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first time drag racing

11K views 69 replies 19 participants last post by  65fasback 
#1 ·
Made it to Sacramento Raceway last night for my first time drag racing and wanted to see where my car was at.

Made 2 passes, best time was 12.79 at 109.6

Need to work on 60 ft which was only a 2.0 but for my first time out ever I am pretty happy!

Gonna try again next week!

youtube link below of the pass, my Stepson got a video.

 

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#3 ·
You're hooked now!

Next thing we'll hear is "how do I run 10's". Then "9's".....its addicting, or a sickness--whatever you call it.

Just get out there & have fun, and support your local drag strip, no matter how fast you want to go.

I gotta put mine back together one of these days, maybe after I win the lottery
 
#4 ·
plan on heading back next week to work on 60 ft!

going to try adjusting rear shock settings and didn't even mess with tire pressure last time.

mph calculator show I should or could be closer to a 12.4 at 109.
 
#6 ·
Good times. I just did my first track outing this October as well. We're not too far off in the 330' and 1/8th mile. We're on the same boat with those 60ft times though. Some members here have recommended a 26x10 slick for better 60ft times, which is something I will be doing over the winter. Keep the updates going and cool car.
 
#8 ·
Thanks, made it back last week, best pass was 12.86 at 108.5
did trap at 109.9 on one run with a poor launch.

I don't think I am heating the tires up enough also did a few hotlaps and trans was heating up, slipping in 1st and 2nd, once I noticed that I called it.

going again this week!
 
#7 ·
sorry for not getting back sooner, tire is 275/60/15 Nitto 555R @ 20psi.
1 and 1/4 coils cut stock rear spring, solid lower control arms, stock uppers and strange single 10 way shocks set roughly in the mid position.
 
#9 ·
60' still poor, ran 12.9 this week but a new best trap speed of 110.3. Installing baseline outlaw uppers today also got a set of Hoosier QT Pros to try this week.
 
#10 ·
Installed baseline relocated street outlaw uppers and got a set of Hoosier 27x10.5 QT Pros, will try again Wednesday, on a quick trip to the gas station over the weekend the Hoosiers seem alot stickier!
 
#13 ·
No I have not made measurement yet as I don't have a real level spot to do so, maybe Kevin will chime in but my understanding is higher anti squat values helps separate or drive the rear end down more

the reason I went with the baseline outlaw version is there are six different mounting point available for the uppers to help dial in the anti squat value that works best for your setup. I am learning as I go. Trial and Error at the track.
 
#14 ·
I was under the impression that too much anti squat is bad as well as too little. I think there are variables when it comes to tire selection, track, manual or auto. I personally just don't want to waste money and effort if in reality it won't help me achieve my goal. I really need to understand how it works and what would be the recommendation for a manual with drag radials or slicks.

Good luck in your endeavor. I'll be watching closely.
 
#15 ·
I agree that too much antisquat may be less than ideal but I don't know the science - all I can say is tire spin off the line has greatly improved with these uppers and Hoosiers installed.

Results - Got 3 passes in and ran a new personal best last night, 12.54 at 109.76 on the new baseline uppers and Hoosier 27x10.5 Quick time pros, also was able to weigh my car at the track and she is 2868 without me in it and 3/4 tank of gas, full interior minus rear seat back - I was able to bring the car up on the converter more and launch harder with less spin.

60 ft came down to 1.8 from 2.0 previous best on stock uppers and Nitto 555R 275/60/15 on footbrake only.

there is still / always room for improvement, I will try again next week!
 
#16 ·
Not to discourage you but I think the drop in the 60ft is from the tires alone. The Nittos are not a good drag tire but a good street tire IMO. I think once you have the suspension nailed, then you will start seeing great things. Also, I think you did good selecting a 27" tire compared to the Nittos that were the equivalent of a 28". You need rpms without over doing it. Good job!

Where's Kevin when we need him? I would appreciate if it can provide some light on the earlier questions. That would help you and maybe I'll be more inclined to purchase the relocation kit as well.
 
#17 ·
The tires certainly stick better, agreed. I need some video to see what the rear suspension is doing, going to try to get my wife to go and film next week.
 
#18 ·
Didn't make it to track this past week, had the fuel line break inside the tank, the small hose that goes from the pump to the hanger. Track is closed until February, plans are to pull the engine over the winter break and refresh the bottom end, swap cams, swap out the AOD for a T5 also upgrade to a detroit true trac and 31 spine rear end rebuild.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Your mph is pretty damn good for your set-up. My set-up some years back was almost identical to yours, only I was T5 with 3:55 and mega bite Jr LCA's. My best times were in the 12.70's with 1.90's 60'. My mph was usually around 107-108 if memory serves. I simply wasn't putting enough heat into my tires, and my 60' suffered. I could have used a simple and fairly inexpensive line-lock system and my 60'/ET's would have come down.

