I have a question about something that I've been trying to figure out for the past few days but can't seem to come to a good conclusion. Went down to my local track a few nights ago to test out my car against a few buddies of mine and the three times I ran, I lost two of them. Now I raced against a 4th. gen that had a CAI and pipe and he beat me by a few seconds, which was expected since I'm bone stock when it comes to performance for my car. The only exception would be my K&N air filter but I really don't consider that a performance mod. Yeah, maybe a few extra HP but not enough to cause any real gains, especially over a CAI and pipe. So that loss was expected but I then raced against another 5th.gen, a GLE that has no performance mods at all, and he still beat me. That I couldn't understand as my gas was below 1/4 of a tank even though my reaction time was terrible. The other 5th. gen does have a body kit and I'm wondering if the aerodynamics is enough to give him a little extra push. His car is even heavier than mine. Kit, power seats, etc. Here are our times.

Me: Friend:

Reaction- 1.169 .969
60 Ft.- 2.809 2.555
1/8 ET- 10.840 10.776
1/8 MPH- 69.34 68.10
1/4 ET- 16.546 16.557
1/4 MPH- 85.86 83.45

That's another thing I don't get. He was ahead of me by a slight margin, the time slip says he won, but yet if you look at our times, it shows me as being ahead. The temp was around 78 degrees at night. Did he win due to my slow reaction time? On the other races, my best reaction time was .639 and the best 1/4 mile that I could do was 16.347. Why is my car so slow? Any help guys would be great if someone could possible explain how a GLE beat an SE when the both of us have no performance mods. I'm guessing that it's due to my slow reaction time. Also do rims have anything to do with times? I have some 18's on and I'm guessing they are around the same weight as my old stock 16's but not to sure. Thanks.

Shadou

 

True, the data reports that your car was about 0.01 second quicker than his, but your clocks didn't start at the same time. You gave him a big head start, and that's part of the game too. He had a 0.2 seconds quicker reaction time and gained another 0.05 seconds or so in the first 60 ft. After that point, you were steadily reeling him in. The trap speed difference suggests that your car's power to weight ratio might be a little better than his. You have to work on your starts; there's at least half a second there by your own experience (half an eternity in any race); 15.8's are there without doing a thing to the car. At this stage of the game, wheel weights and (more importantly) their rotational inertias aren't that significant.

Norm

 

He won cuz he crossed the finished line first.
You "won" with the better time. If you two started racing at the same time, then you would have been ahead.

your 18inch rims are definitely not helping your times.

also, do you drive an auto or stick? I assume an auto.
your 60ft times are really poor. work on your launches!

 

What were your friends driving, and what car did you beat?

Bad: 1.169 R/T, launch, 18" rims.

You can probably improve your 16.347 by .500 with a better launch. Cooler weather should help too. Was it humid that night?

 

Are you brake torquing? Your 60 ft. times should be in the 2.2-2.3 range, even with the warm temps and big rims.

 

even if your 16s weigh the exact same as your 18s the 16s will be a LOT faster because of the fact that most of the weight of a rim is located on the outside, and when you move the outside of the rim further away from the center (as with an 18) you make your car work a lot harder to get moving. I normally recommed that you drop your tire pressure down but in your case you can't really do that because of the small sidewall. The above posts address the rest of the issues.

 

Hey Kit99bar....do you live in Kansas City? Have you heard anything about the track lately....I think they are trying to shut down KCIR....will it be open next season?

If you are planning on going there sometime...send me an email.... I would like to see what I could do in the max.

 

You should talk to daveB about that. He lives in KC
he also knows another racetrack that's about 45 mins south that's a lot better

 

I chatted a few times with him via email....seems like a very cool guy! Do you know him personally ...or from this site?

DaveB...where are you!? We need to run sometime before they destroy KCIR! Dam Muthafukers!

 

I don't think KCIR is going anywhere because they have posted their 2002 schedule. You can visit their site at www.kcir.net. They will be open the first weekend in March. Supposedly they were to do some repaving of the track which would be very nice.

There is the Mo/Kan Dragway down near Joplin, MO. It will take about 1.5 hours to get there. I hear that track is much nicer than KCIR. Those that I've talked to have seen about a .2 drop in et at that track. They open the first week in Feb and I plan on going. I haven't run there yet.

Then there's Heartland Park in Topeka. This is supposedly the quickest track in the Midwest according to the NHRA. It's a fully sanctioned NHRA track which means the track surface is like glue. I've been told by many that I should expect to see a .3-.4 drop in et on this track. I think a .4 drop in et is a little too much to ask for, but I'll try anything to get my car into the lower 14s. If this track hooks like it's suppose to, I may be able to crank out a 2.0 60 foot and get a 14.2-14.3@96mph.


Dave

 

Yes, you are correct. I do drive an automagic and so does my friend. I've only raced a total of 4 times in the last few months so I know that I have a lot to work on. Maybe next time though. I would love to get in the high 15's but not sure how to get there. Thanks for the help.

Shadou

 

How much is it to run at heartland park? That track is pretty close to me...and it would be cool to run on a track that the big boys race at!

You are running some great times....keep it up! Are you doing that with only a y pipe and udp...if so I need to get these mods!

BTW...how are you prelude seats holding up? I have been thinking about switching front seats once I wear a hole in the 2k ones....the drivers side already looks like poop!

 

My friend was driving a 2k GLE and the only time that I actually "won" was the very first run against my friend as he didn't pull far enough up to the line to light up his side. I got the full tree and I said what the hell, I'm going. So, I ran by myself with my friend still sitting there. That was his first time so I don't blame him for not knowing everything. I live in Hawaii so no, it wasn't humid at all that night. Kind of cool. But yes, a better launch time would be good. Best time was the .639 and I would like to get it lower.

Shadou

 

Ok. Can you please tell me what brake torquing is? Heard of it before but not to sure what it means. Thanks for the help.

Shadou

 

Thanks for bringing back the memories. I used to live in Topeka a long time ago and I would occasionaly go down to Heartland Park to see some races. I used to live there before they built the track and I moved soon after they opened up. Nice place but way to landlocked for me. I live in paradise now and I couldn't be any happier. Any changes in Topeka? I plan on coming back there for my 10 year school reunion sometime this year. I went to West if your familiar with the area.

Shadou

 

Hold the brake while in drive sitting at the line, then bring the RPMs up to ~1500. When the light goes, take your foot off the brake.

 

Thats what I thought it was. No, I haven't tried doing that but the next time I go out I will give it a shot. Thanks though for the help.

Shadou