I'm running my first drag race ever this Friday. I've never been much into drags (I'm more of a road race guy) but what the hell, I'll give it a try just to see what kind of numbers I can get. Anyway, I'm bleeding the brakes prior to the race and I have removed the cats. I MAY be offered the use of some DR's but if not I'll be on the stock tires. What do I need to know to do this right? Special gas? Tire pressures? Launch? etc.
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Stacey J. Manning, J.D.
"All go... that IS the show"
drag racing is such a rush. you pull up and you can feel your heart beating 100000 miles an hour, you try to make shure everything is right, turn off the air roll up the windows,traction control off. Then you watch that light and as soon as it changes you nail the gas.
My first time was in Bowling Green KY. it was such a rush but my dad didnt want me to go through too much
well tell us your times after you race and what you thought of it.
Stacey, you are getting into it all full throttle man. It wasn't long ago your car was mostly stock. Good luck!
Where are you running? I haven't done any drags in some 20+ years. Once I did a road course, I never went back. One of these days I might have to give it a try again for old time sake.
I met a 72 year old man at a local breakfast stop a couple weeks ago and he challenged me to a duel and loser buys lunch. He has an 03 SVT. He made the mistake of telling me about a local tuner. I went to the tuner and told him Ben (the old guy) gave me his name. The tuner went on to tell me about the chip he put in Ben's car along with the new pulley on his SC and the cold air induction....yada, yada, yada. Seems old Ben is cranking over 450 RWHP. I'm committed to the race...my only hope is Ben having a stroke/seizure at the lights.
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Therenf, you can still take him since your car is several hundred pounds lighter. It's probably about even performance wise, I think the driver will be the deciding factor.
How badly do you need to win? It will come down to traction and shifting.
The 03' Cobras apparently are difficult to shift. Outta the 10 I've raced, at least 3 missed one or more shifts. And I've always got the jump on them. 450rwhp in a 60/40 weight bias car on street tires is nearly impossible to launch. Make sure you run him from a stop. If you can beg, borrow, or steal some stickies for the back, you'll smoke him for at least 3/8th a mile. Don't race further than a 1/4mi, as his HP will take over after 100mph.
Stage: Windows up. COMPETITION DRIVING set. Radio off. AC off. I spin the stock F1SC tires for a second or two to clean them off. I was running 23 lbs in the rear and 42 lbs up front. I shallow staged, barely tripping the second set of bulbs.
Launch: I hold 1800-2800 rpm, depending on traction/track conditions, and quickly release the clutch with full engagement occurring in the first 2'-10'. I let the tires hook before going to WOT. I can usually get to WOT leaving less than 10' of rubber. This takes practice that's best done away from the drag strip.
Shifting: I'm running the stock shifter. I do some slight throttle lift on the shifts particularly on the 1st-2d where it's easy to spin a lot. Was shifting 1st-2d and 2d-3d at an indicated 6300, because it revs so fast and need to stay off the limiter. The 3d-4th shift is at an indicated 6500. I've experimented with lower shift points and found it costs me a couple tenths in ET.
Regarding launch improvement, the key really is practice, practice, practice. This can be done on a well selected piece of old asphalt road. Objective is to treat it like the starting line and attempt to get a clean launch leaving less than 10' of rubber without bogging the car.
Can also practice banging through the gears with the engine off. This really improves the muscle memory coordination of right arm/left foot. Obviously no throttle is applied in these dry runs. I'm sure this dry practice, which I also do in the staging lanes, has helped me avoid missed shifts.
DE,
No more tha 2500, shift at 6200/6300.........1-2, 3-4 6400..........
Make sure you are not in reverse when staged.
Make sure you are in COMP MODE.......
Do NOT turn off AH / TC..........
Keep wheelspin to minimum...........do not powershift 1-2, unless you have GREAT taction, and or DR's.........ET Streets........
F1's, run 40 ish pressure front, and 24#'s rear............or there abouts..........
I don't really think I could do him justice but this is what we talked about: lower rear tire pressure, get the tires hot, run your own race, prevent the car from bogging by paying attention to track conditions, being patient the first 4-10 ft., feeling/sensing the hook at anywhere from 20-30 mph, capitalize on each high rpm shift. Each has a number of tips-PM JRod, I'm sure he woudn't mind meeting you at the track.
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My 16th Corvette. 2001 ZO6. Lowered 2 in,04 shocks, HRE 547s, Mich Pilots,Eradispeeds, TPIS,Borla ,Cartek 2X, Blackwing/Power Duct,LS1 Edit,Kirban, DRM Roll Bar,Sparco, Specter Werkes rear facia and C5-R Hdlts, ACI splitter. 515 HP/471 TQ CSX1965@comcast.net
Originally posted by Therenf I met a 72 year old man at a local breakfast stop a couple weeks ago and he challenged me to a duel and loser buys lunch. He has an 03 SVT. He made the mistake of telling me about a local tuner. I went to the tuner and told him Ben (the old guy) gave me his name. The tuner went on to tell me about the chip he put in Ben's car along with the new pulley on his SC and the cold air induction....yada, yada, yada. Seems old Ben is cranking over 450 RWHP. I'm committed to the race...my only hope is Ben having a stroke/seizure at the lights.
Man, don't feel too bad about the age stuff. My very first race at the track this year I got beat by by some dude in his late 60's. He was in a '99 C5 coupe (found out after the race he was spraying a 150 shot)
Only consolation here was after H/C upgrade, I saw him again at the track and put a whoopin' on him
Originally posted by MikesZ06
Man, don't feel too bad about the age stuff. My very first race at the track this year I got beat by by some dude in his late 60's.
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