Just wondering if you guys have any experience with this since I really dont being from FL. Tonight is going to be just about our coldest night of the year and it is also a track night. Now obviously, our cars love the cold weather, but my concern is the pavement. Does the pavement at the strip (or even on the road) become harder and more slippery when it is cold out? Less traction?

 

Definitely the colder it is the harder it can be to hook up. What degree of cold are we talking here? lol

 

low 40's tonight or right around 40... we rarely see under 55 here...

 

Hope like hell they prep the track properly, watch your tire pressure (you may have to experiment with slightly lower tire psi than you are used to.) What kind of ET's and 60's are we talking about here anyways? Any nitrous going to be used?

 

We are running my buddies STS 95 Z28. Putting down about 600 and he is launch on a 2step @ ~ 6psi with slicks, max boost is 15psi.

I may run my car, but not sure if I will do any better than last week. I have a stock 01 Z06 with 100 shot...ran a 11.5 @ 124 with a 1.98 60' last week on Nitto 555R. Coming off the line on spray...but that was my first run of the night. All the runs after that I tried coming off the line harder and I got nasty wheel hop

 

i've gotten a third gen to do a mid 1.8 60ft when it was 15 degrees out. track prep was awful. just do a bigger burn out than you usually do, that can help. i wish 40 degrees was col here...it was -20 last week

 

Cars that are set up properly do not have the issue of cold vs hot weather. In the North east, the track crew knows what needs to be done to make the track have the best traction possible.

Also racers who make big power know they the car needs to have certain parts, and the proper adjustments and know that given the track conditions can make an adjustment to tire PSI, or shock settings, or sway bar adjustments.

There are guys out there who leave ***** out, (read; max Effort), in temps that are below freezing and the car puts up personal best because they have done the work, they know the cars and it will perform not only well, but consistant.

As for the question; its not so much the pavement gets harder, its where it take more effort to have the tire get sticky, and yes getting some heat in the track is a BIG benefit.

If you have alot of imports dragging water on the line and messing up the groove, then no one who makes over 500 rwhp is going to run a PB. It really depends on the unknown factor: Ricers.

 

At track temp drops, condensation can form (especially at night). I know I dead hooked a 1.540 60 foot time on drag radials at Gainesville last Saturday when the air temps were in the 40s with a 60 degree track temp, but it was during the day and the temps continued to rise. Totally different animal at night when it gets cold. Colder tracks can be tricky, and not just on the launch. Since I'm guessing you're running PBIR, pay attention to the groove as some concrete tracks can exhibit a narrow groove. A bigger burnout will help, and stage as quick as possible (you'd be surprised how quickly tire temps drop).

Good luck!

Derek

 

You will probably have to turn down the 2-step a little, 6 psi might be harder to hook than maybe ~4 psi. Turbo spool-up will be better in the cold, of course.

Al