Tips for 1st time drag racer?

[Babalouie]

Ok, the Luce will be making her debut at WSID next week!

I know a few of you guys have done this before, have you got any tips for a first-timer?

AFAIK the requirements for WSID are rego slip, helmet, long sleeve top/pants...and that's it, right?

[Andrew]

Practice launching and you'll be fine after that is all boring

[The Pupat]

biggest skid wins

Hope This Helps

[Sheck]

From what i've read the burnout is very important!
Apparently its enough when you can see some descent smoke covering the entire wheel.
Thats from one of the import mags.

Have fun!
Dave

[slammer]

+
Drop your tyre pressure at the rear to about 14-16 psi, for more traction and greater heat generation during burnout

+
Go on the yellows about the third one

+
Shift at redline flat shift

+
Remember it's only a quarter mile long so don't keep dragging past the quarter, don't ask how I know


Have a good one and post your times

[kula]

i just got back from my first go in the MX5....

why didnt u go this week babs!

oh well..

i have done no power mod to my 89 NA6,
it weights 950kgs very wet..
ran on falken RT615s at 22psi.

guess my ET

[Babalouie]

Well actually I was more interested in how the staging lights work and the order of things, etc

But in response to your various queries (in no particular order):

Slammer, yes I will be flatshifting since the Luce is automatic But 16psi is ok for normal road tyres?

Sheck, dunno about burnout, the poor dear will probably fall apart if I tried that.

Pupat, thanks, it helps.

Kula....flat 16.0?

[kula]

16.405@83.72



heres my tips

practice a launch on the street
then add about 1000rpm on the track..
if its spins lots, (which i doubt, use a little less revs)
if it bogs, add more rpm

WSID is a lot sticker than anything youll find on the street, and circuits too.

and after talking to a lot of racers most street tyres 50 profile or less, work best at 20-22psi.
if you have adjustable suspension, set the front on full stiff, rear on full soft.

staging is easy, front wheels up to the lines, stop when both lights are lit

go on last amber
my first ever go i got a .214 reaction time.

[Andrew]

16:08@83.75mph

[Babalouie]

Cool....thanks But once you stage, the lights don't count down until the other guy stages, right? Is there much warning before it does?

[sirbob]

Dont bother with the burnout, all it will do is burn your clutch which will then hinder your launch and it will not add any extra \"grip\" to your street tires (generally the opposite will occur)

The hardest thing i found to get used to is the amount of grip on the drag strip, its no normal road surafce and you really have to give it some revs to stop it from bogging down.

Try a 4000RPM launch, ie, dump the clutch \"nicely\" and you should get a pretty good launch.

Basically the MX5 has no go down the actual straight and all your time will be made in how cleanly you can get off the line. Try to find that point where your wheels are only just losing grip, that is the maximum traction you can apply and equates to the fastest launch your car will be capable of.

Tire pressures are reccomended to be dropped and take a bike pump if you are worried about the trip home. Either way you should get home on around 20PSI no worries, just dont take corners as though you had 34PSI!

In terms of staging, both staging lights will come on, and remain on for about 5secs once both cars are ready. You then watch the tree, which is not as hard as you imagine, and as they say, dump the clutch as you see the last yellow flash before the green!

[OMY005]

I haven't done this for years but I did do a lot of runs at Willowbank years ago and these are my pointers.

You want the second staging light to just come on then stop, don't roll forward any more or you risk the dreaded 'cherry'. Going on the last amber is a good call. Remember that your reaction time is NOT part of your ET. Some people get this confused.

Andrew.

[Benny]

A couple more tips for you Kevin.
Pump up your front tyres as far as you dare.
The more air, the less rolling resistance.

You can also take off the drive belts onthe engine, you won't need them for just a few seconds of racing, and it will give you a few more kW's.

[Dave]

Agree with OMY005 - reaction time is irrelevant unless you are seriously trying to drag a mate in the other lane. Your time is not affected by you sitting there after it goes green, although they will probably have a prize for the quickest RT.
Definitely drop the tyre pressures to about 20 psi, however be warned it can feel a bit strange backing off at 160+ kph with such low pressures...
As for grip, I really did not feel that the surface at WSID was anywhere near as grippy as normal dry blacktop. Unless there was something wrong with my PZeros, I just didn't get traction unless I was really careful with the revs. (Just ask slammer how easy it is to beat an SP with 38psi in the bags... ). I was avoiding the water and only giving it a half hearted burn-out, so maybe that was part of the problem? Obviously with the right rubber it makes a difference, even DO1s seem to help judging by some of Sean's launch efforts!
As everyone's reactions will be different, you will have to give the lights a few goes to get a feel for them. For me I was hitting it as soon as I saw the ambers beginning their descent, and that worked pretty well - I never broke, and got the RT pretty low.
You are right with the staging process. Once you get into stage the first light will come on. If you stay put and the other car moves into stage then after a few moments the lights will begin their action. Two stage lights just means that you are \"deep staged\" and have little/ no room for error if you happen to fudge a bit more.

All in all, good fun to be had - good luck!

[bruce]

Baba's in an auto - won't you need to practice shifting that (to avoid sliding it into a higher gear) ? 3 speed auto? Luce has a tacho?