I had my first three passes EVER at the track last night.. The car needs new tires, gears, LCA's, trans mount and a line lock..

But basically I was spinning like a **** most of the way through first gear. I wasn't floored, the tires are just shot and they're 35 series low-profiles.

What's worse: Spinning or letting off? I'd imagine spinning would hurt more.

 

If you're already spinning, it's too late to fix it. Use the rest of the run to practice your shifts or whaever, and hope you do better on the next pass.

In your case, I think you'd do better to let up (but not all the way off) than to keep it floored and continue to let the tires spin.

 

^ well, that sounds like a dumb question when you answer it like that.. Thanx for the advice, tho.

Hmm... I ran my first ever 3 runs last night and spun like crazy in first and got a little loose going into 2nd. I think I can launch off idle, come to think of it, until I get new LCA's, Tires and a line lock.. My hotchkis LCA's are old, dried and rock hard bushings.

 

what were your times?

 

oof.. Should I admit this or not.....

Keep in mind.. 4300ft elevation...And these were my first three runs EVER.. With the car and for me.

First pass was: 14.131 @ 107.39, RT: 1.26, 60ft: 2.676 Spinning like a **** thru first and slow on the tree..

Second pass: 14.091 @ 105.68, RT: .681, 60FT: 2.382 ... Still spinning like a **** thru first....

Third pass I accidentally rolled back a hair and red-lighted.. I was against a 99~ish Stang GT.. I left the tree late and decided to run anyway... Caught the stang and passed him right at the end. Got to the booth and apparently it wasn't giving times.. My car got a little loose going into 2nd gear, but nothing too bad.

It got to about 11pm and the track closed up when I was in the lanes for my 4th pass... I let the car sit for about 10-20 min between runs.. I got there at about 9:30 pm.. It's about an hour and a half drive from my house.

 

The more passes you get under your belt, the more the 60fts will come down......I had crappy 245/40/18 Nangkangs on mine and even though they suck, I managed to get my 60fts from 2.3-2.5's down to an average 2.0..........Your mph looks good, the best pass with mine was a 13.67 @ 102mph with a 2.04 60ft........I'm running big heavy 18's which hurt me a lot so there's more potential to it.........And to answer your question, I've had better luck just getting off the gas and then get back into it........Are you planning to put a 9" or 12 bolt under your car? if so, you could give slicks a try

 

You don't have to let an LS1 cool down. Go round and round to get some passes in to learn your launch. I hot lap my built LS1 and it runs the same numbers each pass.
Try launching at a set rpm like 1600-1800 but don't push the gas down 'till the tires grip. It'll spin a little then grip then punch the go pedal.
106-107mph is great especially for your altitude and should get you down low in the 13s.

 

Lost almost 2mph. Miss a shift on that second pass?

Al, you might have missed that Bayer's car has heads and a cam, plus some weight reduction. 414 rwhp, according to his FQuick page. I'd expect him to trap well over 110, even at his elevation.

Bayer, quit granny shifting. Got a Pro 5.0 in that thing yet?

 

^ I can't exactly shift FULL power, I'll get hellatious sideways if I do. I'll go back once I get some LCA's and tires.

I like my stock shifter and it seems that most of the 'problem' people have with the stock shifter, turns out to be the transmission itself. It was a POS before I got the trans rebuilt back in 05 and I kept the factory Hurst and added a short stick from LS1Speed.com. Bullet proof T56 Rebuids Trans. I can powershift to third and it slips right in, palm flat and push...

If I floor it at all at anything under 50mph, I'll spin. I have 18"s on all 4's and 4 year old, dried and ROCK HARD Good Year F1 GSD3's, 35 sidewall. I didn't care about melting the tires off for a burnout, seeing as I need new ones.


I've also got a crappy set of Eibach Pro-kit's and SLP Bilsteins, so My rear susp bottoms out and I think that's my spinning problem. Bottoming out is eliminating the suspension. This isn't an NHRA track, it's a small track out in El Paso.

 

If you're not granny shifting, then I'm having a hard time explaining why my 325rwhp, full weight car is trapping higher than yours. The DA hurts you (my track is at about 600 feet, and it was ~50 degrees when I made these runs), but not that much. Plain granny shifting got me 106mph. Quick shifts but still lifting all the way off got me 107.5mph, and three perfect powershifts got me to 108.9.

T56Rebuilds did mine too (they had changed names to SixSpeedsInc though). Joe is awesome! Too bad they're not around anymore. I took off my factory Hurst w/ short stick and replaced it with a Pro 5.0 at that time.

Yeah, definitely time for some new tires.

Don't overdo the burnout. My GS-D3s liked maybe 5-6 seconds of burnout. Point your sideview mirror down so you can see, and as you see smoke, stop. With the additional power you have, I'm guessing it'll take an even shorter burnout to get the best results.

Also, make sure you drive around the water box and back in, so the front tires stay dry and don't track water up to the line.

Finally, make sure you line up with the grooves, and try to go right after someone with real drag slicks.

Yeah, bottoming out is a big problem, but with a <2.5 60', your MPH shouldn't be affected much. Do the tires let go again when you shift to 2nd? 3rd? I just get a little bark out of mine in 2nd, and a tiny chirp in 3rd. 4th dead hooks.

 

I prolly didn't trap that well because I was spinning so much. It happens so fast... They're open today, I could go back if I wanted to, but I want to take the 4 wheeler out. I dunno.. I may go again, but like I said, its an hour and a half ride and my car is a frickin mess as it is.

I edited the post... I MAY not have been shifting full power.. I don't really remember, but I was barking 3rd all night.

For some reason, I really didn't care that I wasn't running that well. Shakedown passes for the car and myself, I guess.. I was getting pointers from a couple people out there.

 

Better to let off.

 

If you're spinning too badly off the line, your ET is ruined. Keep in it and go for MPH

Time for some Nitto 555Rs in the back