What is a perfect reaction time? .5 or .4

What is considered a good reaction time where you would not make changes?

What is the reaction time difference between staging deep vs. shallow on a 13 second C5?

Just went racing after being away 35 years. Wow that was fun. Ran a 13.46 in bone stock C5 with best reaction of .665

Now I trying to figure out how to get into the 12s :D

Thanks for any input provided.

 

After a lot of years away a .6xx light isn't so bad....If you spin at the line your RT will suffer. What was your 60'? What rear is in your car? Stick or auto?

 

Rear-end = 3.42

60' times: 2.141 2.181 2.152 2.085

I think my RPM was higher on the 2.085 (2400 on Run Flats)

 

Perfect light depends on the tree. It can be a .500 tree of .400 (Pro Tree).
Most bracket races usually use .500 tree so that is perfect.

A good reaction time in which you would stop making changes does not exist. You are constantly adjust for well you are seeing the tree, tractino on the line and how your car is responding on that day. How close you want to get to perfect is really dependant on the the competion. In one class you may be able to go far with any light in the .5 range, another you need .550 or better and yet others if cannot hit a .5teen light you are in trouble.

Not sure what the light difference deep vs. shallow. I would guess may .05 to .15

Enjoy the racing. PS, staging deep will get you slower ET so if you want to improve ET and RT, stage shallow and leave a little sooner.

 

OK , i'll give it a shot

Q) What is a perfect reaction time? .5 or .4

A) .500

Q) What is considered a good reaction time where you would not make changes?

A) In order to get a good reaction time you shouldn't make changes but do the same thing everytime. I look for a .540 or better, that will win you alot of races.

Q) What is the reaction time difference between staging deep vs. shallow on a 13 second C5?

A). NONE, reaction time is reaction time of when you brake the starting line beams. all deep staging do is get you closer to the starting linr and that let you see a full 3rd amber on launch. On a shallow stage you leave on the first flash of amber.

Q) Now I trying to figure out how to get into the 12s

A) That hasn't changed in 35 years all it takes is money to go faster.

 

What is a perfect reaction time? .5 or .4. On a full tree a perfect is .500 on a pro tree it's .400.

What is considered a good reaction time where you would not make changes? You should not be satisfied until you can stay below .600 on the full tree. Good drag racers can cut consistent .550s or less.

What is the reaction time difference between staging deep vs. shallow on a 13 second C5? I'm not sure about this but I thinks it's always best to shallow stage. Your ET will improve slightly (versus deep staging) but your reaction time will be a tad slower.

I don't agree with NJ VetteGuy as to spinning. You only need to move a few inches to trip the timers. Excessive spinning will certainly hurt your 60 foot times and ultimately your ET but the the effect on reaction time is nill.

A good way to improve your reaction time is to buy a tree simulator. I have a PT Pro from TAG Systems. The latest issue of Drag Racing Action has an article about tree simulators.

 

Thanks guys.

I guess the thing for me to do is: Stage shollow and learn to anticipate the 3rd light. Hopefully, lots of practice will make the RT better. :seeya

 

Mack, you are slipping here buddy.
The reason people deep stage is to get better lights. Reaction time is the time it takes the driver AND the car to cross the start beam and when you put that car closer to the starting beam, like in deep staging, you will impact your RT.

I know you knew that:D

 

Jerry, i got to disagree with you and agree with Artie. I've spun a full rotation on my tires before the car even moved and if you dont think that affected my reaction time you're wrong.

 

Right but only because you can waite on the light and get that good reaction time, you'll see very few deep stagers go red because they can sit on the last amber alittle longer. You can move 1 inch quicker that moving 7 inches.

 

ralph,
As to spinning and reaction time: I'm looking at a time slip from this past Sunday. I raced a Viper, he jumped me with a .374 (red lighted) against my .533 so his reaction time was actually too fast. However his 60 foot time was 2.792 so it's clear he had little traction and was spinning excessively.

 

(Sorry, guys; been outta town on bidness last 3 days...)

NO, NO, NO!!! It is called 'Reaction Time', NOT 'Aniticipation Time'...!!!
#1- Get yourself a 'practice tree', to take YOUR physical-reaction time out of the equation. If 'we', as people, could 'anticipate' THAT good, the delay-box industry would have NEVER materialized, and we'd ALL cut .5-ohs at will; I don't see that happening anytime soon.....
#2- Once YOU become consistent, begin varying your launch RPM, staging location (shallow, deep, or 'bump-in') until YOUR (physical) RT, coupled with the car's RT (drive-train 'slack', initial movement, etc.), and the 'staging position' deliver the RT on the time-slip that YOU want.
Think of these elements (RPM, stage-location, YOUR physical RT, etc.) as the elements used to strike a golf-ball (grip, stance, follow-thru, club-selection, etc.). Varying one element has effects on the others, as well...

 

Jerry i would suggest to you that the viper in your example would have left even earlier had he not spun, assuming his spin started at the hit of the thottle. Think about the physics for a second. In one case where you hook up. You react to the light and hit the throttle, and the car almost immediately moves forward out of the beems (i know there is a rollout time associated with the car, but lets assumes its zero for this example). Then in the case where you spin...you also react to the light (and lets assume you react the same as in the first example), however this time instead of the car instantly moving forward, your tires spin and then the car moves forward. That delay can kill your R/T. Remember, we're talking about thousands of a second here. One or two revolutions on you tire will easily add several hundredths to you R/T.

