Fastest run was my last
There's probably more in it but I wasn't finding it tonight and may not be capable of finding it at all.
Fastest run was my last
There's probably more in it but I wasn't finding it tonight and may not be capable of finding it at all.
I went looking for my time slips from 2017, but can't find them. From memory, your 60 foot looks decent. My best trap speed was 92 MPH, so you're close there. Got your email, not sure why 5th gear is coming into play at all. How fast does the car go in 4th on the street, approaching red line? Is this thing geared crazy low, or something?
A comparison of the overall ratio (rear X trans) for each gear compared to a stock 5 speed might reveal something. I have assumed your car has more power than I had and would have expected better times than my car mustered.
Agree completely warren. Really expected more out of it. And it may be there, and im just not. But, it is what it is.
As far as trans: Rev limited at 6k. 4:10 gears (in theory) and seems to run out of revs before the traps. Or i run out of balls. Not sure which.
What size are your drag slicks?
22x8x15
Dusterbd13-michael said:22x8x15
Exactly what I ran. So it's not a tire size issue. I think my rear end is a 4.30 Torsen. I had to launch (in 1st) and shift very quickly or it would nose over when it hit the rev limiter. I didn't manage a clean run, with proper shifts until the 6th run IIRC. I didn't need 5th gear. What year and model is your engine from?
2002 buick rondevous. 1998 camaro 3800 t5
Wiki says that's a 185 HP engine, which is less than I had assumed, but still better than I think my car has. It may be a case of you needing more practice to get good runs each time. Getting the shifts consistently in a manual car isn't easy. My times ranged from a best of 14.72 to over 17 and it was due to missing shifts, or just not executing them quickly. Is the car set up with nitrous? I assume you didn't have it this time?
Your problem is not your launch. It's your power.
Your top mph isn't high enough for the power you should be getting out of that motor. The Mumpkin could do 1.6 second launches, but more importantly ran 98 mph consistently. You should be doing better.
What's holding her back (in power)?
100*F with 80% humidity didn't help you. But I still think you can find more juice.
Running the numbers this morning, theres no way i actually needed 5th last night. Rev limiter in 4th is 100mph. So that could have been a lot of tge trap speed problem.
So, definitely NOT all the car here.
In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
I think you’re not really wringing it’s neck. the 2.4xx 60’ says you’re leaving really gently or spinning the tires like a madman. My bone-stock 96 Probe GT cut 2.1xx on Hoosier autocross tires. Heavier, less power, and wrong wheel drive. On drag tires, you could just drop the clutch at 3600 rpm and see either how quick it goes or what breaks.
If you subtract the 15% drivetrain losses, this is only gonna put down about 153 hp at the wheels.
I know because that is what my 3400 powered rx7 put down.
Go figure out the nitrous or turbo.
AngryCorvair said:In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :
I think you’re not really wringing it’s neck. the 2.4xx 60’ says you’re leaving really gently or spinning the tires like a madman. My bone-stock 96 Probe GT cut 2.1xx on Hoosier autocross tires. Heavier, less power, and wrong wheel drive. On drag tires, you could just drop the clutch at 3600 rpm and see either how quick it goes or what breaks.
Agreed. But I’d bump the RPM up. The trick to launching the s00p3rturd on big slicks was to bang the rev limiter, back off a couple hundred RPM, and all but side-step the clutch.
What pressures are you running on the slicks?
In reply to poopshovel again :
15 psi. And i couldn't reallreally bring rpm up as the car kept coasting forward at the lights. So it was at whatever rpm it was at. Didnt bog, didn't feel like it hooked. So im guessing it was spinning. Dunno.
Next time, push the handbrake release down and tape it there. On the line hold the handbrake up and release it as you launch. Launch with some revs. 15 PSI in the tires is roughly where you want to be. I think I dropped as low as 13 in Gainesville IIRC. Practice shifting that thing quickly, especially the 2-3 shift. I didn't manage a run with proper shifts until the 6th run. I was hitting the limiter or muffing shifts constantly. Overall, you've got a car that weighs about what a stock Miata does, with 185 HP. That's a 14 second car, unless you change the power or weight. A hundred pounds either way, will make a 2/10ths difference.
I compared your drive ratios to mine in each gear, if I got the right Camaro transmission info. Your 1st gear is steeper than mine , and I ran into the limiter before the 60 foot timer, so 2nd gear starts may be in order. Second gears are very close. In 3rd yours is 5.45 to my 5.73. Fourth is 4.10 for you , to 4.30 me. Your motor has a torque advantage I would think, so you should be able to give me a really good race. I'll be curious to see what your car weighs at Gainesville.
I would also point out that my car had the 4th fastest combined time in 2017. If you set yours up to autocross well, you can do the same. You should also do significantly better in the concourse. Remember, 2 concourse points are roughly equal to a second on course.
Would a shift light help?
Shift lights, tachs, stuff like that, all out the window in my world on the dragstrip. Learn the car. Get a feel for the sound and vibrations at 5900 in each gear. Be one with the car. My ears and feelings tell me when to shift way quicker than the connection between a red line on a tach or shift light tell my eyes to send the impulse through my brain to my left foot and right hand to move and shift. Then you can shift with your eyes closed. You need more seat time.
My 140hp 18.1 second 3.1 94 lumina sedan on 10 year old all seasons with a couple hundred pounds of stereo in the trunk used to 60’ at 2.1.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
Thumbs up to the handbrake trick, but kinda weird that a manual car is creeping in the lights unless the starting line is downhill.
thumbs down to 100 lbs = 0.2 seconds. Never heard that rule of thumb, and certainly haven’t experienced it.
Ive been thinking about this all day while autocrossing. I think I introduced too many variables, both mechanically and psychologically. Trying to re-learn drag racing, while relearning how to drive slicks on a car that is completely unknown on a drag strip. It felt squirrelly on the big end, squishy all around, etc. Nothing felt right, which caused fear. Dear amplified the nervousness and perception of the cars oddities. Which increased fear. Etc.
My plan is to rrtest. On street tires. And focus on shifting and driving the car straight. Once im comfortable with that, THEN introduce the variable of slicks. Relearn a car with a single new change.
I wasnt launching properly with the rolling and overthinking slicks. I was lifting when it got squirrelly. I wasnt shifting well, or using 4th properly. Theres a LOT of wrong with last night. But a lot of right. It drives straight, stops straight, passes tech, and the clitch doesnt slip powershifting.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
That's from an online quarter mile calculator. If you jack the weight by 100 lb. the ET changes 2/10 second. That'll only be for the weight and power I guesstimated.
It’s way closer to 1/10, but isn’t a rule. The quicker you get you need exponentially more power or less weight to get that tenth
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