Quote:
I'll gladly be waiting. I will never go to Northstar. |
Quote:
Quote:
|
Derek I didn't mean you were pointing fingers at me or insulting me. When I said that I ment don't blame your tune or intake yet without data log. You and me are all good man lol. I'll be out at Ennis next Saturday as well getting my ass kicked by ant speed lol. Perhaps we run them on the track? Your tires alone will hand my ass lol. Will be great though.
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
Say what? I don't know man. Its either my stock tires are hurting me that bad or the track prep is terrible. I have in car footage of me going sideways on the track in 3rs gear. |
Quote:
|
There was a tread not long ago I believe Junkie was talking about it.
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
:chillpill:
|
One of HPP's customer cars went 5.60 on Friday night at Northstar on his second run ever in the car. I'd say track prep is/was pretty good.
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivuq5WNnGbU
that's the video. Listen to second gear as I had to let off cause i felt the car starting to slide, than listen/watch as I hit third gear. |
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
Answer me one question then, how did a car making 800 hp hook up and run a new personal best of 5.60 that night, when ya'll couldn't get 400 hp to hook up and run?
Half the battle of drag racing is figuring out the track and how your car reacts to its differing conditions. You play with your launch rpm, going up incrementally until you start to spin, and then you start varying your rear air pressure, taking a pound out every run until you bog, then you start raising your launch rpm again. It's not a guessing game, and it's not "shoot and pray". You don't just go out and run, have a shitty lap and then blame it on the track. HPP goes out there every Friday, and every Friday, their cars and their customer cars, run some really quick times, so it can't just be the track prep. Spend some time learning how your car reacts to the conditions. That means don't just go out there and nail it and hang on, really learn how to drive your car. What RPM does it like to launch at. Do you even look at the tach before a run? What tire pressure does it like for a given temperature? Did you check tire pressure? That's what drag racing is actually all about. Learning your particular car and how it reacts in different conditions. There are way too many cars out there, on any given night, that can go fast no matter what, so don't blame it on track prep. Optimize your combination, learn how to really drive it (that does NOT mean point it down track, mat the gas and hang on for the ride), and then see what happens. |
I've never run mine, so I can't really talk...lol
|
Not ragging on ya man, just get tired of hearing "bad track prep" from people that haven't figured out how to drive their cars yet. Yes, sometimes the track does suck, but not every time out. Too many people running good to blame it on the track every time.
|
I ran some great times at Northstar in the mach with just tired exhaust and gears
|
Quote:
|
Quote:
|
It's not a pissing contest, it's supposed to inspire you to learn what you're doing wrong and make it better.
No, street tires are not supposed to hook better at the track than on the street. The track is designed for slicks or dr's. It's a smooth surface (relatively speaking) that is covered with the sticky compound of the tracks choice, and rubber laid down from all the previous runs. Streets, on the other hand, are full of small bumps (pebbles and what not) pressed into the asphalt, or grooves and texture lines in the concrete, and that gives the tread on your tires something to grab on to. Being well aware of a term, and knowing how to do it, are two totally different things. Pedaling is extremely hard to learn to do correctly, because your natural instinct when the tires start to slip is to let off the gas completely and slow down. I learned how to do it because back in the day, DR's did not exist. All we had was slicks or streets. Running on the slicks back then was like strapping a set of skates on a pig. Cars would squirm on the launch, and then get loose on the big end and skate all over the track. Going really fast back then meant that more than likely, you crossed the stripe looking out the passenger window. Not fun, but you learn to compensate for it. Being able to afford better tires has nothing to do with anything I'm talking about here. Sure, it's easy to slap a set of DR's on your car and go fast. But it can be done without them. It's not easy, and it requires a good deal of patience and a lot of trips to the track. Wider street tires will help. It also helps to do some research and get the softest rubber compound street tire you can find. They won't last as long, but they'll be easier to get hooked. Look for something with a rating below 280 if possible. For comparison, NT555's run in the 300 range, and most DR's are in the 100 range. If you're spinning, doesn't matter what gear you're in, you're trying to get more power to the track