Well hopefully tomorrow I will be heading to the track with my buddy who has an 04 GTO. I have read some good info on here for first time track goers, but one question sticks out in my mind. TC on or off?
Does TC rob that much that spinning the tires more would still give a better time? I see alot of people on here who say they turn it off with every turn of the key. I know for a fact that with it on I'm chirping the tires pretty good normally.
Just looking to get thoughts and opinions.
Also any advice for a first timer would be helpfull. I have an auto, so shifting shouldn't be too hard, LOL

 

Cant offer any advice since I am still a virgin to the track, hopefully next weekend Ill get a taste of it. But what I wanna ask is which track you going to?

 

Going to Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, WI. Its not the best track in the world, but its the closest to me. Would rather go somewhere like Route 66 in Joliet, but GL is only about 20 minutes north of me.

 

Well I went to the track for the first time and ran a 14.7 at 96.6 MPH in 95 degree weather. I was there for a show and they let the show cars run once. I got no instruction and didn't realize that I was suppose to go right after the final amber not wait till the green. Then I granny shifted all the way down. A guy in a new Saleen Mustang ran in the 16's so I didn't feel horrible. It was fun though and can't wait to get there all day so I can practice. I know it should be pretty easy for me to knock that second off and get to what it should run.

 

By all means turn it OFF... chirping the tires isn't a bad thing compared to an engine that just shuts down when the tires slip at all. And, you can't even think about a burnout with TCS on. Speaking of burnouts...


http://home.comcast.net/~kresstek/dw1.wmv

 

Tc off, Remove front swaybar(takes minutes to do).50 psi in front tires.Do not drive thru water in burnout area.Go around with radials on.Foot brake to 2000 and let it go ........

 

Unless I heat up my tires (Nitto 450 radials)with a good burnout, mine spins the tires all the way into 3rd gear. I would recommend someone try it both ways to see what works best for those tires on a given track on a given day.

 

Why 50psi up front? Does that eliminate some rubber contact?

 

Decreases rolling resistance...

 

Another dumb question...?

What does removing the front sway bar acheive? Weight savings or what?

And...about the only thing you have to bring is a helmet, right? Is a 3/4 bike helmet OK?

 

Thanks for all the great info. The one posting awhile back about first time trackers said if you drove it to the track avoid the water so I was expecting that.
I am completly stock except k&n and tune, and don't really plan to go all out since its my first time at the track, just want to get a feel for it and see what I can do. I was considering the tire psi though, as long as I could find someone with a portible air compresser so I can air them back up for the ride home. I have stock tires, what kind of psi would you recommend for front/back? Also with the TC on just flooring it off a stop light I have not had my car shut down, so don't know how much that would really affect me, unless it is shutting down to gain traction and I just can't tell?

 

Each track usually has their own rules, but most require a SNELL95 (or better) approved helmet.


<!--QuoteBegin-dekujala@August 23, 2005, 7:10 AM
Thanks for all the great info. The one posting awhile back about first time trackers said if you drove it to the track avoid the water so I was expecting that.
I am completly stock except k&n and tune, and don't really plan to go all out since its my first time at the track, just want to get a feel for it and see what I can do. I was considering the tire psi though, as long as I could find someone with a portible air compresser so I can air them back up for the ride home. I have stock tires, what kind of psi would you recommend for front/back? Also with the TC on just flooring it off a stop light I have not had my car shut down, so don't know how much that would really affect me, unless it is shutting down to gain traction and I just can't tell?

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IMO, you will gain nothing by lowering pressure in the rear tires (for street tires, that is). There isn't enough sidewall flex for it to matter very much. In fact, I don't mess with the front pressure either.

Re: TCS... leaving it on gains you nothing and can only hurt. I don't know anyone who leaves it on at the track. But, do whatever you are comfortable with.

 

From the couple of times I have been to the track, dropping the pressure in the rears can reduce or eliminate wheel-hop. The first time, I left the rears at what they were when I arrived, 36 psi and it hopped like crazy and then bogged a little when they finally caught. My 60 foot times were in the 2.40-2.50 zone. Did the same thing for all three runs I got that night.
All my launches were in the 2800 to 3000 rpm range. As a test, I had left TC on for all three of these runs, this may have been the cause of the bogging. I was going to run with it off for a couple of runs after that, but we got rained out that night. My best time that night was a 14.703 @ 96.3 mph. The car was bone stock but for my tires. I had 3/4 tank 87 octane, with no items removed from it (spare, jack, etc.). Temp was 95+, humidity 90+%.

The next time I went, I dropped the rears to 28 psi, much better, not the mad hop as before. Only a slight chattering as well as tire screach all through 1st. Ran this pressure for three runs then dropped it to 25 psi for the next two runs. No chatter this time at all! Good solid screach, good bark into 2nd and 3rd. As well, my 60 foot times dropped from the 2.40-2.50 zone to the 2.20-2.30 zone. Again, I tried to keep my launches in the 2800-3000 rpm range. TC was off for 3 of these runs, forgot it the other two. Car setup and temp/humidity were the same this night. The only difference was that I had 1/4 tank 87 plus 1/4 tank 93 octane in it this time. My best run this night was a 14.293 @ 97.51 mph. As far as the TCS shutting the car down, I have not had that happen at the track with it on. But off, the car does seem to accelerate better. What will shut it down though is the rev limiter! I hit it on one run and it cost nearly a full second on my et!

I know I need more practice with this car, my 60 foot times show that and the 1/4 times are off what others have claimed to get with their stock cars. Still, the car only has 5K miles on it and I've only made eight passes so far, so, I guess both the car and I could use some more break-in and practice to get quicker. But it is a whole lot of fun! So just go there and experiment with tire pressures and launch technics, that's what test and tune nights are for. As far as tires, I don't see where messing with the fronts could make any noticable difference at all. And both tracks by me, Sunshine and Desoto, have air stations to refill your tires before you leave.
Good luck,
jeff

 

Jeff... that may be good info for a stick car. But the original poster (Dan) has an automatic. Launching above 2500rpm is not an option with the stock tranny/torque converter. If you power brake it to launch, it will break loose right around 2400-2500 rpm (at least mine does). And in almost 200 runs, I have never had wheel hop, not even once. And the rev limiter is not an issue with an automatic either.

 

Yep have the auto, and havent had wheel hop that ive noticed normally when just messing around on the street, usually just screech the tires. I was just out at lunch and was showing off my new tune and how it behaves to a friend, noticed when I hit 2nd and chirped the tires that a message came up on the message center, was this the traction control kicking in and warning me? It went away rather quickly (about when my tires grabbed) so I couldn't read it. I have not seen this before, maybe I have never had tc engage until just now?

 

I don't recall seeing a message related to TCS (but then again, I normally turn it off when I start the car). But, if you roll into a puddle of water and then get the tires spinning freely with TCS on, you will see what it does to the engine. It basically won't rev past 2000 rpm or so. Sounds like it is running on about 3 cylinders. hehe

 

For your manual trans quater mile racers, curious what gear you are in when running thru the traps?

 

Did some forum searching on TC, just wanted to ease my concerns about the message, thought it might have been failsafe mode, but everything I have read it doesnt appear thats the message I got. I did find a post saying when TC kicks in in the message center it displays "trac control active" so I'm guessint this is what I saw flash quickly. Looks like it never kicked in before for me

 

........................

 

LOL... didn't you like his first answer?

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?sh...ndpost&p=484792