It was very, very wierd leaving from the top bulb and my reaction times proved that I need some practice but it was one of the coolest feelings I've ever had. To sit on the starting line with the pedal floored and go no where until the trans brake releases the car is amazing.

I was unsure as to whether or not I was going to footbrake my Nova when it's complete or install a trans brake and delay box and run Super Pro until yesterday. It was AWESOME!!!

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

 

It is fun, isn't it

But don't sit there very long against the brake. It puts a lot of strain on the motor and heats the tranny fluid up like crazy!

Rich Krause

 

Trans Brakes are COOL!

 

You didn't happen to be at Englishtown did you? Cause I was there running yesterday.

Anyway trans brakes are cool, I'd love to have one, but something tells me the 4L60E wouldn't like it too much...

 

No, I was at Atco. It was the semi-annual Philadelphia Modifiers Race and it seems to have become a family tradition for my dad and I to race.

Rich, Rick had actually mentioned that to my dad. "What if someone plays games with her and takes his time staging then she's on the brake for a long time." And my dad's response was "you ain't gonna hurt anything on that car."

I swear my dad was more excited that I was learning to use the trans brake than I was.

 

Top bulb racing is the only way to go. If your reaction times are terrible, you need to start adjusting the delay box. Start with 1.000 in the box. Lets say your reaction times were now around .190 (.690). You'd then set the delay box for 1.190 and you would be very close to a perfect light.

The key is to release the transbrake at the first indication of yellow on the top bulb and to do it the same every time. Don't wait for the light to be it's brightest like leaving off the bottom bulb with a footbrake.

I use a simple reaction time delay box. No bells or whistles. I don't have a crossover box. I don't get multiple hits on the tree. No practice timer etc.

As mentioned above, don't sit on the brake for a long time. Since there's a delay between when you release the button and when you launch, you have time to come up on the brake. Time yourself to go to WOT just as you release the transbrake button. By the time the engine comes up to the stall point or 2 step setting, you should be launching.

 

Damn sounds like fun.


Thats cool man,
-JOhn

 

It sounds you had great fun with that trans brake.

Once, my friend tried the "poor man's" trans-brake, the neutral drop. ouch!

Revved it to about 4000 in neutral and dropped the shifter do "D". Sure, it was trans-BREAK, not transbrake!

 

Thanks Stephen.
I don't think my actual reaction is bad, I was having trouble because I've never actually raced from the top bulb before and I would "forget" to let the button go. Everything happens so quickly up there also. My dad kept saying "you have to be ready BEFORE you bump into the second beam." I thought I was, but really wasn't.

Rick has a great game on my computer - Burnout Championship - where it goes through everything from the burnout to driving the finish line. I need to start practicing on that. After racing for 10 years with my feet, this thumb/top bulb racing is going to take a while for me to get used to!!

 

That's where the higher end delay boxes pay for themselves. If you get multiple hits on the tree you can get another shot at the second or third yellow. A crossover box lets you go off your opponents top bulb if he's the slower vehicle and leaves first. If you think you reacted slowly to his light you have another chance at your own.

And everyone says drag racing is easy. It seems the faster you go the more there is to do from when you start the burnout to when you cross the finish line. A few times I forget to set the record on my tach and I don't get to see the playback of the run because I got distracted by something else.

Forgetting to let the button go disappears quickly. It doesn't take long before it's just a habit. I remember the first time I used a 2 step while footbraking. Launched the car and forgot to let go of the 2 step. Good thing it was only time trials.

 

Every second that you are on the transbrake it will heat up the tranny fluid @ 50* per second. It does not take long for it to get too hot.

I'm having a TH400 built now with a t-brake, so it will be interesting to feel what you are describing.

 

That's so true! It's sort of like football, where the game doesn't actually seem that difficult (just a bunch of guys running into each other for the most part!) but it's the strategy behind the game, and likewise for drag racing, it's all the technicalities that make it more and more challenging the more serious you get into it.

Glad to hear you had fun using your new trans-brake. I'm sure the more practise you get with it, the more natural it will become racing with it.

BTW, would a trans-brake be a really bad idea on a 4L60E?? Or would it be no worse than using one on any other tranny, just make sure to have a good tranny cooler?!