This Thursday im am going to run my L-48 73' at the track. It will be my first time racing. I have a 350 and
4 speed wide ratio trans. Super turbo mufflers, slightly bigger than stock cam, 3.36 rear end, and recently rebuilt
rochester carb. The track is freshly been re paved and is not sticky yet. I dont want to make an behind out
of myself so how much gas should i have in the tank and what Rpm should i drop it at? What times on the 1/8th
should i run a rough estimate?

 

go out on a back road, and test rpms... drop at 2.5, no spin go to 3k.... no spin... 3.5 etc

shift when she quits pulling

 

good luck for the first time.let us know what you run. :cheers:

 

Tank - probably 3/4 to a full tank - the weight won't hurt you a bit.
....RPM's ? - I'd try 2500.... if you get a couple of warm-up runs just go through the motions and shift firm but don't rush it and shift at least a 1000 rpms lower than 'pushing' it (redline) for the first run. It's best to set up a pattern - the track will have more traction than the street & will 'feel' faster with the fence/barricades & all.
If you're competing in 'bracket' racing then be sure to add at least 0.2 (two-tenths) to your time. IF you come within 0.05 of that time - lower it another 0.1 each time you get faster. It's better to be slower than 'breaking' out of your time ! :eek:
Remember to go on 'yellow' - don't wait for the green or your reaction time will stink. Good Luck ! :cool: :cheers:

 

First time at the track?
Dont wear short pants (you need long pants)
You will probably have to rent a helmet. Wear a baseball cap - the rentals can be pretty gross.
Make sure you have some kind of overflow tank for the radiator. (no overflow hose direct to street)

The rest is pretty simple, ie green means go (but dont wait for green :) ) follow the instructions of the guy by the xmas tree. MJ

 

Most common mistake is not letting the air down in the tires. With street tires run 16-18 lbs. Yes thats correct. I run about 15 lbs for my best times (street tires or street slicks). Practice your burn outs on a back road. To burn out the tires take it to 5K and dump the clutch. I have the same rear on mine and I tried burn outs in second a few times, too hard to control. Stage the lights very slow. Set the first yellow on and move very slow into the second so as not to deep stage , makes for an easy red light.

Go on the middle of the last yellow light.

The hardest part is keeping your concentration. Don't look at the other car, forget your speedo, use the tach to shift. With a stock L-48 and a 3.36 wide ratio, you probably won't reach 4th gear. Run it out in 3rd. Try it in 4th in the next run to compare.

Hope this helps

:flag

 

You're running the 1/8th mile with a 3.36 rear end, I doubt you'll even need third. I just barely need third with 3.70's. As for the burn out, if you're on street tires, stay out of the water box. The water will run down your tread and pool under your tires as you're sitting on the starting line which will cause you to spin off the line. Also, you don't need to do a 5k clutch dump for the burnout. Aside from being hard on the drive train, there is no real point in heating up the street tires, it will just make them slick, not sticky since they are a hard compound tire. However, you do want to spin them slightly to throw off any small rocks. That should be the extent of your "burnout".
I don't know what kind of power you're putting out, but I would guess 9.20-9.50 in the 1/8th. Don't worry about reaction time for your first run, even if you end up with a 1.xx R/T, just relax and have fun. There will be plenty of time to be serious and worry about R/T, 60 ft., etc. If you run more than once, then you can try to best your R/T and 60 ft. if you want. Yes, go on the third yellow, you are trying to leave the line at the exact instant the light turns green, which happens to be .500 seconds after the third yellow, hence the best R/T is .500.
Road launches will be different than track launches. Just because the track was just repaved, that doesn't mean it's not going to be sticky. They could have applied VHT or some other substance to the surface. It's better to start off low, than to start too high and get wheel-hop; that's how things break. I would say about 2-2.2k launch should be close. With street tires, a LITTLE wheelspin is okay. No more than 2 or 3 rotations though.

Most of all, just have fun on your first trip.


[Modified by sharklover, 11:34 PM 4/15/2002]

 

Corvettelvr73- Good luck! Usually folk at a track will help you with any questions. Take off on the third amber. I never ran on a 1/8 mile track, so I can't get you an estimate. I wouldn't bother with a burn out. With your gears, you shouldn't have a problem with traction. You'll probably run in the low 14 to high 13 sec 1/4 mile. Just have a great time. Talk with people and you will learn lot. The picture below shows all the type of cars you'll run into at the strip. That's me in the red shark. The guy in the El Cameno was a little intimidated; of course I blew his doors off, Hee Hee! It was all in good fun. Enjoy the smell of burning rubber and loud engines.
:cheers: Dan





[Modified by vettedan, 11:49 PM 4/15/2002]

 

Cool Pic vettedan

i hope that you smoked everyone of them. espicially that ricer behind you :cheers:

 

Expierement with different launch rpm's. Leave the line the moment you see the third yellow light. Shift no later than 5k with a stock motor. Power shift if you feel comfortable doing it. I.E. Never let off the gas. Just slam the clutch down, move the shifter to the next gear and realese the clutch as fast as possible. It takes some practice but becomes an automatic function when you get used to it. Air down the rear to 20psi. Air up the front to the max. Remove trim rings and center caps if applicable. Remove spare tire but keep the cover on. I would run 3/8 to 1/2 tank for a day of fun at the track. The better the burnout the hotter and stickier the tires will be. Good luck. Let us know the results.

 

Desertdawg-I lined up with a ricer sometime that night. It was ugly? I was picking up my time slip while the ricer was finishing.

 

let us know how it goes:D good luck