Disappointing track results.

[Sully008]

Hey all,

I went to the "local" dragstrip for the first time last Saturday. Let me tell you, my brother and I had a blast! We're definately going again. I was rather disappointed by my results, however. Based on all the info I read on the timeslips page, I should have been close to the mid/low 14s with the mods that I have. Unfortunately, I wasn't close to that. See below for the worst and the best times that day.

Worst:

Reaction: .7121
60ft. 2.3789
330ft. 6.5148
ET@594ft. 9.2370
1/8 ET 9.8418
1/8 MPH 74.40
1000' 12.7227
1/4 ET 15.1788
1/4 MPH 91.82

Best:

Reaction: .7981
60ft. 2.2047
330ft. 6.2409
ET@594ft. 8.9310
1/8 ET 9.5300
1/8 MPH 75.11
1000' 12.3577
1/4 ET 14.7750
1/4 MPH 93.14

The other runs were as follows:

14.7908 @ 93.54
15.0101 @ 92.82
14.8689 @ 93.01
14.9621 @ 92.56

My launch technique was as follows:

Drive around the waterbox and do a slight burnout, brake torque to ~1000rpms, and then hammer the gas on the last yellow.

The car was basically as I drove it in. Spare in the trunk, 3/4 tank of 91 octane. Kept the same PSI in the tires.

Do you guys running the low 14s do anything special to get those times? I like just showing up to the track and basically "run what you brung". I'm a little bummed right now, I was hoping to do better...when's that raffle over???

I do have a Stallion 3000 TC and EMP/Stewart water pump to put in still...

[Advancedautosec]

from the mods you got currently that sounds about right to me....im just speaking from what ive read on this site though. i havent been to the track yet myself. and ive heard that Converter will lower your times by up to .6 seconds. im sure someone else will know more...

[KillJoy]

I understand the disappointment of a bad day at the track. At least you made it home w/o issue :up:

Personally, I would run w/ 1/2 Tank of Gas and no Spare.

Also, the TC will make a WORLD of difference!!

Good Luck!

KillJoy

[Sully008]

from the mods you got currently that sounds about right to me....im just speaking from what ive read on this site though. i havent been to the track yet myself. and ive heard that Converter will lower your times by up to .6 seconds. im sure someone else will know more...


Hmm...There's a few people in the timeslips page that have done mid/low 14s with less than I have. QWK_SVT only has 4.10s/CAI and did 14.2, merc6 did 14.436 with only a tune, CAI and Magnaflow mufflers. Smokie I believe went mid 14s with just a tune, and that's in Florida's hot and humid weather.

Not arguing, just a little frustrated that I'm not much faster than a stock Marauder at this point.

[rvaldez1]

Hey all,


Reaction: .7121
Reaction: .7981

Thats your problem, you are still young. Hit the gas faster!

[KillJoy]

Thats your problem, you are still young. Hit the gas faster!


R/T does not effect your 1/4 Time. Your 60' 's are too long.

Try lowering your tire pressure a bit.

:up:

KillJoy

[Motorhead350]

Thats your problem, you are still young. Hit the gas faster!

haha he's 16 years older than you! :lol:

[KillJoy]

haha he's 16 years older than you! :lol:


Uhhh...no.

That would be 12...

KillJoy

[CRUZTAKER]

from the mods you got currently that sounds about right to me.......

Ditto.

With the same as you, plus headers I was running 14.4 best.

[sailsmen]

Humidity and heat can result in .75 difference. Also altitude can result in .3+.

Look at my sig, you will see temp/humid. I think the track is 12'.

Whenever someone post a time I ask about hum/temp.

Also did you spin out?

[Sully008]

Ditto.

With the same as you, plus headers I was running 14.4 best.

Interesting, so what would account for those with less mods yet going faster? (sailsmen may have answered my question to this)


Humidity and heat can result in .75 difference. Also altitude can result in .3+.

Look at my sig, you will see temp/humid. I think the track is 12'.

Whenever someone post a time I ask about hum/temp.

Also did you spin out?

Temp that day was 18ºC, unfortunately I don't know what the humidity was. Gimli Dragway is ~714' above sea level. As for spinning out, probably a couple of rotations of the wheels, nothing major.

I'm also thinking I need to get a dyno tune because all of my mods (except for the 4.10s) were added after I got the Alternative Auto tune. I'm probably not getting the full potential out of my car.

[sailsmen]

Assuming the humidity was below 70% I would estimate temp and elevation added .3-.4.

What are your mods?

[Smokie]

I also been to the track and left dissapointed, it happens to us all. Just some thoughts that might help.

Naturally aspirated my best times were with a very slight squeal of the tires, about half a tire spin; anything more is BAD.

My better times were with a very shallow stage, after you trip the first light, creep up ever so slowly until you just barely light up second yellow...and STOP.

