My First Times in the Cobra: Opinions

[ArkansasMystic]

About 1-2 months ago I got my 96 Cobra, as is. I will begin by saying this is my first sports car and also first trip to the track. I ran 2 times, best being 11.9. My brother (previous owner) hit 11.4 with it at the same track, but on Nitto drag radials. I launched at about 2000-2500 rpm's and had a little trouble with traction. I was expecting the tree to drop one at a time, but instead all 3 yellows went on at the same time, so my reactions weren't great (perfect is .000 at this track). Also, I had some trouble going into 3rd (finished in 3rd gear). It didn't grind, just a little slow for some reason (shifted better on second run). Here are times from my 2 runs, how are they for the first time? What do I need to concentrate on improving?

1st run:
Reaction: .7505
60 ft: 2.2333
330 ft: 6.1417
1/8 ET: 9.4810
1/8 MPH: 74.86
1000 ET: 12.0746
1000 MPH: 87.92

2nd run:
Reaction: .2976
60 ft: 2.26
330 ft: 6.1761
1/8 ET: 9.4081
1/8 MPH: 77.00
1000 ET: 11.9537
1000 MPH: 89.45

 

[BurningRubber]

Practice cutting your 60' times down.

Play with the launch RPM untill you have minimal traction issues. If you can, a set of drag radials makes things ALOT simpler than street tires.

You could easily cut a 1.9 60' with drag radials in that car and that would really bring your overall ET down a bit.

What RPM are you shifting at? The MPH looks a little low for the 1/8th mile, but that could be improved if you arent shifting at a good RPM.

 

[ArkansasMystic]

What SHOULD my 60ft times be? I was shifting at 6500-6800 RPM, and finished at about 6000 RPM in 3rd gear. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[tank_567]

the best you should do on street tires is 1.9, but a good avg would be 2.0-2.1 and I would shift your car around 6500rpm, this will put you right back into the power band.