[downtime!]

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.