teach me to launch!

[rojizostang]

well, this is sort of a good news bad news kind of thing. my goal tonight was to get a 12 second time slip, which i did. 12.92 @ 108 mph. 60 ft time was a 1.97....this was with et streets

after that, i either bogged or spun, and could only manage 60 ft times in the 2.1 to 2.2 range. needless to say, i didn't go under 13.00 again. the best time slip after that was a 13.02

how much air pressure should i be running, how hot should i get the tires, what rpm should i leave at, should i install a line lock, on and on....you know the drill.

i didn't remove the front sway bar, didn't have time before heading to the track, still running stock shocks, all the other mods are in the sig. i feel like there could be a 12.6 in it perhaps....on the other hand, i really don't want to start breaking a lot of parts trying to leave at 5k or something...tutor me, please.

didn't have any trouble shifting.....i found myself power shifting 1-2, and after that just sort of quick shifted so to speak, no trouble getting into any gears at all with the pro 50

now i really wish i would have gone with 4.30's, there's a lot of gear left in 4th before getting to the line

 

[Eric298]

This is my little I say, roll through the water bo dont sit in it, do a nice burnout get those tires hot, I say practice leaving the light around 3500 id say see how it goes slip the clutch nicely dont just dump it and see how it goes and adjust accordingly as in if it bogs start a lil higher maybe like 3800 or 4 k try to test the limit of the tires and once you find the balance between how much power you have and how much grip you have to the point where the tires are chirping/ breaking loose then just do that and work on your shifting. This is all assuming alot of variables are consistent, temprature, track prep etc should all be taken in to consideration when making multiple runs. Just my thoughts hope it helps.

 

[rojizostang]

anything would help at this point. i didn't feather the clutch at all. i tried launching just off idle and bogged badly. after that i launched each time between 2k to 3k, and spun badly. of course, this was sort of a clutch dump and accelerator punch all at the same time...obviously, that doesn't work.

if i had a line lock and heated the tires up a little better, could i leave at like 3 to 4k and just nail it without having to feather the clutch?

 

[joedls]

I couldn't figure out how to leave by feathering my clutch. First of all, I couldn't figure out how to hold my RPM steady at the tree. So whatever I did, I spun. Then I installed a 2 step. Now I set my 2 step @ 4000 RPM, put my foot to the floor and dump my clutch. Works for me. This is after a good, smokey, 2nd gear burnout with a linelock.

 

[rojizostang]

I couldn't figure out how to leave by feathering my clutch. First of all, I couldn't figure out how to hold my RPM steady at the tree. So whatever I did, I spun. Then I installed a 2 step. Now I set my 2 step @ 4000 RPM, put my foot to the floor and dump my clutch. Works for me. This is after a good, smokey, 2nd gear burnout with a linelock.

if i'm just running for time i could get away with a two step. if i decide to do any bracket racing, the 2 step won't be allowed, at least not in the foot brake class that i would run.

i really wish i had gone with a set of 4.30's. i think it would be easier to launch off idle without the bog, i think. i just couldn't believe how much of 4th gear was left at the end of the 1/4 also, i mean, there's a lot more room to run out in 4th. i don't think even a set of 4.56's would be out of line, except then it would be a little to low for highway driving. i figured around 2770 rpm with my set up to run 70 mph. 4.30's would only be about another 125 rpm at 70 over the 4.10's at around 2555 iirc.

perhaps i just should keep the 4.10's and install a line lock and get the tires good and hot and dump the clutch at around 3 to 4k?

i just feel like if cutting a good 60' time depends on me feathering the clutch just right and applying just the right amount of go pedal...i'll never be consistent.

 

[Eric298]

anything would help at this point. i didn't feather the clutch at all. i tried launching just off idle and bogged badly. after that i launched each time between 2k to 3k, and spun badly. of course, this was sort of a clutch dump and accelerator punch all at the same time...obviously, that doesn't work.

if i had a line lock and heated the tires up a little better, could i leave at like 3 to 4k and just nail it without having to feather the clutch?

kinda hard to explain online but like if your revving it up from idle to get to 2-3 k youll spin most likely but if your holding it then you wont atleast in my experience. What I found best to be able to hold my revs was instead of having my foot floating in the air on the gas pedal I would rest my heel on the floor get to 2 or 3 or 4 k depending on what i wanted to launch at and I had no problem holding my revs at a given RPM if I was resting my heel on the floor while pressing the gas pedal at the tree. Try it some time on the street just holding your revs then do it at the track when you can do it well.

