First Time Out (AKA I'm no John Force)
 

Took my 04 6MT Coupe out tonight to the strip for the first time. Background:

Track: Sacramento Raceway
Weather: Mid to upper 60's, cloudy, had some rain about an hour before I got to the track
Car: 6MT Coupe, aftermarket 19's (8.5 F 10.5 R), Z tube and K&N filter otherwise bone stock. Didn't bother messing with tire pressures etc. just went to drive fast and have fun.

There weren't a ton of cars so we go a lot of practice runs, I had 8 total:

Run 1
RT 0.090
ET 14.875
97.015 MPH

Run 2
RT 0.062
ET 14.744 (best of the night for me)
97.215 MPH

Run 3 (missed 3 bad, then redlined in 3rd)
RT 0.120
ET 15.451 :(
85.955 (I suck)

Run 4 (worse launch, spun tires like crazy AND redlined in 3rd AGAIN)
RT 0.082
ET 15.207
90.014 MPH

Run 5
RT 0.062
ET 14.977
97.589 MPH

Run 6
RT 0.033
ET 14.825
96.469 MPH

Run 7
RT -0.005 (Reg Light :o )
ET 15.038
MPH 96.291

Run 8
RT 0.062
ET 14.786
98.256 MPH (best MPH of the night for me)

I dialed in at 14.7 (should have done like 14.75...), then started bracket racing:

Race 1: Won (other dude red light)
RT 0.135
ET 15.555
80.776 MPH (I knew he red-lighted so I took it easy)

Race 2: Won (against SRT-4 LOL!)
RT 0.008 (Best of the night for me)
ET 15.046
96.305 MPH

Race 3: Free pass (odd number of cars left in my bracket)

Race 4 (Final): Lost :mad:
RT 0.397 (WTF?!?! Worst of the night on the last race!!!)
ET 14.781 (not bad considering my 14.7 dial-in)
96.600 MPH

Ended up 2nd overall for the night in my lane/bracket. Got a "runner-up" glass mug LOL

It was fun, but not as fun as road course track day

What were your sixty foots?

I don't know...the time slips don't have that, they have 4 "intervals" I1, I2, I3, I4. I don't know if "I1" is 60 foot or not. Most of my "I1" times were in the 2.3 second range.

Yeh, thats the 60' times.

2.3 is about what I was doing...supposedly you should be able to get 2.0s....ima have to improve a lot cause my best was 2.24:(

Man, the 6MTs must one absolute pain to launch for most everyone because it seems 14.6-14.8@97mph with high 2.2/low 2.3 60 foots is the norm for a stock/mostly stock 6MT. I can launch off idle and pull 2.3 60 foots and 14.6s@97mph in my 03 5AT sedan. If I stall up the converter, it's mid to high 2.1 60 foots and 14.3s-14.4s@97-98mph everytime (stock at the time).

It just takes a lot of practice. I've had very few 2.0 60' times... mainly 2.1 with an occassional 2.2 time every now and then. I can't wait for the weather to get cooler. It will be in the low 60s Monday night, here in Orlando, FL. I can't wait to go back to the track.

Yes, reaction time and launch are where it's won and lost. I was all over the place on my launch attempts, trying to get a good feel for what worked best. Not one felt "right" to me, and it showed in my times. I felt as though I was mixing up getting good RT's with good launches, and it's hard not to get wrapped up in "leaving quickly" (RT) versus "leaving fast" (launch). After my first experience at the track, I think the key is as you said: try to keep RPM's up while in first, while minimizing wheel spin and maximizing traction. I think with practice on launch, getting low 14's should be reasonable to attain. High 13's might be pushing it, although I've seen people here with stock G's claiming high 13's and I have no reason to doubt them.

Don't worry about reaction time right now. It holds no bearing on ET. You could sit there for 5 minutes on a green light if you wanted.