Went to a local 1/8th strip again Thursday night. Overall, I was very disappointed. I had a couple of decent runs, and lowered by best-overall by a couple tenths, but it was still a frustrating night.

Leading up to going to the track, I was excited because it was supposed to be under 70. Unfortunately, when I was running, it hovered at 77 degrees, though it did cool down to 69 for my last two runs. The previous week, it was 84 degrees, so a 7 degree change, though it was more humid Thursday than the previous week.

I got 21 runs overall. That's right. 21. The day before, I rotated my tires for the first time(front/rear swap). Other than the tires, and the temps, I can't think of any other variables.

All night I had problems with traction. I only had 1 2.1 60', a few 2.2 60's, and everything else was much worse. The track conditions were just aweful. On the first 7 or 8 runs, I just couldn't hook up. I was spinning at launch, and every shift. Even worse, on a few runs I was even spinning after shifting while just driving down the track in 2nd gear. Seriously, several times I shifted at redline from 1st to 2nd, and spun the tires for at least 50 feet. It was unbelievable. After the track got a little busier, and the *serious* cars began running, I didn't have quite the same traction issues, but I still couldn't hook up right during launch.

Here's each run:
Run# - 60' - ET - Trap
1 - 2.538 - 10.739 - 72.13 (spun all down the track)
2 - 2.338 - 10.267 - 71.83 (spun all down the track)
3 - 2.372 - 9.854 - 74.24
4 - 2.534 - 10.428 - 68.09 (spun all down the track, missed 1 to 2, only misfire of the night)
5 - 2.350 - 9.744 - 74.88
6 - 2.396 - 9.719 - 75.92 (better trap, but still spinning during the shifts)
7 - 2.418 - 9.833 - 75.46
8 - 2.405 - 9.771 - 75.75
9 - 2.221 - 9.347 - 77.29 (best run of the night by far, also my first 2.2 60 )
10 - 2.287 - 9.494 - 76.92
11 - 2.173 - 9.366 - 76.14 (2nd best run, only 2.1 of the night, would have been best run but almost lost control during 2-3 shift because of spin, had to let off throttle, notice trap speed)
12 - 2.295 - 10.164 - 72.58 ( I fouled the light so didn't run )
13 - 2.269 - 9.541 - 76.67
14 - 2.251 - 9.485 - 76.40
15 - 2.325 - 9.593 - 76.53
16 - 2.567 - 9.895 - 76.30
17 - 2.386 - 9.734 - 75.35
18 - 2.315 - 9.618 - 75.77
19 - 2.330 - 9.771 - 75.12
20 - 2.391 - 9.796 - 74.88
21 - 2.258 - 9.527 - 76.15

The most embarrassing moment of the night? On the first run, I spun all the way down the track. So on the second run, this Jeep Cherokee came up and ran me. I beat him, barely, with my 10.2. But you know that he's gonna tell everybody that g's "aren't all that", because he almost beat me. Sad.

You'll notice that runs 9 to 14 were alright, but the rest were just abysmal. The track conditions were just aweful, and I couldn't get consistent launches. The previous week, on the same tires(pre-rotation), I was getting consistent 2.2's. This time, it just wasn't happening.

Though I did beat my previous best 1/8th ET by 2 tenths, and previous best trap by 2mph. That's promising.

 

Wow Trey, you're becoming quite the racer... if your 1/8 mile track is anything like the one here, it's hard to get around the water box... since I presume you aren’t doing burnouts (not recommended) if you are forced through he water box that is probably the problem... what I did was roll slowly through it then spin the tires slightly (prior to staging of course) to get the water off... it definitely helps with traction... Probably seems like a no-brainer and maybe you already do this, but thought I'd share in case you don’t.

 

The tire rotation issue might be highlighted by the camber change associated with your spring/shock setup. The sleight uneven wear becomes apparent immediately after the rotation, diminishing as the tires wear in more. A couple of good burnouts should cure this.

Weight transfer will be affected by being more tightly sprung, keeping the car more "square" and allowing less transfer to the rear.

On street tires, as you've been witness to, track prep will affect your launch greatly. It's especially frustrating on the 1/8 mi. tracks, where you can't "make it up" on the big end. DeanG356mt had the same problem when we raced last fall...his whole car would spin forever on the 1-2, and try to step out of the groove on the 2-3. His 13-second coupe could only muster frustratingly low, low 14's on his summer tires.

All that being said, your best run of the night works out to around a 14.3-14.4 at about 99-100 MPH. Not too shabby!!! Congrats on a new personal best.

 

Track was sucking that night BUT my poor little ole automatic managed a 9.510 later in the evening.

Doubt we will be going back for a while though. I am a little upset about the condition of those tires on his car now that he is spinning them like he is and that poor car needs a break. On his night with 20+ runs I did all of about 9 or 10. I did leave about an hour earlier but still! LOL!

