So I am giving up drag racing

[TroyV]

I'm content to run DE's for now and the occasional time trial. I can't wait for Shafranek's SP Shen event next May. The Boston chapter should have another large group coming down to run in the advanced group. I think half the cars in our run group were from Boston..

It is fun to run with your buddies and folks you can trust not to do anything stupid when you're all coming into a braking zone at 130 and are nose to tail..

 

[brkntrxn]

No thread hi-jacks at all. This is very good information and very good perspective. I really liked my instructor and I will definitely be asking for him in the future. He gave me the right amount of feedback when I needed it, he showed me the different lines in a turn (one of the turns had two possible lines) and showed me that the car could handle more than I originally thought. I am also cool with having multiple instructors over my first few events though. I definitely think it is a good thing to have more than one voice when learning something new.

I hadn't thought about asking for a Mustang driving instructor. At this event, there were only two Mustangs besides mine and Ed's. They were both Fox bodies and I don't think either of those were instructors. Definitely something to consider.

As for the right feedback, I only heard, "Good recovery" two or three times during my sessions, LOL. With 500+rwhp, the rear end can be induced into a drift at will.

Three immediate things that I learned from the HPDE:
1. In drag racing with the 99, I work the clutch 4 times in under 11 seconds. As a result, as a habit, I keep my foot on the clutch at all times when driving hard. Until I realized what I was doing, any right hand turn around the course had me hanging on to the steering wheel to keep from moving around in the seat. Once I realized what I was doing, I kept my foot off the clutch and kept it braced on the dead pedal. Much better.
2. I need racing seats with a harness in the 99 with those damn leather seats. Enough said.
3. In drag racing, you are on the gas on a prepped surface until you let off at the lights. This translated into me getting into the gas really hard off a corner and then letting off and coasting up to the next turn. My instructor kept working with me until I learned to get into the gas evenly and then hold it to the next turn. Since this car has a ton of power, quite often I never even floored it. I just accelerated to the speed I wanted and then held it there until approaching the next turn.

All in all, like I said before, very educational.

 

[TroyV]

All good points.. The only one to be careful about is racing seats/harnesses without also having at least a roll bar. There is some good info out there on this topic. The crux of it is that a harness holds you fast during a roll, and if the roof crushes in it can be harmful because you can't move from that position. Likewise, having a bar with only the lap belt on can be harmful if you have an accident on the street and are not wearing a helmet, and you whack something off of the bar, like an arm or worse, your noggin...even when padded. I use a Schroth four point harness only when autocrossing, as the risk of rolling the car is far less, but I actually just use the lap belt at track days as I don't have a roll bar.. The real investment is a group of parts...all pricey. Seats will run at least 1200, a decent backhalf bar will be 500 plus the install, good harnesses will cost about 300 or more, and HANS devices are running about 800 a pop......but they really should all go together.. It's too tough a nut for me to swallow for now..

 

[ac427cobra]

2. I need racing seats with a harness in the 99 with those damn leather seats. Enough said.

Like Troy said, a roll bar and a harness will serve you quite well. Keeping you plenty safe in the process!

But, until you get to that point I have a couple of tricks to keep your butt a little better planted. Get yourself some of that waffle shaped anti-skid matting or tool box drawer liner stuff. I'm sure you've seen it? Put a piece 12" x 18" down on your seat. That will prevent you from sliding around. Next, when you get in the car move the seat all of the way back, put the seat belt on and give it a good snap (by pulling on it) to lock it. Then move the seat forward with the power mechanism or manually. This will tighten you into the belt and won't allow it to loosen. That will hold you over until you can get a racing seat and a harness into your car. You really can't drive well if you're sliding all over the place in the seat! :idea:

Good luck and enjoy yourself on track. Just remember one thing: Don't drive over your head/comfort level! :read:

:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

PS Driving on track is Hella Good!!

 

[STAMPEDE3]

Looks and sounds like you had a blast.
I did when I was doing open tracking. Our track days down here were getting few and far between and although the track time per $$$ was better I started modding the car more for it and found myself going through more $$$ as far as brake parts, tires and just about everything else.

So as you can tell by my sig, my open track days are over. lol

Enjoy it, I got home from my first HPDE and told my wife, "That was the most fun you can have with your pants on"

That didn't go over to well. lol

 

[brkntrxn]

Troy -- I definitely appreciate the advice and inside experience. We are going to look at a roll bar for the 01 vert before the 99 hardtop. That way, we can take both cars and both be on the track as the same time.

AC -- I had heard about the shelf/tool box liner stuff -- it's good to hear it again. I'll have to try that as well as tightening the seats like you described. Love the track pics!!!!!

Stampede - Jeez, that thing looks like a monster!!!! Black is the fastest color, right???

Has anyone used the following device? http://www.cg-lock.com/ I sat in a fellow green group guy's Beamer and the CG Lock definitely seemed to work. The guy swore by them.

 

[STAMPEDE3]

It's not all that fast, but is very reliable.
Change oil and adjust valve lash every 25 passes, put gas and go.

I'd still be doing some open tracking but as I said the days were few and far between. It just isn't as popular down here.

BTW a night at the races with entry, food, fuel and all cost me about $100.
I make 6 or so passes at 9sec. each.
so $100 for 54sec. of track time.

But what a rush. lol

 

[TroyV]

100 bucks for 54 seconds of seat time... Damn!

