[Z06] Need guidance after terrible times at the track
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Need guidance after terrible times at the track
So I just came back from my first trip ever to the dragstrip. I took my 2004 Corvette Z06 that's putting out approximately 450 hp to the wheels and 430 rwtq. (Ported stock heads and LG G5XE cam) Toyo R888 all 4 corners. 275/40/17 up front, 305/35/18 in the rear. I was expecting, with my amateur driving, somewhere in the low 12 second to high 11 second range. I wasn't even close. It's funny and disappointing at the same time, I definitely have some work to do on my end.
I ranged between 2.242 and 2.470 for my 60 foot time, which I know is terrible. ET ranged between 12.818 to 13.981 ( I spun really bad off the line on this run). And my trap speed ranged from 112.57-114.81.
With these numbers, what's the best do you guys think this car can do with a seasoned driver behind the wheel? I can't help but feel both my ET and trap speed should be higher
Also, I would love to hear some suggestions on how to lower these times especially my 60 foot
Update with video of latest trip. A tad bit better but still nowhere near where I should be
I ranged between 2.242 and 2.470 for my 60 foot time, which I know is terrible. ET ranged between 12.818 to 13.981 ( I spun really bad off the line on this run). And my trap speed ranged from 112.57-114.81.
With these numbers, what's the best do you guys think this car can do with a seasoned driver behind the wheel? I can't help but feel both my ET and trap speed should be higher
Also, I would love to hear some suggestions on how to lower these times especially my 60 foot
Update with video of latest trip. A tad bit better but still nowhere near where I should be
Last edited by harryk387; 07-30-2017 at 07:38 PM.
#2
Pro
Seat time! Better tires suited for the drag strip for sure. I went last night and I picked up 5 mph with cooler air and seat time. My car is an 03Z with bolt ons.
#3
Melting Slicks
What Scotty said..
Seat time, practice launching, and good tires.
With your setup you should be in the 11s.
However, people always assume that you can get that power to the ground. Tires and suspension make a HUGE difference.
Seat time, practice launching, and good tires.
With your setup you should be in the 11s.
However, people always assume that you can get that power to the ground. Tires and suspension make a HUGE difference.
Last edited by bikeriderga; 06-04-2017 at 12:52 PM.
#4
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Nov 2005
Location: Kendall Park NJ
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Your street tires are holding you back; however, this can be overcome. Here are tips provided by Ranger which have helped many of us.
http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Launch_Tips.html
Your tires are capable of 1.8 60's. There are other driving tips in the website that will provide you with the correct techniques and drills to hone your driving skills. Implementing and practicing the correct techniques will drop your ET while increasing your trap speed. Depending on the track location, weather conditions, and track prep your setup should be capable of mid 11s at mid 12x mph assuming a DA near sea level. If you give us video of your next trip, we can provide additional assistance. This is best accomplished by someone at the starting line shooting the entire car from the side.
Keep us posted.
http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Launch_Tips.html
Your tires are capable of 1.8 60's. There are other driving tips in the website that will provide you with the correct techniques and drills to hone your driving skills. Implementing and practicing the correct techniques will drop your ET while increasing your trap speed. Depending on the track location, weather conditions, and track prep your setup should be capable of mid 11s at mid 12x mph assuming a DA near sea level. If you give us video of your next trip, we can provide additional assistance. This is best accomplished by someone at the starting line shooting the entire car from the side.
Keep us posted.
#5
Don't be discouraged. It is all in technique and getting the power down. Easily said, not always easily done.
Several important items to get control of:
1) Wheel spin must be eliminated. If you spin significantly that run is toast. Nothing you can do will make up that time lost.
2) Any errors made in the first 60' impact your ET the greatest. For example, a missed gear at 2/3 track may impact your ET by .2-.3 if you recover quickly. However spinning off the line can be up to a second or more.
3) Merely dropping your current best 60' time to a 1.9x will take nearly .3-.5 seconds off your ET putting you in the 12.3x range. With your power you should be much quicker than even that.
Once you start getting quicker than the 12.3 range street tires will be the limiting factor. As mentioned Ranger has some launching tips/techniques. I use a slightly different method.
I would first concentrate on the 60' and launch. Your biggest gains will be made there.
Several important items to get control of:
1) Wheel spin must be eliminated. If you spin significantly that run is toast. Nothing you can do will make up that time lost.
