Hit the 1/4 last night...

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#1
Decided to hit the local drag strip last night for some fun, I don't plan on drag racing the car a lot but from time to time I'd like to have some fun, did 2 runs 15.3 @ 90 and 15.5 @ 93 traction control was off and I was trying to slip the clutch, car was still hopping and spinning 1st badly...only thing done was drop in filter, full weight car with spare, what are some tricks for hitting that 14 sec mark? Lower tire pressure? Always assumed that didn't help with the stock street tires. Thanks
 


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#2
I heard that a RMM will reduce or eliminate the wheel hop, which in turn may give you better overall traction.

Remove the seats and spare, nothing like free weight savings.

My suggestions are recycled, I never drag raced before.
 


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Thread Starter #4
20-22 psi? Yea the RRM and a few other things will be on before I hit the track again for sure
 


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Thread Starter #6
I'll have to try that, I see your from NJ I lived in Tomsriver forever
 


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#8
I'm guessing you went to ATCO? Englishtown? Tire pressure drop should help as others stated.
 


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Thread Starter #9
Went to Cecil county in MD "Nitelife"
 


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#10
What were your 60fts? Lowering pressure in a street tire is not really the most optimal, especially to low 20s. I'd go with high 20s and just work a good launch. Also What rpms were you launching at?
Also try n loose as much car weight as you can. Little things can go a long way lol
 


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Thread Starter #11
60 ft was 2.3 launching approx 2500 first time and around 1500-2000 the 2nd time...car still didn't wanna hook up spinning and hopping 1st bad then bogging when hitting 2nd
 


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#12
That's not bad for fwd, sounds like you are dumping clutch. I'd practice slipping more, good clutch slipping means no wheel spin and nasty clutch smell.
 


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#13
I tried the slipping clutch way got 2 runs then the clutch was fried lol. Also running 22psi and still got loads of wheel spin.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 


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Thread Starter #14
Yea ill try and slip it more, I was dumping it on the 1st run... I'm gonna wait until I have some more goodies before I go back DP, front mount RMM and a tune
 


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#15
I will say this once more -

If your serious about going fast at the strip, drag radials are a minimum, slicks are preferred.

Just this past weekend I ran the Focus ST (ST2, 2016 Brand New bought July 5th) up at Sacramento Raceway; [email protected] was my best time.

Only changes I made were -

Unleashed E30 via SCT X4 and M&H 26x8.5x17 slicks @15 psi cold

I don't have any excuses, but I couldn't get a burnout completed because I left the traction control on. My slicks were facing the wrong way IE: left side on the right and right side on the left, there is a arrow on them but I wasn't paying attention and neither was anybody else.

There is no way you launch how I did on street tires. Set the 2 step in the SCT flash to 6,000 rpm, yes you read right = 6,000

Side step the clutch and it spun only a little, I was averaging 2.0 60 ft times and had one sub 2.0 (1.999). With a full burnout getting 1.7's will be cake. ESC must be off for that, I know that now.

I was playing around with shift points and flat shifting, but when I dropped the spare (just the spare, foam, jack/tool and sub were all back there) and lowered the PSI in the slicks back down to 15 psi, I ran back to back 13.9's, the other four passes were low, low 14's (14.01 the best).

The car never got completely cool either. I left SFV (818) at around 5 am, I got up to Sac around 10:30. I was able to hit the Propel/Shell station on the way with less than 20 miles to empty showing, put 3 gallons of 91 and 1.25 gallons of E85 = 94 octane. I put on the slicks and let the car sit hood close for about an hour. I couldn't find the latch until a bit later.

So with all of that, the car will go faster with just a tune and slicks, we'll find out next week.

The guy from San Diego with a Fiesta ST on 23" tall M&H slicks is close to running 12's with just a handful of mods. Once he puts a down pipe on it and re-tunes, he'll run 12's without a problem.
 


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#17
Just remember that the energy at launch follows the drivetrain. The better you hook (slicks), the more strain on the diff, clutch, etc. I know this is obvious but I spent a lot of money fortifying the drive train when I was racing my Camaro. Shredded the stock rear diff, replaced driveshaft, etc. Granted, that was a wheels in the air 1.44 60', but the same concept applies to all cars. The common misconception is that only the clutch takes a beating (certainly does).

The old saying is "you can go as fast as your wallet does".
 