I guess I shouldn't complain when it costs 175 for five 40 minute sessions.. I think that breaks down to 54 seconds of seat time equalling $3.93. BUT Then add 1/2 a set of XP10 pads at 100 bucks, 1/5 a pair of front rotors at 45 bucks, and fuel at 3.8mpg over 200 track miles equals roughly 53 gals at 2.50 per equals 131 bucks..

etc.... etc..... etc.....

They don't call it the go fast crack pipe for nothing...

 

[blk04cobra1]

there's the money shot right there ...glad you had fun

 

[SVTmojo]

I have heard of the cg-lock, but at event this past year, a few guys showed me an easier way before I got my harnesses. Back you seat up a bit, just like mentioned before. And pull your lap belt down just like you would buckle it in. But right before you latch it, give it 2 or 3 twists, then buckle it in. That way it will be a little bit more snug, and won't let it move.

 

[Roger Davis]

Congrats on your coming over to where the real drivers hang out.oke:

In one season of OT you will log more miles than in a lifetime of drag racing.:thumbsup:

I already got more tracktime than Garlits and Force combined.:lol:


In NJ waiting for spring.:rockon:

 

[brkntrxn]

Thanks, Mojo. I will have to try that as well.

Roger - Yeah, I can definitely see your point on that one.

 

[brkntrxn]

there's the money shot right there ...glad you had fun

Hey, what's up?

I looked and I cannot find any pics that show the MM Performance logo any clearer than that one. The angle of the back glass at speed as it passes you makes the lettering (and phone number) blurry.

I'll get better pics of the back of the car next time.

 

[edz]

Stay away from Ed! He's a bad influence!! LOL

He got me hooked about 4 years ago, and my wallet is much lighter now!

But, it's worth every penny of it!

Ah the list goes on, I lost count at about 25 folks, gonna be looking for some new recruits for the April SVTOA Sebring Sensation, but thats a few months away now. How come it is that all my "inductees" are faster than me???

 

[racebronco2]

The same goes for instructors at these events. They run the complete gamut. Some are good and some are not so good. Some will expect you to perfectly execute maneuvers before they allow you to go fast! You can ride with ten instructors and you will get 10 different lines on the same track. Everyone interprets slight nuances in turns differently. Take all of the information in and try different things to see what works the best for you and your particular vehicle with your SOTP dyno.
:thumbsup: :coolman: :beer:

This statement is so true, once in a while we talk to the new instructors and tell them the correct lines. Most of them take our advise while others know more then we do. Then there are students that just won't listen, " you're wanting to move up to the next group and you don't evn know the lines".

I do go out of my way help out the mustang guys (and pretty girls).

 

[brkntrxn]

This statement is so true, once in a while we talk to the new instructors and tell them the correct lines. Most of them take our advise while others know more then we do. Then there are students that just won't listen, " you're wanting to move up to the next group and you don't evn know the lines".

I do go out of my way help out the mustang guys (and pretty girls).

Sounds like my wife will end up getting better instruction than me, LOL!!!!

 

[sqidd]

Good man!

I got out of drag racing 15 years ago because I found that 99% of the time it was just a bunch of fat a holes standing arround talking about how fast this was and how fast that was and no one ever raced (I'm talking about mostly street racing here). I could stand arround for 5 hours and maybe 1 person would race me. And even if there was a race it boiled down to who spent the most money 99% of the time too.

It drove me crazy when some talentless a hole pulled up in some billion dollar dream car that someone else built for them and they wanted to race! Are you kidding me, most of them didn't even know where to put the gas in. You can have zero talent and a ton of $$$ and go fast in the quarter.

Going arround the roadrace track on the other hand takes a lot of skill and if you get fast talent too.

Then I started roadracing motorcyles which is 75% talent, 25% money. I love it. Not top mention there is no lying about how fast you are. Everyone is standing there watching.

I have not taken my car to the roadrace track (I just got it), but I will be in the spring. I can't wait!

 

[Venom525RWHP]

"Another bonus is this was much less stressful on the car... we drove it to and from the track and had absolutely no issues during the weekend. I have never been able to do that drag racing."

I could'nt agree more!! During my first year of dragracing I had to replace a tranny, a clutch and a driveshaft. Also the track was never the same and trying to grab 3rd was a nightmare...
Now after 2yrs of OT the Cobra is still running strong - no breakdowns whatsoever. No more hard shifts and no need to redline it through the gears. I've learned that power is NOT everything, just make sure you have proper cooling, brakes and rubber.
Have fun!

 

[fastduo]

First of all, welcome to the dark side.
As far as bang for the buck, no matter which costs more, there is nothing more thrilling than a multiple 30 minute sessions around our Countries great racing facilities. Drag racing is thrilling, yes, but ends too soon and you wait for hours to go again. During HPDE events, everyone is well behaved and there are no (to little egos) as there are in drag racing. (not starting any trouble here).
I have been doing track events for over 20 years. I can tell you that you do not need to have a fast car to have a blast on the track.
As far as costs. Running 10-12 events a year, I will go through 2 sets of front Hawk HP+ pads at $100 per set, one set of rear pads at $85 per set.
I will use on average, 1 set of front rotors per year at about $100.00 per set and usually one to two sets of race tires per year. Plus I bleed the brakes before (and sometimes during) every event and flush all of the fluid out every 3-4 months. I use Motul 600 fluid at about $17.00 per pint.
This is above and beyond the regular maintainance. I just about double the preventative maintainance on the car to keep things fresh and tight.

 

[brkntrxn]

Thanks, fastduo.