maximental

My best run was a 13.67 @103.37 mph. I was running against a SRT Dodge that time. I am consistently getting a 2.1 60' time, which is ok, considering, but I have read where it should be more like 1.8 if I really wanna hit lower #s. I am finding the feel of grip/tirespin/wheelhop during my launch. I was running my tire pressure @ 25 psi, I think I might try to go a little lower next time, and see how that works. This was my first time on a track, ever. I had fun.
I met a guy with an '01 Firehawk, he was running in the low 14s most runs. He beat me the first time we raced. He had his best run of the night, @ 13.8, but I beat him twice after that. We both liked racing against each other, he was pretty cool.
I ran against a Cobra Mustang too. He ran a 13.3xx. I think I could take him if I had more practice.
I took a WRX. That was a very close, very cool race, and I won by .3 sec. I thought he had me.
Some of those SRTs are pretty fast. My first two runs were with a SRT that was running right around 13.3. He ate me up. Once again, though, if I had more practice, I think I could take him.
This racing stuff is addictive. I had alot of fun. The guys @ the track in Portland were really cool. Several of the staff talked to me about my car. Most of them are Pontiac guys. They were happy to see me. I give my day a 10 out of 10.


Maximental

GTA91

iTrader: (14)

'04 auto or stick? Decent times for sure... especially for your first outing if its a M6!

maximental

Yes, it is an M6. I have yet to put my mods list in my bio or somewhere, sorry.

Maximental

WAHUSKER

iTrader: (4)

Good times Max! About 3/4 sec faster than mine was with 400 miles onthe clock. Now you need a different cat-back. I figured with that, a CAI & tuning these cars should run 13.5. I think you just proved that....CONGRATS dude!!!

Crisisman

iTrader: (1)

Nice times. That's where I'm hoping to be once I get myself dialed in. Too bad we were rained out yesterday.

maximental

I need tons more practice to get there. Tire pressure adjustments might help. I can only go as low as I can get. It takes a while to shake off the nervous jitters, relax and get to a point where you can start to focus on aspects of your run as you are running. It kinda reminds me of learning to ride a skateboard.
I think with a good launch, and the right shift points, etc. I could get pretty close. 13.3 seems to be the time to beat the SRTs and Cobras I ran against last night @ PIR. It would be nice to be able to smoke those guys consistently. Of course, getting into the 12 sec. club would be good too. I don't know if my car can go that low as it sits or not. It's sure fun trying!

Maximental

WAHUSKER

iTrader: (4)

Yes, it is fun. But I would be surprised if you could get an 04 to run 12s without a cam & headers. But you just never know.....

maximental

We're on the same wavelength here. I keep thinking I would probably be able to get into the 12 sec. club pretty easily if I get the wheel hop under control, and get the Head/Cam package, and the larger MAF and Throttle body, LT headers. I think that's the list for now, Oops! I forgot, I will need the BMR driveshaft and half-shafts for that to make sure I don't break them, and Oh, yeah My clutch is telling me to take it easy for a while,, AW, hell just give me one of everything.

Sound familiar?
I hate being broke.


Maximental

maximental

Went to Portland again tonight. I got a whopping 3 runs in the track was really busy. Everyone was complaining about the condition of the track.
My first run I took an '05 Mustang GT, it was a close race, but I took 'im on a hole shot!! That's racin' baby! r/t mine .173 his .665. He had what looked to be nittos or some other street/strip tire. I wheel hopped the first 30' or so. His 60' was .04 better than mine. He actually ran 13.8 to my 13.9. I can see now why he came over to talk to me after the race. I didn't look at my time slip that closely last night. I was more interested in my times than his.
My second run I lost to a Grand National- wow! that v6 was cookin' he ran a 13.3xx.
My last run I ran against a woman in a 90s Mustang, I felt kinda sorry for her, she tripped the red light, and I smoked her pretty bad. Oh, well, that's racing.
I couldn't get back into the rythm I had going last night, and the track was just way too busy to get many runs in. I think Friday nights are less crowded, and thus a better night to go. I ran high 13s, and still hit my 2.1 60' times. I don't think the air was as good last night as it was on Friday either.
I think my goat likes horse meat, now if I could just get it to eat a couple of those pesky snakes....

