Hot darn folks. I feel like crawling under a rock. Made two passes at the Milan speedway today at the weekly test 'n tune. First off, those of you who have run 13s or better, I tip my hat to you. MUCH easier said than done, as I learned first hand today (my first time at the track).

Run 1, vs. LS1 Z28:

Turned TCS off, revved to 3K, left foot up, right foot down.......rear end sideways

60 ft time: 2.9 (and on to a 15 second quarter mile at 98 mph). Pitiful.

Okay so no such thing as beginners luck. Tell myself I'll take the easy road next time and leave the traction control on (I only have time for one more pass, so I'll figure I'll put off learning better launch technique until next time

Run 2, vs. my buddy's E36 M3 (a car I have wiped the highway with on several occasions, from a stop, from a roll, top end etc. figure it should be a breeze)

Revved to 2800, slip clutch as I'm giving gas. Wheel hop>>>break traction>>>electronic nannies retard acceleration>>>2.4 second 60 foot time. Not the end of the world but still a car length behind my buddy. Reach for second and MISS. Didn't grind 'em but it didn't matter.....the race was over. Finished at 14.9 @95.
:bang:
What's strange is that I still found the whole experience quite exhilarating. I just wish I had the first clue how to properly drive my own automobile. It's one thing for your ride to let you down, entirely different when YOU let your ride down. That pony deserves better. Time for its driver to get educated.

To that end, any advice you all have would be much appreciated :worship:

--Tony

p.s. what's that saying about any given driver on any given day?

 

I am FAR from an expert but here is my 2 cents.

I had NO success launching at anything over 1500 on stock tires even with slipping the clutch. It was just sit and spin for me. Maybe it was track prep or maybe it was because I didn't do a full burnout or maybe it was my 19 inch wheels. I know there are others out there who somehow are able to do it but I couldn't get decent traction and would cut 2.4+ 60 ft times.

I had much more success with a low RPM launch and having the car bog a bit. I would get consistant 13.5-13.7s. My 60 time was right about 2.1. I kept traction control off.

I just bought some drag radials so I am itching to try them out. If I can move that 2.1 to a 1.8 to 1.9 then I am knocking at the 12 second door.

 

I pulled 2.0 60 fts with stock wheels and tires.Let you in on a little secret or two.
Drive arround the water at the burnout. Spin tires just a little in the dry area.
Remove front stabilizer bar or just the Stabilizer links(alows front end to lift)
Leave the line at 2500.You will get wheelhop but you wont brake traction.

 

The only reason it's the worst '05 ET ever is because I haven't been to the track yet.

 

practice launching from stop signs around town...launching as fast as possible WITHOUT chirping the tires at all. it will go a very long way in teaching u how to control your clutch. is this your first manual tranny?

first time ever to the track i was cuttin 2.07 to 2.16 60ft on stock everything cept gears and prepackaged pred tune. (tires at 28psi)

waitin for a warm wed here in sac to go try to break into 12s (ran 13.26 best last time)

 

There are bad days, bad tracks, and all different conditions that can go wrong.

You 60 foot time is pretty off, showing either a loss of traction or some bogging. Try working on that. Launching is the hardest part and has the greatest effect on your times. If you are getting lots of spin then try lowering your rpms in 500 increments. Also doing a burnout with street tires isnt the best thing always as it can actually make them spin easier. I havent run on the pirellis so Im not sure how they react to heat. You may try a run without a burnout. Good luck.

 

This paragraph confuses me, you said stock tires and 19 inch wheels or are you talking about different occasions?

 

I don't mean to Hijack your thread dude, but I have a question to anyone who may know. I plan on taking "Silvia" to the track sometime in the near future and I am undecided about tires. I have the stock wheels and tires off my 2001 gt and they are wider and shorter. I know the offset is different, but I will only use them at the track. do you think I will get better tracktion with them or the stock pirrelis.

 

You will prolly do the best with the Perilli's. Most cars stock are having wheel hop which might be less with the '01 tires.

 

 

I'll second that one! Last night I was running in the bracket class and was dialed in at 12.9 and was running a 12.9-12.94 consistantly. It was about 80% humidity out, so there wasn't too many people hooking up good. I was launching at 6000 rpm on these tires. 1.76-60'. 6200 rpm and the tires was spin. 5800 rpm and it would bog just a bit. What I really learned last night is how each day can be better or worse then the previous day. Temperature, humidity and track prep changes it all (launching rpm's, tire pressure, shift points). I really didn't take notice to this until I was being more consistant and was looking at tenths more closely.
I'm kindof under the impression that if you are a peak launching capablility, you'll tear up the clutch. Once you replace the clutch and if you go to a performance clutch, you'll tear up the diff. Of course not everyone will be running on slicks or DR and not everyone will be at the track almost 2 times a week. Heating up the stock tires does help, I don't care what anyone thinks. I thoroughly tested this out. There's also something to say for debris sticking to the tires. My 60' times increased with heating the tires. The downfall to this is wear on the clutch. I by all means don't know it all. This is just what I've experienced. I'm sure it may be different at different elevations and at different tracks.

 

Thanks all for the feedback. A few additional comments/questions.

I definitely skipped the water box both times (was advised to do so). I do have a question though, about how to do do a controlled burnout without getting sideways and freaking everyone out (I've seen them done a million times but never seem able to dupliciate it).

I may also remove the front stabilizer bar (are you all sure there won't be any adverse effects?), since it makes sense to transfer more weight to the rear tires.

Finally, I've got to lock down the launch technique. Around town, I don't actually rev the motor at all. I just slip the clutch as I'm applying the throttle and I take off pretty darn quick. My reasoning at the track though was that I would lauch "better" if I revved first and then lifted the clutch. Both times I broke traction, however (on my brand new Conti-extreme P255 50ZR17s....I swear I think the Pirelli's hooked better). I think the next time out, I will try lower launch RPMs as you all suggest.

--Tony

 

Hang in there Tony. Time and practice will lower your time's. My first time at the track I ran a 13.9, with 2.2-2.4 60 foot times.... :bang: I have been back to the track 4 times since then and I'm down to 13.2 with 1.92 60 foot time's. There's still a lot left in her and I know what your saying when you feel like you let your Pony down. I have not yet been able to drive to my Pony's full potential, but I will...With help from guy's like David, Derick, The Boss Hogg, and many other's on here we are bound to succeed!

 

Diconnecting the front swaybar allows the front suspension to move more freely it won't cause problems at the strip only help but will cause loss of handling when turning.

 

don't feel bad, my first go wasn't any better...

1st pass (first time ever)
3:43PM
Car #137
R/T ... .701
60 ... 2.390
330 ... 6.572
1/8 ... 9.796
MPH ... 76.97
1000 ... 12.525
1/4 ... 14.824
MPH ... 98.28

Avoided the waterbox because I'm running stock tires; did a couple quick chirps.
Smoked the tires a bit (TCS off) @ 3000RPMs

They ran a pro stock along side of me that pulled 9.281 1/4 @ 144.49 MPH