Drag Racing Questions

Super XR7

Registered User
I would like to start off a discussion for drag racing techniques and etiquette. As a rookie drag racer at best, I would like to hear from the pros on the following topics and any other missed topics for us rookies. I am sure that there are some who are coming to the shoot out and have never done this before, so here is a list of kick off topics.

Car prep
Clothing - what should I wear?
Bleach box or not
Warming up the tires - how much, how often?
Staging - how to
When does my time start?
What is reaction time?
When should I launch the car
What RPM should I launch at? auto and manual
When should I shift?
What does my 60' time tell me?


Testing - what are the things that I should try to do differently
 
When does my time start?
When your front tires move.
What is reaction time?
The amount of time between the green light coming on and when you start the timer. Reaction time can be broken down into two parts; the time it takes you to react to the light and the time it takes your car to move after you tell it to move.
When should I launch the car
The thumb rule I learned was go on the last(third) yellow. There is .5 seconds between lights. 3 yellows then the green. The last yellow worked for me but I was only a low 14 sec. car on street tires so I'm sure there are lots of other techniques but for a novice that is probably as good of a place to start as any. It's tempting to try to start anticipating the light instead of reacting. I found it very useful to practice the rhythm of the lights while watching races.

Kurt
 
Super XR7 said:
When I went racing, I left everything in the car so I knew how the car would run "as-is". Others will pull out sub boxes from the trunk, spare tire, jack, adjust tire pressure, etc. Some even go and pull the passenger seat.

Clothing - what should I wear?
I think alot of tracks require pants and shoes - no shorts or sandals? but I'm not sure. When I went racing, it was cool enough to go ahead and wear pants and shoes.

Bleach box or not
Street tires - no. The guy at the starting line will tell you to go around the water box. Not sure about drag radials - haven't raced with them.

Warming up the tires - how much, how often?
When I was given the signal to roll ahead to stage, I would spin the tires enough to clean them off. And between a decent launch, that was enough for me.

Staging - how to
I would roll up and have the "pre-stage" light come on. And I'd TRY to wait to light up the "stage" light until the other racer has their "pre-stage" light on. Once both of the very top lights are on, I'd bring the RPM's up to where I'd launch.

When should I launch the car
When the light goes green :p Seriously, I would try for the last yellow light like Kurt said.

What RPM should I launch at? auto and manual
With my auto, it took a few passes to get it down to where I liked it. I would find a good RPM where it wouldn't bog down but also not burn the tires from the start. Last time I raced, I launched mine around 1000-1100 RPM's. For a manual, I don't know.

Testing - what are the things that I should try to do differently
Different tire pressure, perhaps street tires vs drag radials? shifting at different RPM's,

Hope this helps.
-Melon
 
XR7Kurt said:
There is .5 seconds between lights.
I believe that is no longer an exclusive standard. A .500 tree is used when the tree bulbs are conventional, a .000 tree is used with LEDs from what I recall.

Paul
 
BT Motorsports said:
I believe that is no longer an exclusive standard. A .500 tree is used when the tree bulbs are conventional, a .000 tree is used with LEDs from what I recall.

Paul

Each light is triggered on a .500 sec. sequence. With the old system they used to count from the time the last yellow was lit so that gave you a .500 best possible reaction time meaning a .499 indicated you left the staging beams before the green was lit. But it wasn't measured to the lighting of the green, it was measured to the lighting of the last yellow.

Currently the timing systems are now reading from the illumination of the green. Therefore on the newer systems you'll see a perfect reaction time of .000. However, the sequence timing is the same, it's just recorded differently. I think they did that because there are a lot of newbies in the game who couldn't wrap their minds around the .500 tree as well as the increase in TV coverage. How do you explain to Joe Shmo on his couch at home that a .500 tree is perfect and a .499 is bad but in Pro a .500 is slow and a .400" is perfect. It was easier to change the time slip to read .000 for both.
 
