racing at the drag strip for the first time

MarSaleenMustan · May 20, 2004

Any advice? The car will be a bone stock '95 GT 5 speed. I plan on upping the timing, removing the spare tire/rear seat, also the stock wing(for aerodynamical purposes) air silencer is gone... any other suggestions? a link to a "10 min tune up" would be nice

Dark Knight · May 20, 2004

street tires? avoid the water.. drive around it if you can..most street tires dont need any burnout.. just spin them to knock any dust/rocks off of them..

have fun.. it'll take a few times at the track to figure out what RPM is best to launch and shift at..

TrickFlow · May 20, 2004

ummm i dont think taking the stock wing off will yield any gains.. it will be more work than its worth.... just ice the intake down instead

Qwk88LX · May 20, 2004

yeah, don't bother taking off your wing..It won't really make a difference..If you're using the stock tires, just do a minor burnout to get the dirt off. Focus on the tree, learn how to stage & launch your car...& have fun. Dont be dissapointed if your times arent what you expected, it takes practice. And oh yeah, wear a freakin helmet!! I'm sure you can rent one at the track

TrickFlow · May 20, 2004

before i run, i shut off all the heater vents except the one on the far passenger side, and aim it towards the passenger side window. i dont know if this really helps at all, but as soon as im done running, and making my exit i roll down the passenger side window and turn the heater on and let the hot air shoot out the passenger side window... i had a friend of mine tell me that it helps cool the engine off a little, dont know if it actually works, but hey, why not

maverick0716 · May 20, 2004

Qwk88LX said:
yeah, don't bother taking off your wing..It won't really make a difference..If you're using the stock tires, just do a minor burnout to get the dirt off. Focus on the tree, learn how to stage & launch your car...& have fun. Dont be dissapointed if your times arent what you expected, it takes practice. And oh yeah, wear a freakin helmet!! I'm sure you can rent one at the track

You only need a helmet if you run 13.99 or quicker

Bolt On John · May 20, 2004

Yeah, you probably won't need the helmet, and this may sound obvious, but don't forget to wear pants! Not sure if all tracks enforce this (seems kinda cruel in places like CA or FL) but one of the first times I went to the track they wouldn't let me run because I was wearing shorts... They will also probably get upset if you are running your AC in the staging lanes since it can drip water on the track.

Other random advice: Try to go on test & tune days so you can get as many runs as possible, don't pay too much attention to the guy in the lane next to you, and each time you run pick a different rpm to launch at until you find the one that gets you the best 60', then choose different rpm's to shift at until you find the one that gets you the best ET. I would also agree with everyone that taking off the wing is pointless, but icing the intake always helps a little, and everything else everyone mentioned is good advice.

Good luck!

MarSaleenMustan · May 21, 2004

Yes I'm running street tires... as far as removing the wing, I obviously dont expect 1/10ths of a second off, not even a 1/10th, but i'm sure it'll be something measurable. I'm just trying to see how quick i can make it down the strip and see how far i go with it.. eventually I would like to run in the 12s with it as my daily driver... this summer i plan on getting a Powerdyne and possibly full exhaust. Then later AFRs and still undecided about brand of intake.

Anyone else? what PSI would be best for street tires if it matters?

65ShelbyClone · May 21, 2004

MarSaleenMustan said:
as far as removing the wing, I obviously dont expect 1/10ths of a second off, not even a 1/10th, but i'm sure it'll be something measurable. I'm just trying to see how quick i can make it down the strip and see how far i go with it.. Anyone else? what PSI would be best for street tires if it matters?

Seriously, the immeasurably small drop in time from removing the wing wont be worth driving around with holes in your decklid. I think since its a stock street car, you should baseline it with any and all crap left in place. Learing how to cleanly launch the car will give better ET returns than simply dropping 50lbs. Run your street tires at the pressure you would everyday and just get a few revolutions of spin on them to clean them off. No smokeshows or your radials will get greasy.

shorty1993 · May 21, 2004

taking the wing off could not possibly help enough to warrant the work, plus you look better when you miss out on that .001 of a second. i agree just run the car like it is. my times are horrible because of lack of experience, and i still run very generic street rubber. i would think that the extra weight would only aid in your traction, since it is street trim anyway. that is just my .
.02 good luck man. post some times

MAC'n89Blckstng · May 21, 2004

Take out your front sway bar, should save you some pounds, I would do it in my car, but I'm just too lazy. I left some wight in my car (my sub and amp, and an extra set of springs) to get some better traction. My friend was able to run a 14.3 with his 2.73 geared 87 GT by leaving his 5 pound sub box in his car. Helped his traction alot. Have fun man, I've never had so much fun before I raced. Its great.
Later,
Jesse

Qwk88LX · May 21, 2004

maverick0716 said:
You only need a helmet if you run 13.99 or quicker

In Jersey, you have to wear one by law..it doesn't matter if you run 20's

92GreenGT · May 21, 2004

Take the wing off and leave it off. I LOVE wingless SN95's.:worship:

Dave

Qwk88LX · May 21, 2004

92GreenGT said:
Take the wing off and leave it off. I LOVE wingless SN95's.:worship:
Dave

I agree, looks a lot better.

powershift351 · May 21, 2004

drop at 2250 to 2500 for your first run and go from there

89MustangGX · May 21, 2004

I guess 'll be different and say don't bother with any of that stuff. Just leave the car the way it is and get some seat time, get used to the way the track works, and have fun. Next time you can start changing things.

Legendary · May 21, 2004

Here's some good tune up info so you can be running at your best:

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/Detailed/58.shtml

axeman · May 21, 2004

for your first time, while you are waiting in line, watch how people do things so you don't look like an idiot and you're not pissing other people off. watch how the people running the track direct you to pull up to the burnout area, stop you, then wave you on to do the burnout.

when pulling up to the line, pull up enough to turn the top light on(pre-stage light). wait for the other driver and then light up the bottom light(stage light). you should both pre-stage before someone stages out of respect for the other driver.

try not to spin the hell out of first gear to a 2.7 60' work on the 60' before anything. then you can play with shift points. the 60's are what's going to kill you if they are crappy. try shifting ~5300. then go from there.

last of all, have fun. that's what it's all about. don't get discouraged if you don't do so well your first time out.

racing at the drag strip for the first time

MarSaleenMustan

Dark Knight

TrickFlow

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Qwk88LX

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TrickFlow

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maverick0716

Bolt On John

MarSaleenMustan

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