James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

So you've spent weeks/months/years getting the new setup up and running,
you spent hours in the dyno (and/or street) getting it running the way you like it.
You took care of the basics (oil, plugs, wires, filters, tires, coolant ...)
Now what?

What kind of things do you recommend checking before deciding that a car is ready to race for the first time?

Coach 02 A3 Z/28

iTrader: (10)

Sounds to me that your are ready to take her to the track. Good luck!

Coach

James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

The track is 3 hours away, I want to be sure I don't forget anything.
The trip is long enough without being depressed over destroying an expensive project over a newb mistake.

355z28

iTrader: (8)

I usually go through all my suspension and make sure nothings came loose, check pinion angle etc. After that you'ev checked all the fluids and have it tuned There is nothing left but to go to the track pull a couple half pass shakedown runs and then let it have it.

Austin

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

My advise is take it easy the first couple runs, leave soft, get it to high gear and ease off it, ease on the brakes, make sure the car is stable, goes strait, etc. don't go trying to set a record pass the first run, I've seen more then one person wreck a car doing that. Just be safe, and have fun!

Gary Z

Before my accident I considered myself to be careful and serious about safety. I respected the rules and installed (sometimes grudgingly) all the required safety equipment. Before going to the track I did all the routine safety checks. In addition to checking fluids, tires and lug nuts, I always took the trouble to jack up my car and look for loose bolts or cracked welds. It wasn’t enough. After my accident I realized that I had stupidly sacrificed safety in pursuit of a lower et.

We need to remember that accidents may happen because two or more factors, each of which would not by itself be a problem, combine to cause trouble. In my case, rear-gear failure caused my car to jerk sideways but not so sharply that it should have been unmanageable. But because I had loosey-goosey drag shocks and no front swaybar, I lost control and went hard into the wall. I am quite certain that I would have been able to maintain or recover control if my car had had stock front suspension. My car felt stable at 130 mph as long as it was going straight. A little sideways at 100 mph it felt like a rocking horse on ice. I was very lucky that no one was injured.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

Rear sway bars stop alot of that loose feeling you experienced.

Unfortunately, getting rid of the looser shocks, is not really an option, and a front sway bar is absolutley not going to help any strait line efforts. When your rear gear failed, did you have a spool in the carr, and did an axle break as well or was it just the ring and pinon? Usually when a ring/pinion lets go it won't send the car in any direction, it will just zing the motor. If the car darted in one direction or another that points to a broken/failed axle, or a posi unit that went and only one tire is getting power.

I don't want to be rude, but if you lost it at a dragstrip, and the track didn't have an oil down or lack of prep, you probably were starting to lose it alot sooner then you realized and by the time you did realize it, there was no hope of saving the car. Or, you over corrected causing the issue.

Both, are a common reason people "lose" it at a dragstrip. Another is slamming the brakes on when the car is out of shape.. that usually causes massive weight transfer which will send a car flying.

If a car starts to get out of shape, at any speed best thing you can do is get off the gas, don't hit the brakes, and try to keep the car pointed in the right direction. If you have a chute on the car pull that, the chute will straiten the car out right away just about every time.

As for the car inspection I spend at least an hour under my car every time I go to the track checking every possible nut, bolt, spring, shock, driveshaft, ujoint, brake line, anything that can possibly fail... I find anything I will abort a trip if I can not get it fixed before going. Standard practice for me is to do this after a trip, change the oil and any other fluids while I have it up in the air, get it all done at once... then when it goes back on the ground it's ready to go for the next trip, minus any changes that need to be made.

Gary Z

I think I broke a tru-trac. I don’t know for certain because I sold the car before I could do a complete post-mortem. I just think we need to occasionally remind ourselves that unexpected things can happen and drag cars, when they do get out of shape, don’t respond like road cars.

JL ws-6

iTrader: (50)

That is absolutely true. Guys throw skinny front runners on, slicks on the back, all 4 are bias ply, and they expect the car to handle like it did with 4 275 wide goodyear tires did... it's not going to happen.

I always tell people.. take it easy until you're used to the car. And just because you built a car that can go 10 or 9 second speed, doesn't mean the driver is ready for that.