Dragstrip 101
11-03-2018, 08:39 AM
#1
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
Dragstrip 101
I know there are many folks that run the 1320 and am surprised to see there is virtually NO information in this sub forum on the basics. I.E. How to get started, what you should know, what class, etc. I'd like to extend the invitation to those that race to post that knowledge here for reference! Aaannnd Go!!!
11-04-2018, 07:04 AM
#2
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Dragstrip 101
Basic safety rules for most nhra sanctioned tracks.
regardless of how fast or slow you will need at the least;
-all lug nuts
-working seat belt
-metal battery tie down
-clean windshield
-no glass overflow containers for coolant
if your running faster then 13.99 you will need a snell approved helmet that is 10 years old or newer. Has to be snell, just dot Wont pass if they actually look.
If you have a convertible running faster then 13.49 it will need a roll bar
faster then 11.99 you need to have metal valve stems.
faster then 11.49 you need a 5 point roll bar with driver side door bar.
some tracks are more lienient, some are more strict. This is just a little basic run down.
Also if your running, always preload your clutch at the line, it saves you from the sudden impact on axles and breaking ****.
regardless of how fast or slow you will need at the least;
-all lug nuts
-working seat belt
-metal battery tie down
-clean windshield
-no glass overflow containers for coolant
if your running faster then 13.99 you will need a snell approved helmet that is 10 years old or newer. Has to be snell, just dot Wont pass if they actually look.
If you have a convertible running faster then 13.49 it will need a roll bar
faster then 11.99 you need to have metal valve stems.
faster then 11.49 you need a 5 point roll bar with driver side door bar.
some tracks are more lienient, some are more strict. This is just a little basic run down.
Also if your running, always preload your clutch at the line, it saves you from the sudden impact on axles and breaking ****.
11-04-2018, 07:18 AM
#3
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
11-04-2018, 07:53 AM
#4
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Dragstrip 101
It's a little tricky. Most people get stressed their first few times at the track, the best advice I can tell someone new to drag racing is don't worry about the lights, the timer doesn't start until you start moving so just wait at the light till your ready to go then launch once your 100% ready.
11-05-2018, 07:08 AM
#5
Re: Dragstrip 101
The best way to get started I.M.O. is to go out and do test and tune nights, so there is no pressure to make rounds etc. Just getting to know how to stage your car, do a burnout if you are using slicks, how to preload the car, read the lights, launch and shift well at speed, etc are all valuable to know before trying to race in an event.
As long as you aren't changing things on the car, you should be able to get very consistent, i.e. within the same 10th of a second for repeatable runs. After you can drive that consistent, then you can see how things like tire pressure, launch rpm etc will change your run, and go from there.
As long as you aren't changing things on the car, you should be able to get very consistent, i.e. within the same 10th of a second for repeatable runs. After you can drive that consistent, then you can see how things like tire pressure, launch rpm etc will change your run, and go from there.
11-05-2018, 07:33 AM
#6
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
Re: Dragstrip 101
The best way to get started I.M.O. is to go out and do test and tune nights, so there is no pressure to make rounds etc. Just getting to know how to stage your car, do a burnout if you are using slicks, how to preload the car, read the lights, launch and shift well at speed, etc are all valuable to know before trying to race in an event.
As long as you aren't changing things on the car, you should be able to get very consistent, i.e. within the same 10th of a second for repeatable runs. After you can drive that consistent, then you can see how things like tire pressure, launch rpm etc will change your run, and go from there.
As long as you aren't changing things on the car, you should be able to get very consistent, i.e. within the same 10th of a second for repeatable runs. After you can drive that consistent, then you can see how things like tire pressure, launch rpm etc will change your run, and go from there.
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11-05-2018, 09:05 AM
#8
Re: Dragstrip 101
I wouldn't worry too much about being the only Honda there, I used to run events where I was the only import there, or there was a guy with a Nissan that would show up sometimes. The domestic guys were always really cool, just all about the racing, honestly I think they were amused to see little 4 cyl cars actually going rounds with V8s.
11-05-2018, 09:22 AM
#9
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
Re: Dragstrip 101
I'm not too concerned about being the only Honda. Hell, I think of that as an advantage. With a weight to power ratio of 10:1 or better, I'd be competitive with most of the V8s.
