Alright, my numbers are really bugging me. I could really use some expert advice to figure how I can improve my 1/4 ET. btw, I have a '97 SE 5-spd.

This is what I got on my best run:

60 ft..........2.271
330 ft........6.378
1/8 ET........9.771
1/8 MPH.....73.78
1/4 ET......15.018
1/4 MPH......93.37

My 60ft time looks pretty good. My 1/4 MPH looks respectible too. So why is my 1/4 ET so crappy??? I thought I would be in the high 14s.

All thoughts welcome!!

 

What are your shift points? And you are finishing in 4th right?

Also, what altitude track?

 

altitude is a few hundred feet above sea level not too high

he left it in 3rd

what about mine...
"60' 2.382
330' 6.726
1/8et 10.279
1/8mph 69.76
1/4et 15.852
1/4mph 86.70


best trap of the day is 88.25
worst time of the day is a 16.45 @ 86 hehe with 2.70 60'
best r/t of the day is .503 that was cool!
"

 

He needs to shift to 4th then.

Are you manually shifting your auto? You need to. Also, do you have any mods? In my old auto I was able to pull a 10.087 in the 1/8 bone stock. Never got to run a 1/4.

 

Temperature/Humidity ?

 

Approx.
1-2: 6500
2-3: 6300
left in 3rd.

Had one run finishing in 4th & was slow so didn't try again. I thought my shifting wasn't very fast. & I don't know how to powershift properly.

I'm guessing Alt is a few hundred ft. (like costco said... we were at the track together with a bunch of other guys)

 

Guessing about 15 deg C; don't know about humidity though. It didn't feel too humid (sorry, that's not a quatitative answer at all!)

 

You're 60' time is quite good for street tires, so I don't think your problem is there.

When I compare your slip to mine, (even my high 14 ones) I notice that my 330 is about a tenth better than yours, and my 1/8th is about a tenth better as well.

My best guess is that you're taking your time a little too much on the 1-2 shift. I've found that when I nail the shift perfectly, I get mid 14's. When I miss is slightly (too early, too late, bog, spin, anything!) I get high 14's.

Other than your launch, which you appear to have down, I think that 1-2 shift is by far the most imporatant part of the race.

 

Example, here's an old slip that I dug up. I assume this is what you think you should be running:

60': 2.308
330': 6.262
1/8: 9.557
MPH: 74.73
1000': 12.384
1/4: 14.769
MPH: 93.94

As you can see, our traps are basically identical, and you even had a better 60' time. However, by 330' I've gotten ahead of you by a tenth, and from there that difference keeps growing.

 

Did you have any mods with that run? And are you finishing in 4th?

 

Hey ejj,

Your observations are insightful. I had suspected my shifting might not be quite up-to-snuff. I was reading some posts about how some people shift. Essentially, they pressing their clutch pedal only 1/2 way, shift, then release the pedal. I've tried that these past couple days & find that it works really nicely! I wasn't keen on adjusting the pedla height because it sounds a bit tricky to set-up 100% right.

Any comments about that shifting approach as far as causing harm to the synchro/gears/etc. in the tranny? I'm ordering a short-throw shifter too which will help.

Thx bud!

p.s. what kind of mods do you have?

 

whats your 60' time on that run?

i went 1-2 6600 rpm 2-3 6300rpm

i got stillen intake. what is your trap speed @ 1/8? maybe i should put my stock airbox back on

 

Yes, lots. Intake, exhaust, pully, etc. Also had drag radials. I shift into 4th because I have to. I hit the limiter in 3rd before the line.

Before I _had_ to shift into 4th though, I got better results leaving it in 3rd.

 

I never bought into the half-pedal quick shifting stuff.

I shift fast and hard. Pedal all the way to the floor, and the fastest throw that I can. I have the stock shifter.

I think more importantly than the speed with which you make the shift is the rev-matching that you need to do when you re-engage the next gear. You should be able to drop the engine right where it wants to be. Too high or low of an engine speed with slow you down.

I don't think you'll hurt the tranny shifting hard unless you mis-shift...which I've done a few times with no problems.

 

A some people on this board get better results leaving it in third, off the top of my head I can think of ejj, theblue, who leave it in 3rd. Most people shift into 4th to get good results. I've tried leaving it in 3rd and didnt see any difference in ET compared to the rest of my runs that night. I think ejs explanation of quicker shifts is right on, and possibly trying to shift into 4th, but if you are a slow shifter, it might be to your advantage to leave it in 3rd.

