what do you guys do to the car before a night of draggin?
so far this is what i have done:
1. took out all the extra weight, sub/amp and such
2. took care of my fluids
3. got my helmet and other track necessities
4. emptied windshield fluid
5. set my fans to turn on at a lower temp

what else do you guys do before heading out?

 

6. Wash it inside and out
7. Do a few WOT runs down the street because of that PCM myth...

 

I always check my tire pressures also. What is this PCM Myth? i've never heard about that.

 

I'm assuming this is to a dragstrip to race? Not sure what all you included in the "track necessities"

Driver's license
Tire pressure gauge and maybe one of those little glove box sized pumps to adjust tire pressures
Make sure all the wheel nuts are there and tight
Pen to fill out tech card
Shoe polish to write numbers on the windows
Bug spray depending how bad the bugs are where you race
Make sure the tail lights work

 

lol thats exactly what i meant by that

edit: by the PCM myth, i think he meant that if you drive like an *** the computer will automatically assume you WILL drive like an *** and adjust itself accordingly

 

so you're manning up and hittin the dragstrip ay? how bouts u and me do a one-on-one for a track burger?

 

Feel free to add:

Long pants, socks, shoes, and no tank tops.
White shoe polish or window paint that can be wiped off.
Windex and paper towels
I actually take an air tank and use a digital tire pressure gauge.
It is good to have little cooler with some water or powerade.
A towel or squeegie is good for sudden rain showers.
Make sure the battery hold down is solid.
As has been mentioned, all wheel lugs need to be on and visible for tech. Remove hubcaps if there are any.
Clean or replace air filter and fuel filter.
I like to run my oil about 1/2 quart low to avoid windage.

 

::Tear:: EB is finally growing up and going racing. I gotta see if I can get down to the track tonight....

- Justin

 

camping chair, sunscreen, umbrella thing.
jumper cables, flat fix, quick tire plug repair kit, and duct tape.
log book, cheap calculator.
towel inside car for the driver.
sunglasses

 

It's said that if you cruise around town never going over 2500 rpm or so the PCM will adjust to make the car "slower." If you drive around everywhere at 6000 rpm it will give it a more aggressive tune. Some people have said they tested it and it's true, I always did it.

 

I wouldn't really hold true to that myth. Even if you did test it out, too many variables take place. Track prep, weather, heatsoak, etc..

PCM myths are just that, myths. A tune is a tune is a tune. My car runs the same whether I drive it like a grandma to the track or if I beat the living **** out of it.

All you're doing is just decreasing your drivetrain's lifespan by a few days.

 

As far as the PCM, my limited understanding is that the calibration stuff works for driving around... However at the track it is WOT and so it simply reads what has been programmed in. That said, I either reboot the PCM every round or not. There is no in between. I have no idea which way is quicker because I am only looking for consistency. I have had good luck with the every round reset becasue it always reads the same stuff every time.

I have heard that it takes 30 seconds from the time the car is started to work properly however. That bit me one day when I was told to shut it off after the burnout (same for the other lane) because it looked like there was a problem at the top end... However within a few seconds of shutting down we were told to fire them up again because it was a "false alarm"... I ran off by .05..... To this day I wonder if it was because of the PCM being in startup mode.

 

This is believable. The PCM is in closed loop anywhere from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. Your car will run the best/most consistant in open loop when it actually receives readings from the O2 sensors.

I might have open/closed loop backwards. I'm too tired to really go find out if I'm right on not on the order.

 

The PCM only used info from the O2 sensors in closed loop, but when at WOT the PCM goes in to PE mode(power enrichment) and does not use the O2s at all.