2) Any errors made in the first 60' impact your ET the greatest. For example, a missed gear at 2/3 track may impact your ET by .2-.3 if you recover quickly. However spinning off the line can be up to a second or more.
3) Merely dropping your current best 60' time to a 1.9x will take nearly .3-.5 seconds off your ET putting you in the 12.3x range. With your power you should be much quicker than even that.
Once you start getting quicker than the 12.3 range street tires will be the limiting factor. As mentioned Ranger has some launching tips/techniques. I use a slightly different method.
I would first concentrate on the 60' and launch. Your biggest gains will be made there.
#6
Race Director
Your first sentence says a lot. It was your first trip EVER to the dragstrip. Launching an auto car take some skill to avoid spinning too much of the line, driving a manual takes waaay more skill and seat time to get it right. You're 60' times are terrible, no offense, I'm guessing you're shifting skills aren't too much better. Those two combined equal a very poor et and mph. A 'decent' 60' time is anything below a 2.0, a good 60' is a 1.8-1.9. Your 60' time means everything in drag racing. Get your launch technique down and work on your shifting and you will easily be in the 11's. With just the VR, LT's, tune and a MGW shifter I ran an 11.96 @119 last fall and the car is capable of even better than that. That's at about 390 whp. As mentioned read up on Rangers tips, some very good info there.
#7
Racer
Thread Starter
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Ill read up on rangers techniques and tips. definitely know my 60' was crap.
I do feel like shifting is decemt but what do I know lol
Will just have to keep making trips down and practicing.
And unless I didn't notice it because of how nervous I was, I didn't get much wheel spin off the line except for on my second run but that was due to me driving over the water and not doing a burnout. I did get some wheelspin/hop on the 1-2 shift though
I do feel like shifting is decemt but what do I know lol
Will just have to keep making trips down and practicing.
And unless I didn't notice it because of how nervous I was, I didn't get much wheel spin off the line except for on my second run but that was due to me driving over the water and not doing a burnout. I did get some wheelspin/hop on the 1-2 shift though
#8
Burning Brakes
what psi is/was in your tires?, was there any sort of track prep? this stuff takes time to master. try to be smooth on your inputs, ie smooth applying throttle and smooth and quick clutch release. the vid below is a 1.78 60' on a nitto NT05 street tire. tire press 22psi, 4k launch with a quick clutch slip, applying more throttle as i release the clutch. notice how the front end comes up and stays up, no bucking or stumbling.
if the track prep is garbage then there isnt gonna be much you can do. ive struggled on drag radials on bad track prep. and keep that clutch fluid CLEAN!
if the track prep is garbage then there isnt gonna be much you can do. ive struggled on drag radials on bad track prep. and keep that clutch fluid CLEAN!
Last edited by MX621; 06-05-2017 at 10:34 AM.
#9
Le Mans Master
My buddy who was new to performance cars at the time had a 2011 Mustang GT with a CAI and a tune. He wanted to go to the track so I cruised up there with him.
He ran it a few times and was running 13.2's at around 108. You could tell he was nervous and new to it. I had never driven his car before but he asked me to make a pass.
My first and only pass out in the car it went 12.27 at 114mph. By looking at the times you would think they were two different cars. There is a huge difference between someone new and someone seasoned, so don't be discouraged, get in some seat time and you'll get those times down and mph's up.
He ran it a few times and was running 13.2's at around 108. You could tell he was nervous and new to it. I had never driven his car before but he asked me to make a pass.
My first and only pass out in the car it went 12.27 at 114mph. By looking at the times you would think they were two different cars. There is a huge difference between someone new and someone seasoned, so don't be discouraged, get in some seat time and you'll get those times down and mph's up.
#10
Drifting
get a used 600cc sportbike, add couple tooth bigger sprocket in rear -1 front, find a cheap slightly extended swingarm on ebay, get nylon ractheting front fork tie downs, proceed to run 10's all day every day over and over again.
Clutch goes replace cheap.
Save the C5Z from dragstrip abuse LOL!
Clutch goes replace cheap.
Save the C5Z from dragstrip abuse LOL!
#11
Race Director
what psi is/was in your tires?, was there any sort of track prep? this stuff takes time to master. try to be smooth on your inputs, ie smooth applying throttle and smooth and quick clutch release. the vid below is a 1.78 60' on a nitto NT05 street tire. tire press 22psi, 4k launch with a quick clutch slip, applying more throttle as i release the clutch. notice how the front end comes up and stays up, no bucking or stumbling.
if the track prep is garbage then there isnt gonna be much you can do. ive struggled on drag radials on bad track prep. and keep that clutch fluid CLEAN!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQb8WTXU6XE
if the track prep is garbage then there isnt gonna be much you can do. ive struggled on drag radials on bad track prep. and keep that clutch fluid CLEAN!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQb8WTXU6XE
.
