Shallow staging at the track can help reduce ET and add MPH. Shallow staging is simple and effective. Simply roll up to the line and set the prestage light. Then creep forward just enough to set off the stage light. By doing this, you'll get 6-8" of rollout before tripping the timers. This means you basically get a rolling start. Shallow staging on a 14-second car can mean as much as .1 and .7mph improvement in the 1/4 mile.

The disadvantage to shallow staging is slightly worse reaction times which is meaningless to most us because we're usually not bracket racing.

REMEMBER, reaction time has NOTHING to do with ET/MPH. You could sit at the line with a green light for 7 days and it still wouldn't effect your ET/MPH.

 

Shhhh.... you're giving away all the good secrets!

Seriously though this is a very good tip especially if you are looking for that little edge at the strip.

 

Nice tip, I always shallow stage when I stage no matter what car i'm racing.

 

That explains your inflated time over other autos. I wonder how "consistant" your times/traps really are....

 

How are his times inflated, just because he is a good driver/racer? At least he has taken his car to the track, how about you?

 

I was joking with him. And no I don't bring my G35 Sedan to the track.

 

Actually, they're alarmingly consistent

I've only been to the track once with this car. First run ever netted a 14.6@98mph with weak mid 2.3 60 foot. I immediately got back to the line (there was no line) and knew the car could do better. It went 14.4@98mph with a 2.21 60'. I then let the car cool and strapped on my old 15" drag radials which are quite a bit shorter than my stock 17s. It turns out they ended up killing my gearing and forced a shift into 4th 150' short of the finish line. I ran two back to back low low 14.5s@96mph with low 2.2 60 foots.

Next time I go out it should be in the 50s instead of the 70s. I'm going to run a mix of 96 octane to test and see if the stock VQ really can gain 5-10whp (SCC magazine saw these kinds of gains on their project 350Z). I'm also going to pump up the rear tires a bit to try and induce some spin off the line. Hopefully I can land some lower 2.1 60 foots. I know the car has 14.2s@99mph in it. I just need some cool dense air and a little luck.

I say take advantage of the free and simple mods whenever you can.

 

DaveB,
Could you elaborate a little more on the concept of shallow staging? I'm a bit confused.

Still being a novice, I've assumed that one must trigger both lights before the tree is ready. Several times I've actually rolled too far, and had to back up, which really screws with my timing.

Also, maybe you can lend me some advice on something else. When I stage both lights, I have to sit on my break. If I lift, I roll forward. So that means I've got one foot on the clutch, and one foot on the brake, so I can't keep an even throttle; I'm not anywhere close to being able to keep my rightfoot on the brake and the accelerator at the same time. Anyway, do you suggest I lift from the break at the first light, or what?

And one last questions: are all lights supposedly timed the same way? I mean, there are three oranges/yellows before the greens. Is there a standard delay between each light? If so, what is it? 1/4 second? 1/2 second? Several people have recommended launching on the last light, but I'm just too slow. I'm thinking about launching at the second light; if I actually do it right and red-light the launch, oh well.

 

First off, relax

Roll up just enough to set the Prestage light (ie the first set of bulbs). Let your opponent set his Prestage light (common track courtesy). Now, ever so slowly, roll up and stop the second the Stage light comes on.

This use to be a common problem with my track years ago. This is what you have to do. Once you're staged, put the e-brake on just enough to keep from rolling forward. Keep one hand on the e-brake and one on the wheel. Bring your revs up to the desired rpms and take all the slack out of the clutch just before it want to grab. When it's time to go, release the brake and launch. It will take some practice, but it can be done easily.

Yes, the lights are timed with a standard delay. Most tracks on Test-N-Tune nights use a Sportsman tree which does the following:

Amber 1
1/2 second
Amber 2
1/2 second
Amber 3
1/2 second
Green


A Pro tree, like you see on NHRA/IHRA racing on TV, is damn hard to run with. It does the following:

Ambers 1 & 2 & 3
.4 seconds
Green


You'll almost always be racing with a Sportsman tree. Remember that reaction time has absolutely nothing to do with ET/MPH.....unless you redlight and delay. The second you see a red light, you had already be racing be the clock has already started.

If you want to improve your RTs, you simply launch the second you see the 3rd set of ambers light up. The amount of time it takes your body and car to react should match closely with when the green light comes on. It use to be that a .500 reaction time was perfect. Anything lower was redlight. Recently many tracks started using .000 as a perfect RT. Anything negative was a redlight. .000 still means .500 though. If you get a -.100 you actually had a .400 reaction time (redlight). Tracks are doing this because it's easier to read and reduces confusion during events. Anything in the .0XX-.1XX (.5XX-.6XX) range is very good. Anything in the .200 range is okay. Anything above that is pretty bad. .1XXs are really easy to come by if you've had practice. .0XX are pretty rare.

 

Excellent post DaveB. Much appreciated, and keep it up.