first time at track... i suck, my car sucks

[FLounder]

well i have never in my 28 years been to a drag strip, and i decided to go tonight. heres the dissappointing story... maybe some of you guys can give me some advice about my driving and about the car.

i was at moroso (now officially palm beach international raceway) at sea level and about 70 degrees.

my reaction times suck and they vary a lot .819, .082, .668, .914, .482.... etc.. any tips here? i almost feel like i was thinking too hard about it on the tree... if that makes sense. my 60 ft times also sucked, i had a hard time getting traction, and i thought my toyo proxes4s were pretty good ... after airing down my tires to 25 psi i got down to 2.3 60ft a couple times in a row. and thats still not great.

and about the 1/4 mile times....

for one thing, my car is slow. i knew it was slow but its slower than i thought. its a b20z block all stock internals, the b16a head has gsr cams and crower valvetrain. i have a knock off 4 into 1 header, no cat, and a crappy 2" muffler shop exhaust, with a resonator and quiet muffler. on the intake side its a hondata im gasket, oem type r im and tb, with ebay piping. clutch is weak and slipping a little bit, but im not going to blame that too much. transmission is a gsr with open diff, nice smooth shifting tranny. ive got a fuel rail and fpr, the motor is untuned, running on a b20vtec basemap that seems to be a little rich. i couldnt even get out of the 15s i was between 15.2 and 15.8 every time. i was at 90mph all night. weak i know...

do you guys think its so slow mostly because of my driving, because its untuned, or what? could the 2" exhaust be choking it? any tips or suggestions?

 

[JKOBD.com]

First off, your reaction time has nothing to do with your ET. You can sit there for a minute if you want to. Time doesn't start until you start moving. Many suggestions for you: Try lowering the tire pressure down to 20. Feathering the throttle on the launch, get the car tuned, etc. Mph is there for mid 14s for sure.

 

[phyregod]

Your reaction time will get better with experience. Get a little less adrenaline pumping through the veins and calm down a tad, and it'll take care of itself.

Those times are decent for a B20 DC.. They can get a little better but not by much. As far as 60' times, get a pair of slicks on some super light weight wheels. Personally, I ran "sticky" street tires with a good burn out at 20 psi front, 40 psi rear (for reduced rolling resistance throughout the run). Only because I was too cheap and lazy to buy a set of slicks to swap out. The car was my daily driver.

Making the car quicker = weight reduction. Before track night, remove the passenger seat, rear seat, spare, jack, trunk carpet and sound material, etc.. Things that can be removed and replaced with ease without damaging the car. Of course any speaker boxes or extra equipment like that.. Every pound helps.

If you're running 15.2 right now, a pair of slicks will bump you into the 14s for certain.

 

[K2e2vin]

Do you preload your clutch? If not, that can help a bit as far as traction goes.

 

[99sidude]

Fixing the tune should help out a ton. I used to be running extremely rich, and just a street tune done myself helped so much on the ass dyno.

 

[FLounder]

thanks for the help guys... after last night im much more motivated to go get dyno tuned. ive already talked to a reputable local tuner so ill set it up soon. i was really hoping for low 14s last night and was dissapointed with low 15s instead. i mean hell this guy i know was there that ran a 15.2 in a DC with a ls motor with bolt ons. and here i am with a b20vtec with a gsr trans running the same time lol. i only live like 25 mins from the track so i will go back and practice again on a slow night.

what kind of 60 ft time can i really hope for with my toyos aired down and the perfect launch?

about the weight reduction thing, i dont really want to have to do that. i like having power steering, ac, and a full interior. i didnt even take out my system. after tuning and some more practice im hoping for at least low 14s with the solobaric still in the trunk

 

[phyregod]

I'm not saying to gut it and make a track car.. passenger seat is 4 bolts, rear seat is i think 2 bolts.. Just the easy to remove/replace stuff. Certainly the speaker box.

 

[jdmrex08]

I'm not saying to gut it and make a track car.. passenger seat is 4 bolts, rear seat is i think 2 bolts.. Just the easy to remove/replace stuff. Certainly the speaker box.

hes not saying to keep it out for the rest of your life, but if you wana shave some tenths of a second off i would take out whats easy to put back in when you go to the track.

 

[K2e2vin]

2.3 is actually respectable for 0-60 on street tires; pretty much seems the norm.

The lowest I've heard is around 2-2.1 on street tires at like 15psi; preloading the clutch.

 

[TurboMirage]

explain preloading the clutch please.

 

[K2e2vin]

Pretty much cooking the clutch

But how most people do it is pretty much use your e-brake to keep the car moving and rev up to whatever rpm and let the clutch up a little...feathering it of course....it's really just reducing the harsh engagement when letting the clutch up.

Here's a vid of Bisi and you could see his car jerk and squat a little when he preloads the clutch:
YouTube - BOTI - Bisi in front / Rotary wrecks - Orlando '07

 

[nootrac22]

so basically you're engaging the clutch just enough to not move, so that when you do want to move the engagement process is already started and there for less harsh?


BTW good info guys

 

[dacheat]

Here's a vid of Bisi and you could see his car jerk and squat a little when he preloads the clutch:
YouTube - BOTI - Bisi in front / Rotary wrecks - Orlando '07

holy balls, that video....

what'd he have in that?

 

[K2e2vin]

All-motor F22A Accord engine. It was carbureted and made around 430whp, he has since switched to individual throttle bodies and methanol.

 

[dacheat]

chreesto. he wins.

 

[95b16coupe]

Pretty much cooking the clutch

unfortunately thats what it does.

DO NOT REMOVE YOUR AC. just make sure it's all off. only stupid ricers remove ps and ac, and think it makes them faster.

get an lsd and some slicks or drag radials, a good header and exhaust. some itr cams a killer tune, low 14's high 13's will be easy.

 

[austin20110]

Good thread so far

 

[Briansol]

first and foremost, proxes suck. lol they aren't a good tire at all. Worse, they aren't a drag tire by any means. so, the fact that you got a 2.3 out of 'em is actually pretty good.

how to drag on street tires (or, how to drag on a car you have to drive home)

• NEVER take stress off the axels or put the car in neutral. inch up, and keep it in gear. that 'slack' is what breaks stuff. keep it taught by keeping it in gear right at the tension point. If you get wheel hop off the bat with an un equal stress load you can easily snap an axle
• do not rev to 10000000 rpms. odds are, you will get your best launch in the 2500 ish range rpm and a HEAVY ride of the clutch. basically just keep a toe on the throttle at orange.... as the light goes green, give it 80% throttle and 80% clutch, and for the remaining 20, back your feet in opposite directions at the same time. when you're floored, your clutch is completely out, and not until then.
  
  
  step 1
  clutch:
  ------|-------------------------
  
  accel:
  ---------------------|----------
  
  
  step 2
  clutch:
  --|-----------------------------
  
  accel:
  -------------------------|------
  
  step 3
  
  clutch:
  |-------------------------------
  
  accel:
  -------------------------------|
  
  
  
  obviously, simplified, and the top of the clitch should be the 100% grab point, not necessarily the top of the pedal range motion.

 

[95b16coupe]

good diagram.

basically if you are drag racing correctly, you are going to break shit.

 

[newb]

You gotta be careful when your settin your tire pressure. A lot of ppl drop too far, and dont realize theyre bein counter productive. If your pressure is too low, the center of the tire will lift and reduce your contact patch. The best way to find an "ideal" pressure is too lay down some rubber at different pressure levels. Your just lookin for a nice even color across your track. Too light in the center, inflate. Too dark in the center, deflate.