I just don't think I am cut out for racing at the strip. My best tonight was 15.2 with a shitty 2.3 60' foot. I can handle racing from a roll or something, but I just can't get the track to work. I even lowered my tire pressure to like 15lbs. Anyone have any tips/tricks? My car is completely stock and has about 1200 miles on it. Thanks.

 

That granny shiftin' gets'em all the time man. Not double clutchin' like ya should?

 

Haha. I don't do any of that ****. I tried powershifting, but I would rather not do that again.

 

Pre-load the clutch, keep your revs up in the torque band, and launch with the RPM's at the tires spinning threshhold.

 

Run 15-20 psi in your tires. Launch at the still rev limiter at like 5500rpm, and feather the clutch out.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not double clutchin' like ya should? </TD></TR></TABLE>

man to many ppl think they are vin diesel in fast and furious LOL

no offence man but so many ppl say that just like he said it in the movie...

 

i hope you don't think eL was being serious...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mooseheads36 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">man to many ppl think they are vin diesel in fast and furious LOL

no offence man but so many ppl say that just like he said it in the movie...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow...did you completely miss the sarcasim in his post?

 

lol aparently not...my bad

 

atleast he didn't blow the welds on the intake

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">atleast he didn't blow the welds on the intake </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

don't forget when the welds on the intake blow his floor panel blows off

 

There are many things to look at when addressing why you aren't running what you think you 'should' be.

a) What is your goal?: Sometimes people think that they will be able to run equally to what XXXX ran, but cannot come close after many MANY tries. Elevation is a key factor in setting your goals. Unless there is someone at the exact track, on the exact day, with exact mods, you should not be out to try and compete with someone from a different track... heat, humidity, etc will all play huge rolls in why you may or may not be running what you think you 'should be'.

B) Are you experiencing wheelhop? If so, suspension components are just as important as proper tires. You can literally cut tenths off your 1/4 mile time consistantly with a proper suspension setup

C) Are you spinning excessively or bogging? Spinning isn't terrible with a FWD car...esp a honda, as in stock form torque is pretty much nonexistant. Bogging on the other hand is not good. It takes too long to get into the power band (5800+rpm), and will result in poor 60's and 1/4 mile times.

D) Do you know how to modulate the clutch (feather)? This is also something you have to put into consideration, a beginning driver will take awhile to learn and UNDERSTAND how the car drives at high rpms and low speeds.

I say keep practicing and when something does feel right, research it. Find out the CALT (calculated Altitude) for the track you are racing on each day you go out to the track. If you are racing at 6000' CALT and the guy you ran a XX.XX was a 2000', you will probably not have a good shot at matching his times.

Don't give up on your civic, or the drag strip.

 

Interesting information... I can't wait to see how bad I do when i finally get out to a track. No experience at all :D... it just looks fun.

 

i wish i had a track where i live, they dont give us ****! Thank you New York State.

 

great info, now i gotta figure out "feathering" the clutch without "blowing" the clutch LOL...thanks for the info though man...

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I had the tire pressure at 15 psi at the end for both of my 15.2 runs, but I was not launching at the "still" rev limit of 5500. I am going to try launching at 5500 on Wednesday when I go down and I am going to try and "feather" the clutch out. I am guessing this is letting it out nicely so you get the power and not a lot of wheel spin? Also, I was not getting any wheel hop and my suspension is stock.

 

maby also try and up ur tire presure a few psi, b/c i know if it to low that you will actually slow down once your running down the track which could give lower traps....sorry if i didnt help much, good luck next trip to the track.

 

^^^Hey man anything helps. It actually turns out that my trap was lower when I ran the 15.2 as compared to my 15.3, so the tire pressure probably did lower my speed once I started going. Anyone have any good tips on how to lower my 60' time? Right now it is about a 2.3

 

just practice launching. i would launch that car around 4000 rpm, any higher you're just wasting clutch or tires. any lower and the engine is not putting out enough power to give you a good start off the line. basically, you want enough wheelspin that your rpms don't drop below around 3000 for the entire launch. but too much wheelspin, and you're missing out on traction that could move you forward. make sense? also, the preloading the clutch idea is great. just before the light turns green, you should be holding about 4000 rpm, with the clutch slightly off the floor, just BARELY starting to grab, so when the light hits, you just pop the clutch, spin a bit, then catch, with the engine now somewhere in the 3000+ neirhborhood and your foot on the floor. get it? then you can nail it and don't shift until redline. any earlier, you're cheating yourself.

 

How do I preload the clutch?

 

Put your tire pressure where it should be on the door. Radials need pressure to launch properly. DON'T LOWER YOUR PRESSURE, TRY IT. You should not only launch better, but will have less resistance running down the track, therefor, faster. Don't lower your pressure.

 

Ok. My tire pressure is at 40psi right now and I am going to try running with it around that. I still need to know how to preload the clutch. I have heard of this, but never really understood what it was.

 

I've never done it, but I believe what there talking about is using the e-brake and reving while slowly letting up on the clutch until it right at the point where it barely starts to grab and then holding it there till the light turns green. I'm not sure though, sounds like a easy way to burn the clutch out prematurely.

I didn't read the whole thread, but if it's hot out, that is going to make a HUGE difference as well. So don't be intimidated comparing times to people in cooler area's/racing conditions.

With LSD like you have I'd probably just dumb the clutch at 5500 like others on hear do, however, i've had success kind of slipping the clutch a little while launching as to keep the rpms in the powerband. Just another technique you MAY want to try, but by looking at other peoples times, i'd probably just dump the sucker.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the preloading the clutch idea is great. just before the light turns green, you should be holding about 4000 rpm, with the clutch slightly off the floor, just BARELY starting to grab, so when the light hits, you just pop the clutch</TD></TR></TABLE>

i wouldn't do the E-brake thing unless you want to replace your clutch every 5000 miles.