11-05-2018, 03:46 PM
#10
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Dragstrip 101
1 When staging, never double bulb the tree, always allow both lanes to get the first row of lights before rolling into the 2nd row of lights. (courtesy rule) which is enforced during some events ( it was this weekend at the World Cup)
2 unless you you are going to do a proper burnout, never roll through the water box, just drive around, street tires usually get slicker when heated up and water gets brought onto the track. This might sound petty , but a high power car could end up into the wall if water gets on the track.
3 Pull to to the side wall immediately if you break, nobody wants to wait all night to clean the track because someone didn’t pull over and dumped fluids everywhere ..... don’t be that guy, we all break, just pull over
4. Don’t worry about the other lane if your a newbie, just wait until the light turns green and go. Work on reaction time as you come more experienced
5. Imports have a bad rep..... don’t add to it, people dump crazy money into these race cars and no one needs some idiot around them. Earn your respect. I was racing imports back in the 90’s when it just was not a cool thing to do.... we acted like racers , treated other with respect and we earned the respect of those around us and became a normal part of the track community.
2 unless you you are going to do a proper burnout, never roll through the water box, just drive around, street tires usually get slicker when heated up and water gets brought onto the track. This might sound petty , but a high power car could end up into the wall if water gets on the track.
3 Pull to to the side wall immediately if you break, nobody wants to wait all night to clean the track because someone didn’t pull over and dumped fluids everywhere ..... don’t be that guy, we all break, just pull over
4. Don’t worry about the other lane if your a newbie, just wait until the light turns green and go. Work on reaction time as you come more experienced
5. Imports have a bad rep..... don’t add to it, people dump crazy money into these race cars and no one needs some idiot around them. Earn your respect. I was racing imports back in the 90’s when it just was not a cool thing to do.... we acted like racers , treated other with respect and we earned the respect of those around us and became a normal part of the track community.
11-05-2018, 11:20 PM
#11
Re: Dragstrip 101
Good idea... I love reading advice from folks that have been around and doing this for years.
Believe it or not.. this is the first time I have ever watched the World Cup finals and it was great. Ironically I also just picked up some M&H slicks for my integra and I’m dying to take it to the track for the first time since completion.
Believe it or not.. this is the first time I have ever watched the World Cup finals and it was great. Ironically I also just picked up some M&H slicks for my integra and I’m dying to take it to the track for the first time since completion.
11-06-2018, 03:30 AM
#12
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
Re: Dragstrip 101
Coming along so far, keep em coming! I know there's more!
11-06-2018, 04:32 PM
#13
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Dragstrip 101
Buy a track kit
1. any tool required to do the maintenance to your setup while at the track.... Murphy’s law will be in full effect
2. Small first aid kit
3. Fire extinguisher.... I’ve had to use one when my turbo oil line started leaking and sprayed oil on the manifold while going down the track
4. Change of clothes, you will always seem to end up under your or someone else’s car
5. Enough gas in the tank, most Honda’s have the fuel pick up in the front of the tank, when you launch the pump will go dry if you are close to a 1/4 tank or below. Around or just below 1/2 tank is where I run mine.
1. any tool required to do the maintenance to your setup while at the track.... Murphy’s law will be in full effect
2. Small first aid kit
3. Fire extinguisher.... I’ve had to use one when my turbo oil line started leaking and sprayed oil on the manifold while going down the track
4. Change of clothes, you will always seem to end up under your or someone else’s car
5. Enough gas in the tank, most Honda’s have the fuel pick up in the front of the tank, when you launch the pump will go dry if you are close to a 1/4 tank or below. Around or just below 1/2 tank is where I run mine.
