I had pretty much given up on going back to the track until this fall because of the heat, but apparently we're going to get some cool weather tomorrow night. Somewhere in mid fifties, according to the forecast. And the pressure seems to be a bit higher than the past few times out, so the conditions are approaching ideal, especially for mid-May. The DA should be somewhere between 500 and 550 ft. The last time I was there was in mid-March, where I put down a 13.70@101.99 with a 2.049 sixty foot; DA's for that day were just north of 1950 ft.

My goal is anything under a 13.5; so a 13.499 will be a success. I figure I can cut 2.001 tenths off my previous best considering the DA, the engine has more miles on it, and I can now do a burnout. The previous 2.049 sixty foot was on DR's that weren't warmed up because I couldn't do a burnout. Last month while at Sharif's we figured out that if we disconnect the 5 harnesses going into the VDC relay box, AND pull the Stop Lamp fuse, that we can do a burnout(just one or the other resulted in the ecu cutting power). With properly warmed up tires, I should be able to cut at least a tenth off my 60'.

Oh yeah - we also have Cheryl's new 07 6MT. It has around 900 miles on it. She hasn't yet decided if she's going to run. If she does, I'll try to take run it myself at least once, because I have a bit more seat time than she does at the track in a manual(~200 runs ).

 

Good luck! Give me a run down to what all these 5 harnesses are. I'd be curious to see if disconnecting them on my 5AT would allow for a harder launch.

 

Considering your location and mods, and DR's, you and your car has a potential for less than 13.5

Goodluck, and hope you can beat your personal record!

.

 

Good luck man... I hope you guys run the 07 as well in these good conditions... like you said there might not be too many more chances like this with good weather for a long time...

 

I'm undecided on taking the car to the track just yet. I am not sure I am ready to do runs in it yet and frankly it is pretty damn boring to me to go to the track and not run (for test and tune anyway). Driving a little over an hour and putting up with stupid *** ricer/redneck teenagers to be bored is something I'm undecided on as yet. I'll just see how tired I am come 8pm tonight when we have to leave.

 

IMHO I would go and take a stroll or two down the lane.

This will give you some kind of benchmark of where you have been (skillz and times) for later ref. Think of it like a raw green run. Also get to spend some 'quality time' with u know who...


Go for it girl

 

We'll see. This is like going to the track for the first time. I have NEVER taken a manual transmission car down a dragstrip. I am by no means confident in my abilities to launch, run, or anything else.

 

We discovered this about a month ago while out at Sharif's. I've hesitated posting it up because we're not exactly sure what the whole story is. I don't want to go too far off track here, so I'll update my original burnout thread sometime this afternoon while all the backstory: https://g35driver.com/forums/general-tech-questions/144095-burnouts-vdc-fuse-brake-fuse-abs-fuse.html

 

Even more reason to go. All you'll be doing is putting off the ineventable.

Be like Nike Girl..... just dewit....

 

Take it Cheryl!!!!!!

I really want to see how it compares to Trey's modded sedan.

Just make sure you get some practice, and let him do the serious driving



.

 

Hey now! It's not like I don't know how to drive a stick or something. LOL

I will let Trey drive it if I go. It's not looking good though. I had my first appointment with the trainer yesterday and OMG my legs hurt so freakin' bad!! At this point, I would just be sitting in the car trying to stay alive. I have another appointment this afternoon.

 

Where do I begin... Last night sucked. We drove a little over an hour up there with a bunch of other folks. Then I spent the next 30 minutes or so swapping out my wheels and tires, and disconnecting wiring harnesses(for the burnouts).

By the time we were prepped and ready to go, the line was out past the staging lanes and into the general parking lot. Then we had to shut down, because of a bike accident. Some dude put it down past the eighth mile, and he was wearing nothing but a tank top and jeans. Ambulance picked up the guy, but the bike laid down all kinds of fluids, so the track was shut down for forever.

Cheryl & I got one run in, against each other. After that, the track was shut down again, and we had to leave. Here is our single timeslip breakout, and I'll post more info later:

 

That really sucks. It's happened to us once, and it really sucks when they delay or shutdown the track. Makes me wonder what the bike guy was thinking?!?

Anyhow, those times are great. I'm sure if you would have had more than 1 run, you would have gone past 13.5. I know you will.

For a first time, Cheryl had some great times too! Much better than what I ever got my first time.

Are you planning on going back anytime soon?

.

 

Not sure when we'll be back. It's just such a PITA to put up with the people there on Friday nights and I doubt we'll have weather like this again before about late Sept/early Oct.

 

Conditions were almost ideal. For our run, my temp gauge registered 65 degrees, but wunderground shows 57 degrees for that same time. So assume somewhere within those two figures. The pressure was higher than usual, at 30.19, so the DA's were at ~660 feet.

Normally when I run, I'm very careful to note exactly how I launched, how I shift(throttle position, force), and when I shift. Last night, I just spaced out and I can't remember anything I did, except for the launch.

Let me start with the burnout. I've read numerous times that BFG's need to be warmed up. I've read that one needs to spin them until you you can see tire smoke, then count to three, and let off. That's not what I did lol. I started the burnout(1st gear), got on the brakes, and kept the rpms at 7 grand. I waited and waited for smoke, but couldn't see any. So I looked in my rearview, and everything was completely obstructed by tire smoke, including even the tower. I must have been doing the burnout for a good 15 seconds.

I let off the brakes and rolled up to the lights. Cheryl was just staging. When the lights started to come down, I took my time, raised the revs, and went. Normally when I'm at the tree, I let out of the clutch to just before it grips. Like I said, I just spaced out. This time, I started to raise the revs, got a little happy, and ended up doing a 6 grand clutch drop.

I couldn't believe it. That was the hardest shot out of the hole I've had in this car. Even with a nice long burnout, the clutch dump produced spin for at least the first 30 feet or so. It netted me a 2.082 sixty foot, which isn't my best with the DR's. But it just seemed to slingshot me out of the hole. Very deceiving. And like DaveB has said before, there was no drama. There was wheelspin, but surprisingly no wheelhop. In the past when I would spin, I would pretty much spin in place. On this run, the tires were spinning like crazy, but they did have enough grip to push me out of the hole.

I was glued to the tach, and watched the revs as they hovered between 5500 and 6000(as the tires were fighting for purchase). Once I fully gripped, the car seemed to lurch, and the revs instantly jumped to around 6600. I immediately lifted and shortshifted, because of my redline 1>2 misshift issues.

After that, I don't remember anything. I don't know when I shifted from 2>3, or 3>4. I don't remember if I lifted during 2>3 or not. I do remember that I WOT shifted 3>4(like I usually do).

Coming down the return road I was exhilarated. Because of the force of the launch, I thought I might have just cut a low 1.9. But after that, the pull didn't seem anything special. When I got the timeslip, I was disappointed with my sixty foot, but was pretty happy about my ET and trap.

I got one run in for the night. That run resulted in a new PB ET and trap. My previous best trap was a low 103mph, a year and half ago. I know if I had a few more runs, I would have done even better. I usually don't pull my best times until a good 7 or 8 runs into the night. Some of that is launching, and some of it is shifting.

And I've learned something else since I've been sporting the DR's. Many people have told me that they will cure my launching ills. That statement is an oversimplification. Even with DR's, you still have to hone your clutch technique, play with tire pressures, and launch rpms. If I would have feathered the clutch while keeping the revs up, I would have had a better launch. If I would have launched at a lower rpm, l probably would have had a better launch as well.