Been there done that.

 

This question of whether wheelspin at the start affects reaction time is interesting.

Most of you guys have much more drag experience than me, so I'll defer to your knowledge. But it doesn't seem logical that, no matter how much wheelspin you can generate, the front wheels won't break the beam immediately.

I know, excessive wheelspin hurts your 60ft. time. But to say that the front tires aren't going to move at all, or start moving late, because the rears are spinning, doesn't seem logical. :confused: :confused:

 

Mack I see your point but he asked about the difference between a shallow and deep stage and he did not say he was going to change his approach or his "spot" on the tree.

I've seen plenty of deep stagers go red. I would bet their percentage is the same as a shallow stager. It's all about know your car and yourself.

 

EXACTLY, Redgar!!! A racer who shoots for .520-.540s won't go red as often as the racer who strives for .5-teens to .530s, who doesn't foul as much as the guy who tries for .50s-.520s.
The closer your 'satisfactory window' is to perfect (.500), the more likely you 'may' foul, but your chances of victory is increased, too.
Discipline, ESPECIALLY in the 'no-box' classes, is crucial.... A 'good' foot-braker can go .5-teen/.520 repeatedly, but it WILL eventually 'catch-up' to even the best.....

 

I am sorry, I did not mean I needed to practice my physic skills when I said I would antiicipate the 3rd amber.

What I meant was that maybe I need to trigger my response to the 2nd amber light. For example, if I stage Shallow and get my RPMs up where the wheels will spin a lot, that the spin delay from the 2nd Amber will give me a better reaction time. I know that I should have both a better ET and MPH if I get a running start at the 1/4 mile.

You mentioned an Electronic Delay Box. Are they legal? Do they work good?

 

I think one of the advantages to going deep is being able to get the car in the exact same spot with a short enough rollout to have a good light. For many, like myself, shallow staging leaves too much rollout. Combining that rollout with my personal r/t and the car's r/t.....puts me in the 580 range if i leave at the first flash of the third yellow. I have to move in a bit to get a decent total r/t. The problem is it is very difficult to get the car in the same spot.

On the subject of spin affecting R/Ts: remember the car must roll about 12-14 inches beofre breaking the R/T beams, so it is not instant and a lot can happen in those 12 inches.

 

69_Rdstr:
No offense, but.... this is NOT the way to go racing...
Relying on the SAME amount of wheel-spin every-time will, more-than-likely, make you First Round Runner-Up with great frequency; here's why:
#1- "WE", as human-beings, aren't exact every run; we don't 'stage' the same, nor 'react' the same, from run-to-run...
#2- the 'car' doesn't react the same from run-to-run (bog, stumble, good-air/bad-air, etc.)...
#3- the 'track' isn't the same from run-to-run (sun, shade, 'leakers' in front of you, no traction compound, too-much traction compound, etc.)...
So, 'expecting' wheel-spin to 'correct' flaws in your staging, reactions, track, etc., is a tough proposition (at best!!!); if you can 'do' this, I tip my hat to your abilities...
I have a Z28 that goes 12.80s, with a 1.88 (average) 60' time, 'deep-staged' for good (.51-.53) RTs; 'shallow-staged', it goes 12.60s (?) with a 1.7-1.8 60', but my RTs end-up .58-.60, even WITH a 4500 converter & 4.10s.
I didn't infer that practicing would 'quicken' your RTs; just make them 'consistent', time-after-time. 'WE' (the drivers) are THE biggest variable in the RT quotient.

'Delay boxes' are legal in Super-Pro (NHRA) or Top (IHRA) bracket classes, as well as the " .90-Classes " (S/C, S/G, S/ST, etc.), but not legal in other forms of bracket racing. You 'leave' off the TOP bulb (no 'aniticipation' there!!!) from a button, and the box 'counts-out' a pre-determined amount of time (set by thumb-wheel) to result (hopefully) in perfect RTs every run. (If you are consistently .520, take .015 'out' of the box, to produce {theoretically} .505 RT)
Delay-boxes 'usually' improve a driver's consistency, but in those classes, most everybody can go .5-oh/.510, and everybody HAS to go .5-oh/.510, too, to be a threat to win not just the entire race, but a single round. I had one in my rear-engine dragster; they take all the 'fun' out of hitting a .5-oh light...
Just my $.02 worth.....

 

IMHO: The thrill of run a 100+ MPH 1/4 mile has got to be close to Launching a F18 from an aircraft carrier. WOW what a feeling.

But when we start to get competitive, there are 3 elements of performance.

1. Equipment Performance: Getting best ET per HP/Weight which is recognized by Class Records.

2. Driving Performance: Getting good RTs

3. Tuning/Driving for the strip conditions:

With Bracket Racing we throw the first element out, allowing an 11 second car to be competitive when it should be running 9s. That just leaves tuning and driving.

I think if you are going to be a consistent winner you need to be able to adjust your launch based upon track conditions (sun, shade, 'leakers' in front of you, no traction compound, too-much traction compound, etc.). I agree this is not easy; but you can't avoid it.

Therefore, why not use this variable to get better RTs (if possible ?, this admitlly is pure bench racing at this point on my part).

One last opinion: I would really like to see these delay boxes legalized; since they do not really give an unfair advantage (they are not using a laser to watch the tree and doing the launch). The driver still has to be consistent and react to the lights.

In closing, I maybe all wrong; but hope to improve my RT any which way
:crazy: