Nearly stock 97 looking for Drag pointers

[Colorshow]

Took my 97 Cobra to zMax Dragway in Concord a few weeks ago. First time at a 1/4 mile track with this car. I made a few passes at an 1/8 mile track in Mooresville when it still belonged to my buddy. 2.37 60 ft because I'm spinning like crazy. They don't put down any VHT or anything so its pretty slick. Powered 2nd and it broke loose pretty bad. Car has a cold air intake, bassani x with cats and flowmasters. Stock gears and old dry hard nitto 555's. Headed back to zMax tonight and my questions are, does it make any sense at all to run a lower tire pressure than my normal 35 psi or so? What about shifting? Should I short shift 1-2 or 2-3? I know I'll lose rpm in the next gear but it feels pretty flat above 6400 or so. Any thoughts? By the way, I guess I have to tell you all.... 14.20 at 100 mph . It had run a best of 13.91 at Rockingham, which is lower alt. and stickier. I'd really like to break back into the 13's.

 

[Colorshow]

So... no help? That's cool. No 13's either. 14.015 at 102.57 mph. 2.261 60 ft. Still spinning like crazy. 2.26 was my best 60 ft. I just can't seem to get it out of the hole. Tried to be a little gentler shifting to 2nd but it still wanted to break loose. Hopefully by the end of summer I'll have new tires and we're planning on going to Rockingham in the fall once it cools off. If I manage to find a set of DR's to beg borrow or steal then maybe I could flirt with mid 13's. Or I could obliterate what's left of the t45.

 

[Sharad]

You need good suspension and tires!! Airing down your 555s won't do much. Maybe 28psi at the lowest... (you can air up the fronts though)

On radials, you want to raise the rpms for the launch (maybe 3-4000) and SLIP the clutch to keep the tires from breaking loose. If you spin the tires, the pass is blown.