My first time ever in a drag track...

[Virgin_Mustang]

I just got back from the track. And the first thing to say is I sucked..

First run I ran 14.7
Second run I ran 14.22


I had stock tires on 275/40/18 fanblades ( stock rims ) michelin pilot sport.

If your wondering my mods

lca,uca,relocation brackets, 4.10's, spydershaft, cmcv, jlt II , and a 93 extreme tune. ohh yeah and MGW short throw shifter.

Guys Any tips ? what to do ?

u know the second run was vs a camaro with cams and lt's and slicks.. thats what I only know ... he got 14.42

do u think nittos will be good for this track ? and how hard is it to remove the front sway bar ? whats the correct tire pressure on front and rear wheels ? should I take off the spare tire or not ?

Please help me as im new to drag racing.. and getting 14 with my mods is embarasing..

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

Ohh yeah Is it OK for my stock diffrential to have slick tires ? If so whats the safest size of rims and tires should I got ? and with the nittos.. what rpm should my launch be ?


Edit : I also heard a huge knock on the diffrential while taking my foot of the clutch in my two runs... its just for the take off..

Thanks all..

 

[stkjock]

BFG are stock tires are 235/50/18... so what do u have??? confusing post...

if your gonna get dedicated track tires/rims... get 16/17" and M/T ET Streets. they seem to hook best....
I'll let the more experienced guys answer the rest...

 

[don_w]

First of all, congrats on getting your drag strip cherry popped. How did you like it? Also, drag racing isn't as easy as it looks... especially with a MT. The more you practice, the better you get. And practicing is fun!

Also, post some timeslips or the incremental times. Knowing that info will help us pinpoint the problem area. My guess is traction woes... but we'll have to see if the 60' times reflect that.

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

Well yeah I loved it and its WAY diffrent than street racing.

well my first run was 14.773 sec
vehicles speed was 105.14 Mph
reaction was 0.784 sec
60 foot was 2.653
and the 2001 meter ET was 9.996

The first round I had 25 psi in the rear tires and I had an extra tire in the trunk and I also removed the rear seats and put them in the trunk.



As for the second run I got 14.222 sec in the 1/4 ET
the vehicles speed was 106.95 Mph
the reasction time was 1.017 sec

60 ft was 2.493 src

and in the time slip it didnt show the 201 meter ET.

Today im going again so give me all the tips and do's and don'ts...

 

[Buckman]

Congrats on getting out there! First time out I wouldn't be down on yourself, you can't expect to set the world on fire without experience.

If you are just ET hunting, don't worry about r/t, just launch when you are ready to launch.
The biggest key to the 1/4 mile in a simplistic sense is the launch and 60' times. Get that 60' down and you will watch your ET's get consistently lower.
A 2.5-2.6 60' leaves a lot of room to work with. I will assume with the 4.10's and that kind of 60' that you were probably spinning off the line. You will probably need to baby it out and not launch at such a high rpm until you address the rear tire issue (mt et streets ftw)
Looks like you have some good basic suspension mods, so wheel hop probably isn't an issue.
I would just keep playing with launch rpms and try to get that 60' down to the 2.0-2.1 range on street tires, that will really make a huge difference. Then if/when you go with dr's in the back, your times will shine.

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

thanks man...

when you guys say MT ET streets.. there are alot of tires with that name but look diffrent .. Which do u think will be best for me ? ( pictures below )

Ohh yeah I am going to go remove my front sway bar now.. any tips ?

and I didnt have luck borrowing slick tires.. so im going again today with my mmichelin Pilot sports 275/40/18 ( on stock rims ) do u think I should burn them in the water box ? and for how long ?

Thanks again and Sorry if im asking alot but drag racing is awesome and I need help since im new.

Picture A :

Picture B :

Picture C :

 

[don_w]

60 foot was 2.653

60 ft was 2.493

As Buckman mentioned, the 60' times are holding you back, which almost always points to traction problems. IMO, your next mod should be drag tires, along with working on the launch technique. Any of the three tires you listed above will help a lot.

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

As Buckman mentioned, the 60' times are holding you back, which almost always points to traction problems. IMO, your next mod should be drag tires, along with working on the launch technique. Any of the three tires you listed above will help a lot.

Got back from the track again today.. had only one run and I lost ... damn it.. my times are 14.64 1/4 and my 60 ft is I think 2.5 somthing..

well this time i babied it out but I had a problem I miss shifted second gear.. but what still pissed me off is when I launched at 2200 rpm I didnt accelerate it .. I just waited for tires to get traction and when they did I slammed it again and back I lost traction .. missshifted in second and then started runing..

anyway about the tires .. which will help the most ? and what do u think is THE BEST sizes ? should I be running 16 or 17'' rims ?

