Dragging your stock Marauder

[stormtroopin']

Need some advise how to drag a "show room" stock 300A Marauder. Here's what I did last weekend....Turn off O/D, burnout in 1st, powerbrake with rpm's at 1k, shift to second at about 5-6k. It always would go through the 1/4 mile traps in second gear. Three times got it to bark the tires shifting to second. Best was 15.651 @ 90.70 with a crappy .473 r/t. Of course reaction times were all over the place, but the 60 ft time were consistent (for me) between 2.350 and 2.40. Most of the performance cars I've owned had a manual trans so not used running a automatic this hard. Where should I be shifting at? Should I mess with the tire pressures? How do you guys do it? I'm trying to set a "pre-modification" baseline.

"Like in the sack, trying to do the best with what I got.:depress: "

[Blackened300a]

Well My 300a Wouldnt let me shift it manually Everytime i tried it, I bounced off the rev limiter and then it would shift. I havent been to the track but in the street, I would hold my foot on the brake and bring the revs right up to the point before the tires would break (2500) or so... This spools up the torque converter. Then when the green light drops I floor the gas and at the same time the gas hits the floor, I take my foot off the brake, I managed to get launched without too much of the usual bog that these cars have off the line. Then I Let the transmission do its thing. There are quite a few posts here that say manually shifting the Tranny in our cars is bad for the valve body. So a shift point adjustment would put the revs in the sweet spot for each shift and that would work better then any manual shifting you can do. Also Anytime you plan on drag racing or just going wide open throttle, Make sure you OD is Turned off!


Hope this helped

[mpearce]

When I was stock, I found that my best times came when I didn't do a burnout, and when my motor was a bit on the cool side. The hotter it was, the worse I ran. Aparently our stock street radial tires don't respond well to the heat, so when I had them, I never really did a burnout. The burnout usually heated my motor up too much, so I stayed away from it. Get some of the heavy stuff out of the car. I usually roll with a big cooler, chairs, etc. I also like to race with about 1/4 tank of gas. On launch, I hold about 1100rpm, and ram it to the floor. On a 60 degree evening last year, I ran a 15.199 @ 93.xx following these rules. I'm not saying its the best way, I'm not saying you should do it just like this...thats just the way I do it. Just enjoy yourself...cause you got a Marauder, and they dont!

:coolman:

-Mat

p.s. don't shift it manually...let the computer do it for you.

[Bradley G]

I am no seasoned veteran,But I'm on a crash course triyng to learn the "How to's" on drag racing.
No burnout necessary on stock tires!Some times, when they wet down the whole staging area ,making it impossible to avoid the "Waterbox"
I will spin the tires to dry them off:coolman: Ok,..OK maybe a bit longer if I see someone pointing at me! :rolleyes: Or if the Announcer says my name over the loud speaker!:P
No gains on manual shifting for starters,so leave the driving to "her"( you asked for that!):P
Second stage early: When you creep up to the starting line, very slowly, as soon as you see the first staging lamp, stop and feather the brake as slow as you can(foreplay)till the second lamp twinkles.This will be the furthest you can be from the starting line.(teasing allowed)
Seriously all four staging lamps must be lit before you can race.
You get the idea!
Try to time the Yellows' so you go as soon as you see the second yellow light.
Forget about anything else(usually the opposition)and drive through the finish line.
I have seen at several Dragways the finish line is not well marked so don't let off the gas until your plenty (a few seconds) sure you have finished(don't pull out):nono: .
I hope this helps and Don't worry; No matter how you perform ,it is still Fun to Practice!!!:lol:
Bradley G

[Pat]

Well I ran a 15.3 with my bone stock marauder earlier this year. I had A/C on and one passenger, spare donut with O/D off, traction control off, 93 octane and 58 degrees @ night. After installing Predator tune later that evening, I ran 15.0 all else the same. Kept forgetting to turn that A/C off.

Just pulled up to the line, no burn out (really couldn't anyway), floored it from an idle and let the transmission do the shifting. I think the car shifted into third just before the traps.


Haven't been to the strip since installing the 4:10 gears.

