First time to the track.
08-08-2005, 02:55 PM
#1
First time to the track.
Well, guys I finally made it to the strip this weekend. It's a 2-1/2 hour drive away. I trailered my car with my F-150.
This was my first time racing and my first run was:
Reaction: .522
60ft: 2.336
1/8th: 9.746 | 73.330MPH
E.T. : 15.114 @ 91.891
A little rough. I was granny shifting and it was so hot with a helmet, I think I more concrened about getting it over with.
My second run I got a better reaction time of .246 with an ET of 14.870 @ 92.362.
Third run was a little better with a 2.062 60ft and a 14.610 @ 92.207MPH.
Those were just the time trials, and the day was getting cooler so I dialed in a 14.50 to be some what safe.
In the first round of eliminations I had to go against an 18:00 full size Chevy Truck ...with a topper...I had to wait 4 seconds before my tree dropped and got a reaction time of .074 and ET of 14.653 @ 92.359. I won by .155 seconds!
Second round I got beat by a 12 second Monte Carlo by .235 seconds, mainly because my Reaction time was .222 that run.
All I can say is once you go racing it already gets addictive.
I was pretty satisfied with my times since the old gal has 144 rounds on her and is completely stock internally engine wise. Other mods are subframes, Steeda Tri-Ax, 3.73s, elim. A/C and Smog, O/R H and flows ([:-]) with 3-1/2" tips, and Kuhmo Ecsta 711's wrapping Cobra R's.
This was my first time racing and my first run was:
Reaction: .522
60ft: 2.336
1/8th: 9.746 | 73.330MPH
E.T. : 15.114 @ 91.891
A little rough. I was granny shifting and it was so hot with a helmet, I think I more concrened about getting it over with.
My second run I got a better reaction time of .246 with an ET of 14.870 @ 92.362.
Third run was a little better with a 2.062 60ft and a 14.610 @ 92.207MPH.
Those were just the time trials, and the day was getting cooler so I dialed in a 14.50 to be some what safe.
In the first round of eliminations I had to go against an 18:00 full size Chevy Truck ...with a topper...I had to wait 4 seconds before my tree dropped and got a reaction time of .074 and ET of 14.653 @ 92.359. I won by .155 seconds!
Second round I got beat by a 12 second Monte Carlo by .235 seconds, mainly because my Reaction time was .222 that run.
All I can say is once you go racing it already gets addictive.
I was pretty satisfied with my times since the old gal has 144 rounds on her and is completely stock internally engine wise. Other mods are subframes, Steeda Tri-Ax, 3.73s, elim. A/C and Smog, O/R H and flows ([:-]) with 3-1/2" tips, and Kuhmo Ecsta 711's wrapping Cobra R's.
08-08-2005, 03:20 PM
#2
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 22
RE: First time to the track.
Well for an '86 with 144k on the odometer and a stock motor, 14.6 seconds is damn respectable. Good driving! I remember my first race at the track vividly-- I redlighted and generally looked like a 16 year old idiot, which I was at the time.
Looking at the times you posted two things are clear-- your 60 foot times are pretty good, so your chassis mods are making a difference, and you are getting good traction. But your top end speeds of just over 92mph indicate that your motor is stock and you just aren't pulling that hard on the top end. Makes sense. A good dose of power would increase your top end speed somewhat, but your 60 foot times might actually drop if you lost traction due to the extra torque at the beginning of the run. So, um... welcome to the addiction...
Looking at the times you posted two things are clear-- your 60 foot times are pretty good, so your chassis mods are making a difference, and you are getting good traction. But your top end speeds of just over 92mph indicate that your motor is stock and you just aren't pulling that hard on the top end. Makes sense. A good dose of power would increase your top end speed somewhat, but your 60 foot times might actually drop if you lost traction due to the extra torque at the beginning of the run. So, um... welcome to the addiction...
08-08-2005, 03:33 PM
#3
RE: First time to the track.
Yeah, thanks. I also forgot to mention I have the Ford lowering springs. I was launching at about 2000, maybe a little less and shifting in the upper 5s and never letting off the gas. That Tri-Ax is awesome, never missed a gear. I should have taken out the quad shocks and I also need shocks and struts all the way around, and perhaps disconnected the front sway bar. I think the only engine mod I"ll beable to do this year yet is convert to Mass air flow with a 72 MM C&L and true flow pipe with stock air box and ams oil 2 stage filter. I want to go one more time this year, but doubt I'll have anough cabbage to get that done before. My way future plans are a low Comp. 331 with a KB.
08-08-2005, 04:50 PM
#8
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 22
RE: First time to the track.
If you are powershifting, even once in awhile, expect some increased transmission and clutch wear out of it. More importantly, make sure that your rev limiter is working properly because if you miss a shift while your foot is mashed to the floor, your motor will overrev as high as it can.
Back in the day when I was working at KCIR I saw a Maverick driver put a window in his engine block that way. It was a carbureted Ford smallblock. The guy was a boob anyway, the car was set up so it could hang the front wheels off the ground on the launch (huge slicks, front skinnies, drag shocks, 4.56 gears etc.). He wold rev the motor to 4,000 rpm or so and just sidestep the clutch on launch. It still only ran 12s even with him shifting like mad, because the guy didn't care about E.T., he only wanted that monster launch with the wheels off the ground. He missed a 3rd to 4th shift and had no rev limiter installed, and he threw sparks all the say through the traps.
Back in the day when I was working at KCIR I saw a Maverick driver put a window in his engine block that way. It was a carbureted Ford smallblock. The guy was a boob anyway, the car was set up so it could hang the front wheels off the ground on the launch (huge slicks, front skinnies, drag shocks, 4.56 gears etc.). He wold rev the motor to 4,000 rpm or so and just sidestep the clutch on launch. It still only ran 12s even with him shifting like mad, because the guy didn't care about E.T., he only wanted that monster launch with the wheels off the ground. He missed a 3rd to 4th shift and had no rev limiter installed, and he threw sparks all the say through the traps.