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#18
Just remember that the energy at launch follows the drivetrain. The better you hook (slicks), the more strain on the diff, clutch, etc. I know this is obvious but I spent a lot of money fortifying the drive train when I was racing my Camaro. Shredded the stock rear diff, replaced driveshaft, etc. Granted, that was a wheels in the air 1.44 60', but the same concept applies to all cars. The common misconception is that only the clutch takes a beating (certainly does).

The old saying is "you can go as fast as your wallet does".
There's no free lunch, but techniques to save you some money can always been employed.

The clutch is the only thing that should take a beating it's a service part designed to wear.

Rear end shattering? Well it's a GM product for one thing but dead hooking will destroy a Ford 9 inch/8.8 or Chrysler/AMC Dana 60. Something has to give, with slicks you can afford to have some slip and not loose too much time but save parts.

Dead hook is more likely to happen in a RWD car than FWD because of physics and inertia. Honda racers have gotten around this by pre-loading the drive train, no Ecoboost FWD car is near those power levels anyway and if it is, it's a pure street car built for roll racing.

It's not simply just energy it's how it's applied.

Anything that brings the RPM's down at launch is normally called a bog, but what it really is a precursor to something much more serious = Torque spike

When done wrong, you get a hook, followed by a bog and something breaking. If your lucky it's only an axle or maybe a rear gear, fairly cheap to replace but it could mean a shattered transmission (even face plated TKO trans have fell victim) or broken crank shaft.

You want a smoothest as possible application of power to the road surface. Slicks have give to them, they flex. Damage is less likely to occur. Because of that flex, people like radials which will net you higher trap speeds, as long as you don't go over the traction threshold.

Slicks absorb the shock a clutch car gives the tire. I have no concerns over dead hooking, that would mean down in the low 1.x IE Pro Stock territory, but even they introduce some slip into the clutch system to keep that 1,000+ hp from crushing the transmission.

What breaks on FWD in 20+ years of drag racing FWD cars is people on street tires at the strip WHEEL HOPPING. It breaks axles, cv joints, motor mounts, transmission mounts an anything else it can shake loose, likely requiring a tow truck to get you home.
 


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#19
There's no free lunch, but techniques to save you some money can always been employed.

The clutch is the only thing that should take a beating it's a service part designed to wear.

Rear end shattering? Well it's a GM product for one thing but dead hooking will destroy a Ford 9 inch/8.8 or Chrysler/AMC Dana 60. Something has to give, with slicks you can afford to have some slip and not loose too much time but save parts.

Dead hook is more likely to happen in a RWD car than FWD because of physics and inertia. Honda racers have gotten around this by pre-loading the drive train, no Ecoboost FWD car is near those power levels anyway and if it is, it's a pure street car built for roll racing.

It's not simply just energy it's how it's applied.

Anything that brings the RPM's down at launch is normally called a bog, but what it really is a precursor to something much more serious = Torque spike

When done wrong, you get a hook, followed by a bog and something breaking. If your lucky it's only an axle or maybe a rear gear, fairly cheap to replace but it could mean a shattered transmission (even face plated TKO trans have fell victim) or broken crank shaft.

You want a smoothest as possible application of power to the road surface. Slicks have give to them, they flex. Damage is less likely to occur. Because of that flex, people like radials which will net you higher trap speeds, as long as you don't go over the traction threshold.

Slicks absorb the shock a clutch car gives the tire. I have no concerns over dead hooking, that would mean down in the low 1.x IE Pro Stock territory, but even they introduce some slip into the clutch system to keep that 1,000+ hp from crushing the transmission.

What breaks on FWD in 20+ years of drag racing FWD cars is people on street tires at the strip WHEEL HOPPING. It breaks axles, cv joints, motor mounts, transmission mounts an anything else it can shake loose, likely requiring a tow truck to get you home.
Thanks for the analysis. Slicks may have flex, but they definately increase the chance of broken parts. In any car. As long as folks are ok with that, they are definitely the best choice for better ET's. Racing is always a compromise. Be safe and you spin (although this will help trap speed). Get sticky on the line and enjoy your better ET's. Just know you are stressing your car more and be ready for possible consequences.
 


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#20
Next time take everything out your trunk including spare tire and with 1/4 tank of gas that's what did and I ran 14.93@92 plus my reaction sucked I launched at 2000 rpm
 




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