First time out at the track, here's my experience

[philkilla]

And now, I'm here to learn more:


Ok, so I've been building up my car for quite sometime now. For this day out I was using a 100 octane tune from Lund himself and it pulled like crazy. On 8 psi with 93 octane the car hit 612 rwhp, I'm on 10 psi so not really sure what the power is but it felt like a substantial increase.

The temp was about 65-70 for most of the day with very strong wind gusts.

The track I was at is Green Cove Dragway, fairly new and even though it's only an 1/8th mile they have a pretty decent setup. My first few runs were pretty terrible, (started the day off with a 12.7!!) since I've never raced before, let alone EVER driven a car with slicks mounted. To say the least it was a shock to feel my car hook up and actually launch.

I believe this was my 5th run on the day:

[youtube_browser]VkSQGVDcP8c[/youtube_browser]

The biggest issue I had aside from nailing my shifts at the right time was the car kept getting VERY loose about the 330-500 ft mark. My father (he's been racing since before I was born) was spotting for me and noticed the left rear was doing the business while the right just sat still...so obviously a Posi-unit is necessary since I have the plain jane diff


This was my last run of the day against a crazy Ninja (note, I was more focused with test and tune than competition all day)

[youtube_browser]8zK4FRvJCJk[/youtube_browser]


I managed a 1.50 60 ft which was my best of the day but they were mostly hovering around the 1.5-1.65 range for the day.

Now to points of contention: I'm researching everything I can because I want to go fast(er) and it's fun.

These are my facts and assumptions:

My pinion angle from that day was unknown, but after this foray I have set it to -1. After watching my videos I've noticed the nosedive and I'm considering upgrading to strange double adjustable front struts (Strange Engineering Double Adjustable Front Struts (2005-2011) PAIR - Justin's Performance Center) as well as different springs.

I'm shopping for posi-units but not really sure what to commit to. I've read and heard the Eaton is solid but would like some suggestions. On top of that I'm also considering a lower gear (3.55 or even 3.31) vs. the stock 3.73's I'm running now so I can actually have a usable 1st gear on the street and more than a millisecond to shift on the track!

Attached is my final time slip of the day too. I know I have much MUCH to learn, but am very eager to do so.

Thanks for your time guys.

 

[IronTerp]

Very nice writeup! And great launch on the last vid! But you didn't attach the time slip and there's no numbers on your runs. Would be interesting to see your shift points too. Missing 4th doing 1/8th mile runs is rare since most folks don't use 4th at that drag distance.

But for you're first time drag racing: Great job!!

 

[philkilla]

Ah crap you're right.

Here's my slip from that last run against that crazy bike. The others were pretty embarrassing haha:

I didn't log my runs sadly and didn't have shift light that day (learned that lesson now) so more or less I was shifting by glance from the Tach. and by sound.

It was well into the upper RPM range in third gear before I was at 550' though.

 

[IronTerp]

That 7.21 in the 1/8th would equate to a low 11.1 or so in the 1/4 mile. Very nice job. For the power that your car is producing, feel that you have the capability of significantly more than 91.4 MPH. Folks running that kind of power at your approximate race weight are often well over 100 MPH trap speeds. Your differential setup and the looseness you were feeling is most certainly not helping your trap speed. Still loving that 1.50 sixty foot!!!

 

[Zemedici]

That's very admirable for your first time sir!

My cobra/blown 5.0 guys leave (or change out) the 3.55, not near as much shifting for daily driving or track use = faster times.

 

[philkilla]

That 7.21 in the 1/8th would equate to a low 11.1 or so in the 1/4 mile. Very nice job. For the power that your car is producing, feel that you have the capability of significantly more than 91.4 MPH. Folks running that kind of power at your approximate race weight are often well over 100 MPH trap speeds. Your differential setup and the looseness you were feeling is most certainly not helping your trap speed. Still loving that 1.50 sixty foot!!!

Thanks! I know the car has a lot more in it. I still have a lot to learn but that's fun for me. I'm planning on swapping out the shocks/struts and springs for more appropriate items. Gears and a posi unit are also on my to-do list.

I think it's funny for how fast it was even with heated power seats (79 lbs. a piece I believe) and I never even made a full pass that day because I was afraid it was gonna smack the wall.

The more I look at the layout of a track it looks like I was out of the throttle just a little past the 330' marker.

That's very admirable for your first time sir!

My cobra/blown 5.0 guys leave (or change out) the 3.55, not near as much shifting for daily driving or track use = faster times.

I'm definitely considering ditching the 3.73 for a 3.31 or even a 3.15. Seeing a lot of top 5.0 guys running those low gears is definitely eye opening.

With the whipple and how fast the coyote winds up that 1st gear is pretty much non-existent.


Oh...and I'll get better MPG in the city/highway

 

[GT500-lolz@MPG]

Philkilla, can haz torqz?

 

[philkilla]

Philkilla, can haz torqz?

Negatron, needz has more BOOSTZ!!!! :banana:

 

[spyder1337]

Honestly you just need to practice more man. It sounds like you're feeling loose at the end but that's what slicks feel like man, soft side walls. If you're running a full size standard tire in the front it also can make things feel wiggly out back especially when slowing down. I agree the gear swap would be nice but going from a 3.73 to a 3.55 isn't going to make a world of difference. I stepped down from a 3.73 to a 3.31 and really enjoyed the change. With a positive displacement blower the steep gear isn't needed as much to get that fat ass rolling out down low. Cheers and keep on at it man!

 

[philkilla]

Practice is a definite for me. Oh, and I have stiff sidewall slicks btw.

I'd like to get a set of front runners for my next outing just to cut some weight and my ET a little bit as well.