Oops, I had this thread up for a while and didn't see all the new post before I replied. ANyway, DEFINTELY do a smokey burnout NOW!!! Do it right now, don't wait. Let the tires then cool before you leave. These tires need heat cycling. I did this to my nitto's before my first outting on them and pulled 1.66 60'! That NEVER happens on a brand new tire, at least not in my experience. I'd run them at ~25-28 on the street, and I'd start at around 18lbs at the track. Keep in mind, these are not a slick and you may very well have to slip the clutch out of the hole to get them to hook properly depending on track conditions. BFG told me that they do not recommend a really long smokey burnout as the rubber tends to ball up and act as "ball bearings" hurting traction. I've never run them so I can't tell you based on my experience, I know a lot of guys have called BS on that though and say smoke the crap out of them.
Alter your shift points slightly, shift the 1-2 higher than the rest. I don't have time to look at your graph right now, so I don't remember what rpm your peaks were at, but I'd start at no less than 5900rpms. Depending on how many runs you think you may get, you might want to run the 1st pass shifting at 5800, then 6000, then 6100 or 6200 and see which on yields the best MPH and go from there. Anymore, I shift my car more on feel than anything, but I know from sound and feel where I'm at in the rpm band.
Stage as shallow as possible. When you roll up to the lights, pull up until you break the pre-stage beam only (the top lights will go on) then VERY SLOWLY inch forward until you just break the second set of beams. This will give you about a 6" head start before the timer starts as it doesn't start until your tire completely breaks the beam, so you get to start rolling before it knows you are.
Run the car as cold as possible. Run the heater on the return road and pop your hood as soon as you can. If there are multiple people in front of you in a lane, wait until they move up 2-3 cars before starting yours and then pull up and shut the car down. Don't let it run anymore than you have to. HEAT IS YOUR ENEMY, especially in our 94-95's.
Shift as fast as possible. I know this seems like a given, but MANY people shift like they have their grandmother in the seat next to them. You don't need to "beat it" just be smooth and quick. Get a good driving position where you don't have to reach for the steering wheel or shifter. I like to sit closer than normal to the steering wheel when I run, that way when I'm rwoing the gears I have my left are locked against the door and I don't get the "gear change sway" that many people do when they shift the gears.
Make sure you know where the finish line is. This too seems juvenile, but we were at a track once where the timing boards were set up at the 1/8th mile... our track has them at the 1/4. Well, with it being a new track and a new combo, my dad was letting off at the 1/8th mile and coasting through the 1/4. We couldn't understand how he was running 12.4's at 92mph... that is why!
Have fun... and DO A BURNOUT NOW!!! Do 2nd gear burnouts at the track BTW to get enough heat into the tires. Just put the car into 2nd, tach her up, and side step the clutch and throw your left foot quickly onto the brakes to hold the car still.
