When to drop the chute - and when not to

[David Schwarz]

Last weekend the car got a wee bit out of shape at 300 ft. It was enough to get my attention, and draw some gasps from the crowd. Fortunately, I was able to keep it in control. But the incident got me thinking about dropping the chute, and when to do it. I ask because everyone always preaches the gospel of pulling the chute when you're still full throttle. But obviously if you're already out of shape, you want to get out of the throttle before you have a chance to pull the chute - right?

So what I'm looking for here is advice from those in the know about when - and when not - to pull your chute. Sort of the do's and don'ts if you will. I'm sure the opinions will vary, but that's what I'm looking for.

[spacecaptan]

well, i can't imagine the chute doing much good at 300 ft. it probably wouldn't fully inflate. what kind of car is it and what kind of speed do you have at 300 ft out?

[David Schwarz]

I wasn't really thinking about pulling the chute at 300', and I agree that it's unlikely it would accomplish much. But to answer your question regardless, I'm driving an '88 Mustang LX and my 300' speed is around 95mph.

I did have ample opportunity to deploy the chute under varying conditions at Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Top end speeds ranged from 155 to 162, and best ET was 8.68s. To briefly summarize, I found that pulling the chute while out of the throttle tended to introduce a small amount of wobble, but nothing that wasn't easily driven through. If the chute was deployed under throttle, the car remained true and straight down the track.

[spacecaptan]

i would never be reluctant to pull the chute. if you are in it or out of it, it can't hurt and it can help in a huge way. i had a situation where ifi had pulled my chute i probably would have avoided 10-20K in chassis work, things happen very fast at those speeds and i will now pull it anytime it might help.

[Troy Kannapel]

You want to pull the chute when you're under full throttle about 100 ft before the finish line. By the time the chute comes out of the pack and blossoms you should be crossing the line or just past it.