Maximental

GTA91

iTrader: (14)

I'm sure a '04 could get in the 12's with stock heads/cam... just a great launch and traction on the shifts would be enough on a full bolt-on car. They have good power and potential, they're just hard as hell to launch and shift down the track w/out losing traction

maximental

Yes, launching and shifting 1-2 is pretty tricky, kinda hit-&-miss. Practice will be the only cure for me until I get the money together and find the mechanical (real) cure. I'm curious to see if QA1 will come up with some good replacements for the stock shocks in the rear. I hate to call them up and make a big fuss when I'm not ready to buy anything from them, though.
I was looking over my timeslips today and analyzing what I see there. It looks to me like most of the numbers are acceptable on the starting end of the track, considering. I have some pretty close numbers to some of the low 13s cars I have run with. I am having a hard time seeing where I am loosing to them. It looks to me like I'm not pulling as hard on the second half of the track as I should be.
Setting the traction issues aside, I am remembering my runs, and it seems to me that I spend alot of time in 4th getting the RPMs to come up into and through the power band. I don't know how low the rpms go on 3-4 shift, but it seems like maybe 4th should be geared a little lower. I'm going to watch this and see what I think.
So, I have a question for you, WAHUSKER and/or anyone else, would it help on the far end of the track to use lower gears in the rear dif. to help keep the RPMs in the power band better? I would probably have to add a 4-5 shift to the end of the run, and I know that lower gearing in the rear would mean even more possibility of tirespin and wheelhop problems, but I wonder if the trade would pay off on the second half of the run.
I have seen where guys runnin' autos have done this, but I'm curious if it would be worth it for manuals too. With the double over-drive 6-speeds we have, I would think that it wouldn't hurt the gas milage/drivabilty too much to do this. 6th gear is really tall, and realistically, we will never see the top of 6th gear, even with the speed limiters reset. Thanks in advance for putting up with my questions.

Maximental

skelly

I've only been to the track once myself, so don't take my this as being correct, especially since I never broke 14.1 in 3 runs... ...but myself and the other manual 04 goat drivers were barely hitting 4th by the end of the track -I was told that third tops out at about 95 mph in an '04. All of us were revving pretty high/running it up pretty close to redline in all gears. I basically got her into 4th only in the final few feet of the track.

Were you shifting at lower RPMs, and, if so, is this the 'recommended' approach?

And yes - I, too, had a lot of trouble with the launches.

maximental

I'm thinking back now, and maybe you are right. It is possible that the lay out at the end of the track I was @ confused me. Perhaps I was on it longer than I needed to be. I guess I should have asked someone where the end of the 1/4 mile was, DOH. I ASSumed that it was that wide patch of checkered area on the end of the track, maybe it was the cones which were closer to the starting line. I wondered why the slips were saying 101, 103, and my speedo. was going all the way up to 120. Duh, I wish people were more helpful sometimes. Now I feel like an idiot. (please don't feel bad, it's not your fault.)
As for your times. If you let the air out of your tires, it does help. The technique of taching up to 4k rpm and slipping the hell out of the clutch @ the line works too. It takes tons of practice to get it right, and it is hard on your clutch. Personally I would rather have a smoked clutch than a broken driveline or half-shaft, though. That tire shake plays hell with your drive train.
Some other advice, The tree can be your friend, or your enemy, if you want to win races, conquer it.
Your times will get better if you drive your car like you're mad as hell. Don't be afraid to beat the hell out of the clutch and shifter, or your times won't improve, (IMO.) try to shift as hard and fast as you can. I was bangin' the rev limiter pretty consistently my first few runs. Once I settled down and got comfortable I was able to concentrate better on what I was doing and how I was doing it. I started shifting a little sooner, didn't bounce of the rev limiter, and got better times. A friend of mine recommended not taking your foot out of the gas when you shift. I generally leave my throttle about half way to the floor as I shift, and get back in it as I let the clutch pedal come back up. He also told me that you don't have to push the clutch pedal all the way to the floor as you shift, either. You just need to use enough clutch to disengage the power from the trans. just long enough to bang the next gear. This is all very complicated, and hard on your clutch, and it takes alot of runs to get it all together to do it right. Not that I have it there myself yet.
I think that anyone with experience would tell you that the best way to shift for speed is to shift at the peak of your torque curve, and keep your revs up 'til you hit the next gear, but don't hit the rev limiter, as that will kill your power. It takes a great deal of precision to do this, especially with any consistency. That is why it is much harder to dragrace with a manual trans.. practice, practice, practice.
Have you ever noticed when you hit the gas when you take off from a light that you can rev up to 40 or so, but then you're topped out. Sometimes though, if you accelerate hard, you can hit the clutch at just the right time, and coast while your car continues to accelerate, and it goes up to 45 or so. I believe that this would be the kind of shifting you want to do on the track. You want to accelerate hard, and be in the next gear before the car stops accelerating when you push on the clutch, bang, that's what I call bangin' gears. I am not saying that I do it well, but I think that is the idea. Others are welcome to comment on what I've said here.
Yet another foot note, I have seen where people are posting some incredible times w/stock cars. I'm not saying that the guys who post them are lying, but the more I talk to people who have been around street legal dragracing, the more I hear about "fast" tracks, where the timing system is off, and/or makes weird mistakes. I don't know what to think about those times. I do think it's a safe bet that you might do alot better at the tracks they are running on too, though.
I guess that's all I have to say for now. Do what you want with the information. Try stuff out that makes sense to you, and see what happens. I don't know about you, but I had a blast racing my GTO.

Maximental