Was thinking, if you're gonna pull the engine anyway, this would be a great time for a tubular K with A arms (if you don't have it already?) or/and some lighter front springs. With some single adjustables up front and a line-lock system, I would be surprised if you didn't see low 12's, possibly high 11's if you're mph is any indication. Congrats on some nice runs!
 
#21 ·
Thanks, Just did a tubular k member, also has afco 30022 (80/20) front struts / coilovers with viking 14" 150lb springs.
 
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#22 ·
Thanks! afco 80/20 struts / coilovers with 14" 150lb viking springs /AJE tubular k member and a-arms
 
#25 ·
engine is out and tore down, all the bearings were shot in the bottom end, now I know why it was ticking all the time!

Hard to believe it ran 12.5 last month and passed CA Smog last week!

Anyways got a new remanufactured stock HO longblock
(rebuilding my original as a backup or possibly save for another project? )

TW 170 heads are off getting ported

will be installing my custom FTI cam and 1 3/4 longtube headers

AOD is out and swapping to T5.
 
#27 ·
Not noisy up front but pretty stiff on bumps. It's ok just driving to the store or the track, actually rides pretty nice on freeway.
 
#28 ·
Winter rebuild is coming along, just waiting on heads to get back from porting. I have installed all new rear brake hardware, a drive shaft safety loop / new non mass back carpet (20lb lighter than OEM)

on my T5 swap I installed solid 3-4 keys, steel bearing retainer and steel billet main cluster support, also replaced all the shift fork pads for good measure, degreased the trans and bellhousing and shot it with a coat of Machine Grey.

I am considering the big bore rear drum wheel cylinders from Maximum Motorsports, anyone tried those with stock drum brakes and Big / littles?

Also considering Aerospace front drag brakes / Medium duty seem to be the lightest but was wondering if that would be ok to drive to the track ( 8 miles or so each way from my house)

I would probably do both brake mods at the same time and with the braking bias shifted more toward the rear I'm thinking the drag brakes would be ok to get to the track and back?

Got 3" dynomax mini race bullets and turndowns, 3" flow tubes on the way from LMR and opened up the ball socket on my BBK 1 3/4 Longtubes.
 
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#29 ·
Made it back to the track and got a new personal best 12.32 at 111.77 and on a seperate pass had a personal best 60' of 1.69, this is with the T5 swap, installing a line lock this week to properly heat up these hoosiers and also plan on installing a 2 step for consistent launch rpm, hoping to trim more off the 60'!
 
#31 ·
Thanks! I'm running 4.10 and hitting just about 6k through the traps,

I will be heading back to the track after vacation next week to see if we can't do better,

I have just installed my linelock, clutchtamer, also have a pertronix digital HP box to install mostly for 2 step / shift light purposes (need to install shift light also!)

and finally I am figuring out how to datalog with Binary Editor so hopefully can get the tune more dialed in as well.

I have been quickshifting so far but with more practice I want to start powershifting, pretty sure there are a few tenths just in shifting!
 
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#32 ·
Well made it to the track last night but didn't get to make a pass, there was a car that wheelied off the line broke an axle ( I assume) hooked hard left and took out the tree! the car was up on the concrete divider, got a rain check for next week but there are a few things I wanted to work on this week anyways, I did get my shift light and 2 step installed but the factory tach is not working well with it ( works fine to 4k then needle drops to zero) going to install another tach, go through the valves etc before next week.
 
#36 ·
so far I like it just fine, I don't think I'm really making the kind of power or have the clutch grip to take full advantage of it though but it has kept the car from bogging off the line
 
#37 ·
ok, so got 3 runs in tonight and no personal best ET, let's just say each run had it's challenges!

I did barely eek out a new personal best 1.68 60' and new personal best MPH 113.38! which is almost 2 mph up over last trip to track in August so I know there are some 11 sec time slips when I get my driving and a few things sorted on the car!

I was having issues with
1. missing gears, I don't think this T5 is 100%, it's grinding into 5th and popping out of 5th when I let off the gas around town it's also getting notchy feeling from 1-2, not smooth at all)
2. I'm either hitting a hard limiter or fuel cut at the top of 1st and 2nd, car was cutting out, I thought I had adjusted all that in Binary Editor, I will have to take another look , maybe missed a setting.

Overall I'm real happy with the 113 mph that is with with the car cutting out at the top of first gear on that pass!

Anyways I always enjoy meeting other racers, gearheads and seeing some cool cars out at the track so it was fun regardless of my lackluster personal performance.
 
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