Drag Racing Technique Improve your track times

Well, went to the 1/8 tonight and didn't get where I wanted to be. Need advice!

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Old 07-31-2002, 10:38 PM
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Post Well, went to the 1/8 tonight and didn't get where I wanted to be. Need advice!

First my mods and car are in the sig. It started out at 92 degrees and 36% humidity here.

First run:

RT - .324
60 - 2.297
330 - 6.092
594 - 8.581
ET - 9.143
MPH - 80.07

Second run:

RT - .199
60 - 2.223
330 - 5.950
594 - 8.457
ET - 9.018
MPH - 80.08

Third run:

RT - .085
60 - 2.413
330 - 6.076
594 - 8.530
ET - 9.080
MPH - 81.94

Fourth run:

RT - .012
60 - 2.32
330 - 6.031
594 - 8.495
ET - 9.052
MPH - 80.64

Fifth run:

RT - .006
60 - 2.221 **
330 - 5.994
594 - 8.460
ET - 9.011 **
MPH - 81.68

Sixth and final run:

RT - .328
60 - 2.337
330 - 6.082
594 - 8.538
ET - 9.084
MPH - 82.30 **

My car has 61,500 miles on the stock clutch. I really can't tell if that's my problem. I have run an 8.8 before bone stock at that same track 2 years ago when my car was brand new.

How do I tell if my clutch is slipping? I have some fairly new tires ( type in sig ) and at 3000rpm feathered it out and had ZERO wheel spin. I thought I launched perfect only to find out I had a 2.2 60.

The only time I got wheel spin was at the end of the night as I dumped the clutch from a 3500rpm launch. That happened to be my best mph of the night also.

It seemed in first gear my car was stuck at 4500 rpms with the gas smashed to the floor. Is that a sign of a slipping clutch? I can still get a good pickup jolt from a 4th to third downshift on the highway.

Grrr....was REALLY hoping for 8.7s




------------------
Chris Anderson
--------------------
Black 99SS M6 all SLP Options
Mods - Cutout, Direct-Flo Lid, GMS MAF, Hurst Shifter with Chrome Handle, Bridgestone Potenza RE730 Tires.
Best ET 13.60 @ 104.31
Best MPH 13.92 @ 108.81
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Old 08-01-2002, 06:27 AM
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Your sixty foot times are really high. You would have been 8.7's with a decent 60'. You probably would have smelled your clutch roasting if it was gone. My hunch is that the track was probably quite warm if the air temps were that high which also could have accounted for some of your tire slippage. Get some drag radials and try it again when the track is a little bit cooler.

------------------
'94 Black Z28, 383, 700R4
1/8 ET: 7.49
1/4 ET: 11.86
1/4 MPH: 112
http://www.downtime.cz28.com.index.html
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Old 08-01-2002, 02:34 PM
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With those 1/8 mi. times you would have been in the 13.8's on your best runs and 14.0 on your worst and mph'ing about 100 on your worst and 103's on your best. Could be the weather alone would make a difference, but if your rpm's stayed @ 4500 then it could be a slipping clutch if you didn't feel the tires spinning.

------------------
1993 Grabber Blue Mustang GT
"Bolt-On's" (no power adder(s)

13.007 @ 108.39 w/ 2.149 60'
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Old 08-01-2002, 04:45 PM
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It seemed like it took forever to get out of first gear. All the rest went through just fine, and I felt NO tire splippage at all.



------------------
Chris Anderson
--------------------
Black 99SS M6 all SLP Options
Mods - Cutout, Direct-Flo Lid, GMS MAF, Hurst Shifter with Chrome Handle, Bridgestone Potenza RE730 Tires.
Best ET 13.60 @ 104.31
Best MPH 13.92 @ 108.81
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Old 08-02-2002, 07:48 AM
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Something was slipping, either the tires or the clutch probably... You should have smelled the clutch.

On an open highway put it into 6th and step on it, see if the clutch slips..., try it in fifth..., you need to know if it is slipping. Clutches don't get better by themselves.

------------------
'94 Black Z28, 383, 700R4
1/8 ET: 7.49
1/4 ET: 11.86
1/4 MPH: 112
http://www.downtime.cz28.com.index.html
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Old 08-02-2002, 04:17 PM
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Well, I am going to replace my clutch soon. I really didn't smell anything at all.

I also really don't know what to look for in a slipping clutch. I know my tires were not slipping even when I launched from 3000rpm it just seemed like I couldn't get this damn thing out of first.

------------------
Chris Anderson
--------------------
Black 99SS M6 all SLP Options
Mods - Cutout, Direct-Flo Lid, GMS MAF, Hurst Shifter with Chrome Handle, Bridgestone Potenza RE730 Tires.
Best ET 13.60 @ 104.31
Best MPH 13.92 @ 108.81
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Old 08-12-2002, 09:06 PM
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Angry

Trust me man. It's not your car. Your problem is the Humidity and the temp. I use to go to Irwindale raceway off the 605 and my first couple of times out i ran 8.7-8.9 the whole night. It was cool and the track was ok. A month later i went back and couldn't get below a 9.0. I best run was a 9.0 at i think 80 MPH. I don't go anymore because it's too hot. I recommend you do that cooling fan mod. You can cool your car down in the pits. A must have! BTW i was stock except a lid and a flowmaster. That's it. Flowmasters don't help for squat.

------------------
1998 Cayenne Red Z/28
http://www.transam02.com/ls1/danny/
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Old 08-14-2002, 06:30 PM
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One thing you can do if you are on street tires is to lower your rear tire pressure as much as you can and still have a full footprint(usually 25-28 #). Give um a quick spin before you pull to the line to clean um and your good to go. Also inflate the front tires to max+ pressure.

------------------
Greg
95 Z28 conv M6
Georgia F-Body Association

Stage 1 heads, 1.6rr, Meziere WP
lt4 hot cam,lt4 timing chain kit,52mm TB,
Hooker Headers, Pro 5 shifter,3.73s,
NX 150 progressive,
Self-tuned via Tunercat
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