Warm Air vs. Cold Air
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Warm Air vs. Cold Air Tell me the pros and cons. A friend of mine wants to run now, but that air is still warm (+ DA FTL) i keep telling him to wait for cooler air. He has an 04 cobra stock eaton. But that is besides the point.
My point is warmer IATs means car runs like shiit.
Someone back me up on this?
My point is warmer IATs means car runs like shiit.
Someone back me up on this?
Creating power is all about burning the most dense mixture of air fuel. Cooler air is more dense than warm air. Also as you go up in elevation the air becomes less dense because there is less atmosphere above, resulting in less pressure. In simple terms all a supercharger and turbocharger are doing is creating a more dense mixture of air by forcing it in.
my car between 60-85 degrees will lose about .2 and 2mph, but the cobra cars are completely different. between 60-85 they can lose up to 50hp or even morew if they run high boost in the 17psi range. A guy i say at the track last tuesday was running his ported eaton 04 cobra and was traping 125, but his best was 132 in 20 degree cooler air, thats a big drop just for 20 degrees, but after each run his eaton was pretty hot, and that was after he was letting it cool down for 40 min. between runs, this other guy was hot lapping his cobra and he went from trapping 116 to 113 by the end of the night. I tried telling him to let the car cool but he didn't listen, the air filter would nearly burn your hand that car was creating so much heat.
racing in cooler air is better for the motor because it helps keep detonation down, but it can be harder on driveline parts since you arew creating more power, but if the car is built for it then no worries.. ls cars do not have heat sink problems like the s/c cars such as cobras
I have seen as much as a 4 tenths difference in ETs with no changes other than weather conditions, from 60s and dry to 90s (almost 100) and humid. Generally speaking, with all else being equal my car will slow down about a tenth for every 10*F increase in air temperature.
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the point i was trying to make -DA is best to race in
There's another factor that alot of people forget about. With colder air yes you make more power, so the POTENTIAL to go faster is there yes. However, when the DA is really good, say in the -1000 range, the track is going to probably be less ideal, and if your car relies on very good track prep to run, you could find yourself not hooking hard enough to use the added power because of track conditions, and the added power pushing the setup over the edge of what it can take.
In general, 12 and 11 second cars (this general speed range) will benefit from lower da every time. You start getting into 10 and single digit cars, ones that leave really hard, sometimes they will nto see the gains as much. If the suspension is adjusted accordingly and the track is there then yes they'll see every bit of the benefit like a slower car.
In general, 12 and 11 second cars (this general speed range) will benefit from lower da every time. You start getting into 10 and single digit cars, ones that leave really hard, sometimes they will nto see the gains as much. If the suspension is adjusted accordingly and the track is there then yes they'll see every bit of the benefit like a slower car.
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The DA is what determines what you'll run.
On my Camaro, it would run low 9.30's in great air & high 9.50's in hot sticky air.
There is definitely a huge difference in good & bad air.
.
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with my old set up my car would run 11.65 at 4500ft, and 11.39 at 2500 ft. i dont really pay attention to the temp. you can have 80 degree with low dew points, and 60 degrees with high dew points and run about the same time.
Is this SVTNOS that you ran?
Edit- NVM, yes.
Next time do not back the entire car in the waterbox. The front tires do not belong there. Just get the back ones wet, spin them over then move right to the edge of the box. Then do your burnout getting them smoky, then ease up on the brakes until the tires chirp. You will get a better 60' that way vs doing a burnout in water and then letting off it.
Edit- NVM, yes.
Next time do not back the entire car in the waterbox. The front tires do not belong there. Just get the back ones wet, spin them over then move right to the edge of the box. Then do your burnout getting them smoky, then ease up on the brakes until the tires chirp. You will get a better 60' that way vs doing a burnout in water and then letting off it.
Last edited by blackfang; Sep 5, 2009 at 02:34 PM.
Ha, why not just roll through the water and ease about 4ft out of it like normal people? Theres really no sense in spinning them a little in the water. In the dragsters you'll see us roll back and forth in it.