my terrible night at the 1/8th
 

My first time ever on a track and it didn't go so well. Only got two runs in before the day was rained out. My first run was against a debadged mustang that was running low 9's I believe. I couldn't do a very good burnout and when I went to take off I sat there spinning for a bit. I made up for it and hauled some ass but let off too soon and ended with a 11.9!!! TERRIBLE. The other mustang came out with a 9.5. Some questions I have, can someone explain to me 60ft? Mine was 3.6599 which I'm sure was also terrible. I was onling going 68.06 MPH at the end. My reaction was +.0420 which I think is good? I got to do one more run and did much better, but it was the last run before they shut down and didn't get our times, so I have no idea what I did :( I'm going back next Friday for sure, damnit!

:icon_pale 3.665 60 foot? LOL, its ok, first timer, and I cant laugh, cause Ive never been, but a good sixty foot time is around 1.9 to 2.0. Most drivers muster about a 2.0- 2.2 60 fter. Dont worry, like anything, it takes practice, but I think thats the highest 60 ft time Ive EVER read lol. I bet you had fun though, and thats all that matters. Hit it again next week. :glasses1:

Yeah I had fun and I can't wait til next week. The track is kinda ****ty from what I've heard on getting traction. When I had that last good run I spun when I shifted from each gear :shrug:

Lol...there's no way a 3.665 60' is all track prep, lol. You just need to make sure you get them nitter's heated up good on your first burnout of the night. And if they keep spinning, let off it and let 'em hook for christ's sake, lol.

A R/T of .042 is pretty good. of course my 0.000 last week at norwalk is perfect :D Keep practicing your launch and you should be able to get that 60' down to a 1.9

yeah like I said, I didn't heat them up good enough at all and spun for a good while. But I plan to head to the track every Friday night for the rest of the season so hopefully but the end of the summer I can pull a half decent time lol

if they arent slicks, you dont really need to heat them up. Just a small burnout to get the debris off. I am not even close to an expert, but my 60' times were 2.3 at best, so dont fret

He's on DR's...they do need to be heated up. Street tires are the ones that you shouldn't heat up. I pulled 2.2 60's very consistently on Goodyear Eagle ZR-1's, and with my BFG's, I'm consistently hitting low 1.9 60's.

btw im a she ;) and I was on my almost bald gatorback oem tires up front, dunno if that makes a difference. I'll let you guys know how much run goes next week when I get more time in at the track

I have been running Nitto's for about 9 months now. My best results are with them at 16-18 psi and really heat them up good. Start your burnout in first gear and then shift to second, keep the rpm's up and watch your drivers side mirror. Once you get some smoke stay on it for at least a five count. Nitto's are a hard compund and need to be very hot to hook up. Pump your front tires up to 45 psi that helps reduce the rolling resistance. I was able to get a 2.02 with the stock Goodyears and a 1.78 on the Nitto's.
It's sounds like you have a great attitude, keep practicing and you will get better.

I'm guessing you use a break technique to do your burnouts? I didn't want to do it at the track because I hadn't practiced it enough, but Im getting new street tires on Wednesday so I may practice on these right before we take them off. Thanks for the help, we had the Nittos at 28 psi

Yes I just hold the brakes down but mines an automatic so it's easier than a five speed. If you are worried about burnouts look into getting a line lock, it will hold your brakes without you having your foot on the brake pedal. 28 psi no wonder you were spinning, lol. Start at 18 psi and see how that works for you. Also be sure to check your tire pressure after you run, mine will go up 1 pound on each of the first three or four races then level off. I usally jump out and check it a couple of cars before I run to make sure. Nitto's work but take alot of practice, you have to find the right combination of heat and tire pressure.

Here are some tricks that will help you at the track.
Take out your spare tire, jack and tire iron for less weight
try to time your fill ups so you are running with 1/8 - 1/4 tank of gas. Gas is 9 lbs. per gallon so a full tank can add 90 - 115 pounds of extra weight.
Remove the front sway bar before going to the track, this takes about 25 lbs off the front end and allows the front suspension to raise up quickly transfering weight to the rear tires for better traction. The sway bar only has 4 bolts and comes off quite easily. Don't worry your car will handle fine without it, mine has been off for almost two years and I drive it every day to work.
Pull the passenger side headlight to allow more air into the engine, this requires a slotted screw driver and a pair of pliers. Takes about 1 minute. There are two metal shafts that hold it in place which just need to be lifted up, I put some white lithium grease on them to make it easy to reinstall.
You can also pull the rear seat out easily at home and knock off another 50 lbs. This requires a meteric socket set and takes about 10 minutes.
Pull your rear wing off, it creates drag. I pulled mine off permanately and plugged the holes with plastic plugs from Lowe's. Cost about $5.00.
I aslo cut my stock air box to open it up to allow better air flow.
Most of these mod's cost little or nothing and they do add up. I have managed to get my stock motor slush box to run consistant 13.0's @ 104 plus using these free or cheap mod's. The biggest mod is the driver mod, get lot's of practice in and take detailed notes of each run. This will help you compare runs and see what works best for you. I created a spread sheet in Excel on my laptop to track my races and it helped me a great deal in setting up my car.