 

I think on street tires (I know slicks will be different), once you get into the 14.6 range you have to shift into 4th, otherwise you'll hit the limiter just before the finish line.

For a while I had to start shifting into 4th early (6000 rpms) because if I didn't, I'd be shifting when I hit the line and my traps would suffer.

However, once you get to and below 14.5's, I find that I can hold 3rd all the way to the redline, and get good results.

Of course...this all changes if you have a VI. Redline all the way I would assume.

 

You know on my 14.9 run at 92-93mph I shifted to 4th. You think I should keep it in 3rd?

No mods......

 

I think you should try both and see what works better. Depending on your car, how you shift, etc, one may be better than the other.

 

Hey Felix

I think you just need a few more trips to the track. Every time out you learn something new, don't expect to pull your best times right away. This takes time as you can tell by my lack of hair.

Jim

 

Why is that? Damage to drivetrain components? Something else?
When most people are indicating shifting above 6000rpm, does this allow for rev matching while getting peak performance for the 1/4 ET?

 

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your words of encouragement! I'm doing my post-run analysis to learn from the seasoned racing vets (like you) to get the best from myself & Max. Too bad the track is shut down until April. I just threw on my winter tires this morning! Maybe it's time to migrate someplace with tracks that remain open over the winter months?

FT

 

Habbit. I think its easier to throw the pedal all the way down and shift than to worry about getting it "just far enough". Also, when you know you're going to kick it to the floor, I bettcha you can do so as quickly as someone who trys to stop half way.

Rev matching was a bad term for me to use. Its more a matter of when you get back on the gas while shifting. Too early, the RPM's will be too high and the drivetrain will have to lag the engine down, too low and you'll bog.

Just gotta pratice. I've done well over 100 quarter mile runs, and I'm still working on getting better.

 

True true.
Wow! That's awesome. I'm in Toronto Canada & the snow has started to fly & the tracks aroudn here are shut down for the winter months. Most won't re-open til April. I should migrate south somewhere with my Max.

 

I feel your pain. I'm in Buffalo, and tomorrow is the last day that the track is open. Assuming, of course it doesn't snow tomorrow.

 

My local track's been closed for a month and a half now. How lame. I'm having to drive to other tracks to race. I just pulled the slicks off of my wheels today to put my winter tires back on them, so if I make it to the track at all this fall or winter it will be on street tires.

I wouldn't want to risk trying to push the pedal 1/2 way down, I go to the floor with it every time. Powershifting is one thing when it comes to drivetrain abuse... trying to jam it into gear if you don't have the clutch engaged quite enough is on a whole new level though. That's the way you shred gears and have to rebuild transmissions. Take it from me, I did it to BriGuyMax's tranny :/

 

Is that how you busted it? I never knew that.

I hate it when that happens...I blew my brothers clutch trying to do a burnout.

 

Well I didn't do it trying to only depress the clutch halfway but just a simple misshift. He has ACT clutch, and STS set on the shortest throw. I have stock clutch and stock shifter, so it's a big change. Trying to shift at drag race rates in an unfamiliar setup is what did it, being as his set up is so different I obviously didn't time the shift right (probably had the clutch coming out as I was going into 2nd gear) and boom it blew.

 

you can adjust the pedal freeplay to make the engage point earlier, that way the clutch catches earlier for quicker shifts

 

I finally got a chance to do an alignment on my car after my spring/shock/strut installation. As it turns out my toe-in was way beyond the maximum on the left wheel. The right one wasn't as bad but still close to the max. limit. I'm sure that resulted in a fair bit of rolling resistance on my 1/4 mile runs. With this now corrected, I "should" be able to shave off 0.1 or 0.2 sec to put me into the high 14s.

 

how $ did it cost? i wnat to do an alginment too but aren't they like $50? my car pulls to the right

 

I went to Active Green & Ross. Normally they charge $79.99. I found a $10 coupon off their website. That sucks because that's the cost for a 4-wheel alignment but they don't have a 2-wheel rate b/c of the equipment they use.

 

They don't have a 2-wheel rate because of the equipment they use? Now that just sounds like a copout to me?

 

Yeah, it seems to be a funny way to do business. I was a bit short of time so I just went for it. btw, those are Cdn. dollars in case you're wondering why it's so expensive.