Back to the track: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

[RedVenom48]

Warning: Long post. I certainly appreciate all who read through it and can give me pointers, tips or suggestions.

I went back to the track for the first time in over a year last night. First time ever on this setup and clutch. The track was Wild Horse Pass Raceway in Phoenix. Cool air temps (mid 70's) and the track was prepped nicely. Best pass of 3 I got was the first: 12.1 at 120 mph. terrible 60ft of 1.9. I am SUPER rusty... SLICKS set to 16.5 PSI cold.

Mods as follows:

Lund Racing Tuned
PMAS 120mm intake
Whipple 170mm Monoblade
Home port M122 with VMP high flow elbow
2.5" upper with BPS idler pulley
NGK TR7ix
170 T stat
Trinity intercooler pump with custom upper bypass hose
VMP Triple pass dual fan heat exchanger
McLeod RXT
DSS 1 pc aluminum DS
Ford Racing 4.10s with G2 support cover and ARP carrier cap stud kit
Viking adjustable rear shocks and 150# springs
BMR Rod end upper and lower arms and relo brackets
Swarr Axle Brace
Hoosier 28x10.5x15 stiff sidewall slicks and Hoosier skinnies. NO TUBES.
JPC line lock
WOT Box

The Good:

Hoosier slicks are AMAZING. Grip was not a problem. Track prepped nicely but the slicks WORKED. Rear suspension upgrades certainly played a part as well. Viking adjustables and drag springs are worth their weight in gold. Really stiffened the launch and helped plant the power to the slicks.

JPC line lock kit is simply awesome. Held the car in place, no kick out during the burn out, rear brakes unharmed lol. Couldnt be happier with the kit.

WOT Box works as advertised but driver still need to do his part.

Power was there. Much more in the car than the drivers current skill. Had a better driver been in the car, its possible it could have gotten low 11s. With 100% race fuel it may be a high 10's car.

Loved the smell of burnout rubber and race fuel... wonderful smells and sounds I missed.

The Bad:

Only got 3 passes in. A lot of cars there; was hard to get better as a stick driver. Too much down time between all the classes.

On the second run, I popped the car out of 1st during the 60ft on accident. Engaged 2nd and went for it. Speed through the traps was 119, 1 mph less than the first trouble free pass. The car and power is there, I need to get better.

Swapped tires at the track with an emergency spare tire jack. That sucked. Will be going to Harbor Freight to get a mini jack. Super sore today lol

The ugly:

Last pass of three I ground the 1-2. I honestly cant remember if I accidentally got off WOT and my WOT box didnt engage. Car did NOT like that at all. Engine stalled getting off the gas. Had to cycle the key off and on to get the engine to restart. Maybe it went into failsafe? Not sure, check light didnt come on and drove around today. Everything seems ok. I honestly believe I was at fault for that. The first pass, WOT box did its job wonderfully and all 3 shifts landed home great. I may give AMP Performance a call. They seemed to have fixed a few GT500s with the grind issue here in Phoenix. They apparently have access to the service part from Tremec that has no carbon fiber on the 2nd speed ring... Maybe they take the Carmax extended warranty?

Clutch: Couldnt find any slip, not even a little from the RXT. Engagement point was still high. Stupid me left on my midget pedal extender. Im 5,5 and while the brake and gas are great, the clutch is too far recessed to be comfortable on the street. Im too damn close to the wheel. I have a pedal extender I got from CJ pony parts. Transforms teh experience for me on the street, but seems to be a hindrance trying to race. It has a weird angle too, and stupid me didnt take it off. Clutch seemed very on/off, but hard to tell with that thing installed.

A friend at work suggested, since grip isnt an issue, to air up the slicks to get a little wheel spin out of the hole. Im very hesitant to hold a high RPM and "dump" the clutch. Bent 3 axles using radials doing that when I was inexperienced. HOWEVER, Im very new to the world of bias ply slicks and I know they are wildly different. Guys with bias ply experience, can you give me some advice?

Conclusion:

The car is there, and I need to get better. No excuses, its just reality. I have nothing but respect for guys that can wrestle a stick car down the track with speed. My car deserves better than what I gave her, and I will focus on my skill as I save for the next supercharger upgrade.

Thanks for those that read all this. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[RBB]

Glad you finally got back to the track man....addictive isn't it? Sounds like you just need a lot more seat time. I'll be moving to some bias plys myself next spring. No first hand expererience with them, but from what I understand you can let it rip with them on the launch with much less shock to the drivetrain than DRs.

 

[gimmie11s]

Very, very similar to my only m122 track visit with mine.

I went 12.1 @ 117 in 90* weather. It was awful.

At the time she only had an x pipe, jlt intake, 3.73s and a 2.6" pulley. That was it for performance mods.

Your mph is enough for solid mid-low 11 sec run.

You'll need more mph (horsepower) for a 10 IMO.

What is done for exhaust on your car?


Remember we'll never get the mineshaft air the East coast guys get! DA was over 3600ft on my 117mph pass.

 

[Willie]

1) What was your launch technique?
2) Did you adjust your shocks for track use?
3) Do you know what your IAT2's were during the passes, or very soon thereafter?
4) What rpm did you shift at?
5) How tall are your tires?
6) What was your rpm through the traps?

I know how you feel. Since I got ill, I hardly race any more (haven't the last two years) and rust does accumulate on us, even in the desert, LOL. But I still am setting up #2 for racing, and I will return to the track.

More later.....

 

[GOTSVT?]