Last edited by MY03C5Z; 06-14-2017 at 03:25 PM.
#12
Drifting
You will get there with practice and at a minimum I would get a pair of dedicated rear tires for the drag track. As others have said the 60ft is basically the most important part of the entire race, so to me spending some $ on a set of rear drag tires is the best thing you can do, all the power in the world means nothing if you cant use it. I have similar mods and I am at 430rwhp, went to the track for the 1st time ever and best I could do was 12.5. I left disappointed because I read a lot and people with similar mods are running 11's so that's what I expected, but didn't come close. So I bought some drag tires and practiced my launch in the street over and over again, I know the street is not prepped but I figured if I can control the wheel spin there and at least leave under control then I would be doing better, and it worked, 2nd time to the track with some practice, and some drag tires I was able to run a 1.8 60ft with a best of 11.4 at 124mph. I left very happy to say the least. Here is a video of me running an 11.4. On this launch you can see the car jerk a bit, so I still have a lot of room to improve, I know if I can control the launch a little better I can get that 60ft down more.
Last edited by furious427; 06-15-2017 at 09:44 AM.
#13
Safety Car
As the others have said...... Practice!!! The link that Gary posted with Ranger's tips is good reading and will provide some goals to work on. Before going out and buying different tires I would recommend learning to finess your current setup. I'll echo Gary saying your tires are plenty capable of 1.8 60' times. I ran a 1.80 60' on the stock Supercar tires. With the power your car is making and honing your skills it's easily capable of mid 11's with trap speeds of 10mph than you are currently running. With a tire it should do bottom 11's, maybe even crack the very high 10's with good weather and track prep. Practice, practice and practice....... Good luck!!!
#14
Burning Brakes
Yup ole Cecil, bout 25 min from me. 230/234 pat g cam , long tubes, orx pipe, fast 92/92, vararam. 428/398 dyno jet. I went 11.27 @ 125 that same day but the vid was shot from from the 1/8 mile. I haven't made a strip pass in many years.
Last edited by MX621; 06-20-2017 at 09:09 PM.
#15
Melting Slicks
to be able to get a good time you need a good tire 1st of all, then you need to learn how to launch the car if you have a go pro use it to video you driving and have some one video your launch see whats going on and what your doing, make small changes one at a time like lower air pressure make a few runs release the clutch slower make a few runs do a longer burn out and so on and read up here on the forum tons of info it really helped me
i have a daily street car (01 zo6) after some track days (about 25 passes) between my currant 01 and my last 03z i was able to work my 60ft down from a 2.1-2.2 to 1.5x (1.50 personal best) consistent using a ET street bias ply tire, now i rarely see any thing over 1.75 60ft, i dont have any suspension mods or any thing just c6 zo6 shocks full weight car time dropped from 12.4 down to 11.2x @ 122mph with out flat shifting probably 10's if i did
sticky tires and seat time changing and adjusting along the way, you doing the same thing over and over with out adjusting or trying different technique is useless, for now dont even worry about your reaction time focus on just launching once you get that down and your comfortable then work on reaction times
your mph kinda makes me think your shifting to slow? 450rwhp i would think 118 to 120ish mph range but you need shift FAST and get that clutch in and out fast as you can other wise your going to get crappy times, if you ever watch a video where cars are door to door then one guys shifts and his car falls back thats why slow shifting hurts ET's
i'm not a pro just a guy like you, this forum has awesome members who helped me lower my et's respectable times for my setup i'm not driving the car flat out but i'm consistent with back to back runs last 4 passes was 11.2x -11.3x last 12 have all been under 11.8x
remember to have fun! good luck!