PLease mention sizes and what u think about them as im placing an order in few days..
as for the sites.. where do u think is the best place to order ?


thanks

 

[ZmanM3]

Don't feel bad, I got talked into going to the drag strip my first time by a friend with at V6 mustang who then proceeded to beat me 2 times. My elapsed times were faster then his but he was beating me off the line by a full second. The more you go the better you'll get. I still need to go more.

 

[don_w]

anyway about the tires .. which will help the most ? and what do u think is THE BEST sizes ? should I be running 16 or 17'' rims ?

PLease mention sizes and what u think about them as im placing an order in few days..
as for the sites.. where do u think is the best place to order ?


thanks

Of those three you listed, I only have personal experience with the M/T drag radial in Picture B. I ran a 275/40-17 (#3743R) on 17x9 wheels and they worked quite well. You can change those at home and drive to the track with them. I ran them at 17psi, but anything from 16-20psi could be the sweet spot for you. I always buy my tires from Summit... good prices and they are delivered to my door in a couple days if they are in stock.

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MTT-3743R&N=700+115&autoview=sku

 

[Charlie Sheen]

As was mentioned, don't get discouraged. Anything you can gain in those first 60' will take that time (+) off your total ET. Practice is the key here. There's another member on this forum, I won't name him, that chooses to let his Screamn Yellow Turd spin-spin-spin. Spinning the tires is not helping the car gain momentum, you are just wasting energy that the engine was so happy to make. There's no magic pixie dust on the big end of the track that will make up for a poor launch.

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

I have been researching about the tires lately.. and Picture B is what I see most people use.. as for the sizes ...

Don_W : what do u think if I got M/T's ET streets 275/50/15 ? Cuz I have to be sure.

and that summit racing link.. if I placed an order do I place it as a pair or EACH ?

thanks

 

[don_w]

Don_W : what do u think if I got M/T's ET streets 275/50/15 ? Cuz I have to be sure.

Well, first you'd need to get a set of 15" wheels that will fit your car... and they aren't cheap.

and that summit racing link.. if I placed an order do I place it as a pair or EACH ?

You need to order two each... those are single tire prices.

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

Isn't the 15'' rims better for launch ? and do U know a good cheap site ? Im also looking for front rims and drag tires.. I have to say drag racing Just got injected to my body.

I apologize if I am asking alot.. But you know we all gotta learn from somewhere.

 

[scramblr]

You're better off picking up two 17" OEM bullits off a forum site like this one or a company like www.newtakeoff.com. Run you less than $200. A set of 15" wheels is going to run you anywhere from $1500 - $2500 or more. Those prices should come down eventually (hopefully) and in the meantime the OEM wheels will serve you well. You can go on Summit and order the Mickey Thompson ET Streets. Only thing is you will need to swap these out since they're not good for daily driving, e.g., wet roads bad.

I went from a 2.0 60' on Nitto 555s to a 1.7 60' the first weekend I used the M/T ET Streets. this took me from a 13.1 ET to a 12.8.

(A. above)
M/T P/N 3743 ET Street Radial Tires P 275/40R17 (same as) 26x11.50-17

or as Don suggested

(B. above which you can keep on the car)
M/T P/N 3743R ET Street Drag Radial Tires 275/40R17

 

[freebass55]

I just went the lazy way and found this package from Brenspeed. I love them. I am not sure how they compare price wise. You could probably find a better deal.

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

Well I can get 17'' bullits for free then... Guys I forgot to say that the track is FILLED with VHT chemicals ( u know that sticky compund ) and when I say FILLED i mean it... the whole track.. and as for a daily driving im going to shove in nitto extreme drag radials but for the track im either going pic.A or Pic.B ..

 

[US-1]

If you plan on driving the car to and from the track I would use the M/T Drag Radial tire (picture B). They are a bit more stable. I also like their stability on the top end of the track over the bias ply ET Street (picture A).

 

[Virgin_Mustang]

Driving to the track or from home .. it doesnt make a diffrence cuz everytime I go to the track my cuzin goes with his car there .. to watch.. so I can just use his car as my moving trunk

So being it 40 is better than 50 ? as in 275/40/17 better than 275/50/17 ? and just to make it clear. the smaller the rim and bigger the tire means more traction ?