going to try running my car at the strip for the first time tomorrow, wondering if there are any pointers from the veterans here

what sort of tyre pressure should i be running, i'm guessing around 20psi... too much, too little?
with the shock settings, should i be setting it up stiff at the rear and soft at the front?? or the other way around??
i notice that my car does get a fair ammount of wheel hop on a hard launch...

as far as getting rid of weight goes, i'll ditch the spare tyre, the parcel shelf and the boot cover... getting rid of the other stuff (seats etc) looks like too much work.

the track is known for being quite slippery, what sort of rpms are you people launching at?
drop the clutch or feather it out a bit?

how important is the burnout beforehand?? any special techniques for that?
do i just stick the handbrake on and smoke the tyre(s) up in 1st gear?


i guess maybe a little info on the car might be helpful at this point- it's a '94 model integra vti-r (GSR in the states). 4-2-1 header, 2.5" zorst leading into a straight through muffler. tyres are 205/50/15 yokohama a539's (the tyre compound seems to grip fairly well once warmed up a bit.)
got a home made cold air feed running into my stock airbox... running some locally made springs all around, progressive rates at the back. i forget the exact spring rates, but slightly stiffer than ITR springs. koni yellow shocks.

thanx in advance

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slimbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what sort of tyre pressure should i be running, i'm guessing around 20psi... too much, too little?</TD></TR></TABLE>
It's a matter of test~n~tune but I believe that 20 psi should work.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slimbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">with the shock settings, should i be setting it up stiff at the rear and soft at the front?? or the other way around??</TD></TR></TABLE>
You'll want the rear to have a stiff setting because of the weight transfer during a hard launch - The rear should be stiff to decrease the rear "squat" when you launch.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slimbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the track is known for being quite slippery, what sort of rpms are you people launching at?
drop the clutch or feather it out a bit?</TD></TR></TABLE>
I've seen people using both techniques at the track, so I guess it depends on what the driver feels most comfortable with. Personally, with the stock tires, I usually take the RPM up to 3800 and drop clutch. If you say that the track is slippery, then feathering the clutch might be the best option.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by slimbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how important is the burnout beforehand?? any special techniques for that?
do i just stick the handbrake on and smoke the tyre(s) up in 1st gear?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Some people without slicks tend to avoid the burnout box - one reason for this is because when cars do a burnout, they kick up water from the box up into the fender well. So when they approach and sit at the line, this water may start to drip on the tires, which isn't good for traction. I guess if you're running street tires, its not vital that you smoke the tires unless you're racing in very cold weather and your car has been sitting cold for a while. In this case, I'd try to do a quick burnout in the burn out box but away from the water though. Just pull the e-brake up and spin the tires for a bit in 1st gear.

Again, all this is from what I've seen and from my own personal experience so others will probably have a very different aspect of things at the drag strip. Here's a tip for a first timer at the track - if you're running a standard 500 tree, to cut the best RT, make sure to launch during the last light BEFORE it flashes green!!! I learned the hard way my very first time since no one told me - I cut an awesome 1.2 RT ::roll eyes::

Good luck and have fun!!!

 

1.2??? haah try 2.3 lol
best bet is to feather the clutch cause at the track once those tires start spinning the track is soooooo sticky that you will wheel hop like crazy, you want traction the whole time, so if you spin your tires when you start you are gonna loose traction, i am still saying that you need to spin your tires before the tree though

 

wheel hop can be caused by a few things, , , what tires you running ?
if they have stiff asidewalls and low pressure will cause wheel hop .
just a little fyi i learned a few times.
some people feather the clutch , i just drop it , gotta find that ncie rpm where it kinda slides off the line , no hopping , or bogging , just pulling maybe a little sliding

play with launching in a parking lot or sowmthing to get the feel for it . it sounds stupid , but helps.
i would set the rears stiff and the fronts, not super soft, but like in the middle.