First time to the strip......

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

Delsol94

New Member
on friday its inport night at the local drag strip im thinkin of running my car for the first time but im really nervouse, anyone got advise?
 
dont miss shift.dont hit rev limiter.dont launch to high/low.dont hit the wall.dont go out thinking your car is the fastest.dont ghetto rig shit just to run.
the usual donts:D
 
damn aight, and im gonna be easy the first run its my daily driver so no full throttle shifts, what u think i should shift at wit my zc z6 with intake/ header/ chipped ecu, i got a check engine shift light at 7 grand but im not that brave for the first run
 
Dont launch to fast and spin or red light
Dont launch to slow and stall.
Warm your tires up and then put your tires in the black tar lines at the starting line.
 
note.....im running on 14 inch steelies also lol........
you're not going to get any traction.

drop your air pressure down to 25psi (correct me if i'm wrong)

launch when the 3rd yellow goes out. don't wait for the green. you're car isn't fast enough.

it's better to shift slow and grab gears than shift fast and miss gears.
 
drop your air pressure down to 25psi (correct me if i'm wrong)

Your close. Every brand of tire is a lil different, so you cant just pick a number. You can hurt traction by droping pressure too much. The best way to set your ideal tire pressure is to do a burnout and look at the marks. The mark should be the full tread width of the tire with NO light spots. Underinflation shows a light center, while overinflation shows a darker center. With a street tire you may need to keep the pressure up pretty high, but theyre not slicks so they dont react the same to lower pressures.

Also, on street tires dont drive through the bleach box. If you do, then you might as well just see how far down the track you can keep the tires spinnin.
 
Last edited:
we already told you how to launch and shift. there isnt' much more to it.

if you have dyno numbers, we can show you your shift points.
 
drop your air pressure down to 25psi (correct me if i'm wrong)
launch when the 3rd yellow goes out. don't wait for the green. you're car isn't fast enough.

I ran on my street tires at 20psi. Bump up the rear pressure to 40. More if the tires state that they can handle it. (it will say "max pres. 45psi") or something like that.. Dump extra crap out of your car (spare, jack, cover, etc)

Roll all the way through the water trough, then get the best burn out you can.

When you pull up to the line, there is an order to things.

Pre stage: First set of bulbs at the top of the tree. Pull up slowly until the first set of lights lights up and STOP. Wait for the other car to do the same (Or vise versa if he goes first.. Wait for him to light up the first set, then you pull up and light them up)
Stage: After both pre stage lights are lit, pull up until the stage light (second light on the tree) lights up and STOP. After the second car does the same, (or vise versa) after that, be ready..

After the top two sets of lights are lit, the tree will more than likely have three bulbs light up in half second incraments, then its time to get gone!

Pre stage, Prestage
Stage, Stage
LIGHTS
LIGHTS
LIGHTS
GO!

Aim to launch right AFTER the last set of bulbs lights up before the greens.. You will be aiming to leave the line exactly half a second (.500 reaction time) after the last yellow bulb lights. If you leave before the green lights, you will pop a red light and your run is shit.

While you are in line waiting to run, watch the tree and get used to how it works, timing of the lights, etc. You can practice reaction times in your head just by watching the tree on other people's runs.


Great reading:
The Staging Light -- Drag Racing


Most of all, have fun. Meet up with other drivers, chat them up.. You never know who you'll meet. If you meet other "honda guys" out there, get to know them! They usually have a ton of spare parts laying around!!
 
Last edited:
Back
Top