I was at the track yesterday ( Cecil in MD), horrible track conditions.. but i believe i was still making a mistake in the 1/8. ( i guess i should mention I've only ever ran on a dragstrip 2 times in my life before this day)

i started at 28psi then ended up somewhere around 32psi at the end after around the 6th pass.

the car went from (126-127) mph to 131.72 at the end.

Everytime i turned the boost up i gained 2mph.. i only adjusted it twice.. which went from 127 to 129 then 129 to 131.

I was on a 2.3 stroker and bridgestone RE11 255/35/18, so i didnt really have the option to try even more boost, because i kept having to raise the limiter to pass and the 2.3 is not designed to rev that high.

car is full weight 100%, minus the spare tire in the trunk.

now the question is.. based on my slips here what can you guys tell me?

the car picks up almost 36mph in the 2nd half of the track and the 1/8 mph is low.

this is because of my 1-2 shift right? the 330ft mark is horrible correct for my circumstances?

what is a best possible 330ft a good driver could of had in my circumstances based on the graphs i showed? i think the car has 135mph or more in it if i raise boost and put my hoosier qtp on.



im new to the track, so dont be afraid to school me i dont mind.. thats why im asking.. to learn.

 

Your launch needs more work. Keep practicing and you'll get better. Don't worry about your tires yet, good street tires will work fine down to 1.6 60' times.

What are your shift points?
Where's the rev limit set?
Getting a good launch and 1-2 shift is important for having a good run. The second 1/8th is easy, at that point you just shift into 4th and stand on the gas.

 

its all about the launch and 1-2 shift. for a 35 series 18 tire that isn't a bad 60'. especially in this weather at that track (Cecil is one of my least favorate tracks, right next to Island). Just be careful you don't wheel hop when you launch or you will break something expensive, quick.

Work on quickly slipping the clutch at launch, keeping the front end up (weight in the rear) and almost as soon as you have the clutch fully out from your launch you should be grabbing 2nd... its that fast, especially in a car with your power. I wouldn't even wait till I saw the limiter in first, I would usually grab second gear right after the launch (around 5.5k RPM) because by the time your eyes see the tach is approaching the limiter you're already on it and its too late.

I wouldn't raise the boost just yet, but if you have a set of QTP's i would use them. not only will you get better times than street tires, but you will lessen the chance of seriously hurting something in the driveline while you practice you technique.

try a track like Atco or Etown if you can on a day they have good prep. Or if you want even more fun and seat time try taking that car to a REAL race track, with turns and stuffs.

 

first gear i was shifting after it hit the limiter like 10 times or so i guess? its hard to judge 1-2 when the cars blowing the tires off that hardcore and smashing the limiter.

2nd gear was like 8200-8300
3rd gear was like 8200-8300

 

you cant do that with my car.. atleast i dont think.. you cant shift in first to 2nd before it hits the limiter, the car would fall flat on its ***.. i dont think you understand how bad the launch is.. its instant tire spin.. to my knowledge, you have to time how long it tags the limiter then shift to 2nd.. i couldnt figure it out.. but the last pass i did i got close i think with the 4.8 330ft.

i have on video where i shifted to 2nd early and the car fell on its *** once in 2nd gear.. so i know for sure what you said wont work.

heres a video of the first 2 passes to show you perspective what is goin on.

also i had the 2 step in the first run set to 5800 in rom and the 2nd pass was set to 5600.. and the final 6th pass i made of the day (not on video) was 5200rpm 2 step in the rom..

even at 5200 it blew the tires right off. the track was really bad. i also didnt use no lift to shift yet either.. that was all lift shifting. i was afraid to try nlts lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUD6sh6QYw4

 

So because you tried it once, on your 3rd ever trip to the drag strip, you are sure it won't work. OK! Hate to bust your bubble, but you aren't shifting fast enough if you're loosing that much boost and the car is falling on its face.

1st gear should be over in a second! by the time the car is moving, if you time everything correctly, and have the gas pedal coming down while the clutch pedal is being released, you will be near 7k or higher. There should be ZERO lag getting into 2nd gear when you shift out of 1st at that RPM.

Fact is, if you are bouncing off the limiter in 1st (or any gear except 4th) you are slowing the car down. you need to shift before you hit the limiter. a car with your power will rev faster than the tach is showing you, especially on the launch since first gear is over in an instant. if you wait till you hit the limiter its already too late, you must shift early in first gear, before the limiter. like I mentioned above, right after you have the clutch out.

you are blowing the tires off because you have a massive amount of torque and not enough traction. put those QTP's on the car and go to a track with better prep.

