Will be running mine this Friday night. It’s only an 1/8th though
Of all the tracks we have within 50 miles of my house, only one is a 1/4, Commerce Dragway. Most of the tracks here in the south/southeast are 1/8 mi.
The most important part of all of it is fun. That and keeping it pointed in the right direction. Good luck, Kyle. Let us know how it goes and post those times!
Good luck Kyle. I look forward to hearimg back about it Saturday.
Well , it made its debut on the 1/8th Learned a cpl of things.
- The cal-tracs need more adjustment
- tires were a huge hindrance. Wouldn’t hook unless I did really soft launches and eased into the gas for shifts.
So best pass feathering the throttle was 9.5 @ 75 mph
1st & 2nd was almost useless. Ugh. NEW RUBBER ORDERED
The traction disaster. Happens to us all (lol). Hey, at least you are willing to flog it!
http://www.wallaceracing.com/8th-quarter.php
Wow, some kinks to work out. That (according to Wallace Racing calculator linked above) equates to a 15.45 ET and 93 MPH in the quarter.
Exactly. We shall see what happens in a cpl of weeks when the cats new shoes are on.
Kyle,
FWIW (and not to rub it in!), my street radials (285/45-17 Nitto N555’s) and street gears (3.25) hook well enough to get Isabel (4150 lbs) into the 12’s. What tires do you have now? Gears?
Regards,
Robert
I’m at 3:50 gear and 265 /40ZR18 SUMITOMO
Hmmph. Well, unless there is a radical difference between the tires we each run, I’m thinking it’s going to take more than a new set of tires. Funny thing too, I run the Caltrac’s on the “street” setting, the upper hole of the two in the bellcranks. You do have to balance the launch between tire spin and getting off the line with anything but slicks (even drag radials which I also have and have run), it is a delicate balance!
How’s the weight transfer? Seems you have a bit of rake but I would think this shouldn’t be an issue (looking at say Tim Halstead’s - Drag Boss car for comparison). The car should squat in the back and the front lift somewhat, perhaps this is obvious but thought I would mention it.
It depends on how fast the flatbed truck thats towing it can go!
Never squat. That is a sign of pinion roll-up. The body and pinion should push apart. Common misconception.
Makes sense. Guess it just seems like it squats since the front goes up (more). Guess they both go up (and this picture kind of shows that):
Kyle, I don’t have all the answers (I leave that to other folks), but I do have a few 1/4 mile runs under my belt, and I think you can improve your times significantly without spending a dime or rethinking your whole setup.
A few thoughts in no particular order:
- practice on a drag strip means everything. Develop a technique for the burnout box & staging (deep, shallow - whatever works for you & your setup).
- Calm yourself. You can only do this right if you are focused on the task at hand, not the guy in the other lane, friends in the stands, etc.
- I avoid the watered down burnout box unless I’m using slicks or drag radials. With street tires, too much water accumulates in your treads and wheel wells & drips down in the worst spot for launching. You don’t need the water to get your street tires spinning, and anything from a short burnout to clean the treads to a 2 gear standing burnout will suffice (depending on your tire strategy & the heat rating of your tires).
- you can do a standing 2 or 3 gear burnout with a stick (but you probably already know this).
- Even with slicks or drag radials (street tires on front), I try to go around the water and back into it, provided the person in charge of that area will let me (if it’s crowded @ the track, they might not have patience for that). Same issue as above: the front tires will deposit water where you don’t want it as you stage.
- Don’t move forward too much when you burn out. Leave yourself plenty of room for a “dry hop” to clean off any remaining marbles & get your car lined up in the “groove” (where all that burnt rubber is) as you stage.
- reduce the air pressure in the rear tires somewhat, but not so much that they "cup’ upwards in the center (trial & error).
- If you have the luxury of a practice run or two, don’t leave too aggressively the 1st run of the night. Build up to more aggressive launches if the track is holding the power. If you are bracket racing, stay with the launch technique you used when you set your dial in.
- Tires are important, but anecdotally, R Code ran a tad quicker on my concours-correct, repro bias ply tires vs. drag radials (probably because with a stock converter, 3.25 gears, & a decent burnout/launch strategy, I didn’t have any traction problems to solve).
- Not sure what 1st gear is like in your 5 speed (I forgot which trans you installed), but some of those transmissions came in cars with “highway” rear gears (vs. your 3.50’s), and 1st gear is pretty steep. That can slow you down since you have to launch it carefully and shift out of 1st right away. Same reason a wide ratio toploader isn’t that great with rears numerically higher than 3.23. Look into that if you think that’s an issue.
Good luck, and your time is not that bad if you chalk it (and your next trip out) to a learning experience. The car worked fine, and that time should steadily come down as you gain experience with that specific vehicle.
2 more questions to add…
What do you have for rear shocks?
What was your 60’ time?
R Code , thanks for the tips and more sets time at the track will help. Btw trans is an TKO 500 Not that it matters but I did chassis dyno at 400rwhp
Steve68cougar , rear shocks are just KYB GAS-ADJUST
Only got to make 2 passes but 60 ft times are 2.63 and the 2.35
If you can get the 60’ better it will be huge. The tko trans are great for strength but they aren’t the quickest shifting unit out there. What tires did you order? Probably a little late but a bias ply tire is usually better for a stick car launching. Totally agree about going around the water box too. With a stick car especially the first times out are about driver development as much as they are tuning the car. Might want to consider a 2 step rev control to launch consistent every time. It can be a pain to watch the tree and try to keep an eye on the tach at the same time. Good luck next time you go out. Even a bad day at the track beats a day of work or a lot of other stuff.
If you had said air shocks then I would have suggested getting something that will control the axle a little better. What you’ve got shouldn’t be too bad. Concentrating on your 60’ time will make a lot of difference. In a 1/4 mile, every .1 second quicker on your 60’ equates to about .15 seconds quicker overall. I’m not sure what it would be for an 1/8, but I’m guessing it’s not quite as dramatic.
Something isn’t quite adding up with the 400rwhp. It should mph a lot better than that. My (approximately) 280rwhp Mustang has run an 8.7@83 on it’s way to a 13.3@104 (60’ was 2.09). That was on the stock BFG’s and a total weight around 3800lbs. My next question would be what rpm you’re shifting at. General rule of thumb is to shift at 10% over the rpm your maximum hp was produced at. My max hp is at 6000rpm and I shift about the time the rev limiter kicks in at 6500rpm.
Just getting 2 runs in is really tough to get things dialed in. Don’t get too discouraged. Sounds like you’ve got a lot to work with, so you should see some nice improvements with a few more passes.
We just came from the track the other day. We tried out a set of 275/40/17 nitto nt05r drag radials. After a second gear burnout in the water box, then a first gear dry hop, tire spin was near non existent. The car hooked hard but tranny broke on the 2nd gear shift. The car is 91 mustang lx, 302 with heads, intake, healthy cam, with all the boltons, but the stock 91,000 mile t5 didn’t like it. Time for upgrade, but tires worked excellent. Btw car went 14.3 @ 102 with no 2nd gear.