The local track has drag racing tonight -- Heather and I are going to take her Mustang, and try it out . . . I know not to use the burnout box, not to run through the water, and to make sure our AC is off so as not to leave water on the line.
I also know that I should likely let the clutch out at the third yellow . . .
Anything esle?
Don’t even do a dry hop. The last time my friend with a 4.6GT raced me, he did a dry hop before both passes, and spun the tires hard leaving the line.
Oh, and most 1/4 mile tracks require a helmet for cars quicker than 14 seconds. If your car is a newer GT, it will be under that easily.
Watch the shifting. When I did my first drag passes with my supercharged Miata (at the Challenge) it was pretty easy to go 1-2-5 with the stick. It took me a few passes before I got it all figured out. Pay attention to how quickly you run through 1st gear. I was nosing the car over on the limiter because it went to the limiter much quicker than I anticipated. I probably should have tried a 2nd gear launch, but didn't because I thought the clutch was "soft". After the traps you might experience some serious shaking in the car....it's the track surface being rippled. Until someone told me that I thought my car was falling apart !
Your first couple passes dont worry about the light. Leaving a minute after the green does not affect your ET. Its real easy to get up there worried about 10 different things and do them all badly.
First couple passes Id just feel it out and work on the launch, once your a little bit more comfortable see if you can cut a light.
Launching a stock car I have generally had better luck slipping the clutch instead of side stepping it. If the car is soggy down low and makes a lot of top end, a small amount of wheel spin to get wheel speed up may be the fastest way. Most people think to use the throttle as the power metering tool, use the clutch. Slip it a little keep the rpms up and stay in the power band, then when its moving a little give her the beans.
If this is something you actually want to get better at, keep a notebook fo your technique and results. Go to the line with a plan, do it and see what happens, then log it. as you get better it really helps you fine tune and chase those last few tenths. Its just a way to easily reference what is fastest.
Remove everything out of the car that isn't bolted down. Everything out of the trunk. Spate tire? Jack? Out. 1/4 tank max. Don't fill up on the way there. This is all free horsepower.
racerfink said:Don’t even do a dry hop. The last time my friend with a 4.6GT raced me, he did a dry hop before both passes, and spun the tires hard leaving the line.
That might have just been because of your friend and how they launched. Dry hops have been done to kick off debris with no ill effect on the launch
To the OP - just go have fun. Take it easy, feel the car out, start your launch RPMs low(ish) and slowly build up to get a feel for everything
It's just an open track session, not for money/points/sponsors. Dont concern yourself over tire pressures and all of that, just go have fun and meet some good folks
What's a dry hop?
Go fast, burn gas, have fun.
thatsnowinnebago said:What's a dry hop?
A quick burnout with no water or anything. Mostly good for cleaning any debris or dirt off the tires. Not long enough to get any heat in them, which is fine for street tires in general.
In reply to Opti :
like a 2-stroke dirtbike
In reply to Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) :
10-4, thanks
Tom nailed it - quick burnout, but not enough to produce smoke or anything like that. Youre not really heating the tire up, as it'll make most tires greasy, but just want to get pebbles, cigarette butts etc off the tires.
Thanks for the advice, folks! I'll post some time slips . . .
Before the starting lights...
Drag strips get very busy, especially on weekend nights that allow street cars to run. Get there early. Typically, an hour before there will be cars lined up to get in the gates. Maybe you don't need to be 1 hr early but I suggest against thinking you can arrive 2 hours late.
Find out where tech inspection is!!! You will not be able to run w/o getting tach approved. My local track is rather lax about tech for normal looking street cars. But, no tech...no run. The lines to get inspected can be long so be sure to know where you need to go and then go there as quickly as you can.
Expect to wait:
There might be a line to get in the facility. Then, there may be waiting to get through tech, then there will most certainly be waiting to actually run.
Waiting for your turn to run you will be lined up similar to what you see in the picture above. They may be taking car from lane 1 and lane 2, or they may just be taking all from lane 1, then lane 2, then lane 3. Either way, get an understanding of how they're moving the cars to the race line. Once you understand you might see that it will be a long wait. If you see it is going to be a long wait...turn off your car. You don't need to idling for 2 hours.
Figure out the evenings format. Are you just test and tune? This means that they give you a time for your runs but you don't really "beat" the other guy. In these formats, once you are done with one run, get back in line for another run. If so, get back to line quickly.
In other versions, there may be some eventual format where only winners can get back to try again.
My prediction...if you get more than 4 runs in an evening, you are doing pretty good.
hybridmomentspass said:racerfink said:Don’t even do a dry hop. The last time my friend with a 4.6GT raced me, he did a dry hop before both passes, and spun the tires hard leaving the line.
That might have just been because of your friend and how they launched. Dry hops have been done to kick off debris with no ill effect on the launch
To the OP - just go have fun. Take it easy, feel the car out, start your launch RPMs low(ish) and slowly build up to get a feel for everything
It's just an open track session, not for money/points/sponsors. Dont concern yourself over tire pressures and all of that, just go have fun and meet some good folks
He’s been drag racing since the late 70’s. He beat me the four times we went to the drag strip before (every pass). Granted, the thermostat was stuck open in my car and was in closed loop all those times. The last time we went, he did a dry hop before each pass, as there were cars on slicks running, and he wanted to make sure the cars on slicks didn’t pull water out of the burnout box. He spun the tires on launch both times, which had never happened before. My two passes that day were both better than his best ever in that car, so chances are I would have beat him anyways, but it would have been very close.
Be good to yourselves and keep the traction control on the first few times, it might save you from the wall. Once you get it, get it...
Once you've dialed your times in, find someone that runs similar times and race them. It's a serious rush to actually race side by side with someone all the way down the track.
Careful in those heels, you can roll an ankle really easy.
If this is a newer Mustang they have Launch Control under the Track Apps on the dash. This works pretty good.
Thanks, folks! We had a blast -- 15 passes or so (5 for me, and 10 for Heather). She managed a 14.3, and I managed a 14.6. She wants more speed now . . . so I've lost twice it appears. I'll post our best time slips later on.
Jealous of that many passes. Sounds like a great time!
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:thatsnowinnebago said:What's a dry hop?
A quick burnout with no water or anything. Mostly good for cleaning any debris or dirt off the tires. Not long enough to get any heat in them, which is fine for street tires in general.
I broke a clutch doing a dry hop, and all the tracks around here make you go through the water anyway.
I do enough burnout that I feel the engine just start to load down (usually this also starts the car moving), then roll through the brakes and let off the throttle and push in the clutch. This is enough to clear the tires and not risky to parts. Example1, older Example2 (yes, I used to shift mid-burnout!)
I haven't had a street tire yet that didn't appreciate SOME heat in them. This may be related to how the launch pad on a drag strip is basically 30-60 feet of hot rubber.
When people tell me they are going to try out drag racing I cant help but think, "maybe you should just try heroine, its cheaper and less all consuming in the long run."
Congrats on the successful night, it's a great hobby, especially if the track is close to home.
In reply to thatsnowinnebago :
No water or anything, just a quick burnout. Cleaning the tires with this is mostly for removing dirt and debris. Generally speaking, street tires do not receive enough heat to get hot.
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