Burnout in Second Gear? First Gear?

OK, I have seen here that some guys are doing their burnouts in second gear. What are the advantages to doing it in 2nd as opposed to 1st?

Better for the engine is the only thing I can think of? (maybe not), beside less wear and tear from tranny?

Wouldn't you get a faster wheel spinup from first and thus make the tires hotter?

What gear do you use?


Kissel-

revving and working it in 2nd will spin them just as easily, however it is easier on the drivetrain, and you will be able to spin them longer. On a wet spot I can start in 1st and shift to 2nd, but I usually cant make it 2nd to 3rd before they catch.

Be careful!!! If your tires catch spinning that fast, you want to be able to control the car. A kid at my highschool did that with his foxbody mustang and got a nice dent from a lamp pole.

When I drove a stick I used second gear. Roll through the water, rev and spin. With the auto I start in first and shift to second. Coming out of the burnout I just release the ine lock and spin them on the way to the line so I don't pick up as much debris. You need to be careful to stay in the groove when you do this.

I agree with what tnthub says, and I also do the same.

To answer your question on wheel speed, Second gear will have more wheel speed then first making for a better burnout and stickier tires.

I heat the tires up in second gear. I set the line lock and with the car in 2nd gear I spin them at around 3500-4000rpms. Actually I think spinning them in second gear gets the tire moving faster simply because of the transmission ratio of second gear compared to first gear. When I let off the line lock I spin until the nose of the car starts to dive, because that is when it starts putting alot of unwanted stress on the clutch and engine.

Also I do a wheel hop before I get to the line to make a judgement on how the track is prepped and how hard I think I will be able to leave the line.

Originally posted by Sax1031
When I let off the line lock I spin until the nose of the car starts to dive, because that is when it starts putting alot of unwanted stress on the clutch and engine.

Also I do a wheel hop before I get to the line to make a judgement on how the track is prepped and how hard I think I will be able to leave the line.

I'll have to remember that!

thanks for the replies, I'll give it an ole try


kissel-

Geoff Chadwick- I am not sure if that is the right way to explain why it is bad on the car, but I know it is. My father who has built engines and raced cars for about 30 years told me this. He said as long as the front of the car is up it is fine but once it starts to dive back down you need to come out of the spin. Glad I could help.:D

Checked out your sight. Nice car:D and good power.

I would leave out the dry hop. If your car won't leave the same way each time you have other issues.

Daren

Originally posted by GUMP
I would leave out the dry hop. If your car won't leave the same way each time you have other issues.

Daren

I agree no dry hop, you tend to pick up stuff. I only use 1st gear for the burnouts. I spin the drag radials until I see smoke then let off the linelock and spin up to the line. You can feel the tire start to grip as you approach the line. I have a M6 with 4.11's. Not too much mph difference using the 2nd gear method. This year I will have an auto and ET Streets. I will spin in 1st, shift into 2d and then release the linelock and spin up to the line. The ET Streets need to get hotter than drag radials.

I do the dry hop to see how the track,not my car, is doing. I use it to judge how much traction I can expect, especially when I make nitrous passes. It is scarry to leave the line with a 150 shot and lose traction. I usually dump the clutch at 4000 rpms, that is if the track feels good. Also if I want to run somebody for money I want to get a good feel for the track so I have the best run I possibly could.

Also doing the burnout in 1st is alright, you just have to turn the engine harder to get the same speed as you could in second gear with less rpms.

And after the burnout, my slicks are heated up so much that no matter what I do they will pretty much pick up everything I go across going to stage.

Originally posted by Sax1031
I do the dry hop to see how the track,not my car, is doing. I use it to judge how much traction I can expect, especially when I make nitrous passes. It is scarry to leave the line with a 150 shot and lose traction. I usually dump the clutch at 4000 rpms, that is if the track feels good. Also if I want to run somebody for money I want to get a good feel for the track so I have the best run I possibly could.

Also doing the burnout in 1st is alright, you just have to turn the engine harder to get the same speed as you could in second gear with less rpms.

And after the burnout, my slicks are heated up so much that no matter what I do they will pretty much pick up everything I go across going to stage.

The problem with this is the track is not maintained behind the staging area. In other words the area where you are doing a dry hop will give you no indication of the track. In most cases the track is sprayed about 10-15 feet before the starting line which is no where near the area you are doing a dry hop. Even if the track is not sprayed the area behind the line does not represent the track conditions because it is not seeing the same type of action (staging vs. launch).

Back to the question. I do my burn-outs in 2nd. The higher wheel speed puts heat in the tires quicker.

red- you are correct. But generally on days that I run, they are testing 6 second cars and vht the heck out of the whole track. And those cars put enough rubber and heat from the waterbox through staging that their is generally not much difference in what I feel at staging as to what I feel in the lane coming up to staging. Darlington International Dragway is usually a well prepped track.

If the track is "well prepared", as you say, then you still don't need that dry hop. In fact it is probably the dry hop that blows some runs for you. It looks like you have a pretty hot mustang, was that run on your time slip on nitrous?

