Drag Strip Techniques

[thevet]

Hoping to go to a drag strip next weekend if the weather permits, but can anyone say what they found the best launch method whether it was 1st or 2nd gear, and what pressure the tyres should be if different from the standard settings. Hope to get some video to show if it's dry.

[matt-man]

I tried 1 and 2nd, start, but found 1st granney start is best, 2nd them floor it and snake all the way down! Tyres on the rear were 18psi, dampers max soggy setting.

Managed 12 secs, but you should do 11's easy if its a proper drag strip (ie lots of grip)

[pb3]

I found starting in 2nd, about 2000rpm quickest, and still easy to spin. I think Richard Marlow would suggest the same as all the records where done starting in 2nd.

As for tyre pressure, don't go too low, appearently you want them just lower than the point that you get tramping (correct term I think). Which will be close to normal running pressure.

Still, in the end you will find your own method, and each time you light up and sit there like a snail you will kick yourself.

[tuxman]

went to Santa pod last year did 5 runs in total if you have a g50 5 speed box then 1st is a waste of time go for 2nd about 3000 rpm but don,t get 2nd chokes open until your foot is right off the clutch if you do you will overide the bite of the clutch and get lots of slip . Also pop the rear clip and let everything cool down between runs don,t sit in the que waiting for next run try to keep under bonnet temp low !!! more bhp !! . best run run 4- 11.66 sec terminal speed 123.63 go for it . simon

[jschwartz]

With my properly geared (2.62 1st gear) g50/52 I start in 1st about 1500-1800 rpm, easing the clutch out and feeding a bit of throttle at the same time. 10.86 @ 133 with a real 500 hp LS6 gen 3 small block.
Jeff S
www.schwartzperformance.com

[thevet]

Well, I was blessed with a beautifol day although very cold, and on my first outing to a drag strip managed to clock abest time of 12.85. Abit disappointing but it was the first time the tyres had been used outside of the garage for 6 months, and I just couldn't seem to stop the tyres spinning. Tried starting in 2nd, then used less throttle to begin with, tried in 3rd, more revs then less revs, guess its just down to picking the torquey engine and cold conditions. Maybe I'll try again on a warm day, but it was good fun and best of all the car didn't do anything wrong all day, so hopefully there are some good track days to come. I was hoping to get some video but my private secretary AKA the wife only left me 10 seconds of tape to use, so no pics this time.

[Rich.f]

Hi Tim,
What BHP are you running? I went to santa pod on the 25th and the best run was a 13 sec dead with 360 bhp. Bigest problem was not wheel spinning from the line, the more I tried the worse I got!!
Rich

[thevet]

Hi Rich, I hope the car is churning out a reasonable 520hp as the original build was for a 450-475hp 406ci engine but I couldn't resist adding a small weiand supercharger, which is only adding 3-5 psi boost, but should still give another 50hp. However, after last years trackday impressions of never needing any more power, I can safely say I'll be chasing more somewhere. It was definitely a case of the best time coming with the granny start but it could do with a lot of refinement. I guess it shows how difficult getting a good result is in a 10-14 second sport is. I do feel that if I had a chance to warm the tyres up I could have gone better but the conditions were the same for all there. If I go again it will only be on a warm day and with tyres that have had a coating of one of the proprietary tyre softeners. I mighr even restore the original small pulley to the blower to give a bit more tyre spin for longer..... hopefully not. At the end of it, it did seem to be mostly decided by the first couple of seconds grip which was wasted by my not so youthful inexperience. Best news was everything working after the event, so here's looking to the trackdays coming up in just under 2 weeks. Regards Tim