Drag Racing

[JerryMichaels7]

Heya, So i am trying to see who all here takes there cars to the straight line races. I myself enjoy all types of auto events but drag racing has always been one of my favorites. It is also for me the easiest to do for me and yes i know i bought the wrong car for this( shoulda got a mustang or camaro) but i really like the twins and it was a car i could afford. I am hopeing if we get enough interest with people we could get a 1/4 sub section for just drag racing.

That being said my first time out with it was last weekend ran a 15.7 multiple times with a horrible 60 of 2.6-8 on avg(best was a 2.4 but i missed 3rd)100 percent stock. The only issue i had was wheel hop like crazy. Was just wanting to see how everyone else was doing or if anyone is building there car for just drag.

P.S. (inb4 ) only thread i found was 1 1/4 times this is more than just getting peoples times, at least i would like it to be.

[Sonolin]

If I ever do a nitrous or turbo build I'll be taking it to the strip for sure. Not until then though, it just doesn't make sense to me to drag race a 16 second car.

I'm hoping with e85 + mods + 125 shot I can get into low 13's - high 12's maybe with some shoes?

I think with e85 and some better tires you can get into low 15s stock.

[JerryMichaels7]

bolt ons + e85 and nitrous with some grip should def put you in in the 12s. I went with a friend from work just see what i could get in it(not going back till i get some new rims/tires or a suspension change ( new bushings through out the drivetrain and rear to see if it helps with wheel hop )

[Gixxersixxerman]

Originally Posted by Sonolin

If I ever do a nitrous or turbo build I'll be taking it to the strip for sure. Not until then though, it just doesn't make sense to me to drag race a 16 second car.

I'm hoping with e85 + mods + 125 shot I can get into low 13's - high 12's maybe with some shoes?

I think with e85 and some better tires you can get into low 15s stock.

Seeing as they have quite a few 14 sec stock cars, his problem was either horrible driver form, or a horrible track..

[Gixxersixxerman]

Originally Posted by JerryMichaels7

bolt ons + e85 and nitrous with some grip should def put you in in the 12s. I went with a friend from work just see what i could get in it(not going back till i get some new rims/tires or a suspension change ( new bushings through out the drivetrain and rear to see if it helps with wheel hop )

Did you try lowering your launch revs and seen what would happen then.. Made slip the clutch a bit.. I've seen on here low to mid 14's on stack cars corrected with pro drivers of course, and mid to high 14's non corrected..

[JerryMichaels7]

I am going with the first one...i am no expert, need to practice the launch. When i said easiest for me to do I ment SGMP is 20 mins away from me(stationed at moody afb) and test n tunes almost every friday.

[Sonolin]

Originally Posted by Gixxersixxerman

Seeing as they have quite a few 14 sec stock cars, his problem was either horrible driver form, or a horrible track..

Doh! Yea I thought I've seen ~14.5 sec in the drag thread (stock with just some minor weight reduction if I recall right).

[Simmons]

I am trying to find some time to get the the strip now that I have the header and e85. It would be nice to be the 1st one in the 13's N/A.


Simmons

[JerryMichaels7]

So i had a couple friends play look out on an old highway back roads down here and on the road i cant spin all the way through first let alone any in second like i was on the track.

[sosick]

Just went yesterday. 15.1 wither header back n drop in filter. Way too much wheel hop but I have 265 35 r 18 in the rear I think its part of my problem

[No Limit Motorsport]

I went to the drag strip for the first time with this car yesterday. Best I could pull (only 2 passes) was a 13.8 @ 109 with a terrible 60ft time. Violent wheel hop and traction problems.

Current setup
1. 245/40 Hankook tires - 20psi
2. Fortune coilovers set middle damping setting
3. Whiteline transmission mount insert
4. Whiteline subframe bushings
5. Traction/VSC turned off by holding both buttons down
6. 295whp

Over the winter we want to build the motor and bring the power up to about 4-450 and do some drag radials to help with traction.