In response to your question, its kinda hard to say if you can just nail it, variables such as track prep, temp, etc fall in to play but will you be able to leave harder if you heat the tires up real good yea, that is if your not already heating them up properly. Hope this helps it worked for me.

 

[rojizostang]

not really heating them too much. a couple locals told me just to do enough of a burn out to sorta clean the tires off. the first pass i barely burned them at all, had 29 psi, and it ran the best et and 60' time of the night. not really sure what rpm i launched at on that one. it spun just a little and grabbed and that's when it did the 1.97, which i know isn't very good either. the next pass i heated them just a little more, and dumped and punched from around 3k...that didn't work at all. the rest of my launches were just a series of boggs, just launching a little off idle after doing a dry first gear tire spin, not holding the breaks or anything, just a little burn out.

 

[US-1]

Line lock is a very good idea for stick cars. What air pressure are you running?

 

[joedls]

not really heating them too much. a couple locals told me just to do enough of a burn out to sorta clean the tires off. the first pass i barely burned them at all, had 29 psi, and it ran the best et and 60' time of the night.

You need to do more than clean them off and 29 PSI is too much. I run mine at 15 PSI.

 

[don_w]

You need to do more than clean them off and 29 PSI is too much. I run mine at 15 PSI.

+1 and +1... smoke 'em up, and drop that pressure a lot!

 

[US-1]

Missed the tire pressure in your post. Whomever those "locals" might be........don't listen to them again. Start at 18 psi on the slicks and hold the burnout for at least 3-4 seconds.

 

[rojizostang]

i've seen some of the guys on the forums i visit, can't remember if it was this one, saying drag radails shouldn't be run under about 25psi. oh well, live and learn. I think perhaps the fist step I'll take is the line lock, and then drop the psi like you guys say, to around 15 or so. I'll save the 4.30's for a little later on perhaps..but not too much later

now i know i'm not making a lot of horsepower, but i really can't afford to start breaking stuff. what will i need to change if this things hooks up well from a 3 to 4k launch...or should i be fairly safe as far as breaking parts is concerned for the power level i'm at?

 

[joedls]

i've seen some of the guys on the forums i visit, can't remember if it was this one, saying drag radails shouldn't be run under about 25psi. oh well, live and learn. I think perhaps the fist step I'll take is the line lock, and then drop the psi like you guys say, to around 15 or so. I'll save the 4.30's for a little later on perhaps..but not too much later

now i know i'm not making a lot of horsepower, but i really can't afford to start breaking stuff. what will i need to change if this things hooks up well from a 3 to 4k launch...or should i be fairly safe as far as breaking parts is concerned for the power level i'm at?

I'm running a stock tranny, stock clutch, stock rear-end, and axles. I do have a one-piece DS. I haven't broken anything yet, but I'm pretty new at this. I haven't raced that much, maybe 40 - 50 runs.

 

[US-1]

Are you running drag radials or ET streets?

 

[2kanchoo]

Missed the tire pressure in your post. Whomever those "locals" might be........don't listen to them again. Start at 18 psi on the slicks and hold the burnout for at least 3-4 seconds.

Yup and yup. You don't need to do a big john force smoke show but they need to get tacky. One thing you can do is change your driver side mirror so you can see down by the tire. Watch and once you got some smoke you're good. Lowering the pressure to 18 psi area should help a LOT. The lower psi with a good burn should allow you to be able to launch from ATLEAST 3000 rpms easy. What I found helped till I got a feel for it was to slip the clutch out and NOT push the gas to the floor. Give it one second to grab while you slip the clutch out THEN mash it to the floor. Also If you set your rev limiter to 7000-7200 and do a 6500 1-2 and 2-3 shift you should be able to cross the 1/4 mile mark redlined in third gear. One less shift = better time.

Put the tires back to recommended psi before you leave the track.

 

[rojizostang]

sounds like i should be okay then.....what about wheel studs, any concern there?

 

[rojizostang]

Are you running drag radials or ET streets?

ET streets, 265/40/18. i'm a little confused here, these are drag radials, aren't they?

mickey thompson 3782r's

 

[joedls]

sounds like i should be okay then.....what about wheel studs, any concern there?

Nope. I just installed longer ones so I can get more threads on some 15" skinnies I got.

 

[rojizostang]

Put the tires back to recommended psi before you leave the track.

well i hope they have a compressor then. i sure don't want to carry an air tank out there.

 

[joedls]

ET streets, 265/40/18. i'm a little confused here, these are drag radials, aren't they?

mickey thompson 3782r's

There are ET Streets and ET Street Radials. The ET Streets are bias ply. It sounds like you have the Radials.