I thought the track was supposed to hook harder than the street!

[BullittStangV8]

My best so far is a 14.1 @100.45 with a 2.10 60'. I couldnt shift higher then 5000 rpms from 1st to 2nd without getting sideways. It seriously hurt my times allot. I run street tires, with slightly lowered psi. I should be running mid/high 13's, but the track prep and humidity and heat just havent allowed me to. I know with better conditions i can get much better times, but thats just how racing goes. i need to get to a well prepped track with some cool weather, and i know my times will be MUCH better.
p.s slip the clutch. i got my 2.1 by slipping the clutch with street tires, and 2.1 is pretty good if im not mistaken on street tires. You'll spin badly unless you have slicks. in that case, rev it up to 5000 and drop the clutch..
Mike

 

[droptopsnake01]

I feel your pain. I was down there with the yellow/black top 01 cobra and the best that I could pull was a 13.8 w/ a 2.2 60'. But I can't powershift b/c I will just get wheel hop, so I have to granny shift. It was fun though.

 

[cmb91LX]

Was at Darlington NC for the Test and Tune night for Mustang Week. Decided to pay my $10 and make a few passes. On the street I have 0 trouble hooking. The tires will make a couple quick rotations, then bite and Im off. First time I lined up I hazed the Nittos to a light smoke, staged at 2500rpms, and waited for the lights. Tree fell and I side stepped the clutch and spun all the way through 1st and all the way through 2nd . It bit in 3rd and I was off. Passed the line in 14.9 seconds with a 2.8 60ft at 98mph!!! I was ticked to say the least. Figured my Nitto's would hook better than that.
Lined up the 2nd time. Light smoking of the tires, staged at 2000rpms this time and dumped the clutch. Again I went to spinning completely through 1st, and most of 2nd. It bit over halfway in 2nd, I missed 3rd and said screw this run. 17.6 with a 2.4 60ft at 59mph lol.
Final run I was determined not to spin. Hazed the tires, and lined up. No staging this time. I waited for the light and took off like I normally would from a stop light. Once I got rolling I stomped the gas and of course spun like mad . Spun all the way through 1st, but caught 2nd this time. Nailed 3rd perfectly and passed the guy I was racing, powershifted to 4th but I was already at the finish line by then. 60ft was 2.3 1/4 was 14.6 at 96mph.
Somehow my time and mph went down I powershifted every gear except from 1st-2nd. I also drove around the water box each time. Anyone have any advice for next time Im at the track. I know Ill get better with practice, but I expected MUCH better hooking racing at the track than on the street. It was humid as crap that night, and finally rained on us before I could do a 4th run. Best time I saw all night was a nice clean green notch... 8.9 seconds at 149mph!!! Best time I saw from a modded Cobra was a 12.4. Best run I saw from a Mach I was a 13.6. Most Mach's and modded GTs I saw race were in the 14's so I didnt feel to alone. Ehh live and learn I guess.

with those mods you should be WELL in the 13s. an easy launch should get you low 14s, hell my wife's auto ran 14.7s all night with only weld in flows on a 90 degree night and no telling how much humidity, humidity usually is right on par with temp in Memphis,TN. Practice and you will get those times down A LOT. And the difference between the street and track is night and day.

 

[StangLou]

droptopsnake, i remember seeing your car run that night i think. sounded what # were you that night, i was 14.

i know my times should be MUCH lower, hence why i was pissed at them. i do feel track prep had a ton to do with how crappy our cars were hooking that night.

i also know i need practice, it was my first time out and it shows. i could have probably gotten better times with my g/f '04 which is stock other than gears and a k&n simply because I wouldnt have spun as much.

all in all it was fun and i met some cool people and got cool pics. i look forward to my next track outting. i now have a base for MUCH needed improvement

 

[droptopsnake01]

I think I was # 26 if I remember correctly. I ran a 98 cobra and then a 03 cobra. That was all I did, drag racing it really makes me mad b/c of my wheel hop. I put it up on the dyno that day also. Yea it was a great week.

