Fun Ford Weekend: My first visit to a dragstrip!

[Car Nut]

Before I say anything more, I do have a "Tech" question in this post.

Yesterday was my first visit ever to a dragstrip which was at Fun Ford Weekend at the Atlanta Dragway. All I can say is that I am now officially a fan. That was absolutely a killer day. The car show was pretty good, but that was obviously not the main point of this event. To keep this short, I saw lots of pretty fast cars topping out with a few Outlaw class cars putting down 6s at over 210mph. Nice!

Question: One of the faster cars there was ungodly loud (I mean even more than the others) and as this guy revved right before his launch, his car made this popping sound almost like a machine gun in slow motion. I mean LOUD pops that were very evenly spaced. What was that? A turbo? When this guy launched it was ridiculously fast and the sound drowned everything else out for a couple seconds. Any ideas on the sound?

Back to my excitement: There were a lot of vendors at FFW and at least a thousand Mustangs it seemed like. Most stangs sounded like they had no cats and most of them sounded very nice. My wife gave me a choice that we would either go to FFW or to the Atlanta Auto Show (with all the new cars). I definitely made the right choice. Finally got to see some 315s in person on an SN95 and decided on the spot that I will have those in the future.

Once I get that question answered above, I'll probably post another Tech related question to follow.

 

[stprorolla49]

Before I say anything more, I do have a "Tech" question in this post.

Yesterday was my first visit ever to a dragstrip which was at Fun Ford Weekend at the Atlanta Dragway. All I can say is that I am now officially a fan. That was absolutely a killer day. The car show was pretty good, but that was obviously not the main point of this event. To keep this short, I saw lots of pretty fast cars topping out with a few Outlaw class cars putting down 6s at over 210mph. Nice!

Question: One of the faster cars there was ungodly loud (I mean even more than the others) and as this guy revved right before his launch, his car made this popping sound almost like a machine gun in slow motion. I mean LOUD pops that were very evenly spaced. What was that? A turbo? When this guy launched it was ridiculously fast and the sound drowned everything else out for a couple seconds. Any ideas on the sound?

Back to my excitement: There were a lot of vendors at FFW and at least a thousand Mustangs it seemed like. Most stangs sounded like they had no cats and most of them sounded very nice. My wife gave me a choice that we would either go to FFW or to the Atlanta Auto Show (with all the new cars). I definitely made the right choice. Finally got to see some 315s in person on an SN95 and decided on the spot that I will have those in the future.

Once I get that question answered above, I'll probably post another Tech related question to follow.

wow man i cant believe it was your first time....now you see what you've been missing out on....ive been going to etown, atco, and island dragway for the last 11 yrs or so...im 17 now its the most fun you can have in one place

 

[davins130]

this is probly talk, im sure it will get moved or locked

 

[final5-0]

Glad you had fun but the ultimate IMHO is Top Fuel.

Two of them bad boys side by side is a whole lotta HP.

Ground shakes, eyes burn, and the whole deal is quite a trip for sure.

Later
Grady

 

[Car Nut]

I could tell which cars had superchargers and I'm pretty sure I was right on a few with turbos.

What does a big turbo sound like?

I understand that this dragstrip has stuff for locals on Friday nights, but I'm thinking there is probably a smaller track closer that probably costs a bit less. My stang is obviously not headed in the dragstrip direction, but it would still be fun once in a while.

 

[Car Nut]

wow man i cant believe it was your first time....now you see what you've been missing out on....ive been going to etown, atco, and island dragway for the last 11 yrs or so...im 17 now its the most fun you can have in one place

I won't even begin to hint about my age. I'm not old, but I definitely should have been experiencing this stuff a few years ago.

 

[stprorolla49]

I won't even begin to hint about my age. I'm not old, but I definitely should have been experiencing this stuff a few years ago.

agreed

 

[KingDiamond]

Just sounds like that exhaust was backfiring or something. I have seen a lot of drag cars do that.

 

[302fordracer]

rich air fuel mixture re ignites at the tailpipe sometimes

 

[DFG 5OH]

i just got the hang of my pro 5.0, barking gears is sooo fun, i wanna go drag race my car

 

[Suspect]

i was out there as well. had a great time!
also grudge nights on friday are fun. i try to make it out as much as i can. sometimes i run and other times its just fun to hang out. u should come out, maybe ill see out there sometime!

 

[sociopath5.0]

It may have been the blow off valve for a large turbo. I'm not sure, I dont speak turbonics. I know I wish I had been able to cruise there instead of working on my ride.

 

[94_Teal_GT]

I suppose it coulda been a 'two step' box. Which, while you're holding the button, the motor won't go above the set launch RPM. Light goes green, release button, color him gone.....

I know that drag bikes sound like that, when they are 'on the two step'.

 

[Car Nut]

i was out there as well. had a great time!
also grudge nights on friday are fun. i try to make it out as much as i can. sometimes i run and other times its just fun to hang out. u should come out, maybe ill see out there sometime!

I'm done with college in about a month, so I plan on visiting soon after. I think it's just $10 to watch and it's nice to see some differently modded stangs in person too. I'm sure you'll see me out there sometime early on this summer. I wonder if any other stangnet folks go out there. Before the server fiasco, there was a post where several members stated they would be there.


Next time I hear that "popping" sound again, I need to go find the driver's pit area to ask about it. Definitely got everyone's attention, though.

 

[SeventyMach1]

Question: One of the faster cars there was ungodly loud (I mean even more than the others) and as this guy revved right before his launch, his car made this popping sound almost like a machine gun in slow motion. I mean LOUD pops that were very evenly spaced. What was that? A turbo? When this guy launched it was ridiculously fast and the sound drowned everything else out for a couple seconds. Any ideas on the sound?

Spaced limiter possibly.... I heard that sometimes when an engine turns so hard and gets there so quick that the limiter catches it late. The interval between the "catches" could be the delay between the pops.... I don't know if there's any truth to this, though.... it's just something I heard a couple of guys talking about at the Hot Rod Barn....

 

[OinkAodeOink]

the cars they are doing the poping are surely turbo cars.. They are probably on a staging limiter, that allows them to mash the throttle wide open, while bouncing off the limiter, to help spool the turbo.. This in turn makes for a very rich condition, and you are probably hearing a combination of both. Turbo cars are very easy to spot, or hear.. They are the quiet ones, vs the pro50 blower and nitrous cars (which are way loud)
I dont think the Pro5.0 turbo cars even use a blow off valve.. What you hear after the burnout is usually compressor surge ( the cha cha cha sound)

 

[Killercanary]

Mike (oink) got it right. They are basically using a two step to load the car some and build boost on the line where just reving it wouldn't.

Once you hear a turbo car at an NMRA/FFW event you WILL want one, their sound is UNREAL and enough to make the hair on your neck stand up.

 

[Car Nut]

Mike (oink) got it right. They are basically using a two step to load the car some and build boost on the line where just reving it wouldn't.

Once you hear a turbo car at an NMRA/FFW event you WILL want one, their sound is UNREAL and enough to make the hair on your neck stand up.

That makes sense. Next time I go to another event, I need to walk through the pit areas to see some of these setups.

I wasn't sure if my wife would like FFW and the drag stuff, but she had a lot of fun. I think the speed and sound really added a lot to the experience. Let's face it........there is loud........and then there is REAL loud! When the 6- and 7-second cars did their runs, it was a huge difference compared to the slower cars.

Thanks for the reponses everyone.