Today I found a video people drag racing at local track not too far away. Track was 1/8 mile long. One of the racers was C5 LS1 corvette, the driver definetely was not a track racer guy. His reaction times were over 1 sec and also he spun tires too much. Thought the pavement was bad with traction. His time was on average about 10.5 s. + over 1 sec. reaction time, for total of around 11.5 s .

so again : C5 LS1 Corvette , reaction time >1sec. average 1/8 mile time 11.5 sec. ( including RT)

His last run 60FT time was 2.17 s.

 

10.5s in the 1/8? Even when my intake/exhaust lt1 spun through 1st and 2nd it ran mid to high 9s....Guy musta been a terrible driver.

 

why would you ever include you reaction time in you et

that would bring my 10.73 down to a 10.77

 

Ok let me cut and paste.

Street racing is bad MMkay.

Now, on to the question at hand.
Old asphalt is the worst. If its cold you won't get anything resembling traction no matter what tire your on.
New asphalt is better but still kinda sketchy.

Concrete is the winner. Run a good drag tire like the MT Drag radial in the middle of summer and you have a good chance with the right touch on the throttle.

Full on street type tires really take a delicate touch in regards to throttle input. Nitto DRs actually work fairly decent but in my opinion the real winner here is the Mickey Thompson. I love these tires. They have worked great for me on the street.

 

I talked to the guy who raced that corvette, he said something was wrong with that vette cause even after corvette started running he still wasn't catching up. So proly a combination of terrible driver, very bad running surface and something wrong with the Ls1 . The track was an old airway, so I quess that would be an old asphalt.

 

I'm going to disagree with the concrete being king for "street racing's #1 surface, unless it is glued and poured smoother than most DOT highways, the winner would be asphalt that has been poured with the correct admixture (proper ingredients - correct binder, aggrigate size and etc.) and isn't to old. I'm in construction management and we have done all sorts or roads, parkways and industrial parks, I've "tested" on a few of these surfaces over the years so I'm speaking from experience.

ET Streets are GOD for real street racing tires, they are generally easier to hook on poorer surfaces as compared to ET drag radials. I use drag radials myself, ET streets can get hairy.

Remember the worse the racing surface the softer you want your rear shock setting (that does not mean worn or old shocks).

I don't have a problem with people street racing as long as it done properly. For some reason the younger generation loves racing in neighborhoods and areas with cross traffic were innocents can be injured or killed.

 

Am I missing something, or is that a direct contradiction?

WD

 

FWIW, my street tires (Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3) hook far better on the street than on a prepped track. This is true of every paved surface I've tried, and of every track I've tried.

Sort of illegal, too.

 

so I'm confused. Wich tires will hook best on bad surface?

 

Honestly, an adjustable suspension is whats needed to hook on different surfaces. Trial and error will get you the best setup. This is what test and tune is for.
Since you can't do this on the street and you will be encountering many different surfaces throughout a nite of street cruising/random racing you will have to compromise.
I still stand behind my suggestion of MT DRs on concrete. Not glass smooth concrete like they have in a warehouse but the semi rough concrete you find on alot of roads nowadays. I have had good success with my setup.

 

Yep, it is a contradiction because I don't street race (well not much), my car is faster with the radials on the track.

 

The legality of nitrous use on the street in NJ is not covered by law, one way or the other, resulting in an uncertain situation. You do require a state-issued permit to possess nitrous, under controlled dangerous substance (drug) laws, but an acceptable reason for obtaining a permit is "race vehicle". I have a permit.

The April 2008 issue of GM High-Tech Performance has a writeup on exhaust and nitrous laws in several states, including NJ, and they note the ambiguity of the NJ laws. I've asked a police officer, who happens to be a member of our local F-Body club, and he agrees that the legality is not clear.

 

1. I'm not planning to run on street. It's unpreped track for drag racing.
2. Do really DRs perform better than slick, on bad surface? Since it's a race track I can use slick tires also.

 

Since you will be running on the same surface I would test both to see which one works best for your particular track. Adjustable pieces will help you here as you will be able to test and tune on the same launch surface every time.