I did a search but for some reason I can't seem to find anything relevant

I got my ET streets a good month or so ago, and it's been raining ever since . Today I should finally get to run em.

On street tires I've run a best of 13.476 @ 102.78. I've been getting consistent 2.0xx 60' times, by dropping my pressure to 28ish, stalling to about 800 RPM and rolling into the throttle. I know I can hit the ET streets a helluva lot harder than that...

Considering my mods, and particularly the stock torque converter, what's a good starting point as far as PSI, RPM, and launch technique? I'm thinking I'll start around 18 PSI, launch at 1500ish and just punch it straight off the line...does that sound good? I realize I'll hafta experiment to find what works best for me, but I'm just looking for a good starting point. If I have decent weather conditions, I should get what, about a 1.7-1.8 60' and low low 13's, so close to 12's I can taste it, huh?

Any tips would be appreciated

 

That sounds like a reasonable starting point. 16-20 pounds should be about right. You may lose a little mph but ET should be better. You want the maximum amount of air that still allows you to hook to minimize rolling resistance on the top end.

Also, I need to do atleast one, sometimes two really strong burnouts on a brand new set of ET Streets to get the oils surfacing.

 

thanks, I knew you'd come through

They're not brand new, I bought em used with ~80% tread, so the initial burnout of death shouldn't be necessary...

Speaking of burnouts, I should spin em til I see smoke, keep it goin for like 3-4 seconds, then spin to the line right? And if my pressure is right and the track is decent (which mine usually is), I should be able to go straight to WOT right off the line without having to ease into it, right? At least at my power level and the 10.5x26" ET streets...

 

Once you see smoke, they "should" start to grab and you will feel the engine start to experience a load. That is when you roll out of the burnout toward the line.

 

Last year, when I was using a set of 26x12.5x16" ET Streets I found that I needed to run them as low 12.5-13psi to get them to hook. You should start higher though. As tnthub indicated, higher pressure = less rolling resistance = better top end. In additon, it felt pretty squirrley at the big end with thos low pressures.

Rich Krause

 

yeah, you and ted could both tear my car a new bumhole though...at my power level I shouldn't hafta go nearly that low on tire pressure, should I?

 

You should hook fine at 18-20psi, considering your mods.

 

Right, that's where I'd start too.

Rich Krause

 

I'm back...blah

I started off at 18 PSI and launching at 1500ish, but I didn't get a really good burnout on the first run. I went:

R/T: .356
60': 2.096
330: 5.819
1/8: 8.868
MPH: 80.94
1000: 11.498
1/4: 13.735
MPH: 100.90

I expected a slight MPH drop, but along with greatly improved 60' times...I ran the same 60's as with street tires, and slower ET/MPH.

Run 2, all I did differently was a nice smokey burnout.

R/T: 1.007
60': 2.099
330: 5.841
1/8: 8.934
MPH: 79.64
1000: 11.598
1/4: 13.863
MPH: 99.46

I got a little slower on this one...started off almost the same off the line but was down on power some...it was cooler out but mighta been a lil more humid too, I dunno.

3rd and final run, I dropped the pressure to 16 PSI and launched at about 1200 RPM (yeah I know, I should change 1 thing at a time, but it was my last run and I was dyin for some results)...

R/T: .929
60': 2.147
330: 5.931
1/8: 9.045
MPH: 79.03
1000: 11.735
1/4: 14.020
MPH: 98.67

WTF? I dunno if my car's having issues, or if I just need to work more on my launch and experiment a lil bit...assuming there's nothing wrong with the car and it's all "user error", it looks like the combination of lower pressure and lower RPM gave me a worse 60' and generally slowed me down for the whole run. 18 PSI and 1500 RPM worked better, but was still just equal to street tires. I don't think I was spinning at all, so maybe I should try stalling it even higher . I'm thinkin the game plan for next week is start at 20 PSI and see if I can launch at 1800-2000 RPM...or maybe just smack my car with a hammer

Cliff notes: my car sucks

 

Try not stalling it up and just going off idel. I have found that to net me better ET's...

 

Personally, I think ET Streets are too much for a 13 second car. Especially with a stock stall. You should be fine with DR's on that car. Or at least get a higher converter. I got a 2.092 60' on street tires with my car. But, my car also runs 14s, and has 2.73 gears. Stalled to 1500 and punched it, hooks and grabs.

 

tnthub,
How long should be the very first burnout? 20 sec's or so?
I have just taken off the stickers from my ET Streets, so they're pretty new
Also, I'll be using them on an unprepped track...but I guess they'll have enough traction anyways...

 

As I was reading through your post, I was thinking the exact same thing, and was not suprised to see that you ran slower with the ET's. 13.4's @102 with a 2.0x 60' is about right, but I would think that you should be running faster for your mods.

With stock stall, bolt-ons, stock internals, 3.73's I ran consistent 12.8's @107 with high 1.8x 60's with 245/50/16 Nitto DR's at Cecil county. I would think that for you to get the most out of those tires, you will need more HP and a higher stall convertor.

 

At 102 mph I would be expecting 13.2's to 13.4's with a stock stall converter.

I switched to ET street back when I was running 12.9's-13.0 and what I found was a 1 mph drop and my high 1.8 sixty foot times went to mid 1.7's and my car became much more consistent. I had a six speed at the time.

To take advantage of the ET Streets I would definitely go for a higher stall speed, probably 2800 or so, and your sixty foot times should drop and become very consistent.

Don't do a 20 second burnout. Just do a couple of hard 5-7 second ones on back to back passes and you should be fine. The goal is to break in the tires, not force the track officials to use an oxygen mask. On an un-treated track there are no guarentees, ever, with any tire. I would go to a facility that preps their starting line.

Weather confditions, particularly DA can vary times by 2-4 tenths easily... BP cannot be detected without a weather station. I wouldn't read too much into a slower performance in August.

 

I'd go with a higher stall converter, but it's not gonna be an A4 forever...my next major mod (not sure when I can afford it though ) will be a M6 swap. Yeah, I know, less consistent on the drag strip, but a helluva lot more fun for everyday driving. At this point, it's gonna hafta be my next major mod, because the next big thing I'm planning for power is heads and cam, and with a decently powered cam I'll need either a high stall or M6. So for now I just hafta make the most of my stock converter. Until I have the money saved up for a M6 swap and at least the beginnings of a 12 bolt fund, cuz I know that'll be next

I guess on tuesday I'll just start off with higher pressure, maybe even 22-24, launch as hard as I can, and if it spins at all lower the pressure til I hook...I wanna at least see some 1.8-1.9's. I know 16 PSI vs 18 PSI slowed me down, I just don't have enough power to need em deflated that low. 18 PSI got me pretty much identical to what I woulda ran with street tires, but without having to finesse it outta the hole. Hopefully 20 or so will still hook but give less rolling resistance so I won't embarass myself by running 14's again

Plus I've been seeing some hesitation around 1500-2000 RPM lately, that's prolly part of it, I gotta get that worked out too...but I'll save that for LT1 tech