than your traction will allow. Simple, right? Ever heard the old saying slow down to go faster? Use less gas pedal, modulate the brake pedal at the same time (this is an old trick to help with wheel spin), feather out, ease it back in, shift earlier, there are literally tons of things to do to help control spin. You can air down street tires a little bit, but you have to be careful to not go so low that you run the risk of breaking the bead seal. I've never ran street tires lower than 20 psi. I'd actually rather you be at the track than racing on the streets. I did it for years, and I try not to be too hypocritical about that, but the simple facts are that these days, there are just more people on the roads at any given time, so the chances of a "bad" encounter and simply higher. The penalties for street racing are also much more severe than they used to be. When I was your age, "street racing" wasn't even an offense. It was called Exhibition of Acceleration, and it was a $50 fine. So please, take it to the track. Just take some time to really learn your car. Keep records, get a notebook and write down everything about the runs. Time of day, temperature, humidity, tire pressure, launch rpm, shock settings, ET, MPH, etc. It's all important. This will give you a baseline for setting the car up when you get to the track. You can look back through your notes, and see that on such and such day, the weather was about the same as it is now, and this is what worked that day. You start there, then make small adjustments to accommodate the track prep that will surely be different from the last time. It's not hard, it just takes a little time and a little dedication. And, it's actually kind of fun too. You've already ran some pretty good numbers, start following these guidelines and you'll be repeating them no matter what the conditions are. |
Good posts!
Oxford, in that vid, the biggest thing I see being a problem is how hard the tires were getting shocked during shifts. The stock Pirellis just won't take that when you combine it with all the rubbery goodness of the stock suspension. No amount of track prep will keep that combination of tire, suspension, and driving style planted. I've seen some mid-11 passes on the stock Pirellis, so it can be done. The trick is keeping the tires planted, so anything that keeps the rear end from moving around is good. Control arms will help and of course so will sticky tires, but smooth clutch engagement seems to be the real trick. |
Good information!!! Although I have always been under the impression to never deflate street tires when running them at the track.
|
Downtime, you seem like a knowledgeable man so I don't know what makes you think I haven't tried just about everything. I've tried different launches, 3k, 2500, 2000, idle, have messed with air pressure, regular pressure, 25psi, 20psi, even 17 and 14 once(didn't help lol was desperate), have tried traction control on, off, speed shifting, and granny. I've always feathered it when I had to but in that video it was to the point where I had to let off and focus in saving the car, I've done everything besides write down all my conditions and numbers. I have saved all my slips from every pass. I'm pretty much doing the same thing now as I did when I ran 8.3-8.6 consistently. Just seems the last two times I've gone I've been losing more and more traction, I'm sure my thread depth now may play a factor in that. I've even thrown my keys to rebelracer one night out there when I couldn't seem to run anything else than 8.8s and 8.9s as he pulled up they prepped he had to wait. He took it down the track after that and still ran the same 8.9 I did. Him saying he couldn't get the car to hook. No doubt the stock tires are killing me I know but its not like I haven't tried everything and anything I could think of.
46TBird thank you for your input on it, I know the stock suspension blows on these cars I just got it lowered and plan on buying struts and shocks soon, as well as the rear lca |
Get a UCA before LCAs, Jay. Those are the wheel hop solvers.
|
At 400hp, just try some good tires. I run consistent 7.9s on an untuned car with Sportlines and 20" Nitto drag radials. I would expect you guys to be in the mid 7s with the tunes and some good grip.
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
I ran 8 flat on stock 235's at Denton hoppin and skipping with a trap of 91.
|
Quote:
I wasn't meaning to sound like I was ragging on you either, I just see too many times where someone blames the track and gets frustrated and stops racing. Just trying to throw some ideas out there to give you stuff to try and hopefully keep you motivated. When I get mine back from the shop, maybe we can get together at the track. I'll let you use my DR's and we'll see what that car can do! |
Quote:
|
I'm down for joinin that track day I wanna see downtime car run
|
Quote:
Downtime what shop is your car at now? What's all getting done and when do you expect to get it back? |
Quote:
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:18 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.