So its gonna be my first time out bracket racing... the cars setup has changed a lot since last time i took her down the track but im getting a full day for time trials

should i bother with nitrous for bracket racing ?! or running NA would probably be more consistent?

should i set my 2 step limiter to a lower RPM to make sure i dont spin and be more consistent !? should i power shift !? how do people know when to lay on the brakes at the end of the run ..

should i deep stage or not ?! etc etc and a million other questions !! hehe

thanx for ur advice.

ps. for those who dont know, the car ran 12.0 @ 117 18.0 on 26x10.5 ETstreets off the bottle .. it will be my first time spraying 100 shot on 28x12.5 ETs.. street twin.. hals.. 4.10s.. etc etc

 

use the full day of test-n-tune to experiment with the 2 step/powershifting etc.
Deep staging will get you a better r/t but hurts et slightly (if i remember right,1 of the pro's will chime in im sure).

As far as using the nitrous,all depends on how your car runs on the bottle,this past saturday i made 5 runs,3 were 11.0's on the bottle,pretty damn consistent.

As far as letting off,it comes with time/practice/experiance. Or if you race a slower car,smoke past him and think you might break out,hit the brakes.

 

After you pass through the 1/4 mile mark a amber light will turn on to let you know you've passed the finish line. The light is located next to or on the wall on either side of the track. That will let you know when to shut her down.

 

As a general rule of thumb, race NA, until you have a handle on the bottle. Deep or shallow stage? I stage shallow as possible every time. It is much easier to stage at the same point in the beams if you stage shallow. That allows for a consistent rollout and hopefully more consistent reaction times and more consistent ET's.

It is easier to change the car than to change the driver if you are having issues with reaction times. Adding/removing air to the front tires will change the rollout and reaction time. It will also change your 60' time, and your overall ET. Depending on your tires, adding/removing air from the back can also affect your launch, but you need to balance the tire pressure with shock settings to achieve consistent 60' times.

Bracket Racing is a game of inches and very little things add up by the time you reach the far end of the track. You also need accurate and consistent weather information so you can actually quantify the changes you make throughout the day.

Yesterday my car ran between 12.30 at 109 to 12.47 at 107 over the course of the day with DA varying between 2300 and 3200 feet. Fortunately I was able to dial for the changes due to accurate weather information.

In terms of the top end, you always want to at least make a full pass through the 1000 foot mark so you can calculate the 1/4 mile ET. As for the finish line, you only need to have a wheel on your opponent, unless her is breaking out, in which case you had better be on the brakes.

 

The nice thing about a 2 step is that you can launch at the same RPM every time and eliminate another variable.

My converter stalls at 5700 on the transbrake. My best 60' time is launching at 2500 and watching the converter flash to 5200 after I launch. It's a softer hit on the tires and gives less of a chance of wheel spin. It all depends on track prep. If the track conditions are poor, lower the launch rpm. If the track conditions are set on kill (you lose a shoe trying to walk across the starting line) raise the launch rpm.

I was at the track last Tuesday. It was hot and sunny all day. The track was greasy from the sun baking it. I tried everything to hook up and finally gave up. No amount of changes to the car can make it hook up on a poor track.

Ignore the NOS for bracket racing. Unless you can get the bottle temperature the same for every run, you've lost consistancy.

I'm the same as tnthub. I stage until I just turn on the stage light. If you roll in more, you can't tell how far in you are each time. I have noticed that if my reaction times are slow, I'll roll in a couple of inches more to lower the reaction time. If I deep stage, I red light every time.

Top end I run it out every time unless I know I have my oponent beat by a long way. I lost my last race by hitting the brakes at the end. I think the nose of the car dipped enough to break the beams and I broke out instead.

 

Another thing to remember about the top end- If you are racing a slower car and it's obvious that you are not gonna catch him, don't follow him through the finish line at full throttle. Get out of the gas and make sure you don't break out. Maybe he/she will. However, you should only use this tactic when it's painfully obvious you can't catch your opponent

 

cool .. kinda like playing blackjack

keep 'em coming .. bracket racing seems more interesting that plain heads up racing ... i should try to do it more often

 

Check here: http://www.staginglight.com/guide/

 

Also depends which class you run in.
We have a Electronics Class (Top) and a No-Electronics (Modifieds)
If you have a two step that moves you to the Electronics Class which is no good unless you have some type of Electronics for launching the car off the tree.

I aggree run the car N/A should be more consistent especially if you happen to go alot of rounds and you happen to run out of nitrous. I typically try to cool the car down between rounds trying to make the car consisitent as possible. One of the big factors in the LT1's is that when they get hot the typically run slower, you might have to factor that in during elminations rounds when you get less time to cool down. Also the track conditions play's a important role as well. If you start of during the early part of the day the track might be hooking pretty good and by the end of the day it might not hook as well (High Track Temps).

I myself enjoy bracket racing, some of the biggest mistakes is being to aggresive with the tree and end up red lighting.

Good luck with it.