Oh, and in answer to the original post, I have automatics in both of my cars and generally shift up to third and release the line lock when I see smoke. It is much easier on my valve train that way.

Best Regards (and no offense meant)

Daren

GUMP- It is kind of a habit I have. To do the dry hop. I don't do it always. Yes that run was made with a 150 shot. It has been 3 10.90 passes but we were still working out all the bugs. I do not have the nitrous on the car right now, I am saving for a new system. On na runs it usually runs 12.0s-12.10s@110-113. It has been a few 11.90 passes too. But that was when I am able to get really low 1.6 or mid-to-high 1.5 60ft times.

Definately stop doing the dry hops. Also, another good reason for simply releasing the line lock and letting it spin out of the box is that the track crew will from time to time place you in the water for your burnout instead of just out of it. If you stop the spin and then drive to the line you will drive thru the water, not generally conducive to good bite.

mod313- I don't ever have the track guys to guide me in the waterbox. I will just open my door and look back to see where I am at, so I can be outside the water bbx when I do my burnout. If my father is their he will guide me through the waterbox.

I usually burnout in 1st b/c of the groove that ****ty Moroso motorsports park here in west palm beach has laid into their right lane burnout area... coming out of the burnout in 1st I stay in as tnthub said spinning most of the way to the line.. but on the right lane (my favorite for racing) the car goes careening towards the center rail in the prestage area due to a weird groove in the track, so I'm scared to test a 2nd gear semi-high speed burnout exit...

On that note, tomorrow I will be racing at a killer track during a rental (Bradenton Motorsports Park) with awesome prep. So I will trying out a 2nd gear burnout since the track is much better :)

Javier97Z28- Good luck man.

At our local 1/8 mile track they prep the heck out of it on somedays. The owner/announcer actually thinks it is good when has cars that break the rear-end because how much they hook. He takes pride in the number of rear-end related breaks they have.

Javier,

Perhaps you need a line lock?

Best Regards,

Daren

sax1031 what kind of tranny do you have? and what rpm do you launch at? do you have a trans brake? and how big is your stall(if its an auto)? sorry for all the questions



i do burnouts in 2nd cause with 4.56's it really revs really quick. like everybody else i let them spin until the line or when its about to hook.

With th e M6 I burnout in 2nd. When the tires start to grip and the motor pulls down, I let off the line lock and roll right to the prestage line. When I have installed the TH400, I will try first gear but most likely shift it up to second to get more wheel speed.

Dry hopping is considered kind of gauche among the "real" racers, but if it works for you, why not?

Rich Krause

Dry hopping is for some people and not for others. It is how a person likes to do things. My father has owned a machine shop and been a "real" racer since the early 70s. He was one of the first in South Carolina to run Nitrous. He had to go in front of a judge with a lawyer and sign a legal document saying that if anyone ever died or was seriously harmed as the result of sniffing his nitrous he would be put in jail. He got his tank filled at the local hospital.

Camaro Dave- Also I have the T-5 transmission rebuilt with world class gears. The car has a 4.10 gear. We normally leave the line at 3500-4000rpms.

Originally posted by GUMP
Javier,

Perhaps you need a line lock?

Best Regards,

Daren

Daren, I think you might be right... I didn't even think about it that way. I tried the 2nd gear burnout on this perfect track on sunday (you can see me gloating about 12's in a few places hehe) and I let the car shift into 2nd gear during my burnout and it started to bog down hard. Needless to say having the brake applied aren't letting the wheels freespin to build up speed in 2nd gear. So for now, I'm stuck w/ 1st gear burnouts until I fork over the cash for a linelock :) It's ok, the Nitto's get plenty hot in 1st gear.. I'm more worried for when I pick up ET Streets or Hoosiers :)

With an M6, gears, and slicks, you should burnout in 2nd gear. It's the only way to get the tires hot enough without holding the car still for 20+ seconds. With drag radials, you'll probably be fine with a 1st gear burnout. And no dry-hops...just a waste of time and wear on your parts. Besides that, I ALWAYS get my best launch on the first one, so dry-hopping just wastes that.

Dry hopping is more of a driver preference then something to do or not to do. My car pretty much launches the same everytime with or without dry hops. I have had a time where I did not do a dry hop and spun through the 60ft and into second gear, track was not prepped well that day. I did not know and was going to leave at the normal rpm, if I would have been racing for money I probably would have lost.

I'm going to have better tires this year on my A4. Should I do my desired burn then release the brake and the gas at the same time, then re-apply the brake?

Previously I would just spin the street tires for a moment to clean anything off, and release the brake crawling forward then release the gas...

So, If you dry hop and don't like what you feel, you get out and change your dial? (Don't get mad I'm just kidding!!). Really, it is very important to do what is right for you. Break your routine and you get to go home early.

Best Regards,

Daren

GUMP- Yea you could change your dial. I was more leaning toward loosing a grudge run because of bad track conditions, I wasn't really talking about bracket racing. But you could change your dial. I have to aggree about keeping a routine.