dragstrip or road course

[taylork057]

i built my car to be a 1/4 car, not a long running road car. my buddy has been trying to convice me to do a trackday with him( hes got a 350ztt) and hes been bugging me alot lately becuase the next one is in february, and i dont think my car will stay toghether for x amount of laps around vir going full throttle, i think my car will overheat and ultimatly, just blow the #### up, and ive searched and found little on dsms being raod course cars and im planning on keeping it that way, any one have good expierences there with their cars setup to run hard only a short time, instead of 30 mins straight?

 

[Elvenhome21]

Our cars are very good road racing car, as long as you do proper prep to them. Number one issue is Brakes, GET GOOD RACING PADS. Don't worry about the rotor upgrades yet, the pads have to be able to take the heat first. I reccomend porterfields the full race pad, I haven't ran them yet but Everybody I have seen at the tracks says they are the best for being able to take the heat.

My car nor my enduro car never overheated so I wouldn't worry about it to much, but if you are concerned. Drain out the coolant and put in straight distilled water with water wetter and if you still have problems with over heating which i can't see why pop out the thermostat. But thats the last case scenario.

You are also going to want to run decent amount of tire pressure 35-45 if you have stock camber (prevent tire from rolling over so bad).

 

[cioc]

TWO WORDS: DO IT!!! My car used to be setup for drag racing and just like you I had a buddy do road racing track days with his 944T. He kept pushing and pushing to the point that I was beat into submission. Needless to say I took his advice and have not been back to the drag strip in over 3 years. Go over your car front and back making sure all your suspension components are tight and basic maintenence is complete.(Timing belt, etc.) Do the pads as Elvenhome21 suggested and bleed the brake fluid as well. Turn the boost as low as you can for the first session and see how the car reacts. If you need to, raise it slightly but I would stay away from drag racing boost levels. Just as a reference, I have an AGP L2R 50trim that I run 24-26PSI on the street/strip and on the road course I turn it down to around 17 and it is PLENTY.

 

[Elvenhome21]

cioc: I am glad you said something about the brake fluid, flush out the entire system. I recommend going to advanced or auto zone and getting SYNTHETIC dot 4 fluid. The Valvoline stuff works great (silver bottle says safe for ABS systems) get one small bottle of it and run the entire bottle through the system or get a turkey baster and suck out most of the contents of the reservoir fill it completely with the Valvoline stuff and bleed the reservoir down once, refill and you have fresh fluid through the entire system. If you run multiple brutle sessions, I would also recommend bleeding the front calipers every other session. It might seem much but for a track like Road America where your going 110-140 3 times a lap and MUST slow down at least 50-70 MPH at minimum each time (or hit the wall), there nothing to stop the fluid from boiling so its just a safety precaution. Along with keeping the pedal firm.


Also by turning boost down you reduce the strain on the cooling system so if you do overheat turn down the boost. Very last thing, roll the windows down turn the heater on full speed and full hot and to the dash vents pointed out the window, but thats last resort.

 

[asian312]

Was recently in that same situation, but in the other shoes. I've been bugging my old drag buddies to give the track a shot and in Dec. one of them did. We spent a lot of time going over the car and making sure everything was up to snuff. But after all was said and done, we're headed back out in Feb or March.

From a driver's stand point its more rewarding in knowing you played more in the performance than just the gas pedal. It takes a good driver to really bring the potential out of the car. I wont say everyone will catch the bug, but once you realize that our cars were made with more than straight line in mind, its hard not to.

 

[Elvenhome21]

I have never understood the point of drag racing, your in the car for what 2 minutes total and racing for 14 seconds. I realize its all about the launch but thats it. When you add corners and braking it adds the 3rd dimension to the sport. To me I would do it once just to get a timeslip and I wouldn't go back unless if it was actually for decent money.

Its still a toss up between circle track and Road Racing, each has its advantage. Circle track is a guarenteed purse your racing for, strict rules so everyone should be equal, and being door to door for 40 laps is such a rush.

Then your got road racing which is more of being on your own in your own race against yourself, how much you can push it. The cars are normally different V8s vs. turbo 4's but its a lot more technical even yet because you throw shifting into the mix, so you MUST plan your next move before you do it. And your not really racing for a purse in most cases, its more sponsors than anything. Along with being a crap load more expensive for entry fee.

 

[underradar92]

Since you have a FMIC, keep close tabs on coolant temp, at least until you are confident that it is stable. Having our radiators sandwiched between an intercooler (warm, slows cooling air) and a glowing turbo for 20 minutes can be a bit tense. Some cars have trouble with this, some not, as it depends on a lot of factors, and it can be dealt with effectively.

I used to drag race, in a few different vehicles, back before there were track days (or before I knew of them), it seemed a bit counterproductive, more money = less time driving Haven't been to the dragstrip in... years.

