First trip to the track (Baytown, Texas) in a manual car

[old_goat]

Basically a newbie here.

Now you guys know I'm going to take Lil Pony to the track. Hell, we all know that.

Everything I've learned racing my 2005 A4 GTO, 09 A6 Vette, and 09 A6 G8 GXP goes down the drain racing my 2013 M6 Mustang GT.

What did I learn from my GM autos? A lot was learned about the whole scope of racing street cars. Yes, I learned well. Well enough that on two occasions my GTO was number 1 in the bolt on class with a 12.12, my Vette was at number 4 on the LS3 showroom stock category with a 12.15, and my G8 GXP is still the fastest bolt on G8 with an 11.91 and ran a bone stock 12.93. So, in this context, I know my way around the track with an auto. However that was then, tonight is now.

Will the car wheel hop, what do I launch at, do I dump or slip the clutch, will I shift properly shift or miss a shift, will I be able to get a good launch with 3.73 gears, will I shift at the right time and avoid hitting the rev limiter, etc. It's a whole new ballgame.

I set a goal with my GXP and it was a bone stock 12.9x, and I reached it on several occasions. So, my goal for Lil Pony will be a 12.8. It will probably take a night of good and negative DA to reach it. I have no doubts about Royal Purple Raceway and the track prep.

The only prep I will do is lowering the rear tires a bit and take out the spare tire and tools. After that, it's time to race.

In order to get the 12.8x timeslip, I have my work cut out for me. I do think the engine and car has the ability, but do I as a driver have the ability?

I'll let you guys know what happened.

I'm pretty nervous about this. It's like spending some 'very intimate' time with Beyonce instead of a blow up doll, a whole new ballgame.

 

[blkstang302]

I've ran at baytown a couple times...

I have a '12 m6 with jlt,93 tune,xpipe,cb, 3.31 gears, shocks/struts/springs/panhard, 275 pzeros. Ive been having trouble launching with a best of 2.2 60 ft yielding a 12.8@114. I'd say on a nice cold night with a good launch and 3.73's you'll have a good chance with your '13. I know with these 11-12' intake manifolds you want to shift a little earlier because the power drops off before red line...im assuming the '13s are the same way.

They usually spray the water box all the way across which sucks, I like to drive around it then back in to do burnout so the front tires dont track water.

 

[ViperBlueCobra]

tonight will be perfect running conditions.

If you get you 60ft under 2.0, it should yeild you some mid 12's.

 

[MikeLTDLX]

12.8s are very doable with a bone stock car. Focus on getting a good launch, not spinning, and nailing your shifts.

 

[corruptor]

If you're on stock suspension, 75% chance you'll wheel hop. Strange how it's not exactly consistent car to car, but odds are you'll hop. In that case, you'll probably want to slip the clutch

Also, when I was lowered ~1.5", it completely eliminated my wheel hop and the ****ing thing hooked pretty good for street tires. I'm back to stock height until I decide on what spring rates I want, which also means I'm back to dealing with the wheel hop.

 

[Jedisalami]

my stock brembo car wheel hopped so bad I could race it. Relocated lowers didnt fix it, then when I lowered the car with strange adjustable shocks it finally cured it

 

[stretchb]

keep us posted on times.

 

[OddConsonants]

keep us posted on times.

What he said

 

[2012GT/CS]

I just made my first run in my 2012 GT Wensday nite 12.7!114mph only mods cai,cat-back,evo tune. Stock h pipe and stock 245/45/19's M6

 

[OddConsonants]

I just made my first run in my 2012 GT Wensday nite 12.7!114mph only mods cai,cat-back,evo tune. Stock h pipe and stock 245/45/19's M6

Nice! I need to practice my launch a little more and make a few passes of my own.

 

[Sof Top]

The DA for Baytown TX(RPR) is 409ft tonight...Not to mention track prep is normally really good there too. So the conditions are really good!

 

[old_goat]

OK, here goes.

I've already set up this thread by stating I've never raced a manual before, and I also made a list of things I would have to consider.

Will the car wheel hop, what do I launch at, do I dump or slip the clutch, will I shift properly shift or miss a shift, will I be able to get a good launch with 3.73 gears, will I shift at the right time and avoid hitting the rev limiter, etc.

One thing I will do is tell the complete truth, whether it makes me look like an idiot or not.

Car, bone stock 2013 Mustang GT manual with the only option being 3.73 gears, non premium.

I always get to the track early and try to be the first car to get teched in, then get into the line to race. I can do what little prep I do right there. Tonight, I lowered the tire pressure on the rears to 27 pounds. I even had the spare tire and some tools in the back. Knowing how much my G8 GXP sucked up gas on the nights I was running her, I bought an extra $20 worth of 93 octane, which turned out to be a mistake. When I left the track, I still had almost a half tank.