Lots of factors come into play. I would bet more seat time will alleviate some of the issues.
Launch RPM/getting out of the hole is the biggest battle with these cars.
Once you get that sorted, you should be able to get that et down.
Consider installing a 2 step.
Welcome back to the 1320~

 

[fullboogie]

That thing was flat moving for your mods. Congrats man.

 

[IronTerp]

Good write up Lexustech. You have almost the exact same setup I have. Elevation at Wild Horse is 1145 feet. Not great, but not the worst.

Surprised that you were pleased with the hook of your Hoosiers with a 1.91 60' foot. Like others have advised, get back there and work on your launch technique. These cars take a bit of practice/work to drag race, but with your slicks you should be able to significantly improve your 60' time. With a 3,500-3,800 launch rpm and a "soft" dump, you should be able to get into the 1.6 range with a little work.

 

[biminiLX]

Nice post, this is why I plan to get around to making a drag racers thread so we can all discuss.
I'm assuming you bogged with the slicks? They really like a little wheel speed and spin vs a bog. Also, despite being more aggressive on launch, the wrinkle wall absorbs a LOT of shock, so don't be afraid. DRs and hop kill more parts.
Any vids?
-J

 

[rotor_powerd]

I always found that the WOTBox loves to foul plugs. I had to put new sets in after every pass in order to not have misfire/stumbling/random shut off issues. Sounds like you may have had the same problem.

If it bogged out of the hole on the first pass, turn the RPM up and dump the clutch. Slicks need to spin a couple revolutions out of the hole to work best. There's no real way to slip the clutch on the two step, as soon as you lift the pedal past the engagement point of the WOTBox it's going to want to go up to redline anyway.

 

[RedVenom48]

I certainly appreciate all the reply's!

@gimmie11s : So far, I just have a Lethal off road H pipe. I have a set of 1 7/8ths Dynatec headers I have been meaning to install. i want to get the A/f port moved back and angled on the collector and get them fully ceramic coated before I install them. I have a pre-registration emissions check I need to get done here in AZ. Ill work on getting the headers ready in the mean time.

@Willie: answers as follows
1: No real technique as of yet. I was tring to do a 80% clutch then let out full soon after. Bias plys are a new area for me. I started off at 16.5 psi in the tires. Im thinking I needed to be down around 12-14 cold. Im a little hesitant to just let her rip, but thats my bad experiences with radials coming through I suppose. Any suggestions?

2: 1st pass I had them set soft like I run them on the street 0C 2R. Second pass i set them to 6C 8R. I think Im going to have them set to 10C 12-14R next time Im at the track with a lower psi in the rears. Let the tires absorb the initial hit.

3: Not sure about my IATs. I forgot to hookup my x4 with Lund's datalog config file. I believe that file records IAT2s, but I could be wrong. Ill load up a saved datalog in livelink and see whats on there.

4: Rev light on dash set to 6100 RPM, redline at 6500.

5: Tires are 28x10.5x15 stiffwall. These guys right here:
http://www.jegs.com/i/Hoosier/522/1...MIxZHK9bCa1wIVh2B-Ch1hhwniEAYYASABEgJWJ_D_BwE

6: RPMs through the traps was between 5500-6000. Not sure specifically but not right on redline, I have Ford Racing 4.10 gears. I absolutely love this ratio for this car! Even got 20 mpg on the freeway with them and a monoblade installed on my last trip to San Diego.

@biminiLX Thats what I was thinking. Lol, first time out I feared a hard launch. But thats exactly why I invested in some Hoosier bias plys. I was at 16.5 psi cold, no tubes. How low can bias plies go without tubes and no beadlocks and be "safe"? I think I could start off at 14 cold next time, maybe even 12 psi? I have the matching skinny Hoosier fronts and there was not a hint of sway down the track, at least none that I noticed anyway. No video Im afraid. im looking into a go pro for next time.

@IronTerp: Thanks man. Its a read, but hopefully a new owner or an owner who wants to go to the track can get some useful information out of my experiences. Grip wasnt an issue that night. To be honest, Im used to blowing off the tires with radials. The 1.9 was more on my poor driving than the car or grip. With only 3 passes for the night, the last 2 being a shitshow because of me, I couldnt get a chance to analyze and change my driving. I think as @biminiLX said, I need to trust the bias ply slicks and soft dump her off the line. Let the slicks do the work. More seat time needed without a doubt.

@rotor_powerd Ive only been running the WOT box for WOT shifting. Im on the stock long block and I know that a 2 step will kill my stock engine much sooner than later. The 1st pass was beautiful as far as my car working as a system. Hit every shift that run, and I owe it to the WOT box doing its thing.

@fullboogie Thanks man, felt good. I know shes an 11.5 car, much more left in her. I need to learn to do my part and she'll do the rest. Part of the fun right? I think I also got caught up being lined up next to someone... Friday night drags an all. I didnt block all that out and just run my lane, focusing on my car. Ill make a mental note for the next track day.

@RBB Sure is addictive! It was the worst trying to be patient and getting the car sorted before I went back to the track. Aside from a TVS, shes essentially where I want her. Well, where I can afford her anyway haha! Whenever I get around to the TVS, I may consider saving for a Strange S197 9 inch rear end after that. Peace of mind and much easier serviceability.

@GOTSVT? I think you're absolutely correct. Seat time is my biggest detriment. Id love it if there was a practice facility somewhere, something that only goes out to the 330'. Someplace to focus on the tree, the launch and the initial 1-2 upshift. Im on the stock long block and timing system, so no 2-step for me. I think I just need to make the bias ply's earn their keep off the line