Great info thanks blue. And yea, lol, drag racing on d/rs at 28 psi wont help much either. But thats cool that you are a girl, not many are into modified cars and drag racing. Just awesome if you ask me.

great advice! I probably won't pull the headlight, rear seat, or wing this coming Friday, but I'll definately take out the spare tire and the sway bar. Someone told me to use 25 psi on the DRs, we meant to let some out when we got there but we were in a hurry to put them on because it was about to rain. But I'll make sure we let some out this time lol. Thanks again

im so glad i have an auto. hold the transbrake. let er loose :)

Alright guys, I still don't think I'm hitting the time I should be, but I'm still in the learning process. I've mastered the powerbreaking burnout, lol.. only after killing it about 6 times :) I also tried power shifting which scared me lol. Doesn't feel good, I had never done it until tonight on the track. I tried it some on the way home going slower and I'm getting more use to it. I kept having a problem hitting 3rd gear, I need to relax more.

I got to make 10 passes. My 60 ft was 2.2 most of the time, my best 60 ft was a 2.1. I'm not satisfied with my launches yet. After I take off and shift to 2nd my car seems to bog down pretty good.. suggestions? My lowest time of the night was only a 9.9. But I ran low 10's consistantly. I talked to a friend and we both agreed I'm in desperate need of a tune, he thinks that could be some of the reason that car doesn't seem like it should, that and I just need more practice!

you need to just lower the tires pressure to around 15-18psi those nittos like that psi on our rims, then rev to 3-4k rpms and slip the clutch out of the hole. and if your not doing a burnout even a small one your leaving alot of time at the starting line.

Also if your scared to powershift dont do it just speed shift. as fast as you can. and shift your car at 5,500rpms. and it looks like you on stock gears so dont go into 4th. then again this is the 1/8 mile so i odnt knwo if you even could.

tire pressure was 18psi, and I was doing a pretty good burnout.. here's a clip

http://www.csledd.com/ellie/gleason1.wmv

I wasn't getting close to 4th gear, barely hitting 3rd... still running stock gears

Nice video! You might need to burn them longer. I had fun with my nitto's Tuesday night, finally just roasted them to death on my last two passes and hooked up really well.
Keep going out and running you already have improved. Good job!

Glad to see another girl at the track. Your 60 ft times look MUCH better! :icon_thum I am running 9.1 at the track so you will get there with more practice. Some 4.10's and a tune would knock off a LOT of 1/8 time

Thanks! :D I'll be getting a dyno tune in about a week and a half, after I put my new TB and plenum on :) I'll post numbers and pics though I'm sure it'll be disappointing like most dyno graphs are lol.

For a quick reference, I ran a 9.15 @ 79 with an O/R H pipe and K&N filter with a 2.22 60 foot. Work on nailing those shifts and I bet your time goes down a lot.

yeah.. I didn't get to go this weekend, got rained out :( my TB and plenum will be here on Tuesday (my 20th bday!!) and then I may try to get the dyno tune in at the end of the week, im hoping i can do it then cuz i gotta drive 3 hours to get there. :)

Just as a reference my friend's bone stock (down to the filter) Automatic 01 Convertible GT ran 9.13@77mph his first time at the track. His 60ft. times were in the 2.0x area.

It sounds like you're 60 ft. times have greatly improved...and that's great. What rpm are you shifting at in each gear? And shift like a mad-woman when ya do.

You've got alot of potential to run some 8 second timeslips from the looks of your sig. A tune would help the car alot bringing together all the modifications you've done.

But most importantly Practice makes perfect! Keep it up and keep us posted. :happy3:

Philip K.

well when i was bone stock and still on gatorbacks ..i ran 9.13 @77 with a 2.136 60' .....you will get better, dont worry

Going to the track tomorrow.. just tuned the car and got it on the dyno.. about to post up the results :)

Practice, practice, and more practice. I was in the same boat kinda. On stock tires the best I could do (leaving at idle, or else it would spin) was a 9.155. I put Nitto 555R's on and the best I could do was a 9.05 9.06 and 9.07. Consistent, but yet there was a problem. I went back and reviewed my video a fellow club member was taking and I noticed that both wheels werent spinning on the burnout (no wonder I didnt see any smoke.) Well, I guess the traction-loc is burnt up in the rear end and I will be replacing the clutches in it soon. I was hoping for my first 8 sec time slip w/the DR's, but it wasnt meant to be. Oh. my 9.05 came w/a 95 5spd 3:73 gears, lauching between 2400-2800 on a crappy track. You will get it. With the dyno proven 270 hp you should be in the 8.5-8.7 range. Im running at 240hp/307tq. Good luck.