I've talked 6 buddies into going to a local tuner night at the drag strip. Nobody's ever done it. What's the basic technique? All i know is 'as soon as you see green, haul ***'. Any tips? 6-speed, '93, stock. new tires. Also, anti slip ON or Off?

 

Wheel hop is your enemy. You'll probably end up having to launch fairly easy, which is fine. Then lay into the gas. Make a note of how you launch and shift, consistency is key. Be safe and have fun.

 

soon as you see the third yellow haul butt.

 

first find out what lanes are for street tire'd cars thats the lane or lanes you'll want to be in. (its a good idea to watch some of the cars run to see where things are: staging beams/finish line/return roads ect.)

when its your turn, drive around waterbox, not thru it.
IF your going to do a burn out (street tires) then they may want you to back up onto the concrete pad (not into the water, you may need to tell them that you want a dry burnout) , ask the guy with the water hose.
(stick shift burn out/without line lock:
heal of right foot on brake "FIRM", toe's of right foot located so you can apply throttle, quickly give it 1/2 to 3/4 throttle and pop the clutch, once its spinning you may need to adjust throttle to keep it from hitting rev limiter or stalling. as soon as you see smoke in the mirror let off the brake and let it spin until the tires catch traction (without adding throttle) you'll be moving forward so be ready to stop quickly after they catch traction or anytime it starts going offline/out of shape.) you should'nt need to pass the starting line (thats just the big dogs).

IF you don't want to do a burn out, just drive around the waterbox and line up in the groove (two lines of rubber) wait till the cars at the starting line leave and the starter guy waives you forward (that goes for the burn out info too). then you can do a "dry hop" if you want (just a short test launch, you shouldn't move more than a few feet then brake).

now drive up slow and creep into the staging beams. there are two small lights at the top of the starting tree (on your side, one on the top and the second right below it) they will "come on" as you creep into each beam on the track. once you've got the first one "on" it only takes a few inches to roll into the second one. when both are "on" your "staged" and need to stop moving.

now things happen fast.
when both cars are "staged" the starter will trigger the tree and the lights will run down:
yellow, yellow, yellow, green.

go on the last (3rd) yellow, don't wait for the green (trust me on this, it works, until you start red lighting anyway).

as far as the actual launch, just pretend your trying to pull away from a stop sign as fast as possible without spinning the tires at all.
it will take a couple of trys before you start getting it right.
I'd start out with rev's around 2500 to 3000rpm as you start letting out the clutch (don't just dump the clutch) you want to use both the clutch and the throttle to control your launch.
as you release the clutch you'll be adding throttle, if it starts to spin stop adding throttle (clutch too) and let tires catch up some.
if it starts to bog the motor, stop movement of the clutch and add more throttle.

the best launch will be one that lets you put down all the power your tires can hold without spinning the tires or bogging the motor down much. (its not easy)

oh, make sure you know where the finish line is before your run so you don't shut down too early or run out too far (you want all the room you can to slow down and make one of the turn around roads).

Be mindful of the guy in the other lane, you have to share the return road and you may have to cross his lane to get to that return road. so know where he is and how fast he's going (some cars can't slow down enough to take the first turn off, there are usually 2 or 3 turn offs).

proceed safely (don't speed) down the return road to the ticket shack where you'll get your timeslip handed to you.

thats a bit long but should get you on the right track.
relax, be safe and HAVE FUN.

 

I wouldn't do a dry hop. Thats how you break parts.

 

Make sure its in first gear when you launch

 

Could be blind but did someone answer the No Slip ON/OFF question?
Thanks

 

Not sure. Slip off. There.

 

Also use the seatbelt, turn off the air condition, and roll the windows up. Most tracks require a helmet for 13.99 and quicker which you should easily be able to do. You may want to try lowering the tire pressure a bit to increase traction.

 

The main rule is to follow the track officials dirctions; it's best to first sit out a round and watch the procedure.

You will be called from the pits to the lanes and then your lane will be called up toward the staging area.

When you are told to advance to staging, drive AROUND the water and, when prompted, pull up to the line and light just the two top bulbs = prestaged.

After your opponent has prestaged, inch up to light the two bottom bulbs = staged. At this time you should have RPM up and ready to launch.

When the yellow lights begin to come down, leave on the 3rd yellow.

Once through the traps, slow down toward the exit and be aware of where is the other driver.

Proceed to the timing booth, pick up your time slip and back to the pits to compare slips with your buds and enjoy the rush...

 

On my first night at the strip, all I really cared about was getting down the track just to see what it felt like.

65Z01 and olRJ pretty much have it covered. I think you should pull into the water box, TURN OFF ASR, do a small little burn out. Overheating street tires will slow you down. The other guys did a great job of covering what to do and how to do it.

I left my ASR on once during my burnout. Feeling embarrassed screwed up my whole run.


Get to the strip, ask the gate attendant where sign in & inspection takes place. Go find a place to pit, unload or whatever you brought with you(I cable lock my stuff to a tree when I go). Drop your air pressure down to around 25 to 28 lbs.

I turn the heater on full blast right before my burn out and flip on my parking & fog lights for night runs. Right before I prestage I spin my tires one last time to clean them off (some tracks frown on this). Once I get my prestage lights lit up I hold the rpms right about 2800 to 3000. I look halfway down the track and use periphial vision to launch. When I used to race BMX bikes I read an article that said your brain reacts quicker to things out the corner of your eye than directly in front of you. Third yellow your left foot should be on its way up and right foot on its way down. Your first run, just go. Don't worry about your times, your speeds, the guy next to ....who cares? We all have to go our first time.

Want some real advice? Go to some deserted road and practice some fast launches and running car up into third to get the feel of the car and remember the sound of the motor at redline. You don't want to be staring at the tach running down the track. Take an air tank (for filling up your tires for the drive home) and a battery jumper with you at the least.

Most of all, have fun. It's test and tune night. You are there for practice not to win a trophy.

 

http://www.nhra.com/basics/basics.html

http://www.nhra.com/basics/basics.html

http://www.nhra.com/basics/handicap.html

 

Are you refering to street tires or slick tires only??
At our track the announcer warns to drive around the water box if on street tires.

 

I know most people recommend driving around the water. I believe it's a saftey issue also. Cars without skinnys in the front or slicks are more likely to drip water down the track going through the water box. I usually prefer to avoid it with street tires. Sometimes it's hard to avoid when they are constantly spraying the track. I've actual had my best 60' times going through it and doing a small burn out. 1.8 60' with sumitomo street tires at 16 psi

 

Your not going to break records on your first time out. I wouldn't even worry about getting the best time or anything, just get the hang of the process.

Figure out how to stage, where the end of the track is, where the return road is, etc...

Make your first pass at 80%.

Don't get too worked up over times or anything. No one sets the world on fire their first time out.

 

Cool site:

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/

 

Well...how did you do?

 

The only tip I have is to not do what this guy did:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHkNLmcRwy0&eurl=

 

I laughed my *** off!!!!! What was really funny too was hearing the ford take off after the oops....why bother!....lol...

 

Too funny!!!