Well, I decided I'm going to finally take my vette to the track for the first time to see what she can do (I'm not expecting much). It will be my first time so I'm kinda nervous about it. I just hope I don't embarass myself in front of everybody. I've never 'staged' a car in my life and I'm not sure how to 'launch' it either. Any advice? I have a 2002 Auto 4-speed with stock C6 run flats in the rear and non run flats up front. I don't have many significant mods either other than 3.90s. Any advice will be helpful.

 

I would drop it in drive turn off the traction control and let her ripp.
I know their is a way to put the car in race mode, but I have only done it a couple of times on friends cars and forget how to do it.It's been a few years.
On your first pass don't try to be a hero
I would not do a burn out or anything ,just stage the car after you drive around the water box.Don't turn on both lights only turn on the top yellow and wait for the other driver to turn his light on .After you light the top bulb ant the other guy has then you light the second and then the lights will come down.
Don't load the converter just go on the last yellow not the green and drive down the track.
When you get to the end of the track slow the car down and before you make your turn to leave the track look at your spedo so you don't try to turn off the track a 50 mph.
Drive up and pick up your time slip and now you have an idea of what it is like to drive down the track, next run you will improve .You are only racing your front bumper not the other guy.
If you realy want to look good race a rice burner

 

Thanks for the advice...I'll try my best to apply it. But how do I turn on the "top yellow" light vs "both lights"? I'm not clear on that part. Pleased excuse my ignorance. Thanks.

 

You want the car in Competitive Driving mode. That setting allows the rear wheels to spin without invoking traction control, but keeps Active Handling available to help, if the rear gets loose.

Running a C5 with Active Handling turned off gives no performance advantage but increase risk of a wall incident.

If the rear end does get loose and begin to rotate the car, then lift the throttle.

Ranger

 

You "turn on" the Top yellow stage light on the tree by driving you car to the start line. Your front tires will break a beam which lights the top yellow bulb. Stop at that point and wait for your opponent to light his top bulb. At that point roll slowly forward and you will break the second beam which will light the second yellow stage light. You are now staged, wait for the lights to come down and leave on the third yellow light. Don't wait for the green, you'll be late.

Good luck and have fun!

 

 

Time for a little reading;
http://www.learntodragrace.com/

 

I'm thinking of doing this too......and I have a couple questions.

1. Do you run with lower pressure tires?

2. Should you take everything out of your car including you spare before you leave home?

3. Can you rent helmets at most tracks?

4. In a automatic, are you to kinda holding the brake with your left foot and haveing your engine reved up at the tree?

Thanks, from a newbie that just doesn't know!

 

Have fun and let us know how everything turns out.

 

If you've never been down a drag-strip, I'd seriously suggest that you spend a $20-bill at the track as a spectator BEFORE you try it as an active participant.....
find-out where the pre-race Tech Inspections are done, where the First Aid is, if air/water is available to the racers from a central location, where the restrooms are, which side of the track are the turn-outs located-on, etc:
it sounds simple, but it may save you from embarrassment later.
:o

If, as a spectator, you see a Corvette being run, try finding him in the pits between runs, and if he isn't busy, 'ask' him if he'd be willing to give you pointers if/when you bring your-own Corvette at a future test-session/race-date:
a fellow-racer, on-site, can better explain what is happening in real-time than we can on a Forum the day-after.


As-far-as your specific questions:

#1 - tire-pressures vary from car-to-car, based-on HP, TQ, weight, gearing, track-prep, etc., so start at normal PSI, and if-needed, drop-them a few pounds at a time, until traction is optimized - this'll also keep the car stable at-speed, and reduce rolling-resistence as you proceed down-track.


#2 - removing weight is best when you already have the car sorted-out (i.e. - TRACTION & LAUNCH ).....
I'd think a full-tank of fuel for your 1st runs will maximize weight over the drive-tires, and ensure 'some' data, as nothing is as-frustrating as wheel-spin off the line, which makes all data useless.


If traction isn't an issue, you can try a 3/4 tank of fuel for the next test-runs, and reduce the fuel-loads from there.

#3 - I'd call-ahead about helmet-rental, as some tracks may-not want the insurance hassles of THEM renting a helmet to YOU, in-case YOU have an accident at THEIR track.....
wear long-pants, closed-toe shoes w/ socks, and at-least a T-shirt w/ sleeves that covers your entire torso (no cut-offs )


#4 - almost as with #1, it will depend-upon track-conditions and your car as-to what launch RPM you can/should use.....
that's why they call mid-week sessions 'TEST-and-tune' !


I'll expect a full report, preferably w/ pictures, in the near future!

 

 

I agree, the best advise is to spend the time as a spectator beforehand if possible. Go with someone who can explain what you're watching, it'll make things a LOT easier when you participate.

1st time out, don't worry about tire pressures, especially for run-flats, just avoid the water box (if possible). You can do a quick little dry burnout just to clean off your tires if you want, a couple revolutions should do. Places like ATCO, it's mandatory to drive through the water. In that case, just drive through and do a short burnout on a dry spot to fling off as much water as you can. Water is meant for "sticky" tires.

It's ALWAYS a good idea to remove "crap" from your car before going to the track. Anything not bolted down becomes a projectile in an emergency. If you don't need it to race, leave it home. If you know you'll have your own pit location and someone watching your stuff while you run, bring whatever you want. Otherwise, it's just added weight, and a stock C5/C6 doesn't need added weight for traction. Top off your tank like suggested and you'll have plenty of traction.

Foot braking while staged is fine but every car is different. Some leave off of idle while some prefer to tach it up. You have to try each combination to decide what works best for you and your car. For your 1st time out I'd suggest sticking with what comes naturally.

Once you get the basics down, it's a lot easier to adjust your launch rpm or staging technique than to adjust when you react to the bulbs. In bracket racing, the name of the game is consistency. Once you can do the same thing over and over, you can start to make little adjustments to be even quicker and more precise.

Two last pieces of advice...

Don't forget to have fun. If it's not fun, nothing you do will matter one bit.

If you get hooked on drag racing, don't blame us. You've been warned.