11-06-2018, 06:24 PM
#14
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Dragstrip 101
different tracks can have different rules. Make sure to study the rules of whatever track you plan to go to before actually going. Some rules are very strictly enforced, like getting out of a running vehicle in the staging lanes. I've seen someone get kicked out of the track for walking 3 feet away from his running car. I've also seen someone get out of their running car in the staging lanes, and then it caught on fire, and they refused to get back into it to shut off the ignition. So it blazed, and caught 3 surrounding cars on fire. The cause of the fire was a small fuel leak. had they shut the car off before getting out, it never would have caught fire. Had they been in the car when it caught fire, they could have immediately shut the ignition off and jumped out, and the fire would have quickly gone out and not damaged anything, especially the surrounding cars
11-07-2018, 03:23 AM
#15
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
Re: Dragstrip 101
different tracks can have different rules. Make sure to study the rules of whatever track you plan to go to before actually going. Some rules are very strictly enforced, like getting out of a running vehicle in the staging lanes. I've seen someone get kicked out of the track for walking 3 feet away from his running car. I've also seen someone get out of their running car in the staging lanes, and then it caught on fire, and they refused to get back into it to shut off the ignition. So it blazed, and caught 3 surrounding cars on fire. The cause of the fire was a small fuel leak. had they shut the car off before getting out, it never would have caught fire. Had they been in the car when it caught fire, they could have immediately shut the ignition off and jumped out, and the fire would have quickly gone out and not damaged anything, especially the surrounding cars
11-07-2018, 04:09 AM
#16
Honda-Tech Member
11-09-2018, 07:45 AM
#17
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Re: Dragstrip 101
If you are entering into a grudge racing shootout with an import you either need a really wild build or rules that compliment four or six cylinders. Most of the 10.5 shoot outs in the south have a 2800 lb cutoff for weight. No restrictions on motor or power adders for any car. You may want to look into some nhra or sport compact classes. Street car shootouts normally have a cruise and run that won’t allow you to pop the hood after the cruise, so do a return on your catch can and keep in mind your tires will need to last 30 mins on the road if that’s what you intend to run.
11-09-2018, 12:16 PM
#18
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
Re: Dragstrip 101
If you are entering into a grudge racing shootout with an import you either need a really wild build or rules that compliment four or six cylinders. Most of the 10.5 shoot outs in the south have a 2800 lb cutoff for weight. No restrictions on motor or power adders for any car. You may want to look into some nhra or sport compact classes. Street car shootouts normally have a cruise and run that won’t allow you to pop the hood after the cruise, so do a return on your catch can and keep in mind your tires will need to last 30 mins on the road if that’s what you intend to run.
01-09-2019, 10:20 PM
#19
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Re: Dragstrip 101
Also if your track has more then one turn off or your on the opposite lane from the turn off, slow down and let them turn off first. You don't want them to be going so fast they can't slow down and you turn in front of them. Can't tell you how many times I see it.
01-10-2019, 06:09 AM
#20
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Re: Dragstrip 101
yes, we still have a foot break pedal as well.
2 ways to do it,
One is to use a linkage rod that connect to existing foot brake system
#2) install a 2nd mastercyl & lever handle directly too it, & put dual caliper setup on 1 set of wheels.
we use rear wheels cuz most of our stuff is rwd
01-10-2019, 06:27 AM
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Re: Dragstrip 101
If your running a street car, you may chose to do some prep work before you run down the track.
some folks will prefer to run there car exactly as they drive it daily. Then often, when those ETs aren't satisfying enuff, they will remove the spare tire, and in most cases, deflate the "drive tires" to a air pressure setting more conducive to traction.
Carry a small air compressor so you can alter these pressure's to find what works best for your car, & fill them back to street "Delta P" after your done racing.
Your burn out, if you chose to do one, can be as important as NOT DOING ONE at all,
again based on tire type.
If your using, say a street drag RADIAL tire, you not only want to find the ideal area of air pressure,
<always more than a drag slick btw>
but also the right amount of heat in the tire...
determined by how long you stay in the burn out.
It can help to have a friend monitor your burnouts, & communicate to you if you put more heat in the tire on a particular run, so inside the car you can get a barometer for what a good burnout feels like,
so over time & several passes dwn the strip, you can evaluate the way the car reacted, your own reaction time as well, and various other things.
Then use your 60ft times, & 330s as well,
to see what variable's you have changed that
( launch rpm, tire pressure , what gear you leave in, ect,)
eventually nets the best results.
Which you are generally looking for a better ET.
"Elapsed Time" is a better measurement of the cars overall performance than say mph.
Mph is a great way tool, obviously, & can be used to "reverse calculate" the amt of hp you were able to use on the track, on a particular run, or "pass" as we prefer to call it.
[side bar; if you wanna talk like seasoned racers, don't use verbage like , My car runs
< ten sevens>...More commonly you would say, my car runs ten seventy's 10.70's or if it runs 10.78 or .79...You would say my car runs high 10.70s.
say in my car runs 10.2 isn't as accepted a slang as my car runs ten twenty's, or low 10.20's vs high 10.20's. Enuff about that...]
