Can high humidity kill 1/4 MPH and ET?

[jaymac]

I went to the track last night w/ slicks hoping for a new best time, and while I got my 60' down to a 2 flat (from a previous best of 2.4), my mph and ET fell to a 14.6 @ 90, as opposed to a previous best of 14.5 @ 96.7 on street tires.
That sucked.
It was extremely humid, with thunderstorms close enough to close the track for a good while, and everyone else seems to have been running slowly as well.
Should I be looking into other possibilities for my crappy times and speed, or can humidity and heat make that much of an impact?
FWIW, it was dry and cold last time when I ran the 14.5 @ 96.7

 

[GT89Mustang]

Yea, heat and humidity can both effect your et, if you havent changed anything on the car since last time and its running fine that the weather is probably the culprit.

 

[slow93]

humidity can defininetly change your ets. i had it happen to me last weekend and it will prolly happen tonight too cause it is REALLY humid here.

 

[jaymac]

so I shouldn't sell my car?

 

[Daniel50]

no but you should give me your bbk shorties, and y2k cobras to make your 1/4 mile times better

 

[jaymac]

I was actually going to try that next!

 

[davs5.0]

Those 60' times are still pretty slow considering the stall you are running. I don't see any rear suspension mods specifically the control arms. You're leaving alot on the table with that 60'. Your lowering springs aren't helping with weight transfer either. Are you disconnecting the front sway bar? That will help free up the front end and allow it to rise and aid in moving the weight. Are you leaving at an idle, flashing the converter or going against the stall close to 2800?

 

[jaymac]

well, for the majority, I'll blame the 60' times on lack of experience/practice.
Between the timeslip equipment breaking and looming thunderstorms, I olny got in 3 runs in 4 hours, and that was the first time I had ever run w/ slicks in my life, so there was alot of trial and error with how much throttle I could apply w/o losing traction, so I def. left alot on the table just in throttle application alone!! If I had gotten in more runs, I guarantee my 60's would've improved. By the time I figured out that the tires would hook under hard throttle, the track was shut down. I definitely did not get to take full advantage of the slicks!!
Also, I did not remove the swaybar nor do I have U or LCA's.
At the track, I was footbraking to about 2000-2200 RPM's, then leaving from there.
Any more than that and the tires would start to spin. This is also based off the stock tach. Maybe the tires weren't hot enough, but they did start to hook out of the burnout.
On the street, from idle it will flash right to 2800, so I don't think the TC is the problem, I think I just need to learn how to launch it on the track w/ sticky tires and learn how far I can push it.
I'm also sure control arms and front swaybar would help also.
Work in progress, boys, work in progress.
I'm just pissed I only got in 3 runs all night

 

[srothfuss]

Humidity is a measure of the amount of moisture (H20) in the air... When there is more humidity in the air, there is less oxygen (02) in the air for your car to make power with. That is why you notice the change in your ET.

 

[davs5.0]

Sounds like you are heading in the right direction, don't worry you'll soon find out how much fun slicks makes racing. If you are footbraking the car and getting some spin, try knocking 2 pounds of air out of the tires. I run around 12 pounds in my ET streets and they seem to hook pretty well. Every track is different so you'll have to experiment. You could also try flashing the converter. Footbrake the car to 1200 rpm or so and then hit the gas on the last yellow. Your rpm's should jump right up to your stall and leave hard. Slicks should take just about any rpm you can throw at them with that stall.

 

[jaymac]

nice! Sounds like it should be a blast!
My TC def. flashes to 2800 on the street, i just get loads of spin. W/ traction, it should hook right at 2800.
Can't wait!!!