Hey everybody. Tomorrow my friends are taking me to NE Draqway in Epping,NH and it is my first time running. Can anyone give me any advice on prepping the car before I go? What areas of the car does tech look at, so I can check those tomorrow? Is anyone from here going to be there tomorrow? I know I have to remove all loose objects, does that mean the driver's floormat has to go too?

Tbone and Trinity - You've seen the spaghetti of wires I have underneath the intake cone, will that give me some problems at the tech inspection?

Tbone - You've had something close to my setup before, what should I expect for times with a decent launch? Should I bring a helmet?

Thanks everybody

 

Here are some tips:

Make sure you have a catch can for the coolant overflow
Make sure your tires have good tread
Make sure you have no leaks
As for the wiring I might suggest just tidying it up maybe

Here are some tips for racing

Make sure you have a helmet if you are going to be running sub 14 sec runs...that is the rule at my local track
Have less than half a tank of gas...every little bit of weight savings helps

Good Luck and have fun.

 

Something like this?

http://www.fastlane.net/~mfuess/tech_pages/overflow.htm

any other fast solutions? Any shops Springfield, MA area carry catch cans?

 

Your stock one should be fine I pass tech all the time with the stock one. You really don't need anything fancy as long as it keeps coolant off the track.

 

bring a tire pressure gauge and run with almost a empty tank of gas.
Try gutting or taking as much weight as you can. The techs dont really check anything......they just glance at the car and write your # on the car

 

The tech people at NE dragway are pretty cool and knowledgeable. As long as you have a seatbelt, no bald tires, and the stock catch can you will be all set. Take out as much as you can, i.e. spare, passenger seat( it's really easy), and try to run less than half a tank, there are plenty of gas stations nearby on 95. Another thing, be prepared for alot of stunnaz. Oh, and finally, be prepared to be disappointed. NE dragway is a SLOW track... Oh what color is your car? I will look for you next time I'm up there!! Good luck!!!

 

How slow is it? What would say the time difference is between here and say, englishtown? I don't really pay attention to too many drag tracks, but englishtown is probably the only other one I will go to in the near future.
I've got a white hatch with the STD black bumpers, here's the link to my first post

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=161021

 

hey be sure to put up your times, i can't wait to see what that beast will do. Good luck.

 

The main thing the Tech's check on a pretty much street driven car are:

Seat belts intact. Seat is intact. Battery is held down by brackets
No cracks on the windshield(if really strict)

Faster you go, the more things they look out for.
I run 13's on the SOHC but I always say high 14's so they dont stress out to much on what you have.

Wil

 

Run a little lower front tire presure, and add about 5 lbs. more than the max on your rear tires, and if you can put "air bags" in the rear shocks to stop it from transfring the weight. If you ever run nos or turbo I would run "race gas". I run 116 oct. with a 75 shot, just to make sure my rods live through the day.. The half tank thing will help a lot in Hondas ( weight is everything !!! ). And unless you are running slicks DON'T DRIVE THROUGH THE WATER BOX... Have fun, I street raced for about 5 years, then the first drip to the track I said I'd never go street racing again ( 2 weeks later I got a drag racing ticket on Gandy Bridge ( In Tampa ) )..

 

depending on track, usually, if it can move while you are driving, it must be bolted down or taken off. as for you wires, if they look like they could cause a safety problem, they will do something about it. Its best to take out any weight you dont need... mats, spare donut, tools, just make sure someone watches it and you dont get jacked. Drive around the water box and dont try to do a burn out on street radials, they dont create enough heat to get rid of all the water, and you will drag water to the starting line(bad for other cars!). If you must do a burnout, do it dry to clean out any rocks/debri you might have. USUALLY the car in the inside lane has the right of way when exiting the track to the return road, so if you beat the other car down the track, you have to wait until he exits first... ask about this at the track, it might be different at other tracks... not a good idea to cut infront of someone going really fast... when going back to the pits, drive slow and make sure your car cools off good. try to get a air compressor to pump your rear tires higher(+10psi) and your fronts a little low(-5-10psi), some people take out thier headlights to get more cold air to the intake, and everylittle bit helps...

uh... if you have questions, ask an official, they are there to help you and for everyones safety...

usually, they will let you race against a similar car, but if they put you next to a RACE car, and you intimidated... or even afraid that it might veer into your lane, just let him go first, you'll get a bad rt'(reaction time) but it wont affect your et.(estimated time), and dont forget, you ARENT racing against the other driver... you are racing against YOURSELF.... Theres nothing you can do to slow down or even speed up the other driver...

and most importantly.... staging... and the tree(lights)--

the staging lights, there is pre-staged and staged... the track official will guide you to the line and one light will go on, which means you are pre staged... wait for the other car to pre stage(as all nice racers do) then you stage(about 1-2feet after prestage), which will turn on a second light... if the first light goes off, you are deepstaged, which is a little too deep, but it is okay. The tree.... GO when the last yellow goes on, DONT wait for the green... if you do, you'll be left in the dust.

and DONT>>> DONT>>> drive up to the tree! ive seen many newbies make themselves look stoopid when they drive right next to the tree!! then be forced to go in reverse.... reverse is made for those who f*cked up....

maybe more than you needed to know, but every little trick makes beating a "faster" car fun

goodluck

 

OR reverse is made for those that do a mean burnout past the line.
hehe

Wil

 

well, if you're running street tires, don't bother to deflate the fronts and inflate the rears... doesn't generally make a difference. I read thi sin Car Craft, and those boys know whats what. Anyways, regarding the cathcan situation, your stock one is fine, like everyone says. Just DON'T forget to replace your coolant with water. At my track (Mission Raceway) they won't let your un with coolant, only straight water (though they never check mine, I do it just to be safe.) Also make sure everyhting in the engine bay is fastened down and safe. Don't have objects like CD's, tools, books, etc lying around inside. Strict tech inspectors will not let you race with them.

 

Don't worry about that replace coolant thing...they don't care at NE dragway, at least on street night. Trust me, if your car is in good condition you will be fine, they are pretty damn cool at NE. If you need help just ask someone. As for it being a slow track, when I last went almost nothing was below 15's a corvette was running mid 14's, brand new Mustang GT running low 15's, alot of people were complaining. Nothing could hook up. My brother, who usually never has a problem, was getting wheel hop... I have never been to another track, but they are building a new one that I will frequent at Quonset point in RI. I will look for you next time I'm up there!!