First time Drag Racing

[Jakester]

Hey everyone!

Some of you might remember a post I made not too long ago, asking for some tips with Drag racing and that I was going to an event soon. Well, I ended up going to one the other day and had a blast! This was a "Test and Tune" event, so I'm not sure how the other events are, but let's just say that I was the only stock car there. So unfortunately I was going against people way out of my class. Regardless though, I had a blast!

I got about 6 runs in and I noticed that my car was starting to slow down a lot. My usual ~5.3 seconds 0-60 turned into 8+ seconds to get to 60! I figured that this was because of the stock intercooler? Granted it was about 95F that day and I drove over an hour to get there on the highway and pretty much went straight to the strip from there.

Though here are a few pictures and my time sheets! I feel like I didn't do that great, but comparing them to the cars I was against wasn't the best idea . Though I feel like I didn't do too bad for my first time! (I was on the left on all the slips, #4019). Let me know what you guys think!

Here are all of my runs:

And here was my best time(s):

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[brucelinc]

15 seconds? Uh....something seems off.....way off. Manual or automatic? Heat is definitely your enemy. I usually try to get to the track early and raise the hood for awhile before I make my first run. I also pop the hood release after a run and have slowed down to go back to the pit area so some of the heat can escape. In doing this, I haven't experienced much decline in performance over several runs with my GT or with my prior ecoboost V6 Lincoln.

I am not too familiar with ecoboost mustangs but I would have expected much quicker, regardless of the heat. I have seen them run at my tracks and I thought they were usually in the 13 second range.

 

[Braski]

^Agree!^

 

[Jakester]

15 seconds? Uh....something seems off.....way off. Manual or automatic? Heat is definitely your enemy. I usually try to get to the track early and raise the hood for awhile before I make my first run. I also pop the hood release after a run and have slowed down to go back to the pit area so some of the heat can escape. In doing this, I haven't experienced much decline in performance over several runs with my GT or with my prior ecoboost V6 Lincoln.

I am not too familiar with ecoboost mustangs but I would have expected much quicker, regardless of the heat. I have seen them run at my tracks and I thought they were usually in the 13 second range.

No, I completely agree! Between me being a newbie and trying not to be nervous, lol...I really wasn't thinking 100%.

You're right though, I'm pretty sure it is 100% because of the heat.
I drove about an 1+ to get there at highway speeds and once I got there, I pretty much went straight into it. I really didn't give the car a chance to cool down or open the hood at all. So, between that and being 95F+ that day, I'm pretty sure that's why the times seemed so slow. That's 100% on me

Now I know for next time though!

I have the 10A by the way. And yes, it should be in the 13 second range!

 

[bluebeastsrt]

No, I completely agree! Between me being a newbie and trying not to be nervous, lol...I really wasn't thinking 100%.

You're right though, I'm pretty sure it is 100% because of the heat.
I drove about an 1+ to get there at highway speeds and once I got there, I pretty much went straight into it. I really didn't give the car a chance to cool down or open the hood at all. So, between that and being 95F+ that day, I'm pretty sure that's why the times seemed so slow. That's 100% on me

Now I know for next time though!

I have the 10A by the way. And yes, it should be in the 13 second range!

Everything is a learning experience. When I first started racing. Back in the early 80s. At age 16. I was more worried about looking cool. Than going fast. So I was doing a burn out at the starting line. Waiting for the lights to drop! I felt like a complete dickhead. when I got back to the pits. And the old heads told me I was doing it all wrong. And I looked like a douche. Doing what I was doing. But on a side note. Your 60ft isn’t horrible. So all in all you didn’t do as bad as me for a first timer. Now make some improvements. Next time out.

 

[ugstang17]

You've learned two things. It's not as easy as it looks, and you can't become a pro by reading the book theory.

Keep at it. You're doing fine. Get some advice from the veteran racers around. Just respect their time and remember that many of them are there setting the car up for race day, not just to have a good time.

 

[Zinc03svt]

I would say the 95 degree heat and 87-89 mph trap speeds where not your friends. You almost had a 14 on one run. Go run the car in some 55-60 degree air and heat those tires a tad. As long as your having fun is all that matters.

 

[Braski]

Practice is key. My first ever run in my 95 gt was a speedy 15+! The next week after some research and practice I put down a 14.3! Not bad for only 220 hp! 2 years later and dozens of passes inbetween, I managed to get a 12.9 out of my bone stock 99 Camaro SS! Killer tract prep but I'd still like to take some credit!

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