forza sti

Hi guys, i recently bought a 2000 Mustang GT. The car is 5 speed and bone stock. I am going to the track next week for the first time (1/4 mile). I have never owned a RWD before or a V8 so i need some advice when launching. What RPM's should i launch at? Should i drop the clutch or feather it? Any other advice would be great.

Im racing a few friends with pretty nice cars, mostly stock. A S2000(02), cobalt ss(05), 350z(05), WRX (04) so im hoping i can compete with them!

thanks for the advice

MU71L4710N

drop the clutch on street tires its gonna work out like fast and the furious. your front end will come up for sure just make sure to get a wheelie bar.


seriously man, i know youve taken off quick from stop lights before, just do what you do youll figure it out after a few passes.

SilverGT03

No need to be rude to the guy.

Your going to do much better if you slowly slip the clutch out. Dumping it will result in a pretty good burnout though lol.
As for the cars, granted they are stock, you should be able to handle the s2000 and the cobalt, the Z might put up a pretty good fight, and I don't know too much about the WRXs and STIs

boduke0220

He's prob drunk lol



but just feel the car, tires and track out. i usually ( at our racin spot) start at a feather the clutch from 2500 and go from there.

5bites

Check out the thread called "mid 13's." I got some good advice about the same thing.

08droptop

I went to my first drag race today. I didn't race, but I did learn an important piece of information. Either buy something to cover your paint, or be prepared for a serious amount of cleaning. When you go down the track, you will get a ton of tar-like spray all over the fenders and inside of your wheel wells. I heard some people use vasoline to cover the paint, and wipe it off afterwards, but it is a HUGE mess, and has discouraged me from wanting to make a pass.

WhiteFoxGT

I dont know how you guys do it out around your track, but I've never had an issue with rubber all over my cars. Only rubber from doing the burnout. Your track needs better prep or something my man

WannaBeGearHead

I would just feather the clutch to begin with until you get a feel for how the track is running and a good feel for how your car handles on the track. You'll probably be wanting to shift at redline (5800 I believe). And make sure you know how to line up and don't stall at the line lol I went last night to The Strip in Vegas and there were so many people who didn't know how to line up or get off the line good. Was funny and embarrassing.

08droptop

yeah, I haven't ever raced, and don't know how they prep the track, but every car had that black, rubber type crap stuck all over it.

99GTvert

Slip the clutch at about 3k RPMs, and go from there. Check your tire pressures too. Some people run better with the recommended PSI while others run better with a couple pounds less than recommended PSI.

IF you are on street tires, don't do a long burnout. It won't help you at all. Maybe spin the tires for a quick second to 'clean' them before you stage.

Don't worry about reaction time, just focus on not ****ing up your launch.

If you are a sissy and you don't want to get rubber on your car (that washes off with the right product, btw), consider wrapping the rear quarter panels with plastic wrap...or something. Spray some PAM on there instead, maybe.