Road course driving is just a LOT more fun, and more of a challenge. It also may be less expensive in the long run WTF Well, definately a better bang for the buck. Go for it, and you will never look back.

 

[taylork057]

yeah, i have the advanced ceramic pads alredy, and i hate them, their worse than stock pads, i also have a agx/eibach setup suspension and SS brake lines, i like the idea of turning the boost to the lowest i can(15psi) and new coolant.. i woould have never thought of that on my ownWTF..

 

[Slow old poop]

For what it's worth, I took my bone-stock 92 Talon (not the one to the left) to road courses with 135,000 miles on it. Ran like a champ. No problems at all, except cording the el-cheapo front tires and warping the rotors. At $20 a rotor, you can carry spares. (You have better brakes on your 2G than I had on the 1G, so you will have fewer problems). I replaced the el-cheapo tires with something a little better and didn't cord any more tires.

I prefer Carbotech pads (get them from supercarengineering.com) because they wear like iron and you can run them on the street, but to each his own. I run Carbotechs on the Eclipse (on the left) and have no complaints.

When you go to the track, get an instructor or an experienced driver to ride along, and have him teach you HOW TO BRAKE. LIsten to what he says. If you do, your brakes will last the entire day or weekend. If you try to do it yourself, you'll smoke those brakes within a few laps.

If you do decide to go, come back here and we'l give you some more tips.

Rich

 

[Ludachris]

Road racing or drag strip? Why not both? Yes, road racing is harder on the car. But in my opinion it's a much more gratifying competition and you'll gain way more driving skill than you ever would drag racing. I think drag racing is fun but nowhere near as fun as road racing.

You'll need to make sure your brake system is up to par. You'll need to make sure your cooling system is better than stock. And you'll need to check all other systems more regularly. The car shouldn't overheat and blow up, mainly because you should catch that type of problem before it happens. You'll find many discussions about cooling in this forum when you do a search. Look up "radiator", "hood vent", "water wetter", "coolant", "coolant temps", etc. Most people remove their A/C if they have it.

For some reason everyone tends to be more afraid of road courses than drag strips. I think that's one reason why drag racing is more popular. Check the Road Course FAQ stickied at the top of this forum. Start there, do some keyword searches, browse this forum, then come in and ask some questions.

 

[TSIMonsteR]

At what point do you have to have a roll cage? Also, slow old poop, I couldn't find carbon tech on that site for our cars.... which ones fit 2g DSMs?

I am very interested in Road Racing this year and I am trying to make sure my car is going to be up to it.

I hear it is a good idea to start with the stock suspension and more of a stock performing car until you get use to it. Are these suggestions correct?

 

[Slow old poop]

1. At what point do you have to have a roll cage? 2.
Also, slow old poop, I couldn't find carbon tech on that site for our cars.... which ones fit 2g DSMs?
3. I am very interested in Road Racing this year and I am trying to make sure my car is going to be up to it.
4. I hear it is a good idea to start with the stock suspension and more of a stock performing car until you get use to it. Are these suggestions correct?

1. You don't need a roll cage (or even a roll bar) until you enter the race classes. That means you can run NASA HPDE 1-4 and all TT classes without a bar. It will take you at least two years of running HPDE and TT before they will even let you into Production Touring, so don't worry about a bar just yet. You can also run BMW and Porsche HPDEs without a bar.

2. I buy all my brakes from Supercar Engineering, but he doesn't sell that many for DSMs, so he doesn't put them on his web site. Contact Philip Glazatov directly at [email protected], tell him what you have, what you intend to do, and he'll pick a brake pad that will work for you on the street and the track--most likely, he'll pick Carbotech Panther Plus pads, but you never know. Whatever he suggests, it will be the right choice for your car and skill level.

3. We'll be rooting for you. Like Ludacris just said, make sure your brakes are up to snuff (pads, rotors, brake fluid), and your cooling system works. Unless you are running monster boost, your cooling system should be OK. If you haven't tended to it for a couple of years, it wouldn't hurt to pull the rad and get it boiled out. Check all the hoses.

4. Yes, start stock. Don't make any mods to add performance. Just mod for safety and reliability. If you have engine mods already, turn down the boost! Maximizing seat time and instruction is the best possible thing at this point. You wil go much faster with experience than you will with mods. When the time comes to make mods -- such as brakes or suspension -- we'll have plenty of advice for you.

The best thing for you to do is go give it a try in your car, just the way it is. Put in some race pads and turn down the boost to minimize cooling problems. Get some instruction. If you want to continue down this path, we can guide you.

Here's a thread you may find interesting:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243885

It details a newbie's introduction to HPDE at a driver school.
If the link above doesn't work, it's 10/21-22/06 – The Diver’s Edge (Green) @ TWS

Rich

 

[Ludachris]

The only time I recommend a roll bar or cage outside of wheel to wheel competition is when you put fixed seats (non-reclining) and harnesses in the car. Think about the physics a little bit and you'll understand why.