Ok, this friday 6/17/05 im going to goto the track again for the 3rd time. My previous times were really sheety. I live in vegas which is hot and high elevation so i dont see myself running below 16s with my stock 03 ecotec. Few things that will be different this time:
Lower tire pressure - Prally like 24 PSI they are 34 PSI now
NO PASSENGERS!!!
Ima work on my shifting.
http://www.aempower.com/pdf/dyno/21-448%202003%20Chevy%20Ecotec.pdf
Thats supposed to be stock dyno numbers from AEM...
IF thats accurate then should I be shifting to stay within the power band of 6300-4300 or should i be shifting to stay within the TQ band of 5300-3300?
I figure i lose about 2000 rpms from gear to gear
What you guys think?
Shift higher, Hp is the useful function of torque. It's like pedaling a 10 speed bike. You can either pedal faster, or pedal harder. Your engine only makes so much torque, and only spins so fast. HP is the measurement of how well the torque can be used, so stay in the HP band, not the torque band.
<img src=http://ourworld.cs.com/jwithspray/Nitrosig13303.JPG>
Front tires: 15 psi
Rear tires: Max. safe rated pressure (normally about 44 psi)
once staged you want to rev up to your launch rpm (different for every engine/set of tires/transmission/etc..), start at maybe 3K or so and try and figure it out from there. Let the clutch out until just before it grabs (helps R/T and if you do screw up it won't be as much of a shock to the tires and will help at least a little in recovering grip). When the third amber light goes down, you want to come off the clutch while starting to depress the throttle. DO NOT drop the clutch. You're trying to get the clutch all the way out, and the throttle all the way down as fast as possible WITHOUT breaking the tires loose (chirp or very little spin is ok). Basically, fast enough where the engine doesn't bog, and slow enough where you won't spin. It's really tricky to find that point, and everytime you do a significant mod it may change. Practice is all you can do. Go to the track as often as possible, and focus on every run. Don't worry about the guy next to you, or anything else, just focus on what you have to do to get the car down the track. As far as shifting goes, rev it out as high as you can without hitting rev limiter, and shift as quickly as possible (obviously). If you're adventurous enough, don't take your foot off the gas on the shift, just kick the clutch and shift it really quick. NOTE: I am not responsible for any clutch damage that may occur. Powershifting is really rough on the trans so be aware of that, but it IS the fastest way down the track.
Please note, I'm not one of those people who goes around telling you what "should" work in THEORY. This is how I launch and I cut 2.1 second 60' times on stock Eagle RSA tires, with an entirely stock suspension. Do I drive a cavalier, no, but I drive a car that is a lot harder to launch with a lot more torque which just loves to burn rubber. This, from 6 months of racing once a week or more, is the best strategy I've come up with, and I still have yet to totally perfect it. Drag racing is predominantly in the launch, so better tires, suspension, etc, will be some of your best mods. Buy a bag of ice (normally the track's snack stand or speed shop will have it) and ice down the intake manifold and the intake tubing. This was good for a consistent tenth of a second on my car. Remove dead weight. You wouldn't take a spare tire on a canoe trip, its just as useless when you're racing. Take it out and leave it in the pits. The rear seats pop out pretty easy, so leave them at home. Passenger seat = 4 bolts.... easy enough to take out. Run with a 1/4 tank of gas, but not much less because the gas will have a tendency to move away from the fuel pump on a hard launch, and if you don't have enough in the tank to cover the pickup when this happens, it will cause a stumble or even a stall. Run the lowest possible octane you can without detonation. Have a new set of plugs that you use only for racing and swap them in the pits before you start to run (old school trick taught to me by a veteran drag racer).
These are very cheap/easy things you can do to get faster. It takes a lot of practice. Practice shifting while parked with the car off... just practice doing the most lightning quick shifts you can. Realize how very small a tenth of a second is, and do your best to shave off what you can. The car does a lot of the work, but driver error is the biggest limiting factor. Try to master your car while its mostly stock before doing any serious power mods, in the end it will make you a better driver and much faster when you do finally get into bigger modifications.
Another trick is to use a ratcheting cargo strap (a pretty heavy-duty one) to compress the rear suspension to limit weight transfer on your launch. Don't drive it to or from the track with the strap installed obviously... I haven't tried this yet but there's a guy I know with a 13.2 second festiva (yes you read that correctly) who swears by this.
In your hotter climate, maybe install a thermostat that is 10-20 degrees colder than stock? You could also look into a radiator fan bypass switch to engage the fans at will while in staging.
Alright I think my bag of tricks is emptied out for all to view right now, hope something helps!
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