My best times with street radials were with about 40 psi front and 26-28 psi rears.

The full size spare weights about 70 pounds and the ideal amount of fuel is about 1/4 of a tank.

My best time was not my first time out; about 14.95 in Atlanta and about 15.1 was my worse. I know there will be people here that will disagree with me but practice and correct method will make a difference (also track and weather) that can amount; in my humble opinion to 0.5 second.

We already know that your car can do 14.7, when you improve your launch method your times with your existing mods can drop under 14.5. I believe you need a little more to get to 14.2 than what you have right now.

Remember this: the timeslip page is in MOST cases a snapshot of an ideal moment in time that in many cases is NEVER duplicated again, that is why I like to list a couple of timeslips that are comparable not a single timeslip.

Best of luck I am sure you will get below 14.5.:)

[Blackened300a]

The heat and elevation is probably what hurt you. I have been meaning to get myself to a track one of these days. All these mods and no timeslip yet

[MADRODER]

Interesting, so what would account for those with less mods yet going faster? (sailsmen may have answered my question to this)



Temp that day was 18ºC, unfortunately I don't know what the humidity was. Gimli Dragway is ~714' above sea level. As for spinning out, probably a couple of rotations of the wheels, nothing major.

I'm also thinking I need to get a dyno tune because all of my mods (except for the 4.10s) were added after I got the Alternative Auto tune. I'm probably not getting the full potential out of my car.

Sully get a tune....you'll be surprised. Did you personally drive down to see Lidio? or did you have him send you the tune. Lidio personally told me that he rather have the car there in person so he can personally see how the reacts with the different tunes he downloads.

[RCSignals]

Hi Javier! Good to see you

[Smokie]

Hi Javier! Good to see you

Thanks, is nice to try to help somebody go a little faster, I still enjoy that!!!:)

[james79stang]

I took mine down track in stock set-up.. best was 15.29... after cold air box and the standard 1525 superchip download.. best is a 14.74.. when i was @ MMVI.. best i got was a 14.82 in that heat.... et is relitive to lot's of thing's.. torque coverter temp's makes quite a bit .. i leave @ 1000 rpm's but i still have the stock gear's... i do a john forse burn-out though..:burnout: w/o the need of water..lol.. am sure when the air temp and a lower humidity will warrent better times for you.. and yes i do the 3/4 tank... more for traction.. then quick et.. and where u line up in the beams makes a difference.. if you bearly turn on the 2nd bulb.. get more head start down the track giving a quicker et.. Jim

[CRUZTAKER]

Thanks, is nice to try to help somebody go a little faster, I still enjoy that!!!:)

Mr. X...we have missed you!

[JMan]

Thanks, is nice to try to help somebody go a little faster, I still enjoy that!!!:)

Smokie,
It is truly good to see you on! We have missed you and the family at various recent meets. I hope you've caught up at work and can see through the fog here. Beyond that fog, there's still a great little community that pines for your presence!

J

[Smokie]

Thank you both Barry and Jake for the kind words, the fighting drove me away, I sorely miss spending time with my friends but I needed the time off.

Sully sorry I don't mean to derail your thread, I hope a little bit of what I suggested will help you go a little faster. Javier.:burn:

[bentleyrb]

I wonder if your system trunk setup has something to do with it also?
That mdf, subs and amps must be close to 200lbs, no?

[Ken]

I also been to the track and left dissapointed, it happens to us all.

Remember this: the timeslip page is in MOST cases a snapshot of an ideal moment in time that in many cases is NEVER duplicated again.About a year and a half ago, on the last weekend of the season. 45 degrees F, I ran back to back 13.79 and 13.80 and got kicked out for no helmet. On a track, not nearly as nice as Norwalk, OH. I left extremely happy with those times. Got a helmet, have run consistent 14.2's since, with a best of 14.132, and an RT of about .108, on that fateful day for Cruztaker and Killjoy, in May at Norwalk, 3:30 pm, upper 80's. Last run of the day! So go figure! Humidity still has a lot to do with it too!

Ken

[JMan]

Ooops,
Sorry for the derail! Try lower tire pressures to get that 60' time down and stage lightly! I've had the best luck around 24psi.

J

[Smokie]

About a year and a half ago, on the last weekend of the season. 45 degrees F, I ran back to back 13.79 and 13.80 and got kicked out for no helmet. On a track, not nearly as nice as Norwalk, OH. I left extremely happy with those times. Got a helmet, have run consistent 14.2's since, with a best of 14.132, Ken

Boy that must be one very heavy helmet.:lol:

[Ken]

Boy that must be one very heavy helmet.:lol:Have you ever seen my head?:D Hair won't even grow on it!

The helmet jinxed me!

Ken

[larryo340]

just a thought
have you tired to floor it from idle? with stock converter it might reduce your 60' times by hitting the converter harder.

