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Opening day....help.

2K views 39 replies 9 participants last post by  KSconvert 
#1 ·
Today is opening day at the drags here in Wichita, and I'm praying to Zuul that I can make it (work 3rd shift). I haven't taken a car to the strip in 7 years, and that was my stock auto 1988 Camaro that did a best of 16.9. Any tips on launching and shift points in my '14 GT 6spd? I'm still on stock Pirellis with the mods listed in my sig.

I'm also going to be running BAMA's 89 performance tune. Any guesses on what I should be running? When they open at 11am, the DA is forecasted to be around 2200-2300ft.
 
#2 ·
Leave at idle and don't punch it immediately out of the hole, especially this early in the season when all of the old rubber has been scraped off the starting line.
I have 3.31's and was experiencing bad wheel hop off the line and on the 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.
LCA's and an UCA will go on before I go back.
If I had to guess a trap speed I would figure in the 114-116 range with ET's on street tires all over the place.
 
#3 ·
Leave on the last yellow, 13.10 @ 108-109. I'd do the UCA first or all at once. All S197 Mustangs have wheel hop issues on street tires. Try for a 2.0 or better 60' the rest is easy. Just drive through on the first pass to find your way. No one makes a killer first pass the first time out. Take it slow, learn and have fun.
 
#4 ·
Some good advice already listed here. ^^^

The most important thing is to take your time. If it's a Test and Tune day, than there's no penalty for leaving the line late (reaction time). I suggest not worrying about the tree and just leaving when you're read, after the green light. This will help your consistency for finding the best launch.

Traction is definitely going to be an issue with street tires. Be sure to drive around the water pit and just give your tires a quick spin to heat them up a little. Do not sit and perform a burnout, as that will make the tires greasy and slippery. Also, make sure to deflate the rear tires to about 24psi and inflate the front tires to 38psi. That should help a little as well.

Last but not least, don't forget to have fun! Don't worry about what others are doing, just enjoy yourself!

Shane
 
#5 ·
I missed opening day unfortunately but I'll give some of these a shot this Saturday. I really appreciate all the tips. Hopefully I'll get some LCAs soon, but I can't wait to get a baseline down.
 
#7 ·
Not yet. My mom came to visit the opening day. The weather yesterday was 40 degrees with a 20mph headwind. Then during the week it was 70s lol. Mother nature doesn't want me getting her all hot and bothered.

Sent from church, because I'm out of cheerios.
 
#9 ·
The better the engine will run and the less traction the tires will have. Plus a strong headwind...

Sent from church, because I'm out of cheerios.
 
#10 ·
Pfft just heat those *****es up and don't drive through the water box like half the ppl do on street tires...

Honestly I'd get some cheap rims for the rear and throw some 28" slicks on there for track days.
 
#11 ·
I'm still too paranoid about the axle tube to run slicks. And even when I was 16, I knew not to drive through the water box. But still saw people twice my age driving through it on street tires and doing burnouts lol.

Weather is supposed to be a little better tomorrow. About 50 by the time the track opens. Then of course 80 on Sunday when they don't have test and tune.

Should I turn off AdvancTrac when I gingerly leave the line?
 
#12 ·
Well crap. Just looked up the rules for the local track. Apparently if I'm faster than 13.99 I need a SNELL (2005 or newer) approved helmet. Hopefully I can find someone nice enough to let me borrow one. If I get to the point where I run 11.49 or faster, I'll need a roll bar with padding and a 5 point harness.
 
#14 ·
True, I've rented a helmet at an auto-x event before. I haven't been to this track in a few years and management/ownership has changed so I'll have to ask when I go. But after my first run, because I don't want them to kick me out during tech after I've already paid to enter.
 
#18 ·
Talking to a local 5.0 driver and she informed me just play dumb the first day and they'll let me run, but next time I'll need one.
 
#19 ·
^^ I was also think about that just say you don't know how fast it is or say it is slower then it actually is. But the downside to that is if you do crash going that fast your going to really want that helmet lol but I doubt you will crash
 
#20 ·
Haha well just in case, I do have a buddy that said he would let me borrow his motorcycle helmet.
 
#23 ·
Haha, sorry. Posted it so much on Facebook that I forgot about here.

Setup: BBR off road x-pipe, Roush AB, 3.73 gears, BAMA 89 performance tune

First run: clipped the water box, AdvanceTrak off, dumped clutch - 15.1 @ 106 with a 2.56 60ft

Second: sport mode, dumped clutch - 14.6 @ 106 with 2.45 60ft

Third: sport mode, left @ 2000 - 14.3 @ 106 with 2.23 60ft

Fourth: Advancetrak off, left @ 2000 - 14.1 @ 107 with 2.33 60ft

Fifth: sport mode, left @ 2000 - 13.8 @ 108 with 2.22 60ft

Sixth: sport mode, left @ 2000 - 13.6 @ 108 with 2.15 60ft

Seventh: sport mode, left @ 2000 - 13.6 @ 108 with 2.15 60ft

I'm starting to think I wasn't going WOT soon enough due to worrying about spinning through 1st and 2nd. The first 3 runs I kept missing 2nd and hitting the engine cutoff before I could get back in it. It ended up turning into racing, rather than trying to set a good time. I was more worried about beating the person next to me and getting a good reaction time than getting a feel for the car. Which was probably my main problem with times.
 
#25 ·
The worst part was that every single car I lined up against, I should have beaten. Fastest car I ran against was pulling low 13s or high 12s. Starting to lose confidence in my Bama tune.
 
#28 ·
Because it has the ghost cam and I wasn't sure if I had got all of the 89 out of the system. I wasn't sure I wanted to go WOT with that much timing. I'm putting a call into BAMA once my new wheels/tires get here to recalibrate the speedometer and get a race tune without the cam.
 
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