From what I have seen,

-Street tires generally don't heat up very much. A little burnout will get them hotter.
-Don't do a burnout with a track official standing in the lane. I have seen this many times and you never know what can happen.
-Watch the lights and start going on last yellow.
-If you have a manual, it will take some practice. Too low RPM and the engine will bog down. Too high and it is spin city.
-Keep it floored until you are finished.

If you want to get the lowest times possible, then start stripping the car. If want to see what it like on the street, leave it full. Also, the tracks around here will let you go with shorts. Most tracks require jeans or pants. Sometimes, they require helmets too.
 
I would like to know...

How long should the ET Streets be heated up prior to my stage?

Also I would like to know what kinds of pressure your running in them?

And last, I would be interested in which gear to use to do the burnout...?

Mike
 
I'll give my experience:

Make sure there aren't any leaks. Get some slicks, change the oil because you'll be beating on the car all weekend, and run the motor cool, but with oil hot.
Clothing - what should I wear?
if you run a 13.99 or faster you need to bring a helmet. I'm sure you have to wear a set of long legged pants regardless of the ET you run.
Bleach box or not
Water..........
Warming up the tires - how much, how often?
Well, you should only need one burnout per run. It is VERY key to match the temperature of the tires to the track temperature. If the sun's beating on the track then it needs a long burnout. If it's cloudy then a shorter burnout needs to be made, but enough to clean the tires off.
Staging - how to
Pull in slowly and turn the top set of bulbs on, in which is called "Pre-Staging." For etiquette reasons, wait for the other person to Pre-Stage. Then start pulling forward slowly again, once again, turn the second set of bulbs on and you will now be "Staged." Now prepare to launch.
When does my time start?
Whenever the front tires trip the beams. If you leave before the amber starts then you wont get an ET reading.
What is reaction time?
Stated above. They set the time to .000 for noobs, but partly because LED's are about .030 quicker (more accurate) than the incadescent bulbs. They aren't as widely variant at night also. Expect .010 quicker at night time as opposed to incadescent's .020-.030.

I would also like to note that not every lane is the same. Each of the lanes have their own set of rollouts. Part of lane choice in drag racing.
When should I launch the car
This is entirely up to you. Some people see different spots with the tree's. I can see early amber, solid amber, and late amber on each of the three bulbs. My father can only see early (compared to what I see). Find the spot on the tree your car can get the best RT at consistently then change the car accordingly, NOT YOURSELF!!!!
What RPM should I launch at? auto and manual
Depends on your car. Slicks, DR's, or street tires. For slicks you might want to start out at maybe 2500. My Car likes about 3500 althought it's a five speed. If you have an auto, just leave against the converter.
When should I shift?
Depending on the power band of your car determines this. My car ran the fastest when I shifted at 5500 before I went internal and it made peak power at 4300rpm. Just make a couple of runs to see what your car likes.
What does my 60' time tell me?
Amount of traction, if the back tires tripped the beams cuz your front end didn't come down before the cones, or just plainly if you need to start modding drivetrain.:)
 
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littleboylan said:
I would like to know...

How long should the ET Streets be heated up prior to my stage?

Also I would like to know what kinds of pressure your running in them?

And last, I would be interested in which gear to use to do the burnout...?

Mike


I have heard that you will hear the rpms drop slightly (I think) with ET Streets when they are warmed up.
 
Mike, just take the car around to the back of an empty parking lot one night WHEN THE PLACE IS EMPTY and try a couple of launches. Not full runs, just launches, and you will get the feel of it pretty quickly. And don't try to see what the car can do. It is just a parking lot, not the track :p

Next time it rains, or the next time you wash the car, pull out of your driveway into the water and spin the wheels. Gently. You will get the feel for that pretty quickly also. Now none of this replaces the feeling you will get at the track, but you will learn the basics and feel how the car reacts and see what it takes to keep it under control as well.

And if the mod list on your membership page is anywhere near current, believe me, you will feel the difference the first time you hit it at the track!! :eek:

Ira
 
littleboylan said:
I would like to know...

How long should the ET Streets be heated up prior to my stage?

Also I would like to know what kinds of pressure your running in them?

And last, I would be interested in which gear to use to do the burnout...?