Bigger mph general = more hp to the tire.
but in rare cases you can get bigger mph from excessive wheel speed at the big end of the race track as well, so nothing is ever truly 1 way, in stone, all the time...when is anything really hard & fast as rule in racing?? Never ..
Although street cars in general do not have as big an issue with the "GROOVE" of the track... You should still practice lining your car up into the GROOVE, almost in all circumstances,
(& yes, again, there are situations we do not line up exactly in the GROOVE, but that's a pretty advanced reason w/generally a lot of power,
( which I would only cover that topic if asked...)
Anyway, look for the dull, not shiny tire width lanes on the track, that is most often the best part of the GROOVE & usually has the best bite , or sticky-ness
(aka traction coeffiect).
There's a whole lot more than what I have spoke of in this post, obviously to launch a drag car,
but it's not always a good idea to
"drink from the firehose" early on.
(you gotta date before you get married) mentality .
As you progress, many more things need to be addressed as to how to stage your car, & catch the tree...& as mentioned earlier, how to properly exit the track & pick up you ET slip.
Enjoy the track, as it's much safer place to run our stuff hard.
some folks will prefer to run there car exactly as they drive it daily. Then often, when those ETs aren't satisfying enuff, they will remove the spare tire, and in most cases, deflate the "drive tires" to a air pressure setting more conducive to traction.
Carry a small air compressor so you can alter these pressure's to find what works best for your car, & fill them back to street "Delta P" after your done racing.
Your burn out, if you chose to do one, can be as important as NOT DOING ONE at all,
again based on tire type.
If your using, say a street drag RADIAL tire, you not only want to find the ideal area of air pressure,
<always more than a drag slick btw>
but also the right amount of heat in the tire...
determined by how long you stay in the burn out.
It can help to have a friend monitor your burnouts, & communicate to you if you put more heat in the tire on a particular run, so inside the car you can get a barometer for what a good burnout feels like,
so over time & several passes dwn the strip, you can evaluate the way the car reacted, your own reaction time as well, and various other things.
Then use your 60ft times, & 330s as well,
to see what variable's you have changed that
( launch rpm, tire pressure , what gear you leave in, ect,)
eventually nets the best results.
Which you are generally looking for a better ET.
"Elapsed Time" is a better measurement of the cars overall performance than say mph.
Mph is a great way tool, obviously, & can be used to "reverse calculate" the amt of hp you were able to use on the track, on a particular run, or "pass" as we prefer to call it.
[side bar; if you wanna talk like seasoned racers, don't use verbage like , My car runs
< ten sevens>...More commonly you would say, my car runs ten seventy's 10.70's or if it runs 10.78 or .79...You would say my car runs high 10.70s.
say in my car runs 10.2 isn't as accepted a slang as my car runs ten twenty's, or low 10.20's vs high 10.20's. Enuff about that...]
Bigger mph general = more hp to the tire.
but in rare cases you can get bigger mph from excessive wheel speed at the big end of the race track as well, so nothing is ever truly 1 way, in stone, all the time...when is anything really hard & fast as rule in racing?? Never ..
Although street cars in general do not have as big an issue with the "GROOVE" of the track... You should still practice lining your car up into the GROOVE, almost in all circumstances,
(& yes, again, there are situations we do not line up exactly in the GROOVE, but that's a pretty advanced reason w/generally a lot of power,
( which I would only cover that topic if asked...)
Anyway, look for the dull, not shiny tire width lanes on the track, that is most often the best part of the GROOVE & usually has the best bite , or sticky-ness
(aka traction coeffiect).
There's a whole lot more than what I have spoke of in this post, obviously to launch a drag car,
but it's not always a good idea to
"drink from the firehose" early on.
(you gotta date before you get married) mentality .
As you progress, many more things need to be addressed as to how to stage your car, & catch the tree...& as mentioned earlier, how to properly exit the track & pick up you ET slip.
Enjoy the track, as it's much safer place to run our stuff hard.
Last edited by 660sherpa; 01-10-2019 at 06:47 AM. Reason: Spelling error
01-10-2019, 06:10 PM
#22
Honda-Tech Member
Re: Dragstrip 101
so true, the car in the right lane (or turn off lane) might have had a bad start and be way behind you but they may be way faster than you are and not able to slow down as fast as you...... just never turn off until you see the other car and See if they have control of their car also.
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