First time drag racer needs advice

Frankenstang65 · 04-01-2002, 01:03 AM

Next sat. April 6th, will be my first time running my car down the 1/4 mile. Since this is a totally new experience for me, if figured it would be wise to tap some of the knowledge of you veterans before lining up.

My first question deals with pre-race preparation. Is there any kind of mental checklist you guys go through before heading off to the track? Any tricks on squeezing every last pony out of your engine? I've got the timing set as adavanced as I can go ( only 9 degrees 'cause I've got a lot of compression) without detonating. I think I have the carb tuned ok, but I'm not all that good with holleys. What else am I missing? I plan on bumping the timing up a little more and running a few gallons of race gas, but I'm not sure how much difference this will make. What about gutting the interior? Is it worth the trouble?

The second question has to deal with racing techinique (this is mostly for you guys with automatics out there). I can't decide how I want to shift the car. I've got 3.00 gears and an open real end to work with, making traction a real problem. Everyone tells me just to shift it 1-2-3...but I've been practicing that and my car goes nowhere in first gear, no matter how carefull I'm with the pedal, I end up spinning all the way through to second gear. On the street I usually launch in third and then down shift into second at 2000-2300. That keeps my wheel mostly hooked up, and uses second in the midrange, where most of my power is. When I do this I can hold second to 70 or so, and I'll hit third with enough rpms to keep the power from dropping off. What do you guys think? Would this work on the track? I was told not to worry as much about traction, and just shift 1-2-3, because the track will hook much better than the street. Is this true? I'm interested to hear what kinds of strategies you use.

Also, just for for fun, any estimates on what I'll run? All my mods are in the sig (except that I didn't mention I have ported 289 heads, I just wrote ported. That explains the compression, and makes a little bit of a difference)

Sorry so long/ so many questions, but I want to do the best I can, plus I know that this is an area that almost all of you have expereince with.

Any advice or insight would be very usefull...thanks in advance

BowTie Eater 5 Liter · 04-01-2002, 03:35 AM

The track is quite a bit more sticky, and you should have a bit better traction. As for shifting, if it were me, I would just do whatever feels best to you.

I wouldnt gut the interior, but you could(I dont like it, because you dont drive around every day with it gutted, and if a ls1 pulls up beside you, your not gonna ask him to wait till you pull your seats out).

Good Luck, and try not to break anything.

91GTturbo · 04-01-2002, 08:06 PM

Track time is for experimenting. Try shifting boths ways, compare your 60' times, which ever one works best stick with it. Try launching everywhere from idle to as high as your car will stall. Drop the air pressure in your tires some, some say it doesn't work with regular radials, but I've had good success with it. Play with your shifts points too, unless you have a good tach and know exactly where you need to shift.

Just don't be afraid to try something new. Makes notes on your timeslips on how you made each run so you don't forget.

Frankenstang65 · 04-02-2002, 02:26 AM

Thanks for the quick responses....I think I'm probably making too big a deal out of this anyways...I'll just run it hard and have fun, and hope I can bring it home it one piece. If my times aren't too embarassing, I'll post them in my sig. If anyone else has any other suggestions, please post, I'll take all the help I can get.

Thanks

Ron1 · 04-03-2002, 10:58 PM

When I ran my 65 Coupe, I bought a set of $16.00 steel wheels, and had some MT 8.5 inch slicks mounted on them. I also bought one of the mini jacks. Drove the car to the track with one wheel in the trunk and one in the back seat, switched to the slicks, raced, switched back and drove it home. You will find that the track has much better traction, and if you time it right, wait for some VHT to get put down, and then make your runs. When you switch to the nine inch, you might even consider shortening the tube a bit, so you can install a bit bigger tire.

Ron

Oh, stage shallow...and leave on the last yellow.