 

you cant shift before hitting the limiter in those conditions i was in.. the mph of the car wouldn't be enough.. it would drop out of the powerband no matter how fast the shift was because the mph of the actual vehicle rolling wouldn't be enough for the rpm..

do you see what im saying now? there's no getting out of hitting the rev limiter in that situation i was in.. the problem is, i was hitting the limiter to long.. i couldn't time it right.

but as you can see the slips i was slowly tuning the car and starting to time it better. i went from a 5.3 to a 4.8

for example, say you have a FWD car and you spin 2nd gear a lot.. if you spin and shift asap your rpm is gonna drop a lot in 3rd and bog down the car.. no matter how fast the shift is because you didnt let it spin 2nd enough to grab 3rd at a high enough rpm in the powerband.

 

1.7 is pretty good given the condition and your tires. I think you need to work on your shifting. Regardless of conditions, with your power, I think your mph should have been higher.

 

Honestly Tom I think your running 1st gear to long. Someone suggested getting out of it earlier. 1st gear should be kind of a quick shift then let your second get wind up, then third, and then 4th. Take advantage of the gear set you have out of your tranny.

 

Meaty tires man! I wouldn't even bother going to the track with street tires at the power your car should be making at 32psi or so. Your shifting sounds slow in the video from what I can tell. It's all about the seat time man. Mount the slicks & figure out what the best RPM is for your 2 step. I wouldn't ride 1st gear that long. Need to work on your shift points & how quickly you are shifting. Have you thought about trying NLTS in your car? Mid 1.6X 60 ft I see a high 10 sec pass. Your 1/8 MPH & ET is way off. I run 7.4Xs @ 96mph on stock block, 93 oct. & a BBK-B turbo with a beat up 6 spd trans. Your 1/8 should be 7.0 or lower & 100mph+.

 

i thought the re11 would let me get my 10 but definitely not. i dont think i would of got under 11.0 if i had all day to try lol.

yes i have thought about NLTS, but was scared to test it at the track.. i didnt want it to throw me off balance, since im not used to not lifting.

ya the 1/8 is off because of the 330ft i guess.

 

1.7 was the last run of that day.. i would of ran more but my oil was getting low on the dipstick and i didnt bring extra oil.

it will mph higher.. you'll see once the tracks open back up. i was being limited to mph by the 2.3..... i threw in the towel with boost pressure so the mph wasn't reflecting what the car could really do.

dont forget its a FULL weight car.. and when i say full weight i mean full. there was nothing removed except for the spare tire. dont base other peoples mph with my cars mph when they have 250lbs less weight.

how is my mph low? look at the slip.. the car was picking up 36mph on the back half.. thats A LOT.

 

i just looked at the shootout slip and that track grabbed like hell.. the 60ft on first pass was 1.72 and 330ft was 4.8 as well, so i guess that last run i did was not all that shabby
considering the track conditions. the only difference from now and the shootout is i actually stayed in 4th. the shootout was the first time i was ever down a dragstrip ever.
the mph was still low on the 1/8 though.. so the 1-2 shift im definitely messing up.


if i challenge or question what anyone's saying, its because im trying to get information.. dont take offense on it.

 

Tom your mph is def there and your driving def improved throughout the day. So you improved with seat time and Cecil is not the best track. I live 20mins from there.

Your 330 is def slow to give you an idea I ran a couple years ago in 2009 this slip on a full weight evo 9 GSR lift shifting on street tires fl red stock block stock trans stock suspension the following slip.

60 - 1.693
330 - 4.787
1/8 - 7.340
MPH - 95.97
1000 - 9.532
1/4 - 11.409
MPH - 116.09

This was lift shifting street tires with 424whp. I am in no way trying to be rude or insult you merely for comparison sake and suggestions.

First I'd raise your 2step that launch i launched @ 6200ish as I had a twin disc which I'm assuming you have at least a twin disc.
Second play around with tire pressure, pm me and I'll tell you what I like and starting points.
Third your shifting def needs to be quicker, those shifts seemed to be like save the trans shifts no offense.
Fourth practice, practice, practice!! More seat time you get the better you will do.

I'm only 20mins away from Cecil be happy to meet up hang out and do some racing with you. Especially in spring as I will be doing a lot of testing there to get my car dialed in for 9s on stock turbo.

Please don't take any comments or my comparison offensively. Only meant to be informative and some suggestions for you. Feel free to pm me anytime as I said, it would be great to meet you and go racing!! HTH!!!

 

it sounds like your dropping the clutch hard on the car. slip it out a little slower then when the car moves forward about half a tire rotation let that ***** go. plus your shifts are sloooowww. how do you hold on to the shifter? thats a big thing as well.