 

[Jackie Chan]

learn to drive

 

[03-s281]

You cant expect to run any decent times side stepping the clutch with street tires. You can only do that with some good slicks.

 

[Modular2v]

exactly what is "side stepping"

 

[mcmmotorsports]

I think that is another term for "dumping" the clutch

 

[Qrazy02GT]

exactly what is "side stepping"

Side stepping your clutch is actually more brutal than dumping your clutch.
Dumping your clutch involves pulling you foot away from the clutch pedal as fast as possible (usually the pedal spring is strong enough to put some pressure against your foot). Side stepping your clutch is just that, you slide your foot off to the left side of your clutch pedal, the clutch disengages extremely quickly and violently as the pedal slams up.

 

[mcmmotorsports]

Well that kinda sux.

 

[Jon00GT]

Wouldnt dropping the tire pressure to 16-18psi almost cause me to bog off the line? Also, why not side step the clutch??? With the Nittos I would think it wouldnt be a problem given good track conditions. Again thanks for the help and pointers guys

If you bought the 555's and not the 555R's I don't know what you really expect from those tires. They are STILL a street tire and probably aren't going to do any better than any other street tire at the track.

Even with the 555R's you've got to get them nice and hot before they grip that well.

 

[Slider]

A well prepared track will hook well even with street tires. The problem is that test and tune nights, or other such free for alls, rarely ever have good prep. The best I 60' I cut on street tires was around a 1.9x (normally 2.1's). That was just a lucky day interms of track prep. You will know when the track is right. The car takes off like a bat-out-of-he!! and it will grab extremely hard in 2nd gear. It is an awesome feeling. However, that will only happen about 1-5% of the time at the track on street tires. If you want real traction you need to get drag radials of slicks. I just bit the bullet and bought a set of cheap 15" American Racing rims and put some 275 BFG drag radials on them. Even with those tires I still have days at the track where I cannot get any traction, but on a good day I can cut low 1.8's.

 

[artificial HP]

Hey Lou.....try hitting the track down in fayetteville....only 45 minutes away and its always hooked good for me

 

[Big Steve]

A little finesse goes a long way. A good way to practice is make some runs on the street in the rain. Not full out assualts up to 100 mph (thats just plain dumb in the rain) but some quick sprints up about 1/2 way through 3rd. This will teach you how to feel for traction and know the limits. Rolling into the throttle instead of nailing it is a good technique to learn. I learned this real quick when I was younger and running big blocks on bias-ply tires. Talk about no traction, sometimes just merging into traffic was dangerous cause all these beasts wanted to do is spin the tires. You either wrecked 'em or learned how to drive 'em. I never wrecked one (as I knock on wood).

 

[BullittStangV8]

Test and tune prep does usually stink. with my stock gears i used to spin the hell out of 2nd. I had to cut my shift points to around 5300 just to stop the spins. Obviously that kills your times. Catch the track on a good prep night, and its tons of fun.
Mike

 

[AirWolf87]

you gatta look at your tracks schedule...if it is a big track (like englishtown in NJ, the one i go to) to the closest test and tune before they have an nhra or ihra event...thats when the track will be nicely prepped. But i feel your pain man, our old track that closed in the Hamptons was never prepped and the best time i was able to cut with a buddy's slicks was 1.8

 

[nickthegenius]

Sweet! A 9 month-old thread revived!

On a side note, the slipperiest place I've ever raced at is IRP. Their weekly prep for test/tune is horrendous.

 

[98stangv8]

Hey Lou.....try hitting the track down in fayetteville....only 45 minutes away and its always hooked good for me

that depends on what night...last time I was there, nobody there and I couldn't hook worth crap. track wasn't heating up at all....haven't been back since...but a lot of people have trouble hooking here..

 

[98stangv8]

If you bought the 555's and not the 555R's I don't know what you really expect from those tires. They are STILL a street tire and probably aren't going to do any better than any other street tire at the track.

Even with the 555R's you've got to get them nice and hot before they grip that well.

nice job reviving an almost year old thread..