Mike

Mike,

Burn the tires long enough to see a cloud of smoke behind the car. I start in 1st hit the rev limiter and then shift to 2nd and while it's floored let off the brake and start rolling forward and let off after about 10 feet. Chris Wise insist on burning the tires thru 1st, 2nd & 3rd gear. We both have/had automatics.

I usually run 18-20 psi. More and they spin too much....less and they feel like jello and it's hard to stay in your lane, and scary above 100 mph.

I think most guys with 5 speeds burn the tires in 1st only.

David
 
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David, what do you have your rev limiter set to?
I currently have 20 psi in my M/T drag radials and it seem to leave a uniform patch at burn out, but I have to replace the oem diff, it is not locking both wheels, seems the oem diff has given up the ghost.

For the Auto guys what is the launch rpm? Is it at the converter stall speed?

Mike
 
Super XR7 said:
David, what do you have your rev limiter set to?
I currently have 20 psi in my M/T drag radials and it seem to leave a uniform patch at burn out, but I have to replace the oem diff, it is not locking both wheels, seems the oem diff has given up the ghost.

For the Auto guys what is the launch rpm? Is it at the converter stall speed?

Mike
Mike, the fastest / cheapest way to fix the OEM traction lok is to rebuild it yourself with the alternate stacking method and F-150 S-spring (I have another post that details most of the process). I don't remember where I ordered my parts from, but they came quickly and the rebuild wasn't bad for my first time.

As for launch RPM, I personally hold the RPM's around 2400 rpms (slightly below the stall) while preparing to launch. I've tried starting at a lower rpm and flash the convertor, but my 60' weren't as good. However, I might not have tried enough times.
 
Kurt, thanks for the advice but I have already purchased and recieved a Auburn locker. I am in the process installing it now, just taking a break.

Mike
 
Super XR7 said:
Kurt, thanks for the advice but I have already purchased and recieved a Auburn locker. I am in the process installing it now, just taking a break.

Mike

Mike,

I have M/T drag radials on the turbo car and have them inflated to about 20 psi for both the street and track. On my 91 the Rev limiter is set to 6500 & 6800 with nitrous. I usually launch from about 1300-1400 rpms and flash the converter.

Not sure you want to take any racing advice from me, because I'm likely the worst one here at getting the car off the line quickly.

David
 
When you nail it the convertor will "flash" close to its rated stall speed. So if dave is holding the brakes and gas to 1300 rpm, when he lets off the brakes and slams the gas the engine will jump to say 3000 rpm (not sure on his stall speed off top of my head) and then the car will start to move and accelerate.

"flashing" is having the engine speed jump to or near the rated stall speed of the particular convertor.
 
Thanks for the info Neibert, I wasnt sure if it was necessary to make a "smoke show" or not with these tires.

Im not really sure what Im doing but I did my burnout in 1st gear only, I also have a 5 speed.

Sorry for the mini hi-jack there Mike, at least I was on topic :D

Thanks Mike
 
Just a few things I've learned with the MT ET Street Drag Radials on my XR7:

They typically give the best 60' times (without sacrificing any on the top end) with 21 psi in them. I pull the car through the water box, until the drag radials are almost out of the water. I do my burnout in second gear only, though I have line locks on the car, so the car has no trouble starting the burnout in second. I bring the rpms up to 4500-5500 in second (about 65-75 MPH) until I feel the tires starting to put a decent load on the car, then I release the line locks and continue the burnout out of the box for a few feet. The burnout lasts around 8 - 9 seconds on average, though it seems MUCH longer when I'm actually driving the car. After that, it's time to get the car ready for staging....put shifter in "D", make sure OD is locked out, turn off auxiliary fan, make sure I'm lining up in the groove, etc.

The main thing is to figure out what works best for your setup, then practice consistency. Establish a rythym.....first I do this, then I do this, etc.

You may want to contact your local dragstrip to see if they offer any drag racing classes. Some of the larger tracks offer these classes, and whether you are a beginner or a pro, the classes are worthwhile.

That's all the info I'll give out before the Shootout. Gotta have some kind of edge. :p
 
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