Setting up a home race track!

[Tampa03cobra]

Well not exactly, but thanks to this baby (full size, just like the one they use at all NHRA tracks) anywhere I can set it up, you can use it with timing beacons (like at the track, I made some out of foam blocks and garage door sensors, you use a laptop with the control unit to work it all), or hook some buttons to it and sit around and work on your reactions (can do vs mode with a friend) (or use the attached cable to hook it to any 12v source like your clutch or trans brake switch) and use it to practice your lights.

It also came with a mini control unit that has lights on it, so if you want to practice, but don't want to drag the tree with you.

Since we have a 900ish ft driveway, I was thinking about setting it up with some timing cones at the 60, 330 and 660 and running some 1/8th mile at my house. Not exactly a true track, but it's still pretty neat. I've got it setup to where it can run on batteries so it's portable too.

It will probably end up mounted on the garage wall for now, so we can use it to perfect our reaction times for the coming season.

Can't wait to get off work so I can start playing with it :thumbsup

What do you guys think? Am I totally nuts? (I can't bitch at the track staff for bad prep, since I'm the only member of the crew :cuss

 

[Got Boost?]

Can I come over to your house? lol. That is sick!

 

[Common]

900ft driveway?

I think it stops being called a driveway after a certain size?>....lol

Home track
Home stretch
Private Turnpike


Just some suggestions....

 

[Fry's03SVT]

That would be good for practicing 60' if you can set that up.

 

[SVT_4_me]

i think you are crazy, lol...

 

[Tampa03cobra]

I'll post some pics of the driveway/setup tomorrow.


The one place I can speed and the police can't write me a ticket, since it's a non residential area (no one in any direction for about a half mile, and everyone has a 10 acre lot minimum, and my neighbor to the south is a woods, the north are two 10 acre undeveloped lots, the west is the road and the east is a 200,000 acre cattle ranch =0

 

[01SVTSnake]

Please remind me why I hate you

 

[lancec2c30]

Your driveway will prolly be a better setup then our local track.

 

[Chris _Scott]

Just remember with a 900 foot driveway..you need to give yourself some room to STOP as well

Unless you can also afford to run your car into your garage..

either way...that's sickk!! you can definitely practice your 60' times, which is probably the biggest plus with having that!

 

[lancec2c30]

^Maybe he plans to use that 200k acre cow pasture for shutdown. lmao

 

[Tampa03cobra]

Just remember with a 900 foot driveway..you need to give yourself some room to STOP as well

Unless you can also afford to run your car into your garage..

either way...that's sickk!! you can definitely practice your 60' times, which is probably the biggest plus with having that!

Driveway doesn't end, it just has a small sloping curve to a roundabout headed for the garage. Worst case, if someone couldn't stop because they got greedy, they have about 1000ft worth of grass to idle down in as theres nothing in direct obstruction of the straight part of the driveway.


As long as they started stopping by the 660 (1/8th) they should get slowed down enough to make the turn to the "return road" of sorts.

Thank God I don't have neighbors for a mile in any direction. I guess on advantage to building the dream home in the boonies, we can play with this stuff and my Dads NMCA car all night long lol.

 

[Sniperdog]

lol.,., sounds fun

 

[Chris _Scott]

Driveway doesn't end, it just has a small sloping curve to a roundabout headed for the garage. Worst case, if someone couldn't stop because they got greedy, they have about 1000ft worth of grass to idle down in as theres nothing in direct obstruction of the straight part of the driveway.


As long as they started stopping by the 660 (1/8th) they should get slowed down enough to make the turn to the "return road" of sorts.

Thank God I don't have neighbors for a mile in any direction. I guess on advantage to building the dream home in the boonies, we can play with this stuff and my Dads NMCA car all night long lol.

well shit, I just noticed you're in tampa

I'm definitely going to have to come check this out for myself while I am back down in orlando for UCF :rockon:

so if you ever want to gather a crowd..you can count me in :]

 

[Tampa03cobra]

This might help with the visual, here are some pics of the driveway (945ft straight shot), the turn off, the roundabout in front of the garage you can use to turn around.

Oh and I'll include our first two guinea pigs for this test, since they are both slower then my Cobra, and both have far superior brake systems lol. I've never had a problem stopping with no drama the other times I've done it, but I've never had VHT down for a good launch, so like with anything, it's best to start slow.

I'll end up putting beacons where you should start braking, so there is no guess work. I ordered all the sensors to properly determine trap speed as well.

 

[lancec2c30]

Does a challenger really stop faster then a cobra?

 

[STAMPEDE3]

Some buddies I race with have the whole set up also. Mainly use it on the driveway with the kids in the JR cars.
My driveway is a little over 1200' long but there is a damm "S" curve right in the middle. lol

 

[Tampa03cobra]

Does a challenger really stop faster then a cobra?

By far yes, they are as big as the brakes on the C6 Z, except it has them on all 4 wheels. Basically the challengers back brakes, make whats on the front of the 03/04 cobra look like go-kart brakes.

It's also not going nearly as fast , at least for now....

Some buddies I race with have the whole set up also. Mainly use it on the driveway with the kids in the JR cars.
My driveway is a little over 1200' long but there is a damm "S" curve right in the middle. lol

1200 ft driveway :drool:

We used to have a driveway similar when I lived in Indiana, it was nice and long, but it S(ed) in the middle to avoid the trees. Have any pics? I bet it cost you a fortune to have the asphalt put down. The guy who did ours pulled a disappearing act =/ we have a few places that need to be redone due to cracks.


I'll be using my bias play drag "radials" (Thats what i get for using drag radial as a catch-all term for stick street tires, I'm as bad as the "NOS" guys.)

 

[STAMPEDE3]

1200 ft driveway :drool:

We used to have a driveway similar when I lived in Indiana, it was nice and long, but it S(ed) in the middle to avoid the trees. Have any pics? I bet it cost you a fortune to have the asphalt put down. The guy who did ours pulled a disappearing act =/ we have a few places that need to be redone due to cracks.


I'll be using my bias play drag "radials" (Thats what i get for using drag radial as a catch-all term for stick street tires, I'm as bad as the "NOS" guys.)

I have a few but can't access my photobucket at work.

The "S" in ours is right at 600' but I have done some launches and 300' or so blast with the dragster.
It is 20' wide Concrete. Just the concrete was ~30k back in 1994 or so when it was done.

It would be 100K or more now. lol

 

[aaandht]

Oh man, I always used to dream about doing this when I got a house. Way to steal the idea!:beer:

 

[oldmodman]

Just one question. Well, maybe two.

How the hell do you mow that lawn? And do you have to water it.

I live in Los Angeles which is the middle of a desert. It costs me a huge water bill just to keep two 50 X 100 foot patches of lawn green.

And my Attorney live in the desert outside Vegas and has a two mile by 1/2 mile plot of sagebrush. It's incredible how fast you can go on a two mile stretch of dirt. He bought it in the late sixties for four grand.