OK, let me get straight to the point. I went to a drag strip called Great Lakes Dragaway, which lies some 60 miles north of Chicago - I believe it's the closest one. I had a little less than a quarter tank of gas when I left home so half way there I decided to put more gas in my Max since the light came on. I always put 93, but the gas station in the middle of nowhere only had 92, which PROBABLY wouldn't make the slightest difference in my times. I filled my car up to a quarter tank again. I got to the track at 8pm and they close at 11. It was packed! Lots of imports and scary-looking domestic dragsters. NEways, I AM ****ED BECAUSE I ONLY GOT TO RUN TWICE!!! YES, TWICE! The lines were so long that I had to wait for almost an hour each time and they close at 11. Now I would like to analyze my times. MY FIRST TIME EVER at a drag strip (yes, today) was 15.509 @ 90.51 mph. I ran this with my 5-spd 99 SE-L (COMPLETELY STOCK, no mods at all at the moment...not even intake). the 60' time for that run was 2.287 @ 90.96. My second (...AND LAST!!! grrrr)run was obviously better - 15.338 with a 60' time of 2.427. As a final word, I would like to say a few things:

1) I noticed that each time I ran, I had a crappy start! First off, I would like to complain about the whole staging process. IT SUCKS! I mean, once I stage, I only have like a second between the tree starts counting down the yellow lights, which themselves last only like a second - seriously and then GO! This basically blows because I do not get enough time to set my RPM properly and can't make it still...instead it jump around like crazy. Maybe it sounds weird to you guys but I was really having difficulty doing that - setting at the desired RPM range in what seemed like 2 seconds! In my first run I dropped the clutch at about 2k RPM and my second run at like 3.5k. Both times, however, I did spin my front tires A LOT! It seemed that when I shifted into second at 6k RPM, I was standing still. I had 25psi pressure in each tire. Plus, because the tree lit up so fast (i'm not exaggerating), my reaction time sort of sucked too because I was told by all members here to go on the last yellow, yet somehow I didn't do that and waiting for the fuking green each time! GRRRRRRRRR

2) I noticed that each time I ran, I changed gears faster. That, among other things made by time a little better. It's hard to explain, but each time I ran, I was positive that I could change the gears even faster then the previous run. I finished each run very high in 3rd @ some 6.5 RPM...never shifting to 4th...you think that might make a diff?

NOW A FINAL WORD:

- For those who told me that a PURE STOCK 99 Max SE-L 5-spd WILL NOT do a quarter mile in under 15 seconds ARE PLAIN WRONG! I know 110% that my starts sucked each time and ON ONLY MY SECOND TIME I pulled a 15.338! I know I can change my gears faster than I did today and I also know that I can start off better next time. If you are in the Chicagoland area, I am willing to take you up on what I said above - I WILL bet YOU or ANYBODY else $300 that I will lower my time UNDER 15 seconds! ...yes, with a purly stock 99 SE-L 5-spd.


P.S. I have the slips I just don't have a scanner...but am planning to go back and race next week and the week after so when I get at least 10 best slips, I will post them.

 

MY FIRST TIME EVER at a drag strip (yes, today) was 15.509 @ 90.51 mph. I ran this with my 5-spd 99 SE-L (COMPLETELY STOCK, no mods at all at the moment...not even intake). the 60' time for that run was 2.287. My second (...AND LAST!!! grrrr)run was obviously better - 15.338 @ 90.96 with a 60' time of 2.427. As a final word, I would like to say a few things:

 

sounds good to me. actually though, by your 60 foot times, your start wasnt too bad. ESPECIALLY for your first time to the track. very nice runs IMO... and it also sounds like you have a very strong running max.
keep up the good work.

 

It's V E R Y weird that with the better time of 15.338 my 60' was 2.427, which is much higher than my 60' of 2.287 on the worse run of 15.509 ........do you follow?

 

Very nice times for your first time out.

Yup, shift speed can have a big impact on your ET. The less time you spend between gears in limbo not putting any power to the ground, the quicker you'll be.

As for whether to shift to 4th or stay in 3rd, it depends. Some people have gotten better results staying in 3rd. Others have gotten better results shifting to 4th. So you need to experiment with that on a car-by-car, driver-by-driver basis. There is no right or wrong answer to that one.

As for getting a 14.xx ET on a stock 4th gen, it can be done. There are about 7 or 8 that have done it over the years. But I wouldn't get all cocky and start betting people $300 just yet. It takes time, a lot of practice, and a little luck also. And that's assuming that your particular 4th gen has the cajones to pull it off in the first place. But I'll be rooting for ya.

 

when the track is real busy like you said it was they tend to run the tree really fast to get the line moving. If you encounter that again, hurry up and stage first so you have an extra few seconds while the other car stages.

 

clearly the time your 60' was worse when you got a better ET you banged the gears a lil better =)