I suck

[danno_SS]

Finally made it to Carlsbad for some baseline runs. I chose this track because it is near sea level at 300ft. Weather wasn't to bad I suppose ~80deg F with an RH of 60-80%. This was my first time racing ever and the car is still 100% stock. I went in thinking I'd hit mid to low 13s. I came no where near that. My 60' completely sucks (frikin BFG KDs didn't do much 4 me) and my R/T is too inconsistent (.568 to 1.457). I miscalculated the amount of fuel it would take to get to Carlsbad and did my runs with 1/2 tank. My race weight was therefore about 3730 lbs.

Here are the times for the five runs I had. What can I do differently next time to get better times? What would my ETs and MPH look like if I cut that 60' down to a 2.0? Should I try another track (with better traction)? I think I might also benefit from a race gas mix as I added 16 oz. of octane booster prior to the last two runs and finally broke into the 13s.

1. Thunderbird SC (1st race ever)
Tbird___________Camaro(1st 2.010)
0.864___R/T_____1.398
2.516___60'_____2.248(no burn out)
6.971___330'____6.043
10.647__1/8 ET___9.132
67.05__1/8 MPH__80.34
16.599_1/4 ET___14.055
83.75__1/4 MPH__99.64

2. 198X Honda Civic Hatch ( yes I lost to a Civic )
Camaro_________Civic(1st 0.288)
1.113___R/T_____0.647
2.567___60'_____2.163
6.318___330'____6.044
9.359__1/8 ET___9.276
81.69__1/8 MPH__76.20
14.217_1/4 ET___14.396
100.66__1/4 MPH__95.48

3. 1969 Mustang
Stang(1st 0.544)__Camaro
0.976____R/T_____0.568
2.099____60'_____2.395
5.621____330'____6.166
8.506___1/8 ET___9.214
85.53___1/8 MPH__81.35
13.110__1/4 ET___14.062
105.97__1/4 MPH__101.22

4. same 1969 Mustang (blew the launch, best ET for the day)
Stang(1st 1.150)_Camaro
0.998___R/T_____1.457
2.199___60'_____2.306
5.699___330'____6.035
8.575__1/8 ET___9.063
85.76__1/8 MPH__81.84
13.183_1/4 ET___13.875
105.79_1/4 MPH__102.00

5. 199X Civic Cp
Civic___________Camaro(1st 0.443)
0.783___R/T_____1.107
2.355___60'_____2.408
6.257___330'____6.088
9.628__1/8 ET___9.108
75.51__1/8 MPH__82.13
14.686_1/4 ET___13.918
98.5___1/4 MPH__102.00

[Self]

Dang, sorry to hear you didn't get what you were looking for...But looking on the bright side...You have a strong car. You can tell from your runs. Take a look at your 4th and 5th slips. On the 4th, you quartered at ~13.8 and pulled 102mph out of it. To compare, my '96 Z28 quartered at 13.8 as well, but my mph was 99.9 if I remember correctly. Same thing with your 5th run, not too good of a time, but a good mph. Your 60' foot times don't suck like you said...They're absolutely HORRID hehe, but that was a combination of your tires probably and your lack of experience(first time right?). So they will get better. You have a very low 13 second car with decent 60' so don't fret. Your car is actually as fast as you thought. If you're racing from a roll on the street or something, don't be afraid, you have a quick car You would have smoked both of those Civics by a LONGSHOT, and would probably have been dead even with the Mustang.

[HiFlow5 0]

Originally posted by Self
Your 60' foot times don't suck like you said...They're absolutely HORRID hehe

Yeah, if you improve your 60ft times and get a better r/t, you will see your times drop. Likes self said you have a low 13 second car. When you are watching the tree, what light are you leaving at? By the time you see the 3rd yellow light, floor it. Don't wait till the green cause it will be too late.

I would also try to air down your tires, to spread out the surface area. I had mine down to 11psi and it seemed to help some.

Another thing, I would stay away from the octane booster. It's not needed on a stock car. By adding booster your raising you octane level by a few points, which will give you a longer burn. Good for fuel ecomomy, bad for performance. Also higher compression cars, S/C cars, and Turbo cars benfit more from higher octane. For best performance you want the quickest burn possiable, so running the lowest grade octane possiable without detination is recomended.

[Frozenblue**WS6]

i've never been to the track.... hope i don't suck... 2000 WS6 M6...

center mounted exhaust?? that's stock??

[JekylandHyde]

Yeah, your 60's are huring you... get them under 2.0 and you are looking at a low 13.

What tires are you using? Are you dumping or slipping the clutch?

[Hypsi87]

you have good MPH for the mods you have done (MPH=horsepower ) really your 60' arn't too bad for a stick car and street tires plus the fact that it was your first raceday you need new tires e.g. bfg drag raidals. but get subframe connectors first ( if not soft traction type tires will apply more torque to your body and pop out t-tops or windshield and stuff ) if your are useing just street raidals how long did you do your burnout. with street raidals you just want to do one long enought to scuff the tires (raidals get real slippery when they are hot) and what ever you do do not lower the tire pressure because if we all rember high school shop class if you over inflate raidals thy bloon out and only the inner part of the tire contacts the surface. if you under inflate raidals the tread pattern gets a cup shape to them and then only the outer edge of the tire contacts the pavement. have fun

Andy

[HiFlow5 0]

Originally Posted by Hypsi87

and what ever you do do not lower the tire pressure because if we all rember high school shop class if you over inflate raidals thy bloon out and only the inner part of the tire contacts the surface. if you under inflate raidals the tread pattern gets a cup shape to them and then only the outer edge of the tire contacts the pavement. have fun

Andy

I have always had better results with lower tire pressure, even on radial tires. I ran 11 psi in my tires, and they hooked a lot better then they did with 30 psi in them. It is true what you say about the tires, but normally that happens on normal street driving, when not a lot of force is applied to the tires. When racing, you want the most surface area possible, and that's why you air down your tires. When drag racing excessive force is applied to the rear tires. The rotating mass of the tires is being pushed outward from the center of the wheel, actually making the tires width shrink some, eliminating that "cup shape" you described.