Drag Strip Advice? 1ST Timer Here

[vipboy28]

Hello,

So recently I've been tempted to go to the track and run my car. I've done some mods to it for power. 2.5" Pulley, 127 JLT CAI and Tune from VMP. FYI, didnt even know the car has 4 modes and people say the car is night and day different with TC off or Sports mode on. Sitting on stock suspension (upgrades to come end summer) and nitto Invo tires. I have a few questions for the best outcome possible being that its my 1st time ever. BTW Car is mostly street/highway warrior not looking for a Trac car just yet.

1) What mode you you all race in (TC off, Sport, ADV Trac off, or TC on)??
2) For the tires I have would you recommend a full on our burnout? or just a few spins to heat them up.
3) Any other Prep recommendations?

 

[Black Sex]

TC off. I would drop tires to around 25psi to start. What I do with street tires is rev it up in second, drop the clutch, and push the clutch in about 1 or 2 seconds later. Just a short burnout to clean them and put a little heat in them.
Leave the line like you would from a stop sign and roll into the throttle until the tires spin. Don't power shift the 1-2 because it will blow the tires off. I personally wouldn't worry about cutting a good light but focus more on getting the car to move with minimal wheel spin.
Most importantly, HAVE FUN learning to drive your car!

 

[vipboy28]

Awesome advice, thank you for the tip on the burnout and not power shifting from 1-2. Im assuming better suspension will combat that and allow me to do a power shift.

Thanks again!

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Hammer down! And thats about it

 

[Ninjak]

If you're on the Invo's do not do a full burn out. Just spin them to clean them off. Also avoid the water box. I also (my personal experience) would not do a spin in 2nd if its the stock clutch. I would do it from first. Same result, but safer for the clutch imo. Def hold the TC down with the brake until it shuts off.

Do not blast off the line, roll into it until you feel the hook. Work the shifts, but I do not believe that you could do a no lift with the Invo's. So just be crisp with shifting. Once you run a few times, you will get the hang of it and learn the car. Remember heat soak will play a factor, since you do not have any major cooling mods of yet.

Do nt get discourage if you have the 1~2 shift issue. Just keep working it and make sure you pull straight back into gear.

Have fun !

 

[ZYBORG]

Hammer down! And thats about it

Lol... Nice. MURRICA!

Op, try to trip the staging light by the inch. Dont go too far past it (meaning about a foot). This "early staging" texhnique will give you about an extra foot to build up momentum/speed which will therefore increase your et/trap.

Also, dont drive through the water box. Instead drive around it and just roll the rear tires onto the water and pull out a couple of feet out of the water before starting your burn out, so as to avoid getting the front tires wet and tracking water onto the actual track. Dont go J-Force on the burn out either, invos dont handle too much heat well.

Good luck!

 

[vipboy28]

If you're on the Invo's do not do a full burn out. Just spin them to clean them off. Also avoid the water box. I also (my personal experience) would not do a spin in 2nd if its the stock clutch. I would do it from first. Same result, but safer for the clutch imo. Def hold the TC down with the brake until it shuts off.

Do not blast off the line, roll into it until you feel the hook. Work the shifts, but I do not believe that you could do a no lift with the Invo's. So just be crisp with shifting. Once you run a few times, you will get the hang of it and learn the car. Remember heat soak will play a factor, since you do not have any major cooling mods of yet.

Do nt get discourage if you have the 1~2 shift issue. Just keep working it and make sure you pull straight back into gear.

Have fun !

Correct with heatsoaking. Water box?? What is that... Sorry that is a serious question. I guess its used to cool tire temps down??? I do occasionally get the 1-2 grind but i know to pause for a brief second but 2-6 is pretty clean and not notchy. I guess I can blast through the other 3-4 gears with no issues once i hook.

Zybog,

thanks for the tip will def make note of it as water = death lol.

with my luck ill probably get a 10 second civic running with me lol

 

[ZYBORG]

Water box is where the track guys spray some water on the ground for people to dip their rear tires in so they can then clean/spin/heat them. The "water box" portion is right before the staging portion of the track.

I think Ninjak was suggesting avoiding the water box all together since many people dont use it correctly. I think you can use it the way I described how.

 

[Black Sex]

The last couple of times I was at our local track, they made us drive through the water box.

