Alignment for drag racing..?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 24,337
Likes: 25
From: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
Alignment for drag racing..?
After about 30 passes on my new street tires (with 3 second burnout), they look like this:
This is the right rear looking forward. The rubber is worn to the left, as if it was dragged sideways. The drivers side is a mirror image.
Common sense tells me I'd need toe-out in rear for this to happen during a burnout. But I have zero toe in rear. Maybe I'm getting toe out during squat?
I'm concerned that there's a slight slip angle which is hurting traction. Or am I just nuts?
(20 lbs pressure, Yokohama AVS ES100, best 60ft = 2.06s, if that helps any)
This is the right rear looking forward. The rubber is worn to the left, as if it was dragged sideways. The drivers side is a mirror image.
Common sense tells me I'd need toe-out in rear for this to happen during a burnout. But I have zero toe in rear. Maybe I'm getting toe out during squat?
I'm concerned that there's a slight slip angle which is hurting traction. Or am I just nuts?
(20 lbs pressure, Yokohama AVS ES100, best 60ft = 2.06s, if that helps any)
Race Director
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 13,298
Likes: 14
From: Somers NY
Originally Posted by CentralCoaster
I'm concerned that there's a slight slip angle which is hurting traction. Or am I just nuts?
Naaaa J/K I don't think it will hurt your traction off the line.. however if it is out it WILL kill a set of tires real soon by driving it long distances on the street.
Whenever I have my rear end out for any reason I always get it realigned.. no special alignment just back to factory specs.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 245
Likes: 16
From: nj
tire wear
You may have an alignment problem but you also may be doing your burnout in the wrong spot. You need to pay close attention to the surface where your doing your burnout. Most of the big tire race cars have a tire centerline much narrower than most street cars especially a vette. You need to make sure that you pull far enough forward so that the tires are on a flat area and no where near the ruts made by the big tire cars If you follow the instructions given by most of the track workers your probably in the ruts.
good luck
good luck
Safety Car
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 4,640
Likes: 0
From: Sunshine State
Originally Posted by CentralCoaster
After about 30 passes on my new street tires (with 3 second burnout), they look like this:
This is the right rear looking forward. The rubber is worn to the left, as if it was dragged sideways. The drivers side is a mirror image.
Common sense tells me I'd need toe-out in rear for this to happen during a burnout. But I have zero toe in rear. Maybe I'm getting toe out during squat?
I'm concerned that there's a slight slip angle which is hurting traction. Or am I just nuts?
(20 lbs pressure, Yokohama AVS ES100, best 60ft = 2.06s, if that helps any)
This is the right rear looking forward. The rubber is worn to the left, as if it was dragged sideways. The drivers side is a mirror image.
Common sense tells me I'd need toe-out in rear for this to happen during a burnout. But I have zero toe in rear. Maybe I'm getting toe out during squat?
I'm concerned that there's a slight slip angle which is hurting traction. Or am I just nuts?
(20 lbs pressure, Yokohama AVS ES100, best 60ft = 2.06s, if that helps any)
How do you know the toe in is correct? You need at least three alignment shops to verify that.
If at least two of them agree on the toe in then we should spread powder on the ground and drive through it. Examine the tread pattern and see if it looks OK. This is a judgement call and you're going to need other opinions. Suggest you invite all guys that participate in the drag section.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 2,726
Likes: 24
From: Freehold, NJ
Originally Posted by Korreck
Any traction issue would be from running STREET TIRES.
Drag radials would solve more than one problem But back to the subject at hand, have you found that a burnout on street tires helps your sixty ft times? The reason I ask is that conventional wisdom states that a burnout helps very little on street tires.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 24,337
Likes: 25
From: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
I've done longer burnouts which overheats the tires and makes em slippery as ****. I do about 3 seconds, and actually a rolling burnout, the tires smoke just a bit.
I do it to clean the tires off. I figure if I can spin them all the way up to the staging lights its less crap to pickup while rolling up their on hot tires. Also the rolling burnout doesn't heat the tires up as much, since it's always in contact with cold pavement, unlike a standing burnout. If I'm forced to drive through the water box, I burn them a bit longer to make sure they're dry.
I won't bother with drag radials until I get all I can out of these tires. The first run on these tires was ice cold, brand new ~10 miles on them, and they sucked bigtime.
I wonder if the wierd treadwear could be due to a combination of camber and tire pressure? There's no way to guess at how much slip angle is going on.
I measured the alignment the old fashioned way, with two sticks and a tape measure. Also used a laser level to check it. Toe is easy to measure if you know 10th grade math.
I do it to clean the tires off. I figure if I can spin them all the way up to the staging lights its less crap to pickup while rolling up their on hot tires. Also the rolling burnout doesn't heat the tires up as much, since it's always in contact with cold pavement, unlike a standing burnout. If I'm forced to drive through the water box, I burn them a bit longer to make sure they're dry.
I won't bother with drag radials until I get all I can out of these tires. The first run on these tires was ice cold, brand new ~10 miles on them, and they sucked bigtime.
I wonder if the wierd treadwear could be due to a combination of camber and tire pressure? There's no way to guess at how much slip angle is going on.
I measured the alignment the old fashioned way, with two sticks and a tape measure. Also used a laser level to check it. Toe is easy to measure if you know 10th grade math.
