While most racing fans probably recognize Jack Roush's name from his teams' success in NASCAR, the man in the hat got his start in drag racing and holds a number of national championships in that sport. It should then come as little surprise that the first half-dozen components in ROUSH Performance Products' new Competition Line are aimed squarely at the quarter-mile crowd.
Heading up the new lineup is a two-piece upper trailing arm relocation bracket, which works in conjunction with adjustable-length upper trailing arms (with spherical bearings) to move the instant center of the rear four-link. This increases the anti-squat and improves traction while reducing wheelhop. An adjustable-length Panhard bar (also with spherical bearings) keeps the rear axle centered when the ride height is changed, while relocation brackets allow the use of a heavy-duty cast "girdle" axle cover (a popular modification with drag racers). Brackets are offered to relocate the rear sway bar to allow the use of small 15" wheels and drag tires. With the use of dedicated drag tires comes an NHRA requirement for a driveshaft safety loop, and so ROUSH is offering up one of those as well. A second wave of components is on the way, but no word yet on when they might drop.
Even with ROUSH's typically high level of engineering, proper validation is always a must, and so the team proceeded to rack up some 135 trips down the strip in the process of performing track testing. Yea, we're sure that it was really tough convincing employees to put in those hours.
[Source: ROUSH Performance Products; press release is posted after the jump]
FIRST WAVE OF THE TRACK TESTED ROUSH COMPETITION PARTS NOW AVAILABLE
LIVONIA, Mich. (September 13, 2006) - After more than a year of development and real world testing on the dragstrips in NMRA competition, ROUSH Performance Products is pleased to announce that the first six products in the new Competition Line of parts are now in stock and available for purchase from the winningest
Ford racers in history.
Motorsports legend Jack Roush first began his career in drag racing and the earliest of his 34 national championships came in NHRA, IHRA, and AHRA competition. Roush never lost his love of the sport, and as the opportunity arose for ROUSH Performance to enter this market Roush was an eager participant and extremely "hands-on" in the development of the Competition Parts. Often seen peering under the hood of the team drag cars, his engineering background and vision is etched in the final designs of the parts that are now available for purchase.
In a truly unique research-and-development process, the Competition Parts were not created solely in the lab and on computers. Instead, the designs were proven by bolting them onto a 2005 ROUSH Performance
Mustang and taken into the heat of the battle during a variety of NMRA events this season. At the races, the parts were subjected to the incredible torque and demanding stress loads of drag racing, and the heavy-duty construction of each component was proven to stand up under these severe competitive applications. Each of the ROUSH Competition Parts has been developed for long-term durability.
"I think one of the really unique aspects to the ROUSH Competition Parts is that they were used and tested on-track in competition and during the regular Wednesday evening test-and-tune sessions at
Milan (Mich.) Dragway," explained Ryan Bunn, ROUSH Performance parts marketing manager. "We put them up to the speed and stresses of real drag racing which could never be simulated on a computer or dyno run to ensure that these parts would hold up and perform as designed for repeated race runs. If a component didn't perform as anticipated, failed, or we saw some type of premature wear the design was modified and re-tested on the track. Many of the NMRA competitors had a chance to look over these parts while they were under development and give their input as well so the final production design is one of the most thoroughly researched and tested on the market." Bunn added that the ROUSH Performance drag racing team has logged more than 135 runs since March, each one a proving test of the Competition Parts.
The ROUSH Competition Parts line will be introduced to the market in several phases. The first wave includes the following six components, all designed to fit the 2005-2007
Ford Mustang:
- Two-Position Rear Upper Trailing Arm Bracket (Part Number R06030070-13-AA): This is designed to work with competition arms and allows additional anti-squat in the lower position to assist in reducing wheel hop. It also uses a factory-style threaded insert on the front of the bracket to aid assembly. Suggested retail price: $161.10
- Adjustable Rear Upper Trailing Arm (Part Number R06030068-13-AA): Utilizes a spherical bearing on the body side attachment which eliminates bushing distortion and retains the geometry. It also allows arm length changes to adjust the pinion angle if desired for drag racing or severely lowered vehicles. Suggested retail price: $299.23
- Adjustable Rear Panhard Rod (Part Number R06030066-13-AA): Allows adjustment to center axle with respect to body for severely lowered vehicles or custom applications. Uses spherical bearings to maintain geometry to eliminate bushing distortion and lateral axle deflection.� Suggested retail price: $262.12
- Panhard Rod Relocation Kit (Part Number R06030065-13-AA): Moves the competition panhard rod rearwards to allow clearance for heavy-duty rear axle cover/girdle for drag racing applications. Suggested retail price: $99.95
- Rear Anti-Roll Bar Relocation Kit (Part Number R06030071-13-AA): Moves the anti-roll bar forward to allow clearance for 15-inch drag racing wheels. This part is for use with the OEM rear bar only. Suggested retail price: $61.88
- Driveshaft Safety Loop (Part Number R07120001-13-AA): A unique bolt-in design which uses existing hardware to attach to the vehicle. No drilling is required for installation. Suggested retail price: $155.99
All the ROUSH Competition Parts are made in America and more information can be found online at
www.RoushPerformance.com or by calling (800) 59-ROUSH. No ROUSH Competition Part is street legal or certified under federal motor vehicle safety standards or regulations. Therefore, ROUSH Competition Parts are not intended or certified for use on public roads.
The second phase of the ROUSH Competition Parts line will include several more parts such as single adjustable front dampers, double-adjustable rear dampers, steel flywheel, one-piece slip yoke driveshaft, rear axle housing cover girdle, and more. Watch the web site for more information and availability.
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