[Sully008]

Everyone,

Thank you all for the tips and tricks! The next test and tune is this coming Saturday, I'll try and put all of them to good use.

Smokie: Don't worry about derailing the thread, it's good to see everyone connecting again.

bentleyrb: Yeah, I kinda figured the trunk setup will slow me down a bit. I remember reading for every 100 lbs. of weight you lose a .1 @ the track. I'll be doing something different back there when my new amp comes in.

[Darkside]

Here is a great website that calculates all the conditions and lets you know what you would have run in ideal conditions.

http://www.modulardepot.com/density.php

Follow the weather link on the page for the conditions that you raced in.

For example; my Trailblazer ran a 13.35@100 the other night. The corrected time would have been 13.03@102 in ideal conditions. The site is pretty damn accurate. I normally run ideal times at Norwalk on cool nights, and the corrected times are almost identical.

[superford3]

improve your 60 foots and youll be much happier

[03slickvic]

you need to flash your converter at what ever the stall is , i think 1900 rpms or 2100 rpms , then floor it out of the hole on the last yellow.

[Bradley G]

Sully, the tire preesure was you downfall.
On Fathers day,(first pass) I forgot to let some air out of the rear tires, the car did not hook til 1/3 the way down the track 15.5@ 92mph:P
Good to see Mr. X!!!! posting again!:banana:

[Motorhead350]

Uhhh...no.

That would be 12...

KillJoy

Do you believe everything you read? :rolleyes:

[sailsmen]

W/ similar mods in 80*/80% ran 14.5-14.7, 2.17-2.24.

[Sully008]

Hey all,

Got a few minutes to answer some questions I missed on this thread...


Here is a great website that calculates all the conditions and lets you know what you would have run in ideal conditions.

http://www.modulardepot.com/density.php

Follow the weather link on the page for the conditions that you raced in.

For example; my Trailblazer ran a 13.35@100 the other night. The corrected time would have been 13.03@102 in ideal conditions.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. That's an impressive time for a Trailblazer. Is it an SS? What mods have you done to it?


Assuming the humidity was below 70% I would estimate temp and elevation added .3-.4.

What are your mods?

I guess there's not much I can do about the elevation. I'll try going on a colder day.

Mods are: Alternative Auto 93 octane tune, 4.10s, UD pullies, PHP intake spacer, JLT intake and Grand Mufflers X-pipe w/Magnaflow mufflers. TC and water pump still to go in.


Sully get a tune....you'll be surprised. Did you personally drive down to see Lidio? or did you have him send you the tune. Lidio personally told me that he rather have the car there in person so he can personally see how the reacts with the different tunes he downloads.

I've got the generic performance tune from Lidio. Unfortunately I live too far away to get a dyno tune done. Fortunately there is a gentleman named Ed Hohnenberg that lives in my city. For those of you who don't know him, he's written many tech articles for Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords, among other mags. He seems to be highly respected in the performance world and I've emailed him several times to get my car dynotuned. Probably after I install the convertor and water pump.


Do you believe everything you read? :rolleyes:

Yes, I'm actually 32.:D

[Sully008]

you need to flash your converter at what ever the stall is , i think 1900 rpms or 2100 rpms , then floor it out of the hole on the last yellow.

I'll try that the next time I'm out. I never really got the rpms up higher than ~1500.


Sully, the tire preesure was you downfall.
On Fathers day,(first pass) I forgot to let some air out of the rear tires, the car did not hook til 1/3 the way down the track 15.5@ 92mph:P
Good to see Mr. X!!!! posting again!:banana:


I lowered the psi on my last run to 28 and ran 14.86. I'll try lowering some more as others have suggested. Thanks Brad!

[JamesHecker]

Gimli Dragway? Gimli, Son of Gloin has his own dragstrip?

[Smokie]

I'll try that the next time I'm out. I never really got the rpms up higher than ~1500.


I seem to recall you mentioned wheelslip of "only a couple tire revolutions" , just something to think about; when I launch my car on street tires and I hear more than just the the slightest chirp I will run 13 flat, no sound from my tires means 12.7-12.8.

[Sully008]

Gimli Dragway? Gimli, Son of Gloin has his own dragstrip?

Yup, Gimli, Manitoba, the only dragstrip in the province. There's a huge Scandinavian festival there every year. I think Magnus Ver Magnusson came one year for it.


I seem to recall you mentioned wheelslip of "only a couple tire revolutions" , just something to think about; when I launch my car on street tires and I hear more than just the the slightest chirp I will run 13 flat, no sound from my tires means 12.7-12.8.

So, I shouldn't have any wheelslip on launch? Wouldn't some slip help the car get into the powerband faster? Maybe I should try launching from a dead stop then.

I think the next time I go to the track I'll bring a notebook and log everything I do to see what works and what doesn't. This is getting addicting.:burn: