Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I need some good feed back from the Drivers Seat on the Eagle wide cage cars 2002 - 03 era and the Big Max chassis. 07 era. I am only 140lbs so I don't need a big car but I see some good deals out there. Goin 360 winged 3/8 to halfs. Don't wanna get stuck with a difficult car. What do you good shoes know? What cars impressed you regarding drivability? What should I stay away from? Thanks

If your just starting out, anything straight should do.

The older I get, the faster I used to be.

Personally I think you would be better off in a standard car. Never really cared much for the big cage cars. If you're just starting out I would look for a standard 87/40 no raised rail. That would be the best to get a feel for the car. I've helped a few driver's that are comfortable in a std. car that very much dislike the raised rails and the "wide bodies" and "big cages", that's my .02 cents. good luck with whatever you decide!

do it in the dirt

i know you asked about the maxims, but i started out in an eagle my dad raced and loved and i hated it. just a difference in drivers. but that car ended up getting junked and i got in a j&j and i absolutely love the. we run 86/40 1" raised rail with a 2" taller cage and the seat mounts raised a half inch........im also only about 140 lbs, but the 2" taller cage helps more with planting the car than it does anything. just my opinion on cars.

brad haudenschild

and the reason we rasied the seat was to level my legs out in the seat, because on yellow flags, with you legs angled up, they have a tendancy to go to sleep and that eliminates that......tim shaffer runs the identical car we do also,

brad haudenschild

Thanks Brad...could you elaborate a little about what you did not like about the Eagle? I see that a few people runnin them seem to want to loosen their cars up. Don't like a car that tends to be too tight and then becomes a real handfull on a bumpy track and one of the cars in my price range is an Eagle...very tempting but i wanna make the right move. This will probably be my last car as I am 60 so I wanna love it like you do your J&J. I hate the idea of running extra stagger or the rr way out just to get the car to feel good. Thank You !!! BTW are you related to THE Haud?

Thanks for your 2 cents. Do you know what the guys did not like about the wide bodies? ...was there a consensus of opinion or were the vauge in their dislike...I'll tell ya ..I hear you on the standard race proven cars but some bargain deals on wide bodies are tempting me..Thanks again for your help - CS

that is the exact reason i wasnt a fan of the eagle. it was also only a 39" car. but it was way too tight for the way i like my cars, and thats why my dad liked it and was so successful in it because he has always been able to drive a car tighter than most guys, kinda like danny lasoski. the eagle was just always way too tight for me and we could never get it lossened up quite enough for a rough track, which is my favorite kind of track to race on . and yes jac is my uncle.

brad haudenschild

Moss

i'm not a fan of the wide body for two reasons way to tight and getting forward bite out of it. but i did stick it in the fence and it works better. but like brad said with his J&J the tall cage is the way to go. i like to go to the track and not have to fight the car. little changes and no big changes is the way to go for me and with my eagle that wasnt the case i still have it stuck in the corner of the shop but hope i never have to run it again.

nick guernsey

Inconsistency. My driver has ran standard 2008 Maxim 86/40 and 2004 Raised Rail Big Max 86/40. Also has ran an older 2000 standard Eagle 86/40 and 2003 Wide Body 86/40. I couldn't get the BIG car's comfortable enough for him and he didn't like the way they felt, ever! They just never responded the same from lap to lap. Every time we Put together either standard car for him and he is very comfortable and can actually give "positive feedback" instead of yelling and bitching about how this cars a piece of shit or "what did you do to it?"

do it in the dirt

Allot of Meat in that reply..thanks....you made me laugh.....yeah I don't wanna be bitchin' moanin' and groanin' at the end of each night 4 sure. ...so how does the old 2000 Eagle compare to the 08 standard Maxim. Is the Eagle tight by comparison? Thanks - CS

They are very similiar. The late 98?-2002 eagles are exactly like a Maxim before they switched to the kicked up upper main rail shock tower design in the rear. It's always been a good car for us and is actually the car that he won his 2 features in. I don't help them anymore but they are switching back to the 08 maxim cuz I think that the older car is finally starting to lose it's touch. Both cars were very versatile in setup and we could always throw the same things on them and know we would be ok.

do it in the dirt

That is funny that you mention that the Eagle isn't all that good on rough tracks, because I have a 2006 Eagle that actually handles the ruts quite well. There was a spell a year ago when the track that I race at would develop ruts all over the place. I never had a bit of a problem getting it loose enough to run through the ruts. Of course I run a lot more stagger than anybody else. The problem I always had until this last year was getting the car hooked up on the dry, but I have found something that I can put under it now to get it hooked. Of course, the car got bent right before the runs on the ruts, so it might be that was what it took lol.