Want to thank all for info. Went to the strip (1/8th) for the first time Sat. night and had the time of my life. Raced a friend from work with a 02 GT. He had a tune, no cat exhaust and 5 spd. Made sure I drove around the water and just cleaned off the rears. I tell ya'll I was nervous as all get out, did not want to mess up lol. Made sure I shallowed staged, had the t/c off, a/c off (yea I know) and o/d off. Power braked to 2500 and floored it when last green came on. Could have sworn I was doing 150 at the finish, at least that is what it felt like. We ran 3 times and I am glad to say I won them all. Could not get into the 8's but had a best of 9.1163. at 78.53. I have had many street races during my time but nothing compared to this. I ca'nt wait to get to a 1/4 mile sometime. Again thanks all for the info.
http://images1.snapfish.com/3478%3A%...3A%3A%3Cnu0mrj http://images1.snapfish.com/3478%3A%...%3A8%3B5nu0mrj The preson taking the pics got them a little blurry but I thuought in a crazy way was cool. hehe

 

How many greens were there? They only have one at most tracks. hehe. I hope you meant the last "amber".

 

Ha told ya'll I was nervous. 2 stage lights-3yellows - 1 green and 1 red. ment last yellow.

 

cool first time I went to the track I left T/C on and tried to do a brakestand burnout.... TWICE most embarassing. not the worst thing that can happen, though. Most of the people at street legal nights are generally pretty tolerant of newbies. And after about a month or so I realized that the big smokey burnout on stock tires was hurting more than helping.

 

awesome thread, Thank you so much guys, I am planning to go to the track I am saving your info in my computer.

Great info!!

 

where can a guy get 16x10 wheels that fit the '05?

 

I know this is an old sticky but never the less, I wish I had read it before going to the drags for the first time in 20 + years. The last time I went to the drags I had an auto 79 vette with headers and that was about it. I believe it rean 14.50 which, looking back now, doesn't sound that bad for what it had (350 with maybe 200 HP). Of course this was also an automatic and that helped. Taking the new mustang out (5 sp man) for the first time, I ran 3 times (test and tune night) and was trully embarrassed. The first run I felt like a dear in a headlight. Didn't rev the engine, popped the clutch well after the green light and bogged at the take off (I just lost what I was doing). Second run was just a little better at the line (still bogged a little and also spun the tires) and also ended up hitting the rev limiter in 2nd and 3rd (wasn't used to watching the tach--which I hate being over to the far left). Now I am thinking I can start to put the last 2 runs together and I'm ready for the 3rd try. I hit the light pretty well but I do still Bog which says "go practice hole shots until you get the rpm/clutch figured out for next time. I do watch the tach a little closer this time and shift about 5500 (not sure if I should have waited that long or not)...I need to get it dynoed to find my best power band shift points. The shift from second to third was not too bad but did seem like it took forever. I kept racing a buddy with an 05 auto and he beat me all 3 times, each one getting closer and closer. I think that once I get that hole shot down (especially like the advice about short staging), that I will get the car to where it should be. (I hit the high 14's last run and I don't even want to talk about the first 2 runs). One last thing, that was SO much fun, I can't believe it took me that long to get back out there. It was only 10.00 for the night and it's hard to get that much fun for that kind of money.

 

Don't be embarrassed. At least your out there doing and learning. We all had to start somewhere. Banging gears is not easy and don't worry about what other people think. Trust me, everyone there understands and knows that mistakes happend and others are learning. I respect anyone that takes the time to learn and push their car down the 1/4 mile regardless of how they do. I've made my share of mistakes and will continue to make them and learn. I've seen my share of vets mess up, so it's all part of the process. Getting that perfect run (even more so in a manual) is not easy and takes time. Just keep at it and remember to keep it safe and fun.

Work on fixing one aspect of your run at a time (i.e. your RPMs on launch), then when you have that down focus on the shifts, throttle, etc. Don't worry about R/T. Just go when you are ready and run your run. Good luck!

 

I find launching on asphalt totally different than launching at the track. I don't know that practice launches on asphalt is going to help or hinder your attempts at the track.

You might as well push the shift point up to 6000rpm.

 

Your probably correct on the difference in launch bases (concrete, etc) but I need to see why I was bogging so bad on the takeoff. It was so loud that I really couldn't hear much so I am not sure what the circumstances were when it started to bog. Not enough gas, too much, etc. If I can at least practice the launches and remove the bogging, I should get better. That last run I actually got the hole shot on the auto but he got me at the bogg and never looked back. I think his lower gear actually helped him at the end. I am really looking forward to doing it again as it was a blast that you just don't realize until you do it.

 

IMO, as it has been stated; practicing on the street and track are two totally different things from my experience. When my track is prepped well, I can launch at 4K on my stock tires. On the street, 2K at best. Just my .02

 

Ive never been to the drag strip but my friend wants to go soon My question is, what would be the optimal shift points (1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, and if necc. 3rd to 4th)? BTW my car is completely stock.

 

My car is a 5 spd manual GT. Forgot to mention. sorry.

 

I am finally going to get to the track tonight and was wondering if all tracks require you to have a helmet? Or is it if you are under a certain time?

 

Here's the helmet rule from my track:
"Drivers of cars running 13.99 or quicker are required to wear a NHRA Approved Snell 95 or newer helmet"
I'm sure you will find that rule in place at all NHRA Member tracks and likely most, if not all, others who aren't NHRA.

 

So how was it?

Some tracks like the one I go to dont really enforce the Helmet rule, unless you are obviously fast.

My 1st track day with the stang will be tomorrow, I was just refreshing my brain with this nice little sticky.

 

Oh sorry I thought I had already posted it. I got a 13.69 at 101.6 and it was really fun. I don't think anyone really cared about the helmet rule though. I was actually one of the slower cars there most running in the 11's and 12's. Good luck at the track.

 

last weekend i was with few friends at the track, we were watching only, and were talking about the times so i said that the mustangs get in the 13's they said with stock tires and the VHT on the track the mustang will get 16 or15 and will never get 13's

im just curios is this true ? im using the stock BFGoodrich on the 18'' fanblades and with an aluminum driveshaft and an sct tuner with a custom tune from eolution performance, So how many seconds am i expecting ? i have a 5 speed GT and i dont powershift nor speed shift, i shift normally but fast using the clutch, i shift at 6300~6500 rpm on streets.

 

Those "talkers" probably are just like the auto mechanic that asked me yesterday if my car had a 302 in it. They haven't really looked at a Mustang since 1994.
If your car can't break 14 sec. with those mods you will just need more practice on the track. You will break 15 sec for sure.
Read the whole thread again.

 

13.32@105.5 2.03 60ft
13.78@104.4 2.36 60ft oops little wheel spin there
14.4@103.0 2.49 60ft no wheel spin, forgot about TCS, lol and grinded 2nd


1st run of the day was obviously the best, just kept screwing up after the 1st run