its my first time im gonna pop my track cherry haha!!! i cant wait ive always wanted to do it and now im finnally going. ive run my car on the street hear and there but nothing to serious, and deffinatly not the same pavement as at the track. what should i know going there is there anything i should bring and maybe some helpfull driving tips (ie launching with my 4.10s) and also some times that i should be shooting for or happy with for my first time
thanks in advance guys and gals!!
max

 

which track you going to? new england, cecil county, or atco?

bring a tire gauge and a helmet, anything faster then 13.99 required. if you dont have a helmet you can rent one from atco. only atco offers helmets. if you make it into the 13's ill be impressed, you got the mods to get you there.

 

Go when the last yellow light turns, dont wait for the green. If your on street tires, ease quickly off the clutch as the car starts moving. Dont just dump it off the line. Shifting is the easy part.

 

i better make it into the 13's ill be pissed if i dont. in my opinoin im a good driver as far as going fast is concerned at least im the best at my school but whatever. what rpms should i rev up to when launching on the street i launch at about 900 and still get no traction. and whats with this stageing stuff i have to wait till the top yellow lights light and inch up then stop then rev up and go, that seems like a little much for like 2 seconds dont you think? is there a trick to that

 

There is a sticky at the top of this section made for first timers. check it out. As for launching every car is different to an extent so try a few different ways. I had a freind who would pop the clutch at 2k and spin and bog but still pull 2.0xx 60's every time. But that didnt work with my car. For me with street tires i did best with 3k rpms and slipping the clutch and feathering the gas out of the hole.

 

You will be lucky to get into the 13's the first-time out, so just be prepared for **** like 14.3/5 sort of times. 4.10's are a bit harder to drive and have been known to result in slower times until you get practise.

Focus on your 60 foot. If you can get your 60 foot to a 2.0 or 1.9, you can get into the 13's, but most guys get 2.4's and 2.5's the first time out.

Have fun and set reasonable expectations. Who cares if you get a 13.9 or a 14.2, just focus on improvements.

 

well im hoping for 13's im a good driver and i think after 2 or 3 runs i could get into 13's i just need to get down what to do with the throttle cause i have to feather it right i cant just mat it or i will just get no traction until the end of second

 

Yeah its just a matter of figuring out what works with your car. I would start off with 2,500-3,500rpms and slipping it out of the hole. If thats to much for you just try popping it at different lower rpms and slowing getting on the throttle. I mean its gonna be tuff and dont be surprized if your first run is well in the 14sec rang. Because untill you get that launch down your 60' will suck and that kills your times.

But no worries a few more trips to the track and your times will just get better and better. My first run in my car stock was high 14's at a sad 97mph. Then i learned how to get it out of the hole and powershift and dropped it down to 14.1's bone stock in my heavy *** car.

So a little practice and some fun and you will get there.

 

well im deffinatly planning on having fun and its gonna be a bunch of my friends goin to we should have like 6 cars and im videotaping everything ill post the video and my times up on sunday night maybe monday

 

max, the first time down the track, ALWAYS make it a slow one to get a feel for what conditions the track is in. this goes for any time you go reguardless of experience.

i have pulled 13.97 @ 101.01 at both atco and cecil and maple grove all stock minus the catback. im shooting for 13.6 after i break in my gears a lil more.

one of the guys around here with the exact mods i do now (just brand difference) pulls a 14.0 @ 98. he babies it cause he is afraid of breaking something. this is with 4.10s

 

Thats the best part of the drag strip you people with powerfull cars or cars that should be fast and they arent. The last time out i saw a full bolt on GT that could not even break into the 13's but was trapping 105 mph lol. To me thats one of the best parts of going ot the track.

 

well brandon i wish i had seen that post before i went lol my first two runs i was almost sideways down the track cause i was launching way to hard so i ran crappy times cause i just limped down the track after almost spinning. but after that i learned my lesson and took it easy and every run after the 2 crappy ones were 13's my best run was a 13.851 with a 2.173 60 foot. i could do better if i could get that 60 foot time down but keep in mind it was 37 degrees out and snowing on and off so the track was freezing. but all in all me and all of my friends who went had a BLAST and thats all that really matters in the end lol but im quite satisfied with my runs after the 2 bad ones all my other times were consistent 13.9's and that one 13.8 im happy with that for my first time at the track but im hopeing for better times next time we go wich will be soon

 

if your worried about your 60' times then invest in either control arms/subframe connectors or some sticky tires/sub frame connectors. those times werent bad at all for a first timer.

i got a question, if your above 50 mph and/or in 5th gear decelerating, is there any whine from your rear. also, does your transmission make a lil more noise after Evolution put your gears in, i dont think that they put my gears in correctly.

 

Great Job!

While the low temps hurt traction, they also helped you make more power. What was your trap speed? I suspect you were about 101 or so. That may drop on a wamer day but result in a better 60 foot.

 

ive never had any whine from the rear idk what to say but if i were you i would call them up and tell them. make them fix it cause you paid prob what i paid about 500 and that sucks if they screwed it up. where did they do the work in the actual shop or did they take it down the street?

 

congrats on your 1st couple runs, those r very respectable times esspecially for someone new to drag racing. I'm planning on takeing my Mustang to the track for the 1st time. My Dad had an '02 Lighning that I ran about 20 times at Bithlo (Orlando Speed world) It was bone stock and I ran a 13.80 as my best time, but I've never raced a stick at the track so I'll have some more learing to do. I'll have my subframe connecters in though so they should help and I'm hoping for a 13.9 but my tires are almost bald and were never that good to begin with, I'll probobly replace them with drag radials whean they wear out. But yeah good runs!

 

my only words of advicec to you (not that im an expert at it) but all i can say is what pure stang said before just take it slow your first run maybe even your first couple dont launch just get a feel for the track and how your car handles the track then try launching and everything and most importantly have as much fun as possible!! if you get the radials you will be able to get that 13.9 with some ease.

 

they did the work in the shop i believe, im gonna give them a call tommorow or thursday cause its been 200 miles since they put them in. i hope they didnt fubar it

 

well give em a call and tell me how it goes good luck. idk why that happend cause they seem like they really know what they were doin, when they did my car they took it to a "sister" shop down the street and i talked to the guy who did it i forget his name though. but he did a great job.

 

Congrats, I would have been suprised if you didn't hit atlease 13's (car and mods). Good job