I was beyond nervous before making the first run. On the way to the track I did a couple of 0-70 hard launches on the toll road just to try to get a feel for the car.

Race 1 To say that I was suffering from brain overload would be an understatement. I don't remember what RPM I launched at, but it was too high. Wheel hop all over the place, hit the rev. limiter on two occasions. Ugh. By the way, I left traction control on, which made things even worse, plus I got 'killed' by another 5.0.
14.662 @ 105.11.........2.624

Race 2 I turned right around and hot lapped the car. At this point in the night, I didn't feel the temp of the engine was as important as making a good pass. I raced the same 5.0, and this time I was the 'killer'.
13.481 @ 110.42..........2.408

Race 3 Using the same thoughts as race 2, I turned right around and made another pass. The lines at the track would grow to be long as the night went on, and I felt experience was more important than letting the car cool for a bit.
13.217 @ 111.48..........2.234 I was feeling a lot better by now, but there was no doubt in my mind the car was capable of far more, it was just me holding her back. All my launches from this point on were in the 2500 to 2800 range.

**************************************************
During the break I went up to another 5.0 buddy and was embarrassed to ask this question, however people learn by asking. How do I clean off the tires? With my autos, I could fry the drag radials, but this was completely different. Basically I just did a couple of hard launches to clean off my 235 stock 18" tires. I need to work on this. Also, I never dumped the clutch, I mostly eased into the run, or ease as best that I could do with no experience.
***************************************************


Race 4 After taking a 45 minute break it was time to saddle up the pony again and try to let her gallop, but there was too much wheel hop. Also, after the first two runs against a brother 5.0, I have no idea who I raced. I totally concentrated on my car and my time and didn't care who I 'killed' or who 'killed' me.
13.452 @ 109.68.....2.240

If you look at my 60' on run 4, it almost mirrored the 60' on run 3, however hitting the rev. limiter also limits your runs. Something to remember.

Race 5 Seat of the pants tells me it's a really good run. Like all the runs before this one, there was still a bit of wheel hop, but minimal as compared to runs 1 and 2. I didn't hit the rev limiter everything went very smooth.
13.029 @ 110.80..........2.116
Not only was this the best run, the reaction time was .034. Not bad for a fat old man who wears bifocals.

Race 6 I'm allowing the car to cool off as the lines have gotten ridiculously long, but the car is cooling off in line. Where the first three runs were back to back, the last ones were about an hour apart. Apparently we took a big step back with this race. Bad wheel hop and more rev limiter hits.......ugh.
13.129 @ 111.25.......2.236

Race 7 It's right at 9:15 and one of my buddies tells me the DA is right at + 420 or somewhere close. As the lines have gotten even longer, it's time to make one last pass. Every thing seemed right on this pass. Still a bit of hop, but my eyes were glued on both the track and tach. Every shift was right at 6800, and the shifts were as good as could be expected with my lack of experience. I don't have a premium package, so there is no type of shift light to tell me when to shift. I think there's a variation of a shift light on the premium package. My reaction time (1.432) on this run was laughable as I was running a 10 second car and only cared about my time, not about the race. I wanted to launch and race when I was totally ready.
12.981 @ 110.66.......2.094 , first night out in a manual and I'm a new member of the 12 second club. It felt great to get that timeslip and to see the number 12.981 on the slip.

A couple of things to close with. Yes, these cars are capable of far better times than my PB of the night, but I must take things in context. If I make more passes and the DA is better, no way should I be happy with a 12.981, but for tonight I'll gladly take it.

I never missed a shift all night, except going from 4th to 5th after the line was crossed. With these stock tires and a 3.73 gear, I was crossing the line in 4th at about 6800 rpms.

It was a great night, and boy, did I learn a lot!

 

[Red Turtle]

^^^ nice work.

 

[MikeLTDLX]

Yeah, it is hard the first time out with these cars, especially with radials. My experience was much of the same. A 14 and change from spinning, a 13 and change from spinning and then a 12.8 with a 2.0 60 foot. It gets better...especially with mods and slicks!

Mike

 

[WHITEMACH]

With tires 12.40s

 

[old_goat]

 

[Sof Top]

Nice car and nice work!

 

[gen2lightning]

Sweet I saw a picture of it on the RPR facebook page.

 

[Dave_6]

Man a 12.98 on stock tires is awesome IMO! We have identical cars (except mine has 3.31s) and I wished I could have gotten that out of mine when I went the first time. I struggled to get 13.20s out of mine and couldn't get any better than a 2.2 60 foot either. Of course it was hot and the DA was over 1400 which wasn't helping me any. Hopefully I can get 12s next time!

Congrats!

 

[mikestoyz]

6800 1-2
6700 2-3
6600 3-4 gave me another 1-1.5 mph rather than 6800 for each shift