Drag tips?

[RCrowe]

I'm finally going to make a trip to one of the tracks this summer and am wondering if anyone has any tips for a first time racer?

[merc3065]

have fun and dont crash!

You can get bags of ice to cool down the intake manifold after each run.
Hot lapping can be punishing on the engine.

If you don't have slicks or drag radials, avoid the burn out box
When lined up at the tree, have it in drive (or if manual, clutch in etc)
Press hard on the brakes and bring the rpms up just until the car feels like it will move. If it's a stock auto, it will be around 1600-1800rpms.
When you see the last yellow light let your foot off the gas and ROLL into the gas. Do not mash it. Your gas pedal is not an on/off switch.

If you mash it you will spin the tires and it can be crazy if you don't know how the car reacts if it starts to swing left/right from the reduced traction. Rolling into the gas reduces the amount of tire spin/hop and will get you a better start time.

Have fun, take pics, scan your time slips and post em up

[prokilllsx]

Can you tell us about your car and mod.s?
Try to get your car to the line as cool as possible. Don't let it run much in the staging lanes. I used to either push mine or start it only to move up, then shut it off again. It's also a good idea to at least keep your hood popped (as long as you remember to shut it before you run) while you are in the staging lanes to let heat out. I kept mine up until I was next.
Engine temp and the air temp in the engine bay can make a difference of several tenths of a second. It could mean the difference between 14's and 15's on a stock 3rd gen, or 15's and 16's.
Knowing your mod's would help us know what else to tell you.

[RCrowe]

thanks for the tips, I'm really getting excited about this summer.

a little about the car well its an 89 with 5.7 auto. i put some aluminium heads and a larger cam late last year, i only was able to drive it for less than a month before putting it up for the winter but was able to tune it a little, still room to improve. did a little porting of the tpi base but nothing major. it has shorty headers but not sure what brand, they were on when I got it. full 3" single exhaust. I'm probably forgetting something but that's all i can think of right now. hope that helps.

I'm going to get some sfc's for it in the next few weeks, just trying to figure out which ones. any experience on which ones fit and work well?

[bob38851]

I would heat the tires up no matter what kind you have. Hot tires stick better. No need to burn 10,000 miles off of them just heat them up.

Also make sure your in a forward gear when heating them up. I used to race my 72 charger 15 years ago. When I took my GTA to the track to get a before time slip I was so nervous (it was a big event) I had the car in reveres when I warmed the tires. LOL They all got a good laugh out of that.

[MunsonGTA]

If you do any burnout at all, make sure it's minimal and only to clean your tires. Regular street tires glaze rather then grip harder when heated. As Merc said, roll into the gas off the line. The tpi setup will blow the tires off everytime if you just mash it. Where do you plan to shift? And what heads and cam did you add?

[RCrowe]

i got a smokin deal on a set of afr 195's($500 for the set, still in the box and plastic). its a little too much of a head for it right now, but next winter when i get the bottom end finished it should be better. the cam i got in it is a comp xe262h-14.

i have the shift set at 5k, but may try to manually shift a little higher, see how it feels.

[merc3065]

The 195's will choke and you will not see the full potential unless you can open up the upper intake.

Upgrade to Arizona Speed& Marine, SLP or Edelbrock TPI runners or the 1000CFM upper intake kit to keep the stock look. Port the upper plenum. Gasket match whatever else you can on the intake manifold or upgrade to an accel/edelbrock hi flow base.

[RCrowe]

yeah that is in the plans also. i was too curious and didn't want to wait, i probably should have waited but oh well its only a few hours of tinkering when i do get the rest of the intake sorted out.

[gorin002]

Originally Posted by RCrowe

thanks for the tips, I'm really getting excited about this summer.

a little about the car well its an 89 with 5.7 auto. i put some aluminium heads and a larger cam late last year, i only was able to drive it for less than a month before putting it up for the winter but was able to tune it a little, still room to improve. did a little porting of the tpi base but nothing major. it has shorty headers but not sure what brand, they were on when I got it. full 3" single exhaust. I'm probably forgetting something but that's all i can think of right now. hope that helps.

I'm going to get some sfc's for it in the next few weeks, just trying to figure out which ones. any experience on which ones fit and work well?

don t push it.save first don t drink and drive
have fun.drive save.accident can happend anytime.if you come home can race next summer your a winner

[MunsonGTA]

Originally Posted by RCrowe

yeah that is in the plans also. i was too curious and didn't want to wait, i probably should have waited but oh well its only a few hours of tinkering when i do get the rest of the intake sorted out.

or you could always throw the stock tpi boat anchor in the garbage and upgrade to something much better like an hsr, miniram, superram.