 

[Ninjak]

Depends on the track, but at mines you can drive around it.

My advise was to avoid it all together be a use he is on a street tire. I run Invos as well on the street, and since they are not a drag Radial, there is no use in burning them. A simple rev up and spin will clean them off to get a launch from them.

Heatsoaked is when your blower and engine heats up from multiple runs. After a while the Inlet air temps will be higher and you cpu will start to pull timing thus resulting in your car losing power. Thus you going slower.

Just have fun and learn the car. With your current mods you have a good run. Just remeber our cars are torqy.... Don't blow the tires off!

 

[brian98svtsnake]

I would not go through the water box with street tires, you'll be spinning so bad when you launch. Go completely around it and do a small burn out just to clean and warm them up a little. You'll be very limited with street tires. What track you going to? You live in Newark NJ? I agree with lowering rear tires to about 25 psi. You can tell the track official that your a newb and he'll guide you through so you don't make a fool of yourself lol. Do you have a helmet? If not you'll have to rent one. Good luck and have fun.

 

[vipboy28]

I would not go through the water box with street tires, you'll be spinning so bad when you launch. Go completely around it and do a small burn out just to clean and warm them up a little. You'll be very limited with street tires. What track you going to? You live in Newark NJ? I agree with lowering rear tires to about 25 psi. You can tell the track official that your a newb and he'll guide you through so you don't make a fool of yourself lol. Do you have a helmet? If not you'll have to rent one. Good luck and have fun.

Yeah i was thinking that about the water. Probably going to Island with a few friends. Yup Newark, NJ. Thats a good idea to tell the guy, I could care less if im a noob but i want my car to not be destroyed lol. No helmet, I will def have to rent one and Thank you for the help guys!

 

[Bad500Chris]

Like stated above, avoid water box completely, spin the tires to clean them off.
First run just drive the car to the end of the track and get a feel for the car at WOT.
After you get comfortable with what you are doing, hammer down.

Good luck! Practice practice practice.

 

[c0rn_fed]

Yeah i was thinking that about the water. Probably going to Island with a few friends. Yup Newark, NJ. Thats a good idea to tell the guy, I could care less if im a noob but i want my car to not be destroyed lol. No helmet, I will def have to rent one and Thank you for the help guys!

I am from east rutherford. When r u guys planing on. Going to island. I am always down for the track.

 

[Speedboosted]

I would put it in sport mode for the first couple passes. If this is your first high hp/performance car, that is what I would do. All the basic tips have already been covered. If you have time, take the front sway bar off. Helps with weight transfer, and shedding a few pounds off the front. Also something to think about...if you have a bag of sand or something like that, put it in the trunk where the spear tire would normally go. It'll help you get off the line which will be more of an issue than the minimal affect it will have on trap speed

 

[RedVenom48]

For those of us nubs that are going to have a spare set of MT ET Street R radials to play with, are those water box friendly?

 

[fullboogie]

My advice - take a practice run or two and feel the car out. These cars are extremely powerful with near instantaneous boost/torque. You can get in a lot of trouble real quick, so don't try to be a hero. Take it easy, get to know the car's manners, and sneak up on a full run. I've seen too many guys step up to a fast car and nearly lose it at the track.

 

[vipboy28]

My advice - take a practice run or two and feel the car out. These cars are extremely powerful with near instantaneous boost/torque. You can get in a lot of trouble real quick, so don't try to be a hero. Take it easy, get to know the car's manners, and sneak up on a full run. I've seen too many guys step up to a fast car and nearly lose it at the track.

Hey, Thank you for the advice. It was post poned had a wake to go to. However, I will return to the track to make a few passes.

FYI, not my first sport car, I had an 2006 Pontiac GTO 6.0 400hp N/A but i never drop it with TC off just like this car.

Yea i need to pratice my launches and evaluate throttle and when it starts to break loose.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[Ninjak]

For those of us nubs that are going to have a spare set of MT ET Street R radials to play with, are those water box friendly?

Yes those you can get into the edge of the water box and burn.

I usually point my driver side mirror down at my tires, back into the water box to the edge, then I power up, drop the clutch and start the burn. I wait till I see white smoke, then I count 1000, 2000, 3000 and let loose. Pull up to the line and stage.