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1 . One of the key benefits of the drum module design is that it eliminates the possibility of a catastrophic failure of the direct drum . Here you can see the damage caused by such a failure , and given that the case is blown apart , the race car , and perhaps it ’ s occupant , are at risk of suffering damage as well .
2 . Here in this expanded view , you can see the internal components of the drum module . The rotational mass of the parts has been greatly reduced , and the design lends itself to adaptability and creativity as transmission builders will likely test different clutch combinations to seek further improvements .
3 . Sonnax kept ease of installation and maintenance in mind , and the Smart-Tech Drum Module easily bolts into any Turbo 400 transmission . “ It ’ s a versatile system that can replace stock , full-size drums , or smaller ones for greater efficiency , says Sonnax ’ s Gregg Nader . “ It installs easily in any Turbo 400 with no special requirements or measurements .”
Smart-Tech Drum Module also features components made from high-strength materials where they are needed and lightweight parts everywhere else .
REAL-WORLD TESTING
The development of the Sonnax Smart-Tech drum module quietly operated under the radar for nearly two years in a true skunkworks way as Nader and his engineering team worked with several transmission builders and racers , including John “ Hutch ” Hutchison , Alan Pope and No Prep Kings racer Scott Taylor , Mike Graham of Virginia Speed Race Cars , and drag-and-drive racers Steve and Dustin Trance to put the Smart-Tech Drum Module to the test in real-world situations .
“ Gregg came down and we went over the project ,” recalls Alan Pope of Alan Pope Performance Products . “ Scott Taylor ’ s No Prep Kings car has a 4,000-horsepower Hemi and is pretty much a torture test for this thing ,” Pope explains . “ We went three rounds in the first race with it with no issues in a brand-new car . After a few test runs , we saw two-hundredths improvement . We ’ ve run the transmission for over a year now . If it picks up 1-2 hundredths , that ’ s a big gamechanger for your program .”
Pope follows that with , “ This module is unconventional and represents great out-of-the-box thinking . In my opinion , they hit a home run with it . It ’ s innovative , it ’ s high quality , and the thing most attractive for me as a builder is that it includes everything necessary from the center support to the front pump . At some point , everyone ’ s going to need one to compete .”
Another noteworthy contributor to the module ’ s testing is Mike Graham of Virginia Speed Race Cars , who also builds racing transmissions and runs an early prototype in his Rootsblown Pro Mod .
“ Our car is a proven piece and makes for a good test bed ,” Graham explains . “ It runs 3.70s and we ran the module all last year .”
Graham continues , saying “ I was already familiar with the concept . John ’ s ( Kilgore ) version was very light duty . This was taking that idea and making it happen with today ’ s technology and CNC manufacturing . Add in how fast today ’ s cars are and it was time to make it .”
Once Graham put it to use , he had even more positive things to say .
“ We have good data comparing the dual-drums to this design . There is an improvement in the time it takes to shift , and it improves reaction time off the line . I also found that you can run lower line pressure and achieve the same clutch life . You can back up on friction mass as well because it ’ s so much more efficient . You can run fewer frictions in the intermediate clutch pack and it curbs direct clutch centrifugal apply . I ’ ve made changes to the delay box because of the reaction time improvement . We put 75-80 runs on the prototype and it looked perfect ,” Graham says of his frequent inspections of the unit .
Graham has since sold ten Smart-Tech Drum Modules with two of them fitted behind screwblown Hemis that compete in an Outlaw Pro Mod series and clock ETs in the high 3.60s at 2,600 lbs .
“ The safety part is a no brainer ,” Graham comments . “ Later-designed billet aluminum drums don ’ t fail as often , but still have the potential . This product absolutely eliminates the possibility . It uses a common drum that spins at engine rpm all the time . The sprag shaft is at the centerline of the transmission and doesn ’ t have the mass to cause a failure . It ’ s much , much , much safer . The biggest thing is getting people to understand how it operates . Some people tend to believe that it ’ s only for big-horsepower cars . Other than a street application , this product will greatly enhance the performance .”
Dave Klaput of Proformance Racing Transmissions was one of the early adopters of the Smart-Tech Drum Module .
“ The product is amazing – I think they killed it ,” says Klaput . “ With this module , we eliminate the anti-rotation because the forward drum and direct drum are one unit — that ’ s a huge deal . It ’ s a very well thought out piece . We can run less pressure , which means less power loss . For anybody to buy it and put it together and not have to struggle , the ease of how everything goes together is pretty impressive .”
Sonnax also worked with drag-and-drive racers Steve and Dustin Trance to see how the module would fair behind a high-horsepower street car that also logged hundreds of miles on the street between track runs .
“ We put 50 hits on a prototype and are now running a production version ,” says Steve Trance . His son , Dustin , pilots their turbocharged 1,200-horsepower 2005 Mustang that clocks low 8-second elapsed times , and they recently finished the 2023 Sick Week event , which included five days of drag racing and over 800 miles of street driving .
“ The car would hop and / or spin on the 1-2 shift , but when we put the module in , that stopped because it doesn ’ t have the inertia to do that . If you have to peddle the car , we don ’ t have to worry about the drums coming apart ,” he explains . “ We went from steel drums to the module and our datalogs on an iron drum show a lot of time between shifts . This cuts the shift time in half . For an index or bracket racer , it ’ s a good move .
“ In early October of 2021 , we ran it at 352 Shootout and right off the bat , we had to take boost out of the car to slow it back to 8.50 . It was about a tenth faster with the module .”
It ’ s not often we get a chance to hear about the behind-the-scenes testing and development of a new product , but Sonnax has offered this information to us , and by all accounts , the Turbo 400 Smart-Tech Drum Module is a winner . If you think you ’ d like to put it to the test in your own racing program or transmission business , contact your builder or performance parts supplier . Sonnax has them in production and ready to ship . DI
March / April 2023 DragIllustrated . com | Drag Illustrated | 85