So this was my first time ever on the drag strip. Took what i learned on the good ol' interwebs and decided to stop making excuses and go. So i took everything out of my car (spare tire, and what not), went on a little less than half of a tank of gas.




Sad to say, that i didnt run as fast as i would have wanted. Launching is pretty hard, its definitely my weak point. So i would like to learn how to properly do it.

???

1. 2 Step (held at 5k)
2. Slip the clutch until i engage
3. release it the rest of the way out

So the fastest i ran was a 14.3 , when i was going against some older BMW. but when i was against a firebird, i got anxious and dropped the clutch a little too fast (wanted to beat it) i bogged on the line and ran a 15 .



i know this car should be in the 13's, and its me that needs to get it there. i know i just need to practice.

oh and here she is ...


So in the end, i had a good time. I am really looking forward to learning how to drive the car better and improving. So if you guys have any advice besides "Practice, practice, practice" im all ears.

 

Reminds me of my first few times at the track . Keep working on it. You'll get there

In the mean time you might want to look into doing a boost leak test and see if your tuner can up the 2-step to about 6K. Also, how much boost are you running? With your mods you really should be able to hit at least high 12s with decent driving and a good tune. Your trap speeds are pretty low, which is why I'm thinking there could be some mechanical issues as well. What clutch are you running and how many miles are on it?

 

i know that altitude and temperature had a play in this too. it was almost 90 degrees out there today. and the strip is at 5800'

okay, ill do a boost leak test this weekend. He set my 2 step at 5k because im still on my stock clutch with 83k miles on it. and im running 21lbs of boost.

i really dont think its a mechanical issue, because im fairly certain the car is in good health. i dont know if adding the turboxs fmic is affecting this too? because i threw it on, but didnt re-tune it. im planning on getting a wally 255 and then re-tune next week or so.

 

I definitely suggest considering changing your clutch soon. At 83K it's probably already near the end of it's life and it's probably not putting the power down to the wheels as well as a new aftermarket clutch would.

Again, this is very similar to my situation when I first started racing. I couldn't even break 15s my first time at the track but I didn't notice an issue with my clutch. It started slipping a few months so I changed it out and my next time at the track I was able to get down into the mid 13s with the new clutch and some tweaks to the tune.

 

good to know. ill give it a rest until i get a new clutch. no need to learn on a clutch that will go out. id rather learn on a new one.

 

There are some small tests you can do to see if the clutch is starting to wear out. One that I was taught was to drive around at maybe 3-4K rpms or so and try to pull the shifter out of gear without pressing the clutch pedal. If you're able to pull it out of gear easily then your clutch is definitely getting weak and will need to be replaced soon.

 

oh ... well i know i can pull it out easily. **** ... time to go clutch shopping!

Thanks

 

No prob BTW- Love the color of your car!!

 

Thanks! i love the color of your car too!!

So, as i was driving home from the office ... i tried to pull out of gear @ 3k-4k. So there is resistance, its not that easy to pull the gear out. So ... i think its just me. i just need to practice haha

 

Clutches for these cars are pretty expensive so unless you're totally sure it's bad I would wait to change it.

Whenever I have issues and I[m not sure what the problem is I always like to start with fixing the cheapest things first. Improving your driving doesn't really cost you anything so that's definitely a good place to start. Boost leak tests are also pretty cheap or basically free if you already an air compressor and a tester. It definitely doesn't hurt to to look at things like that first before dropping $800+ on a new clutch. Speaking of which, when you do finally get a new clutch, do yourself a huge favor and get a good one that can hold more power than you ever intend on having. Clutch installs are not easy and are pretty expensive if you take it to a shop. Do it once and do it right!! Do some research and talk to a few shops to see what they recommend for your set up and future goals.