Starting a Supercharged Engine
By Randy Baker
There are a lot of new guys who are getting into the Supercharged cars, either with Alky or Nitro. We thought maybe would should discuss some ideas that might help others out.
Now what I am going to describe is the method we use. This doesn't mean our way is correct, or even best. It is just the way we do it.
We have 3 of us involved in starting the car. We each have a job to do, and we do it the same way each time. The first thing to do is make sure the car is in neutral. Double check this each time. I make sure it is in neutral, Scott always asks, and Pappy often times sticks his head in to look also. I can't stress enough, this is one of the biggest things that go wrong is starting the car with it in gear. Someone WILL get hurt if this happens and the car leaps ahead.
The next thing is to make sure the driver has his foot, or hand if it is a hand brake car, holding the pedal/handle with plenty of brake pressure to hold the car if it does try to lunge forward or backward due to being in gear. When I get into a car, the VERY FIRST thing I do is pump the brakes a couple of times, and hold the pressure tight so that the car cannot move.
The power is turned on, fire bottle pins pulled, chutes armed and ready. You want to have the car ready to make a run when you are ready to start it. You should always have a fire extinguisher nearby when starting the car. No matter where you are starting it, in the pits, the race shop, or on the starting line. Have your own; don't depend on the track as you may not know where theirs is.
In our method, one person is in charge of making sure everybody is in position and ready. I am that person. I make sure the car is in neutral, and the fuel pump lever is pulled to full on. Pappy already has the starter attached to the car and plugged in. Scott has the ground wire connected to the coil. When this wire is pulled, the magneto can fire the engine. Most of the cars run a mag, so the starter is engaged to get it spinning, then a switch is thrown, or the wire pulled, to make it come to life.
When I have checked everything over, and Pappy and Scott are in place, I push harder on the brake (notice a trend here?) and open the throttle blades. Now it is imperative that the starter trigger man not jump the gun with the throttle in any position but closed! Listen for the blades to "Snap Shut." That way you know they are closed and the car will start at an idle. Scott gives the engine a nice long drink. Some people use Alky, some use straight gas. We have good luck with Alky unless it is under 50 degrees or so. Then we switch to straight gas as it lights easier. You need to give it enough fuel to fire on, but not too much to flood it. It has to have plenty of fuel in there so it doesn't backfire the supercharger by being too lean. We make it a point to let Scott know if the main pill has been changed or the barrel valve was leaked in the pits. This tells him he will need to give it more fuel prime as the system lines will be empty. If you haven't had the fuel system apart, it takes less of a shot of fuel to start.
I check to make sure Scott is ready, and then look directly at Pappy and nod my OK to fire it up. He hits the starter; the engine spins quickly with no ignition lead against it.
Scott lets the engine spin freely for a few seconds, also giving the fuel pump a head start on priming itself. When he jerks the wire off the coil, the car explodes into life. To keep it running, Scott uses the primer bottle and feeds the fuel to the car through the injector butterflies. This keeps the engine running until it can suck the fuel from the main tank and run on its own fuel. You will hear the tone change and the idle drop when it is feeding itself.
After it fires up, Pappy removes the starter from the supercharger, and hands it off to be loaded in the back of the truck. Scott steps away from the car once it is running on its own. When the guys are clear, with my foot still on the brake, I put it into gear and head for the water-box.
I have been ready to start the car and found it in gear on two or three occasions. You cannot check for neutral enough times. You must have the brake applied. One time, even with all our checking, the car fired in forward gear. As I had my foot hard on the brake, the car didn't move three inches. It would have been a bad deal if not for the brakes being applied. This is a dangerous time to be in front of the car.
Always have one person be "The Guy/Girl" who makes the call that it is time to fire it off. Nobody else can signal, just the one person. Always try to have the same people in the same place doing the same job when you are starting your car.
I know there is more ground to cover. Let’s here from some others about their experiences.
I hope this helps keep someone from getting hurt!
“Rapid Randy” Baker
