my best times have been at sacramento raceway with 16.5-16.6 range.. and they're a little slower at infineon raceway (napa), with only 16.8..i really need to get that ECU upgrade..when i get that, i'll go run again and see what i get

 

Since you guys mentioned problem with getting traction at the track, I'm gonna ask... What tires compound did you run? Tread life? Tire pressure? What RPM were you at when you finally gained traction?

 

I was running on Falken Azenis. Good road course tires, but not meant for launching. I ran about 28 psi, but wasn't sure if that did any good, with the sidewalls this tire has. And I think it grabbed around 3000, since my best launch came at that rpm. 4000 didn't want to grab.

 

With a FWD open diff low torque motor, you really should be looking at 2.3 or better 60' time (and better since you've got sticky compound)... With a motor that's a bit beefier, you should be able to knock it down to a 2.2 on street tires, close to 2.1 with good tires. And finally, with an LSD, 2.1 60' time is totally possible even on street performance tires and 2 flat with drag radial/slicks. Based on what you've told me, it seems to be a combination of a few problems:

1/. Track conditions. Yes, perhaps the track really does suck and won't grip worth of crap.
2/. Tire temperature. Azenis does have quick warm up time and operates fine at a relatively low temperature (vs R compound) but if your car had been sitting at the waiting lane for a long time (like you would in northern California) then it's possible that your tires are too cold and offers no traction. A burn out would be recommended for your next 1/4 mile pass.
3/. Tire pressure. 28psi seems a bit high for an FWD launch. FYI when I did my best runs (both times with 2.223 60' time) my front tire pressure was set at 23psi. It helped my launches trememdously.
4/. Over-compensating. When you started to lose traction, you backed off of the throttle too much and let your RPM fall below your power band. After a "good" launch, you should find yourself right in the middle of your power band as you get traction. It is a balancing act between clutch slipping and throttle modulation. While watching for tire spin, you have to adjust those two pedals carefully so you gain traction while not drop RPM further... It's tricky business.

I am willing to bet that you can knock about a second off of your time slip with a good launch and a better track.

 

That's funny TypeIII. What you are saying is exactly what this guy in my apartment complex told me. He said he used to have the same problem running mid to high 16's until he learned to drive his car better. He now averages high 15's. I am going to try the tire pressure thing next time I go as I have never adjusted my tire pressure for racing.

I've been keeping an eye on this post for info. That is one trick that might help me too.

WADAD

 

wow TypeIII, that is useful information. I'll try that some time, see if I can't learn how to launch better. Thanks!

 

Well I went to Orlando Speedway tonight and this was by far the worst experience I have ever had. WE waited 2 hours to run because the track was wet at the end and then we were forced to only run 1/8 mile times. I bought and installed an intake (thanks Vision Imports) just for this night.

Anyway after we all got in one run someone leaked antifreeze on the track and it was closed for another hour to clean that off.

So it's 10 Oclock now and I finally get to run a second time. The only good things that happened were that I stomped on this Civic EX and then got back to the staging area before it closed. I think I was the last car in.

OK so the last 20 cars or so begin to run to complete the night and then some dumbass in a sub 13 sec car breaks and sprays some other stuff on the left lane. We were restricted to the right lane to finish off so I did not get to run any one else. I finished it off with the worst time of the night.

My 60's suck right now. Must be those cheap tires I bought.

So here is my best run of the night.

R/T----1.086
60'----2.405
330---7.016
1/8th--10.788
MPH---64.98

Upon closer inspection of my old slips seems like although my 60's were worse I was actually getting higher trap speed at 1/8th. I also got my girl to video tape me and the car seems to rock back and forth like a see saw. Our cars have to be lowered to get anything out of the power mods.

I feel cheated tonight but hopefully I will finally get to post a 1/4 before the end of the year.

Not to take over your thread Urban but I promised you new times,

WADAD

 

Did you try and lower your front tire pressure?

 

I did lower them to 22 pounds the first time and 19 the last 2 runs.

WADAD

 

Still couldn't get traction out of the hole eh?

IMO 19psi is a bit low and will give too much rolling resistance as you pick up speed. You also lose some stability along the way... I think low 20's is the best compromise, but that's just what I find with the tires I've been using, and the cars I've been driving.

Were the 60 foot times consistant for your runs? If they were, did you find your ET and trap to be different just from tire pressure? I guess you only had three runs, which makes it difficult for you to draw any conclusions.

 

the 3 60's were 2.553, 2.405 and 2.492

Et's were 10.956, 10.788 and 11.063

Traps were 64.91, 64.98 and 63.93

I really don't know what happened on the last run. I just tried to ease it off the line and thought I had a good start but it didn't work out that way at the end.

I'll just have to wait until the weather is better I guess.

Thanks for trying.

WADAD

Just editing some stuff in from the 1st post so I can compare.

#5265: OZ manual, ecu reflash, intake, performance tires ran cold (no burnout)

#4839: ES manual, ecu reflash, intake, throttle body, header, no cats, exhaust, stock tires with burnout

# 4837: OZ automatic, intake, stock tires (forgot if you did burnouts, Vince)

track conditions: new track surface (temporary track set up on speedway parking lot), 100 degree heat, very slight head wind.

With the reflash, I shifted at 5800-6000 rpms, will try with 5600-5800 next time.

______5265____4839____5265____4837
r/t____.845_____.848____.910_____.957
60'___2.552____2.631___2.536____2.680
330___7.278____7.150___7.191____7.777
1/8___11.197___10.940__11.060___12.035
mph___63.57____64.65___64.15____58.48
1000__14.590__14.235__14.429___15.671

1/4___17.463___17.022__17.268___18.786
mph___78.20____80.57___79.52____72.32