quick question about 1/4 mile drags...1st time wasn't great

miloman · 09-12-2009, 04:38 AM

I'm a little disappointed tonight. I know the car is plenty capable of going faster, but i think i was the reason for slowing it down. First time 1/4 mile in the car. about 90 degrees out, not sure of humidity, elevation about 1900, I ran a 14.156 (fastest of the night). But, my reaction time was a horrible .8 or .9 something. I know, with the mods I have, the car can go much faster than that. I know the heat will kill times. I know the track was prepped well....super sticky.

Anyway, as far as the actual times go......does the time start the instant the light turns green? Or does the time start when you actually move? I'm really hoping if I can drop my r/t I can get to the 13.5-13.7 range I was aiming for. I mean, if I drop .5 second from my r/t, I should be running a 13.6 correct?

My reaction times were horrible. I think my fastest was .4 something, which is supposed to be good. But when guys are getting .1 and .2, I'm doing something wrong. Most of mine were around .8.

Good news is, I almost have the launch down. I dropped tires down to about 22 psi, turned the rear shocks to full hard, started at 2500 rpm, and slipped the clutch.........way too much juice. anything more than 2000 is pushing it. Other good news......there was new challengers, cameros, and gtos that weren't doing much better than me. I did get my arse royally handed to me by a supercharged kompressor though......dude ran a 12.033 and that was slow.

I had a blast. Hopefully I can do it again, and improve my times.....cooler weather will help there too. I will post a couple of the better slips soon (probably monday when i get home from vacation).

Edit: Next time I'm even thinking dropping the LCA's into the lower hole on the relo bracket.

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cobra443 · 09-12-2009, 04:55 AM

Your reaction time doesn't matter at all. What was your 60ft? With your suspension mods and some good practice I could see you in the low 13's. All starts off with a good 60ft. though.

miloman · 09-12-2009, 06:46 PM

Fastest 60' time was the first run at 2.014 and 14.187. My 2nd fastest 60' time was 2.133. On this run, I know i missed 2nd gear, was doing that half the runs. Most were int he 2.2's though. 60' time on fastest run was 2.240. Not sure what I'm doing wrong

Branomano06GT · 09-12-2009, 06:51 PM

Your gonna wanna set the shocks to full soft bro so the car can squat... will drastically help. Other then that GO WHEN IT IS COLDER! lol

Sleeper05 · 09-12-2009, 07:25 PM

Reaction time doesn't count towards ET (elapsed time).

If you want to get it down to the .1-.2 range, just follow this advice:
Go on the last yellow. Do not wait for green. By the time you can actually get the car moving, it is turning green.

Orion_240 · 09-13-2009, 01:49 AM

did I read that right? You "missed 2nd gear"?
That doesn't help much, so check your linkage.

Your reaction times usually only will count if you are actually in heads up racing, where it's whoever crosses the finish line first.

I'd say, looking at your mods, that you need to switch to better rims for the track. That should help instantly.
What rpms have you been launching at?

dtuna42 · 09-13-2009, 12:05 PM

good advice:

leave on 3rd yellow

Also, get some drag radials and start them at about 15-20psi on the track

Riptide · 09-13-2009, 12:18 PM

60' > all

As far as drag racing goes IMO. It's the key to getting good ETs.

Johnboy7701 · 09-13-2009, 07:00 PM

Also learn how to powershift....

Chris07GT · 09-13-2009, 08:07 PM

What was your MPH?