i have a daily street car (01 zo6) after some track days (about 25 passes) between my currant 01 and my last 03z i was able to work my 60ft down from a 2.1-2.2 to 1.5x (1.50 personal best) consistent using a ET street bias ply tire, now i rarely see any thing over 1.75 60ft, i dont have any suspension mods or any thing just c6 zo6 shocks full weight car time dropped from 12.4 down to 11.2x @ 122mph with out flat shifting probably 10's if i did
sticky tires and seat time changing and adjusting along the way, you doing the same thing over and over with out adjusting or trying different technique is useless, for now dont even worry about your reaction time focus on just launching once you get that down and your comfortable then work on reaction times
your mph kinda makes me think your shifting to slow? 450rwhp i would think 118 to 120ish mph range but you need shift FAST and get that clutch in and out fast as you can other wise your going to get crappy times, if you ever watch a video where cars are door to door then one guys shifts and his car falls back thats why slow shifting hurts ET's
i'm not a pro just a guy like you, this forum has awesome members who helped me lower my et's respectable times for my setup i'm not driving the car flat out but i'm consistent with back to back runs last 4 passes was 11.2x -11.3x last 12 have all been under 11.8x
remember to have fun! good luck!
The following users liked this post:
harryk387 (06-28-2017)
#16
Racer
Thread Starter
to be able to get a good time you need a good tire 1st of all, then you need to learn how to launch the car if you have a go pro use it to video you driving and have some one video your launch see whats going on and what your doing, make small changes one at a time like lower air pressure make a few runs release the clutch slower make a few runs do a longer burn out and so on and read up here on the forum tons of info it really helped me
i have a daily street car (01 zo6) after some track days (about 25 passes) between my currant 01 and my last 03z i was able to work my 60ft down from a 2.1-2.2 to 1.5x (1.50 personal best) consistent using a ET street bias ply tire, now i rarely see any thing over 1.75 60ft, i dont have any suspension mods or any thing just c6 zo6 shocks full weight car time dropped from 12.4 down to 11.2x @ 122mph with out flat shifting probably 10's if i did
sticky tires and seat time changing and adjusting along the way, you doing the same thing over and over with out adjusting or trying different technique is useless, for now dont even worry about your reaction time focus on just launching once you get that down and your comfortable then work on reaction times
your mph kinda makes me think your shifting to slow? 450rwhp i would think 118 to 120ish mph range but you need shift FAST and get that clutch in and out fast as you can other wise your going to get crappy times, if you ever watch a video where cars are door to door then one guys shifts and his car falls back thats why slow shifting hurts ET's
i'm not a pro just a guy like you, this forum has awesome members who helped me lower my et's respectable times for my setup i'm not driving the car flat out but i'm consistent with back to back runs last 4 passes was 11.2x -11.3x last 12 have all been under 11.8x
remember to have fun! good luck!
i have a daily street car (01 zo6) after some track days (about 25 passes) between my currant 01 and my last 03z i was able to work my 60ft down from a 2.1-2.2 to 1.5x (1.50 personal best) consistent using a ET street bias ply tire, now i rarely see any thing over 1.75 60ft, i dont have any suspension mods or any thing just c6 zo6 shocks full weight car time dropped from 12.4 down to 11.2x @ 122mph with out flat shifting probably 10's if i did
sticky tires and seat time changing and adjusting along the way, you doing the same thing over and over with out adjusting or trying different technique is useless, for now dont even worry about your reaction time focus on just launching once you get that down and your comfortable then work on reaction times
your mph kinda makes me think your shifting to slow? 450rwhp i would think 118 to 120ish mph range but you need shift FAST and get that clutch in and out fast as you can other wise your going to get crappy times, if you ever watch a video where cars are door to door then one guys shifts and his car falls back thats why slow shifting hurts ET's
i'm not a pro just a guy like you, this forum has awesome members who helped me lower my et's respectable times for my setup i'm not driving the car flat out but i'm consistent with back to back runs last 4 passes was 11.2x -11.3x last 12 have all been under 11.8x
remember to have fun! good luck!
#17
Safety Car
Find an area/road where you will not be disturbed or disturb others where you can practice some launch techniques. Learning to modulate the clutch and get the car moving is going to net you the biggest drop in ET. Also practicing your shift points which obviously will have you breaking the speed limit so be very careful. Good luck
#18
Race Director
Find an area/road where you will not be disturbed or disturb others where you can practice some launch techniques. Learning to modulate the clutch and get the car moving is going to net you the biggest drop in ET. Also practicing your shift points which obviously will have you breaking the speed limit so be very careful. Good luck
#19
Racer
Thread Starter
#20
Melting Slicks
honestly if your focused on the 1/4 mile passes dont bother with the street, my car is a total different animal on the track vs the street, once i started going to the track what ever tried didnt work had to learn what the car liked so all my street driving was useless when making a pass
slicky tires & track time!
slicky tires & track time!