04-01-2002, 01:03 AM	#1
Frankenstang65 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 79	First time drag racer needs advice Next sat. April 6th, will be my first time running my car down the 1/4 mile. Since this is a totally new experience for me, if figured it would be wise to tap some of the knowledge of you veterans before lining up. My first question deals with pre-race preparation. Is there any kind of mental checklist you guys go through before heading off to the track? Any tricks on squeezing every last pony out of your engine? I've got the timing set as adavanced as I can go ( only 9 degrees 'cause I've got a lot of compression) without detonating. I think I have the carb tuned ok, but I'm not all that good with holleys. What else am I missing? I plan on bumping the timing up a little more and running a few gallons of race gas, but I'm not sure how much difference this will make. What about gutting the interior? Is it worth the trouble? The second question has to deal with racing techinique (this is mostly for you guys with automatics out there). I can't decide how I want to shift the car. I've got 3.00 gears and an open real end to work with, making traction a real problem. Everyone tells me just to shift it 1-2-3...but I've been practicing that and my car goes nowhere in first gear, no matter how carefull I'm with the pedal, I end up spinning all the way through to second gear. On the street I usually launch in third and then down shift into second at 2000-2300. That keeps my wheel mostly hooked up, and uses second in the midrange, where most of my power is. When I do this I can hold second to 70 or so, and I'll hit third with enough rpms to keep the power from dropping off. What do you guys think? Would this work on the track? I was told not to worry as much about traction, and just shift 1-2-3, because the track will hook much better than the street. Is this true? I'm interested to hear what kinds of strategies you use. Also, just for for fun, any estimates on what I'll run? All my mods are in the sig (except that I didn't mention I have ported 289 heads, I just wrote ported. That explains the compression, and makes a little bit of a difference) Sorry so long/ so many questions, but I want to do the best I can, plus I know that this is an area that almost all of you have expereince with. Any advice or insight would be very usefull...thanks in advance __________________ 1965 Coupe: 351W, comp cam, Aluminum Systemax II heads (2.02/1.60), 1.7 Cobra full roller rockers, Edelbrock intake, Holley 650 double pumper, Mallory Unilite, MSD-6AL, MSD Blaster 2 coil, MSD heli-core plug wires, Hedman headers, 2 1/2" exhaust (GT style) w/ 40 series delta flows, 69 C4 w/ shift kit, shelby traction bars, 3.55:1 rear Daily Driver: 1989 GT- 5spd, K&N (no silencer), Shorty Headers, King Cobra Clutch, Flowmaster Force II Cat-back

04-01-2002, 03:35 AM	#2
BowTie Eater 5 Liter Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Maple Ridge B.C. Canada, The Best Place In The World Posts: 871	The track is quite a bit more sticky, and you should have a bit better traction. As for shifting, if it were me, I would just do whatever feels best to you. I wouldnt gut the interior, but you could(I dont like it, because you dont drive around every day with it gutted, and if a ls1 pulls up beside you, your not gonna ask him to wait till you pull your seats out). Good Luck, and try not to break anything. __________________ 1984 Bronco II, 36" Michelin Military Tires, 95 EFI 5.0, NP435 Tranny, NP208 Doubler, NP205 Transfer Case, Fill Size Solid Dana 44 Front End, WH Progressive Rate Rock Crawling Coils, Bronco 8.8 Rear, Skyjacker Softride Leafs, 5.13 Gears, Detroit Locker. Final Crawl Ratio Of 175:1 88 GT Best 60ft. 2.181 Best ET 14.350 Best MPH 98.01 ~WRECKED!!!!~

04-01-2002, 08:06 PM	#3
91GTturbo Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Valdese, NC Posts: 361	Track time is for experimenting. Try shifting boths ways, compare your 60' times, which ever one works best stick with it. Try launching everywhere from idle to as high as your car will stall. Drop the air pressure in your tires some, some say it doesn't work with regular radials, but I've had good success with it. Play with your shifts points too, unless you have a good tach and know exactly where you need to shift. Just don't be afraid to try something new. Makes notes on your timeslips on how you made each run so you don't forget. __________________ 91 single turbo vert

04-02-2002, 02:26 AM	#4
Frankenstang65 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 79	Thanks for the quick responses....I think I'm probably making too big a deal out of this anyways...I'll just run it hard and have fun, and hope I can bring it home it one piece. If my times aren't too embarassing, I'll post them in my sig. If anyone else has any other suggestions, please post, I'll take all the help I can get. Thanks __________________ 1965 Coupe: 351W, comp cam, Aluminum Systemax II heads (2.02/1.60), 1.7 Cobra full roller rockers, Edelbrock intake, Holley 650 double pumper, Mallory Unilite, MSD-6AL, MSD Blaster 2 coil, MSD heli-core plug wires, Hedman headers, 2 1/2" exhaust (GT style) w/ 40 series delta flows, 69 C4 w/ shift kit, shelby traction bars, 3.55:1 rear Daily Driver: 1989 GT- 5spd, K&N (no silencer), Shorty Headers, King Cobra Clutch, Flowmaster Force II Cat-back

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04-03-2002, 10:58 PM	#5
Ron1 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Vancouver, WA USA Posts: 439	When I ran my 65 Coupe, I bought a set of $16.00 steel wheels, and had some MT 8.5 inch slicks mounted on them. I also bought one of the mini jacks. Drove the car to the track with one wheel in the trunk and one in the back seat, switched to the slicks, raced, switched back and drove it home. You will find that the track has much better traction, and if you time it right, wait for some VHT to get put down, and then make your runs. When you switch to the nine inch, you might even consider shortening the tube a bit, so you can install a bit bigger tire. Ron Oh, stage shallow...and leave on the last yellow.