 

Trey,

There's really no reason to stay in the gas when you're having traction problems like that. If your launch is seriously bad, let off, put it into 3rd and try again. Same goes for if you hit 2nd and the tires keep spinning. Just let off. There's no sense in abusing the car when you know the run is going to suck. It's a safe habit to get into, especially with your racing almost weekly.

For whatever reason, a track can get really slippery. If you're spinning through 2nd and 3rd, it usually has to do with oil on the track. There were occassions when my FWD Maxima would be fine in first, then I'd grab second and the tires would spin so hard and so fast, I though the clutch failed. When the car started drifting towards the wall, I knew it wasn't the clutch Now that's a scary sensation.

The good news is your best couple runs are good for 14.3-14.4@98-100mph.

Trey's wife,

Your 9.510 is good for solid 14.5s!!!!!

 

Congrats on your new best 1/8 mile times. 9.3 at 77+mph is very fast, like Dave B said it should be good for 14.3-14.4 at 99mph in the 1/4.

 

You're correct. This track doesn't leave any room for avoiding the water box. The local 1/4th on the other hand does have enough room.

I've tried to stage/warm the tires, but I must be a complete dunce because the two times I tried it I just stalled the car, and made all of the attendants just look, point, and laugh

 

I will definitely keep that in mind. Every time I screw up, be it a bad launch, or something during the run, I push it *that* much harder to recover. I know in my head that I'm not going to make it up, but I try to anyway. You're right though. No need to abuse the car.

I'm still a little concerned about my launch. The previous week, I was in the 2.2's almost all night, with that personal-best 2.15 thrown in there. The few times I tried less throttle, I would get like a 2.4 or 2.5. Keep in mind that right now I refuse to feather the clutch. I'm abusing the clutch/tranny enough as it is...

So after last week, I was pretty confident that I had the launch down. The only times I had a bad launch were when I actually tried to have a good r/t, because I didn't have enough time to check my rpm pre-launch AND watch the tree at the same time. Another reason I was so confident is because I've seen very few 60 times that beat my 2.15 for a nearly stock(305 middy and ztube) NA RWD on stock tires. In fact, the only one I can remember is a 2.14(one hundreth of a second here).

So this last trip was just that much more aggravating. On that run where the Cherokee almost beat me, I for the first time in my short experience thought I was gonna bite it. I jumped off the line hard, and the rear-end kicked out to the left(I was in the left lane), and I came "this" close to crossing the line. I had to get off the throttle, jump to second, and correct the stearing all at the same time to recover. Very, very scare, especially considering my lack of experience.

I've decided to take a break for a while. I *might* make a trip in a few weeks up the road to the 1/4 though, when it cools off. They seem to have excellent track prep up there. But I'm seriously starting to worry about my clutch and tranny; not good on a car with ~8.5k miles.

 

Appreciate the feedback. I'll take a 14.3/14.4 at 77 degrees/70 himidity, 29.94 baro, with aweful track conditions thrown in .

I'm confident I can get close to 14.1/14.0, in present trim, on a better prepared track in cooler conditions and properly warmed-up tires. If I ever do get such a time, it will be a "best of", rather than a consistent time. Right now, I can say that I'm driving the car(after the launch) as well as it can be driven. I'm speed shifting through each gear, at 7k, and the rpms don't get close to bouncing the limiter before I'm in the next gear. All things considered, that's a fast-a$$ shift, in light of the fact that the engine is free to rev that 200rpms while in neutral, which should take no time at all. So, it's gonna be all about the launch to reach a 14 flat.

Hell, I'll be happy with a 14.099999. It's still a 14, right Dave?

 

I don’t know Trey... 14 is a pretty lofty goal - especially without some serious mods. My best 1/8 was 9.2 (700 ft above sea level - don’t remember temps but it was summer so a little on the warm side), best 1/4 mile was 15.0 - track is 2700 ft above sea level - their correction formula for sea level equivalent brings it to 14.5 - it was mid summer hot and muggy. I plan to go back when weather is consistently cooler, should drop a few tenths.

14.0 would be a tremendous time even at sea level in perfect conditions.

 

Trey,

Radial tires do worse if you warm them up like a slick. Radial tires only need a quick spin to get the dirt and debris off. Slicks need to be warmed up to expose and heat new rubber. Radial tires are the exact opposite. Don't let any ricer tell you that radials need a burnout to hook up.

 

You are absolutely correct, it is quite a lofty goal. In fact, in this car, with this driver(me), it might be unattainable. But it's still my goal.

My goal last thursday was to crack 9.4, with a previous best of a 9.52. I did more than that, I cracked a mid 9.3. So now I'm being a little more aggressive with my goals.

 

I have to take the blame for the whole "warming up the tires" thing. As much as I'd like to blame a bunch of ricers, I can't. I had made that assumption on my own.

Thanks for the advice.

 

Going from 9.52 to 9.3 is realistic... honestly I would be surprised if you got much lower than that though (unless your wife lets you mod -> 'other thread')... dropping 1/2 second in a 1/4 mile is just out of reach I'm affriad. But good luck!