Going to my first drag strip in 1 week

[staticpike]

98 Camaro 3.8 sII A4 Bone Stock 60K miles

I'm leaving for a deployment soon and wanted to get a base run out of the way before I leave the car in my fathers capable hands (while I have the parts shipped home) and come back and her exhaust and intake are different. This way I can guage my improvement over time.

Unfortuatnely, I think the track I'm going too is only 1/8th mile and not the quarter like I want. Any advice you could give a newbie is appreciated (like what to expect, how to launch an auto etc).

I've read through some stuff but like to hear it "from the horses mouth".

Thanks! [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[StudlyCamaro]

an 1/8th mile track is a great place to learn.. they are usually (from my experience anyway) more laid back.. you get more runs in, and they are generally less crowded.

lets see, what you should know... first find out if its an outlaw track or not.. if they go by NHRA rules, you will need a battery tie down strap. if not then dont worry about anything (BTW my tie down strap is a bunjee cord) , OH AND WEAR PANTS (there are alot of people that dont realize that you have to wear pants to race (why no one seems to know...m aybe its so if your car catches fire you will burn to death slower))

do not do a burnout in the waterbox unless you are running drag radials or slicks of some sort.

you may want to spin your tires once or twice just to make sure there arent any rocks stuck on em.. but a burnout on street tires wont do much good

when approaching the line go up slowly, when the 1st light comes on you are 2 inches from the light, when the second light comes on you are on the line ( i dont know what happens when you go over the line... never done it) once both lanes are on the line, the tree will start counting down. on the last yellow launch your car, dont wait for the green light

i used to stall the torque converter (hold the brake, and hold the RPM @ around 2000) when i was racing and i usually cut 2.3xx 60' times.

then i decided to just flash the stall one day on a whim (go straight from the brake to the gas without stalling the TC) and i started cutting my 2.1xx 60's (i think i could do better , but oh well, its not too shabby for a 3.4L with a few boltons and an open 3.23 rear)

you should watch a few cars go thru before gettin in line, just to make sure what is goin on. if ya have any questions just ask someone, people are generally nice at the track. and most imporntantly HAVE FUN, thats what its all about

[Camarorulz]

What he said, except about the stalling. You should always stall it up. 12secondv6 stalls up his converter, stalled up his stock converter. Most of the other guys that have cut good '60s stall up as well. You just have to find the right rpm. Stall as high as you can without losing traction. I would find a back road to practice on. I just got new tires so I did this and now I know after only 1 stall launch about what rpm I need to launch from. Practice makes perfect. Let the car cool off a lot before running, it helps believe me. For a stock 3.8 like yours, anywhere from 9.6-10.1 is doing fairly well in the 1/8th.

[V6MaroFL]

What they said.. in addition to wearing pants, no tank tops either.

Don't do a U turn after you are done, if you miss a turn off, they will be another one further up.

The first time up is a bit nerve racking, don't forget to breathe! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[StudlyCamaro]

IMO dont bother with practicing lauching on the street the track if properly prepped will be a lot different and you will have to relearn how to launch

[MustangEater8251]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by StudlyCamaro:
IMO dont bother with practicing lauching on the street the track if properly prepped will be a lot different and you will have to relearn how to launch<hr></blockquote>

I disagree... it helps alot to practice on the street, just at the track launch a little harder, and a little faster. Course my track prep is like the street alot of times, well... if your lucky ;)

[staticpike]

Alright, went to the track a week ago in Kentucky while I was home on leave (it was an 1/4 mile...). The temperature outside was 83* and it was rather humid. I did unfortunately have to drive an hour to get to the track in this same weather and that rose my ambient heat level significantly. I was pressed for time and did not have enough time to let it cool down between rounds. Out of 6 runs here were my times:

#1 .763(R/T) 2.37(60) 10.27@71.09(1/8) 15.947@86.21(1/4)
#2 .471(R/T) 2.38(60) 10.30@70.86(1/8) 15.998@85.55(1/4)
#3 .317(R/T) 2.49(60) 10.45@67.67(1/8) 16.151@85.55(1/4)
#4 .315(R/T) 2.49(60) 10.43@67.77(1/8) 16.123@85.55(1/4)
#5 .301(R/T) 2.48(60) 10.58@69.98(1/8) 16.333@84.75(1/4)
#6 .258(R/T) 2.49(60) 10.39@68.08(1/8) 16.060@86.04(1/4)

My reactions time got better every round and I started to get the feel of the power brake. Most of the later ones I bogged a little off the line because of tire spin. The first race was the fastest, the last I think was my best run.

Run #2 was versus a slightly modified 5.0 Mustang. I figured I was going to loose against him but I actually won by .0991!!! He actually had the faster car according to the slip but his R/T was .663 compared to my .471 and that was enough to let me win by a hair (literally). Otherwise I had a blast and can't wait to get back from this deployment and go again (my CIA's are sitting in the living room as I type this as well as my corvette servo & SLP loudmouth!!!)

Please feel free to critique and make suggestions! I don't think I would have ever tried this if it wasn't for this board! [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[ August 12, 2003: Message edited by: staticpike ]</p>

[Camarorulz]

I'd say your #2 run was the best one. It was closest to a perfect r/t and you cut your second best '60 and a good mph. It looks like the heat affected your car more and more as you made more runs. Any r/t under .500 is leaving early. .500 is a perfect reaction. Good runs for summer though. I went a few days ago and made a best run of 15.9 @ 86. :rolleyes: not too great compared to my time in the sig, but I spun a lot. You're really not going to pull very spectacular times in this summer heat. You might pull .4 better in the fall. Stick with it, you're doing pretty good.

[ August 12, 2003: Message edited by: Camarorulz ]</p>

[jamie]

camarorulz: a lot of tracks will automatically register it as anything above .500. so a .471 is really a .971. get what i'm saying? his last run was his best r/t.

[Camarorulz]

Yeah, I see jamie, thanks.