[Bradley G]

I am no seasoned veteran,But I'm on a crash course trying to learn; the How to's on drag racing.
No burnout necessary on stock tires!
Some times, when they wet down the whole staging area ,making it impossible to avoid the "Waterbox",
I will spin the tires to dry them off.:coolman: Ok,..OK maybe a bit longer if I see someone pointing at me! ,:rolleyes: Or if the Announcer says my name over the loud speaker!:P
No gains on manual shifting for starters,so leave the driving to "her"( you asked for that!):P
Second stage early: when you creep up to the starting line very slowly, as soon as you see the first staging lamp, stop and feather the brake as slow as you can(foreplay)till the second lamp twinkles.This will be the furthest you can be from the starting line.(teasing allowed)
Seriously all four staging lamps must be lit before you can race.
You get the idea!
Try to time the Yellows' so you go as soon as you see the third yellow light.
Forget about anything else(usually the opposition)and drive through the finish line.
I have seen at several Dragways the finish line is not well marked so don't let off the gas until your plenty (a few seconds) sure you have finished(don't pull out):nono: .
I hope this helps and Don't worry; No matter how you perform ,it is still Fun to Practice!!!:lol:Keep it up!:banana2:
Bradley G

[Pat]

Yessiree, you have to maintain focus, I shut down on my second run right at the beginning of the traps. Duh. Timing the lights is no easy feat. practice, practice, practice. Don't even think about the competition, there's time for that down the strip. Everything is at the beginning and the end (drive through the traps).
My times didn't improve by brake/accelerator manipulation. Of course at my age it's difficult to drive and chew bubble gum at the same time.

[EbonyMarauder03]

When I did my 15.1 pass I did the following:

Lowered rear tire pressure to 25 psi.
No burn out.
Auto shift
Powerbrake to 2500 rpm
When the third yellow came on let the brake fly and mash it.

I also had virtually a full tank of gas, full size spare in the trunk and whatever crap in my organizer.

[TooManyFords]

A/C is a NO-NO! :eek:
Make sure you turn your A/C off when you drive into the track! Leaving it on will cause water to drip from your car down the track causing a potential disaster for faster cars following you.

[gpfarrell]

I haven't had to drag our Marauder; it always starts fine.

My old tractor blew its enine though and I dragged it to the pick-up with the with the new one.

[stormtroopin']

Thanks for the help. I'll save the burnout for someother time.:burnout:

[BillyGman]

Personally, I never shift the car manually during a race. I always get the pre-race burnout into second gear since first gear doesn't thoroughly heat up the tires. However, it doesn't make much difference in your case since you're using standard radial tires. BTW, did I read your post right? You stated that you go through the traps in second gear? Was that a typo? If you never got out of second gear I think your ET would've been in the 16's or 17's. Again, did I read that right? My suggestion to you is to just leave it in drive with the O/D off. If your transmission is shifting correctly, that will be fine. I ran 15.2's in upper 70 degree whether when my car was stock, and that's how I did it. Good luck.

[Captain Steve]

I got a 15.08 with my bone stock '04 with less than 5k miles on it.

My routine..
Air pressure @20psi.
Climate control off.
Traction control off.
O/D off.
Radio off.
Windows all closed to reduce drag.

I'd stand on my brakes and burn out with WOT then ease off the brakes until the car rolled foward a touch. Not sure if I made it to 2nd gear or not.

At the line, I'd hold the brakes with my left foot, and rev the engine just slightly.. to about 1500 rpms. Any more than that, and I would burn rubber at the line when I hit the gas. With less, I had lower 60ft times.

When the 2nd yellow lit, I'd sidestep the brake pedal and apply about 1/2 throttle for half a second or so, then mash it to the firewall and keep it there till I hit 110mph :burnout: I was only trapping in the mid-90mph range, but that way I was sure to not lift off the throttle at the end.

My 60' times were in the 2.2 to 2.4 second range consistantly.
My 1/4 mile times were in the 15.0 to 15.5 second range. I would trap at about 96 mph.

I'm sure with a set of drag radials or slicks I could improve my 60' time alot, and get into the upper 14s without any other mods, just because I already have more power available than traction with the stock radials. If I could launch at around 2500rpms and then go WOT right away, I'm sure I'd be in the sub-2 second 60' range, and probably in the 14.5 to 15 second 1/4 mile range.

My tune is also still stock, with slightly firmer shifting and a higher rpm 1-2 shift, I'm sure I could gain some time there too.

[BillyGman]

Steve, if you couldn't hook-up off the line using full throtle, then I'd say that loading up the torque converter like that was hurting you. When my car was stock, I was able to hit the go pedal all at once, and the stock tires just grabbed. In fact, even after I got the 4.56 gears, and the 3,000 RPM stall speed, before my car was supercharged, I was able to hit full throttle all at once using the factory stock tires at the track and they still didn't spin. But that's because i didn't load up the torque converter. I'm beginning to think that loading up the converter before the tree is only advantagous if you have a supercharged Marauder and are running slicks. because what good is it to rev the engine w/the brake pedal applied before the launch if it prevents you from hitting full throttle all at once during the launch w/out spinning your tires? It just seems counterproductive to me as far as good 60' times and ET's go.

