck is a 97 reg cab. Pump has a 10 plate slightly behind center and a 3000 GSK, injectors are stock. Still have the factory clutch in with 108,600 miles on it. Rear has 3. 54 gears with LSD. Got Cooper 305-70-16 tires on with a good bit of tread left. I plan on running 2nd gear low range. I’m not too concerned with egt, due to the short distance, I'm concerned with the max rpm I can run. I know the truck can rev pretty high with the gov spring kit, so I'm wondering what the max safe rpm I can sustain during the pull. I don't have the heavy valve springs in. Also, after reading the post about the hitch breaking, I'm wondering if mine is strong enough. I have attached a picture of it. Any other advice or tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks.



Brandon

 

[jtisdale]

Use at your own risk. Ive seen 2 of these "tinker toys" break before mine.

 

[Sled Puller]

The shackle is a bit small, but you should be able to get away with the bar, if you gusset it.

 

[SmokinU]

Ok, I just bought that shackle today, so should I return it for a larger one? Also, they make twisted shackles, are there any advantages to using them? My friend has a welder, so I guess I can beef up that hitch bar.



Brandon

 

[jwilliams3]

Yeah,

Beef up the draw bar.

Also, use washers to stabilize your clevis.

Go with the next size bigger clevis with the same diameter pin.



--Justin

 

[SmokinU]

Well,



I just pulled last night. The hitch held, but I only pulled 134 feet. Ran 2nd gear low range. The truck weighed in at 6,550 lbs. The factory clutch felt like it held strong. The surprising part was the EGT's didn’t go over 900*. Knowing what I know now, I would of gave it hell sooner. I kind of eased my way out. Oh well, there is always next time, and I had a blast doing it.



Brandon

 

[jwilliams3]

Glad to hear everything worked out for you!!

Time for a dual disc!!

 

[csevers]

It is good to hear you enjoyed your first pull. You will see more boost and more egt with increased load = much bigger gear but you will need to do something with your clutch to do that. What was the weight class? You probably could have added some weight in the right places to help get a better distance.



Craig

 

[SmokinU]

Yeah, I could have put 1450 lbs worth of weight in it because I ran in the reasonably stock class, which had a max weigh limit of 8000 lbs.



Brandon