I had my first night at the track last night and got 3 runs in. I drive a ralliart, not an evo, but a clutch is a clutch for the most part. anyway, some of the stock benchmarks by GOOD drivers are in the very low 15's for the 1/4. Well, the best I could get was a 16.0 and I'm not stock (RRM ECU piggy, CAI, motor mounts, random suspension stuff). I dynoed about 15whp and 20wtq above stock.

needless to say, my times suck and I need to work on them. THe first 60' is the most important, and I got a 2.461 on stock tires, which isnt too bad but I know what I have to do to improve this. Between gears, I am letting almost all the way off the gas and shifting then flooring it again. this prob isnt the best method. with a stock clutch, is it safe to peg the gas a bit between geers? or just keep the pedal nailed? I plan on going back on on wednesday so we'll see how fast I learn =)

 

Keep the pedal nailed between gears.

And get new tires. The stock ones are decent, but not great. And maybe remove anything you don't need from the car. Other than that, it's just about timing your launch and then nailing each shift.

 

I kept the pedal on between gears and shifted as fast as I could on my best runs. Listen on this vid on the 3-4 shift and you can hear the rpms spike quick and then catch:

http://www.streetracing-syndicate.co...t%20105.34.WMV

In contrast, here's my friend driving my car. He lets off after every shift and you can see and hear the car totally losing all of it's momentum:

http://www.streetracing-syndicate.co...andrew1399.wmv

For a turbo'd car it's much more important to keep the revs up so you're in boost, but it's definitely helpful for any car to stay in the power range. Of course this isn't the best thing for your drivetrain, but it's good for faster times...

 

how do you keep RPM from going through the roof while shifting? If I tried this, my RPM would definitely exceed 8k.

 

Nah, our cars are rev-limited to 7600 RPM.

The Evo, that is.

 

ive gotten better =) took almost a full second off my time since i started this thread. launching low 2.2's in my fwd grocery getter =)

anyway, just shift as fast as you can and it shouldnt spike deep into redline. a shortshifter will help, as will practice. when i shift now, i pretty much just do a quick stomp and release on teh clutch as fast as i can and fit the shift in there. yea, it spikes a bit, but i never hit fuel cutoff unless i get greedy even if i miss a gear (it happens...). just to get some practice, just try to ease off the gas abtou 20% while shifting to see how fast you can get it, then work from there.

think it out beforehand, but dont think about it while its happening =)

 

Glad to see you're making progress. I remember my drag racing days in the GSX's. I used to run a stutterbox so I could NLTS without worries. It would bring the RPM's down to 5,000 - 5,500 on every shift and never close the throttle body plate. Big turbos love that junk. They keep spooled right in the sweet spot. So, Majik...When are you gonna take the plunge and go forced induction?

 

My best runs I actually take it easy on the first shift. I still get wheel spin on this, but a little less. after that I power shift all the way.

 

i'll take the plunge when my car gets fixed. got rearended and is outa commission for the time being =(

 

UTEC's launch control helps a lot for flat shifting.... so you don't have to bounce off redline in bertween shifts.. you can set it lower and still hold at least 10-15 psi in between shifts.

 

That's good advice. Now all Majik needs is a turbo and forged internals so he can hold 10-15 psi.

 

So you're telling me that if I keep the hammer nailed, never letting up, between gears will not blow me up, or drop or damage my clutch?

 

No. If you are going to the track trying to push your car to the limit, then you must understand the consequences of your actions. Don't think that you can race without the possibility of premature part wear. You gotta pay to play.

NLTS is very hard on the drivetrain, but it gets you some good times and speeds if you bang through the gears properly.

 

NLTS?

I'm sure it's obvious and I'll shoot myself when I find out what that means.

 

NLTS: No Lift To Shift.