[QWK SVT]

I've never manually shifted. My thinking, I will not be able to shift as quickly or consistently as the computer... Why not let it do it's job?

I've run a series of 14.8's @ 94-95. This is stock down to the filter and at full weight (i.e. spare still there, + my heavy azz in the driver's seat). Here's my prep:

I have run tires same as on the street - 33 up front, 31 out back (if traction was a problem, I'd lower the back pressure but didn't need to)
Let the engine cool down in between runs - you'll definitely go slower with heat.
Traction Control and Overdrive both go to the off position, until the end. HVAC off. Radio off. If there's an odd sound while on the track, you want to hear it.
Go AROUND the water box - it ain't gonna help unless you have drag radials.
Once you get around, spin the tires (brake down, gas slightly pressed) to just CLEAN them. You don't need to see smoke, just a quick push of the throttle part-way down, then release the brake and ease forward a bit.
Try to line you rear tires in some sticky rubber left from somebody with slicks. Their left over rubber will help you hook up.
Just barely trip the staging light (the second light that trips as you line up) you get more rollout time before the timer starts, but will slow your reaction time.
Once staged, blip the throttle - not enough to spin the tires, just to pre-load the converter.
Raise RPM to about 1100, on the last yellow, ease into the gas (about 0.5-0.75 sec until fully depressed).
Point it straight and keep it that way

[stormtroopin']

Personally, I never shift the car manually during a race. I always get the pre-race burnout into second gear since first gear doesn't thoroughly heat up the tires. However, it doesn't make much difference in your case since you're using standard radial tires. BTW, did I read your post right? You stated that you go through the traps in second gear? Was that a typo? If you never got out of second gear I think your ET would've been in the 16's or 17's. Again, did I read that right? My suggestion to you is to just leave it in drive with the O/D off. If your transmission is shifting correctly, that will be fine. I ran 15.2's in upper 70 degree whether when my car was stock, and that's how I did it. Good luck.Yes you read right. I shifted it to drive, but the tranny didn't shift until after the traps and I let off the gas. I'll let the computer do the shifting from now on. Can't wait to try it again. Mod #1 will be a K&N filter I bought from TooManyFords. Thanks.

[Bradley G]

Let the engine cool down in between runs - you'll definitely go slower with heat
Quote
I Got my best 60', trap speed, and ET numbers from Hot lapping on a very cool day several weeks back. I have not been able to duplicate these numbers, even after installing UD pullies.(Very close)
Maybe in warmer temperatures a significant cool down time is benificial.
Bradley G

[Shaft333]

Why does the O/D need to be off? Does the trans assume a different WOT shift pattern when it's off?

[BlackHole]

Why does the O/D need to be off? Does the trans assume a different WOT shift pattern when it's off?

Simply put with my experiance with the Lightning and MM if it shifts just before the finishline trap it could cost you as much as a tenth off your time. Seen it with a couple of Lightnings havn't really tried it with the MM though

[QWK SVT]

Simply put with my experiance with the Lightning and MM if it shifts just before the finishline trap it could cost you as much as a tenth off your time. Seen it with a couple of Lightnings havn't really tried it with the MM though
Yeah, I do it out of force of habit from the Lightning, too...

I know many here do it, even though the trap speed wouldn't put them into a position to be shifting into 4th, at WOT. On a stock, or mildly modified MM, is this anything more than the automotive equivalent of a placebo?

[Merc-O-matic]

Need some advise how to drag a "show room" stock 300A Marauder. Here's what I did last weekend....Turn off O/D, burnout in 1st, powerbrake with rpm's at 1k, shift to second at about 5-6k. It always would go through the 1/4 mile traps in second gear. Three times got it to bark the tires shifting to second. Best was 15.651 @ 90.70 with a crappy .473 r/t. Of course reaction times were all over the place, but the 60 ft time were consistent (for me) between 2.350 and 2.40. Most of the performance cars I've owned had a manual trans so not used running a automatic this hard. Where should I be shifting at? Should I mess with the tire pressures? How do you guys do it? I'm trying to set a "pre-modification" baseline.

"Like in the sack, trying to do the best with what I got.:depress: "

Don't forget to fold in the outside rearview mirrors....!

Gotta Love It! :rasta: