Advice and tips appreciated. First time going to the track, 2 more days..

[1993eclipseGS]

This is going to be my first time ever racing my car on an actual race track. Alot of people have been telling me it is totally different from on the street though. I'm not exactly sure what I should do, Where I should launch my car at, Etc..

Alittle background information about my car :

The car was purchased from a 50 year old lady, She bought it brand new when it first came out The car has 60k miles and when she had it, It was bone stock.., Everything on it except the block, Now has 2,000 miles maybe. I plan on changing my oil before I go also, Since it's about due.

My mods are :


Slowboy racing FMIC with 2 1/2" short route piping
TurboXS RFL blow off valve
Extremely Ported and polished 7cm turbine
Manual boost controller
Boost gauge
Ported 2g exhaust manifold
Ported 2g o2 housing
Ported intake manifold
2g shiftknob
Act2600 clutch
Act Streetlite flywheel
Walbro 255lph fuel pump
Removed balance shafts
Arp head studs
Metal shifter base bushings
Extremely ported head
Taylor 8mm plug wires

As for weight reduction, I have it completly gutted from the back of the front seats, All the way back. The bumper support is gone, The balance shafts are removed, ALL of the a/c components are removed, The cardboard under the back carpet is gone, All the shit in the roof is removed.. So there is alot of weight reduction, I guess.

Right now, I have my boost at 17psi. I'm not hitting fuel cut, And the car seems like it pulls ok(I'm useto it already, So it feels slow, But others say its not.. So i'm not sure.)


I'm not exactly sure what to launch the car at, I DO NOT plan on dumping the clutch and just going, I rev, rev, rev, Slip the clutch and go. It is still a pretty hard launch. I'm really not afraid to launch the car but i'd rather not take it to 6,000rpms and launch it !

I raced a supercharged cobra that runs 11.90's and killed it out of the hole, And kept him off until the top of 3rd gear.. Which is pretty good, I think.

What gear should I pass the line in?
What should I launch at?
When should I leave, When it turns green, Last yellow etc?
Is the track ''really'' sticky, Or is that just a rumor? I'd rather not stall my car at the line

I plan on getting some c16 race gas. How much do I actually need? It's like $9 or 10$ a gallon, I'd rather not spend 100$ in gas. With the race gas, Can I turn my boost up another psi or 2?

ANY advice is welcome, I'm admitting I was never at a track, And do not really know what to do, So for those of you who have went, And have experience.. Please inform me!


Please do not post just to say search, Yada yada etc etc.. I've been on here for 3 years, And latly i've been seeing it more and more. Just don't post if you're going to be a dick and try to be cocky over the internet!

Thanks!

 

[BlackbirdOfPrey]

This isn't an all inclusive post, but here is a decent place to start.

1.Watch a few runs before you get into the staging lanes, don't just charge up there and act like a badass, watch a few people who know what they are doing.
2.Pay attention to where the staging lights are. Too many rookies don't figure it out until the track official starts yelling at them to go backwards. Not to mention know where the water pits are, you don't need to use them because your AWD.
3. I launch mine at around 5000 (but I'm pretty close to stock), that would be a good place to start until you get comfortable.
4.Slip the clutch out and go, don't drop it.
5. Don't short shift into second, make sure that you go all the way to about 6500 before you shift, otherwise it kills your times.
6. Make sure you are tuned up before you run. Theres nothing like running 20psi when you are knocking like mad.
7. Your car will probably pass the line in 4th
8. Launch on the last yellow before green, by the time the power actually gets to the wheels you will be moving on green, not reacting on green.
9. Focus. Turn off radios/neons/AC, and other distractions. (track officials will flag you if they see your AC dripping from underneath, turn it off) Pay attention to your shifts and your tach.
10. Yes the track is somewhat sticky, but that won't bog your launch, dropping the clutch at high rpms bogs your launches
11. For race gas, get to the track with as little in pump gas as you can without running dry. Buy enough gas to get you home, and add about 3-4 gallons.(depends on how many passes you make) Bring your own gas can, most tracks do not allow you to pump direct into your tank. With race gas you should be able to up the boost 2-3psi and maybe a little more if it is a cool night out. Tune to make sure.
12. Shift gears as high to redline as possible without bouncing off the rev limiter, that way you stay in the boost.
13. Keep a set of tools with you in case shit breaks, an IC pipe blows off, or something goes wrong.

Thats about all I can think of off the top of my head. Don't expect to run perfectly the first dozen passes, I've made over 50 track passes since I've owned my car, and I'm still learning a lot. Learning to launch an AWD is the only real trick. I see Evo's runing 16's all the time because they can't launch. Pay more attention to trap times than E/ts. They will show you the true potential of your car at that time. Have fun!

 

[xcelr8n]

Launch around 5500, I find to that shifting at 6500 is a better idea than shifting at 7000 in most cases, unless youre powerband is up there, which yours really isnt, you will probably find youre faster if you dont wind 2nd and 3rd out, and cross the line in 4th most likely, unless youre slow
Best adivce is to go there and try different stuff, dont expect anything good first time either if it hapens good, if not you will be much better off anyway, plus track is a great place to tune

 

[jkrause]

it is totally diff than the street. i went about two weeks ago and could not hook up to save my life. my best time was a 14.4 i was very angry and plan on going back very soon to get my 13

just know your not going to do your best the very first time out. just keep going back for more !

 

[1993eclipseGS]

I ran a best of 13.0 @ 106mph, With a 1.8 60ft. My first time out was a 13.6, Then a 13.5, then a 13.4, 13.2, the the 13.0 and then then i coulden't get any more run's in. i'm going to start another thread with full details. Thanks for the help

 

[BulliT]

Drag Racing Basics