Finally taking the red rocket to the drags

[theredrocket]

So I'm going to the 1/4 mile dragstrip tonight. It will be my first time ever drag racing. Car is a 91 escort with GTR motor at 17~18psi. I'll be going on street tires(not DOT radials or slicks) because I have to drive the car home after. Too much traction and I may blow something up.
Anyone wanna guess what I'm gonna run? And wish me luck! I'll do my best to represent the BG community!

[theredrocket]

Well, I am embarassed to even post my times. But I will. I made 3 passes.

1st pass:
Reaction ---- .9209
60 ft ----2.897
1/8 mile ET ---- 10.557
1/8 mile MPH ---- 75.62
1000 ft ---- 13.324
1/4 mile ET ---- 15.641
1/4 mile MPH ----96.74

2nd pass:
Reaction ---- 1.224
60 ft ----2.721
1/8 mile ET ---- 10.478
1/8 mile MPH ---- 78.26
1000 ft ---- 13.167
1/4 mile ET ---- 15.42
1/4 mile MPH ----101.1

3rd pass:
Reaction ---- 1.024
60 ft ----2.666
1/8 mile ET ---- 10.3197
1/8 mile MPH ---- 79.67
1000 ft ---- 12.98
1/4 mile ET ---- 15.181
1/4 mile MPH ----103.39

Those are terrible. Haven't people made mid 13 passes on street tires with a FWD car and a GTR on 17~18psi? I know my 60ft times were brutal, but my times were just unreal. I bogged on the 1st pass, so on the 2nd pass I revved a little higher and still bogged on the launch. So I revved a little higher on the 3rd launch and the tires went up in smoke. Lol, how do all you guys pull 2.3' and 2.4' 60fts on street tires?

[tehstocker99]

your reaction and 60' need work for sure, that's where you're loosing most of the time, your MPH looks good, just need to get the other numbers down how did you launch it? i was told for a FWD car on street tires it's best to just 'take off' quickly as you would from a light and not drop the clutch at 6000, my friend had a focus and he got 2.0 60' all day long, so i trust him lol

but don't put yourself down, SO many factors go into drag racing like track conditions, weather conditions, tires, weight, air pressure etc. etc.

[Ace]

Your biggest factor is seat time. I take it you haven't raced your car much or at all. The more you do it the better you'll get. You'll learn how your car acts to certain things and how to launch it the best and other things that just come with time and experience.

[tehstocker99]

like women....well like some women lol, just takes time to see how they react to certain things

[DeeAOne]

So many factors could make those times better. I vote seat time(all driving variables included) and tire pressure as the most important. A lot of people overlook(even me sometimes) it but lowering the psi makes a noticeable difference.

[pumer1904]

i would say get some lowering springs or coil overs and just practice line up and watching the tree i used to go on the 2nd light on the tree when i was learning cause my tires would just spin for some cheap tires lol

also you will learn 1st and 2nd gear cant go all out rpm status or your tires will just spin you kinda have to feather it in 1st shalf way punch it in 2nd then go all out for the rest of the gears

my best reaction time on regular tires and stock suspension was 0.212 on the 1/8 track

but good job man practice your runs on lower boost say like 14-15 psi until you get used to everything at the track then up it when u get some stickier tires

[theredrocket]

tehstocker99 - I tried 3 different launches. One from 2000rpm, one from 2500rpm, and one from 3000rpm. I wasn't dumping the clutch, just coming off it quickly, if you know what I mean.

DeeAOne - Are you supposed to air down street tires for drag racing? I know nothing about drag racing, as I've never done it before. I had the fronts at 30psi all night because I had to do 75km/h down the highway each way to the track.

pumer - The car is lowered ~1inch on ground control coils and tokico S/R struts.

Would the Mfactory LSD help at all in this case, or is that more for having better grip coming out of turns and such?

[pumer1904]

yes get the mfactory lsd you will thank yourself you will finally get some traction back lol when ever i round up the cash im getting me one too

[bomdoutscort]

I've seen air pressures in the 20 area when others dragged.

[FE3-323]

Mfactory LSD will help traction dramatically.

you have to feather/slip the clutch to retain traction as you pull out of the hole.
otherwise your left tire nuking or bogging. or just a regular take off

[Lex]

Seat time my friend indeed. I think you're also shifting too slowly. The shifts should be as fast as possible - fast enough that you won't hear your BOV if possible.

[theredrocket]

Seat time my friend indeed. I think you're also shifting too slowly. The shifts should be as fast as possible - fast enough that you won't hear your BOV if possible.

Lex, you did a 13.6 on street tires correct? What pressure were your front tires at, and what was your 60ft time on that run?

I am shifting as fast as I possibly can with that old 275K+km tranny lol. 1st to 2nd is like a two stage shift. Slight delay before it actually pops into 2nd. 3rd to 4th is fast, and 3rd to 4th I do as quick as humanly possible. The BOV is an HKS SSQV(v2) and it goes the instant I come off the gas. I don't think it would be humanly possible to shift fast enough to not hear it.

Most of the guys at the track that night were good people to talk to. They all said that it's obvious I'm new to racing and to keep practicing. It's the only way to get better. They all saw that my trap speeds and ET's don't match up at all. Most of them figure the car should do a mid-high 13 pass on street tires if I can launch perfectly.

I'm going out again in a few weeks, so I will hopefully slowly keep bringing the times down. Next year I hope to have a kia trans with Mfactory LSD installed and AWR front/rear/side mounts installed, so that should help somewhat. Next time out, I'm also going to tip the car forward slightly by lowering the front coils and raising the back. I'm gonna take the spare tire and tools out of the back end next time too lol.

[deadly_sleeper]

Wow, even with a 2.4-2.6 60' you should be putting up better times. Not to mention you are on street tires and have a gtr motor at 17-18lbs, you should trap faster than 105. I was trapping 104 with my vf10 setup on street tires. You should be trapping at least 107 on street tires with that motor. Sounds like you have a dead spot in your map. What kind of engine management are you using?

Also, I ran a 13.7 on street tires with a 2.2 60' on the gtx ecu before I went to MS.

[crazycanadian]

R/T has nothing to do with your 1/4 mile time.. timing doesn't officialy start untill you trip the beam when the car moves out of the staging beams.. you can help your self by staging as shallow as possible.. basically you move up untill the first stage lights are on... from there its just a very small bump to get the 2nd lights on.. this gives you a little distance to start moving before your timing actually starts..

Tipping the car a little wil help a bit.. with weight transfer and traction..

depending on the street tires I have run as low as 15psi air pressure in the front.. for launching with a boosted car its really tricky.. trying to stick with a set rpm wont help you..

the best way to get boost off the line is to be reving the car up and being on and off the throttle.. its hard to explain, something better if it could be shown.. when you launch you are trying to catch the timing when your rpms are coming down..

off the line you might not be able to just floor it... sometimes you need to pretend there is an egg under your gas peddle.. you are trying to squeez it to the floor with out slamming down...

If you can try flat foot shifting.. syncro rings don't like it but its the fastest way to shift.. basically you never lift the gas off the floor.. in order to do it you preload the shifter a little when you are going to shift.. from there its just a quick stab of the clutch and shift....