1/4 mile time :(

[Killnboy]

hey last wednesday was the first time i have ever gone to drag in my own car. I know people say they do horrible thier first time and i couldnt' agree more. On my frist run i was pretty nervous and i bogged the start and got a .336 rt, powershifting into second then 3 to 4th and missing 5th to end up running a 15.8 at 89mph. shifting at 5k The second run was even worse. I bogged worse but got a .118 rt which was way better i shifted normal at 5k then to fifth i held it alil longer to about 5200. and ran 16.0. at 83mph. do you think i will be able to get into the 14s when i am able to drive better. even w/o powershifting. i also didn't do any burnouts or lower my tire pressure on these runs. Do you think by lowering the pressure and heating them up as well as a good rt and powershifting will get me a high 14? Also should i launch the car to at the start or just try to get better at taking off? thnx JD

 

[mytight95]

never never never shift to fifth in a quarter mile run you have enough rpm with those 4.10's to finish the quarter in 4th.

i would say shift at like 5200 out of first, and like 5400 or so second and third


If your car isn't a vert and is a gt it should have a 14 in it.

 

[VibrantRedGT]

Well I can tell ya shifting into 5th is gonna slow you down (even with 4:10's). You can run in the 14's with practice. Stay out of overdrive!

Which track? Trying to figure if altitude is an issue.

 

[JJ95GTID]

Lowering your rear "street" tire pressure to 20psi should help. Not talking about drag radials though. Also, inflate the fronts to 40psi for the track. That will give you less rolling resistance. Rev up to 2500 to 3500 rpm and see if you can get off the line better.

 

[CManT1914]

I feel your pain. My first time out I got consistent .8 RT's, and the best I could muster was a 15.4, but I tried to wind out 3rd and was hitting like 6k at the end, and that SCREWED me. But you're getting good RT's so I don't see why you can't hit 14's.

 

[WhiteDevil]

First things first. Reaction time has no bearing on your quarter mile E.T. The clock begins when you break the beams, and your Reaction time is just how long it takes you to break the beams. Next try 5,200rpm shifts, and run it through in 4th, even if you have to revv it to 6,000rpm. It will be a million times better than going to 5th.

 

[Killnboy]

Awesome yea i plan on launch the car around 1200-1500 at the start even if i spin the tires it's better then bogging like hell and lowering my tire pressure. But i'm not to sure if my engine can take more abuse like 6 k revs. LOL opps that burnout didn't help last nite either haha. So you guys think i should shift at like 5500 1st and 2nd to take advantage of my gears?

 

[gcomfx.com]

I'm confused.... you bogged and bogged in all your stories... but you are wanting to let air out of your tires? For what? More bogging?

And you plan on moving UP to 1200-1500 launches? Were you idling off the line before?

If you're bogging, bump that launch up to 2 grand... if you hook and go, try higher. You should launch as hard as you can with the traction you have available. When you start spinning, THEN let some air out of the tires.

And WhiteDevil is right... Reaction time means NOTHING. Don't even worry about the guy next to you or the tree. Worry about launching your car.

My .02 cents

 

[CManT1914]

First things first. Reaction time has no bearing on your quarter mile E.T. The clock begins when you break the beams, and your Reaction time is just how long it takes you to break the beams.

I've been misinformed! Thanks

 

[Joes95GT]

Don't worry about RT. When I started drag racing, I was more concerned about my launch than anything. I'd sometimes have 1.500 second reaction times just to get my launch right. You aren't racing on a pro tree either; you have all day to get the launch down.

Take advantage of the gears. I'd shift 1-2 at about 5500, and 2-3 and 3-4 at about 5200 or 5300.

Joe

 

[Down]

Well, everyones already gave their opinions on RT's, but I'll throw mine in too.

My first few times at the track, I had terrible rt's. I pretty much just waited for the other guy to go before I launched. People rarely ask you about your rt's, just your et's.

J