For this wheel hop problem I am going to try Cusco motor mounts (which makes a big difference on STI), Diff mount. Not really sure where to go from there.

Anyone solve this issue yet?

[Deep Six]

The car is so light especially in the rear that I doubt there is any squat with the stock springs yet alone on coils.
Wholesale swap of all the rear suspension bushings and switching to true drag radials might be the cure.

[JerryMichaels7]

Try full soft in the rear. I went out tonight (I am n/a) tune and intake only, did 3 runs with lauch control at 3 cut a 2.3 60 and ran 15.05-10. 2 runs no lauch control throttle modulation/clutch slipping cut a 2.2 and ran 14.8. No will hop on those runs. Some other tests, tried to launch at 4k with LC and wheel hopped to hell...so i took it to 5k and just spun to much. I don't have alot of power but i am pretty sure just some practice launching it do wonders.

[Kwaziekeller]

I've found that slipping the clutch a little from a 4-5k launch to get the best 60' times. I don't have my time slips handy but I'm pretty sure I've gotten a bunch of 2.1x-2.2x 60' times with that technique (on stock Michelins). Albeit not amazing, but not bad given the tires. Every car will be a little different, and the track surface will also change all of the time, so you'll have to vary your rpms and clutch modulation accordingly. Basically, you want to launch from the highest rpm you can that doesn't give you a ton of wheel hop or just spin the tires, but a little wheelspin is ideal to keep the rpms up.

Try to line up "in the grooves", if you're ever behind a car on slicks when they launch, then you'll see exactly what "the grooves" are.

Lower your rear tire pressure a little. I run 35psi for daily duties and usually target 28psi for the strip. I usually drop it to 30psi, then down to 28psi if I'm unhappy with the 60' times. Keep in mind that a warm/hot tire will have a higher air pressure. I'm pretty sure the threshold for the TPMS is around 25psi and I have had that light come on after the tires cool after setting the tire pressure to 28psi on a hot tire. Essentially the lowest tire pressure you can run without cupping will get you the quickest time but there will be a point when going lower makes your car slower. Raising your front tire pressure will help marginally by making the front suspension slightly stiffer and reducing the rolling resisitance ever so slightly.

No "John Force Burnouts" on street tires unless you have a VERY grippy tire, and it's COLD! Most street tires are designed to work within a certain heat range, and doing a big smoky burnout will only over heat the tire and reduce grip. Most street tires require only a quick spin to clean off any debris (you'll get a buildup of traction compound and rubber from the track that will pick up grass, dirt and leaves). When it's chilly out (say 50deg F) I'll do a small 1-2 sec burnout, essentially just a clutch dump and running it out a little. If you had RE-11's, NT-05's or another "extreme performance summer tire", you may require a longer burnout if it's cold out. I'd say anything above 50 deg F or so and they probably don't require much of one either.

As for wheel hop, there are things to help the OEM style suspension handle the loads better. Generally replacing bushings in the chassis help substantially, i.e. subframe bushings, transmission/engine/differential mount bushings etc. Lowering tire pressure also helps with wheel hop because a lower air pressure decreases the stiffness of the sidewalls and increases flex slightly. Running a drag radial will not help tho. There are two reasons for wheel hop. One is that the suspension loads up and reaches a limit of flex and binds/unbinds. This is pretty common in IRS RWD cars, especially when using all of the factory components. The second cause is from the tire loading and unloading, which is caused by a radial tire's stiff sidewall being unable to twist to maintain contact with the track surface and it unloads, causing hop. Drag radials are notorious for wheel hop because they have very high levels of grip, but maintain a radial design, for DOT compliance. Slicks are bias ply and can twist under load to maintain contact with the surface. Slicks are an easy way to solve wheel hop issues.

On coilovers, you can set the rear to the softest setting and the front to the stiffest setting which will help promote "squat" (weight transfer) off the line. Ideally, you would set the front rebound to the max setting and leave compression at a normal level, but most coilovers do not have independent compression/rebound settings.