The Dark Horse

I went to the drag strip for the first time this week. I had a great time but my results were a bit disappointing: the best I could manage was a 14.170@101.6. The car is an '06 GT convertible with a Hurst shifter, JLT cold air intake and Bamachips 93 race tune so I expected to do better than that. Here are the results of all 8 runs ranked from best 1/4 mile to worst:

I did not do any preparation to the car like lowering tire pressure, removing the spare or running on 1/10th of a tank. But I did read up on all the tips here and at other sites and tried my best to follow them. One issue is that it was not possible to go around the water box in the left lane. However, it turned out the left lane was faster, so I don't think that was a factor.

I noticed that my back wheels got a little loose during the 1-2 shift. Does that mean I'm shifting too fast or too aggressively?

I also think I may be having trouble with the launch. I couldn't hear very well with the helmet on and so I may have been getting more wheelspin than I should have.

I'll stop rambling now. Thanks for looking and I appreciate any and all help.

Lime GT

I know nothing of drag race results but I think I'd throw out the highest (chaos at the tree) and lowest(luck?) R/T and then average to get a more realistic R/T result.

cds06stang

Your 60' times are kind of high, you should easily be able to knock down 2.100, You've got the MPH so power is there, practice launching-give some stats on weather, humidity, and temp. Lets learn more.

DavidM

One thing that jumps right out at me was your 60' times. You should be able to get them to 2.1 with the stock tires, maybe lower. Also you didn't mention at what RPM you are shifting. I would be shifting at 6500 for 1-2 and 2-3 Practice Power Shifting if you don't already, and you should see your time drop. Based on the 60' you are spinning away alot of your time. Good luck!

DynamicmustangGT

I would add don't be scared to bang through the gears hard. You should be able to cut those times with proper shifting

The Dark Horse

Quote:

Originally Posted by cds06stang

Your 60' times are kind of high, you should easily be able to knock down 2.100, You've got the MPH so power is there, practice launching-give some stats on weather, humidity, and temp. Lets learn more.

I didn't record any weather data, but I'll definitely do it next time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidM

One thing that jumps right out at me was your 60' times. You should be able to get them to 2.1 with the stock tires, maybe lower. Also you didn't mention at what RPM you are shifting. I would be shifting at 6500 for 1-2 and 2-3 Practice Power Shifting if you don't already, and you should see your time drop. Based on the 60' you are spinning away alot of your time. Good luck!

I'm shifting at 6500 RPM, which is the new redline, courtesy of the Bamachips tune.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DynamicmustangGT

I would add don't be scared to bang through the gears hard. You should be able to cut those times with proper shifting

I felt like I was getting through the gears really quickly. I've got the Hurst short shifter and I'm not afraid to slam it around.

Thanks for the tips everybody! We're going again this Wednesday and I should be able to get some video to post. I'm also going to try to modulate the clutch more and dump it little less to see if I can get my 60 foot times down.

Bullitt995

It's all about the 60'. Keep working on your launch like the others have said.

kevinb120

And don't worry about R/T either when you are trying to see how fast your car will go. Concentrate on the launch instead of stressing over the tree, the times will still show even if you have 1 sec reaction times. Just use the tree as a guideline, like a traffic light at a deserted intersection. It takes a ton of practice before you can get both a good launch and a good r/t. Being that track time is at a premium, spend the time on driving the car instead of competing with nobody.

The Dark Horse

That's excellent advice. I need to focus more on the launch and less on the tree.

dustindu4

on stock tires and gears you need to launch between 2800-3000

05-1947

No, that is probably way to high. I would say start at idle and work your launch rpm's up from there. If you cut off .30 from your 60', then your top end will result in a reduction of .45.

dustindu4

That RPM worked well for me. Nowadays I launch at 5500-6000, or is that too high too?

05-1947

you obviously are a veteran of the track, where as this guy needs to start low and work up. Then he could be a pro like you and launch at 5500-6000.

The avg person will clutch drop off the line, and you telling him 2800-3000 I felt was a little high.