Alright guys, I came across one of my favorite old links on FWD traction.... Now, these are written for 80's/90's mopars of the 2.2/2.5 turbo variety, but the information will translate to any FWD car. Hope this helps some of you in the quest for traction at the drag strip!
http://www.thedodgegarage.com/traction.html
Feel free to post your tips, but please, only post them if you actually have a GOOD 60' time... I'll say 2.1 or less? Let's face it, anything slower than that is pretty easy to accomplish.
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
Good article, some neat ideas in there.
15.3 @ 89.97mph, 14's on the way?
Well from my own experience...and people will say I'm wrong but I have the 1.9 and 2.0 60s to back it up...
Jumping off the clutch on the line doesn't work on our cars. I know in my buddies Eclipse I can just dump his clutch and feather the throttle to get it going good off the line (1.9 60s) but in my car it doesn't work. I've found that if you slip the clutch a little, even on the stock one like I am, you can knock a tenth or three off your 60ft. I went from consistent 2.2 and 2.3 60s on my BFG DRs to 1.9 and 2.0 60s on them just by slipping it a little. Of course you have to be careful slipping the stock clutch because too much will start to burn it up but I haven't had any issues with it yet and I did that for like 80 or so passes this past season.
If you can learn to play the throttle AND gas at the same time you can experiment and find the best launch that way as well. I found, with Bill's help, that slipping the clutch a little and easing into the gas at the same time was giving me killer, consistent 2.0s. When you can run times like that in the 60 every run it makes it easier to find out where your losing time down track and change other things (shiftpoints, shift quickness, shift harshness) to improve your overall times.
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
So I think I may try this slipping the clutch thing. My current 60' times range from about 2.45 to about 2.66 on street tires, manual transmission and stock setup. My fastest E/T has been:
R/t: .158
60: 2.494
330: 70117
1/8: 10.925
MPH: 64.39
1000: 14.208
1/4: 16.974
MPH: 81.26
This is my fastest run to date and about 14 time slips. If I recall I was lauching about 2,700-3,000 rpm and just dropping it straight out and I have tried like dropping it about 2,000 and just flooring it when I feel it grab so far. So I will have to try the slipping thing atleast once I think. Now say if I get my 60' down to about a 2.1 would I be in the 15's you think? Thanks in advance!
~Boost. Its what's for dinner!~
I pulled a 2.0 60 foot on 17" nitto 450 extremes in a Turbo Z24 . Part of it was brake torqing it just right. about 2k rpms. And automatic helped big time . The other factor honestly is going to a good track. I have to say that Route 66 Raceway in Joliet is one of the best maintained in the country. Great grip, but also depends on when you run. Run right after the big boys and you have a really good chance that the sticky will help your butt big time. thats my .02
01 Z24 Turbo /// First Reflashed Turbo AUTO MMMM YUMMY
if you run Rt. 66 after the NHRA visits not only will you get assraped on the admission price (this always happens there) but you will also assrape your driveline with all the VHT, golddust, and other prep compounds they have down. That said pulling a 1.8 60' on DRs felt pretty damn good
Tim: I'd wager on low 16s instead of 15s. .9 is hard to drop just by getting a .2 or .3 60'
I used to race cars, now I race myself.
5K PB: 24:50
10K PB: 54:26
Personally, since my bug is drive-by-wire, the throttle is VERY touchy which means i have to make the clutch take the abuse instead as well... And ATCO is very well prepped, or at least it was this past season with the first 400 feet totally resurfaced. My best 60' ever was a 2.062 on the BONE STOCK Goodyear Eagle RSA tires, the same ones that come on LS Sport J's.
I aired them down to 15 psi, spun just enough in the burnout box to get the water off.
Stage, rev to 3500, bring the clutch pedal up to just before it engages.... light drops and the clutch comes out gradually as the throttle goes in... its hard to explain what i do because it takes place literally in tenths of a second and its become more instinct than conscious though. But basically you try and drop the throttle and bring up the clutch fast enough not to bog, but slow enough not to spin too much... its a very fine medium that takes a while to find, but you KNOW when you nail it just right.
Just got my BFG G-Force T/A's yesterday, and atco is opening tomorrow... i may be able to make it out on sunday for my first try with the radials
I'll be trying as many different launch techniques as possible.
The other thing that I do think Gary (the author of the mopar site i linked to) is DEAD on about it weight reduction in the rear. The less weight behind the driver, the harder it is for the rear to squat and lift the front tires. almost all of my weight reduction is behind the driver seat.
I can't WAIT to get some coilovers and scales to properly corner/crossweight the car for minimum rearward weight transfer.
And one other thing, i think a lot of people have this problem where they think that repeating the same launch over and over again is somehow going to get different results. If you're trying to launch at 2500 rpm just dropping the clutch, you can do that until your ears bleed but your 60' times won't get better. Consult people who DO get badass 60' times and try and do what they do. My 60' would probably still be a 2.2 if it wasn't for a guy I met from Vortex who gave me a few really good launch tips. Talk to your fellow racers at the track, and see what they're doing. Other FWD launch techniques may work for you, even if its from the driver of a completely different vehicle.
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
Hmm well I will probably never know since the turbo will be in most likely by the start of this drag season. I guess this altitude is a real killer.
~Boost. Its what's for dinner!~
