Thread: Help, First Timer Going to the strip.

Tweet

I think i'm going this friday to Steele, Alabama (My local dragstrip) and its my first time. I'm mainly going to see how the whole thing operates and what to expect costs of entering and so forth.

My main issue is this..

I have a 66 Impala 4door. I have built the 355 with flat tops, stock heads, 268 duration cam, stock lift, Taylor wires, HEI Proform distributor, accel shorty u-groove plugs, stock altenator, headers, dual turbo thrush exhaust mufflers, 195*F thermostat, a Professional Products Power+Plus intake Cyclone rated from idle to 5000 rpms and an edelbrock 1406 600cfm performer carburator with a 10" k&n filter (no top filter, yet), stock fuel pump, 12* BTDC timing, and I run 87 Octane for daily driving. All running on a Aluminum Case Powerglide with a TCI 2200 RPM stall converter.

Some punk in a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT running a Cold Air intake and POSSIBLY a turbo, i couldn't hear one when he was revving because of the moderate exhaust that i think he may have had, called my car slow and a piece. What I want to do is I am wanting to challenge him at the drag strip.

I want to know all the little things I can do to bolt on, adjust, and smoke this kid. All i know is that I should unbolt my exhaust to have my headers flowing freely and to dump all my tools and unnecessary things from my trunk and cabin area to lose weight. Is there anything else I should do to prepare for this like running High octane fuel? or letting air in/out of my tires for greater traction? Close all the windows for (as if it would help) for aerodynamics and wind drag? Please help. I need all the little bolt on things and tricks of the trade to squeeze all the juice out of this mouse. I want to put this punk in his place. I know my car is ugly as crap but I know she can get up and go.

I'm talking about a budget of about 200-600$ after my tax return. I am not doing NOS in any way. I don't think I can properly handle it since I've never done it.

If theres anything else about the car you'd like to know it can be found here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/799586/3

Do you have a shift kit in the tranny and what kind of tires?

No shift kit, i'm running Goodyear 215/70R14 44psi Max Allegras, with at least 4500 miles on them.

The first couple of passes I'd let the tranny do the shifting until you get a feel for the car and the track. You might also want to drop the air pressure in the rear tires to down around 34 psi or so. At 44 lbs my thinking is that you'd smoke the tires at the hit of the throttle. That might look cool, but it doesn't win races.

don't unbolt the headders, you won't gain much by doing so.

Probably not alot you can do to help performance this late but one thing I'd suggest is bigger tires on the rear. I'm not familiar with those tires but unless they get super traction, I'd say that 215's street tires will not grab very well. Borrow some if possible. I've always heard that letting air out of a street tires for drag racing is a no,no.
And as NTFDAY said, 34 is not low but 44 would probably be to much.

Originally posted by shevy not heme
I've always heard that letting air out of a street tires for drag racing is a no,no.
And as NTFDAY said, 34 is not low but 44 would probably be to much. [/B]

As long as you don't let so much out that the sidewalls wrinkle.

the powerglides gonna hurt ya in a heavy car. does it launch pretty good?
have you a idea what it does in the 1/4
ie measured a 1/4 mile and timed yourself plus mph.
itll give you a idea where to start.
some of those little squeakers can move off the line pretty quick
all you can do is get out there and get a good spin free launch and see what happens.
good luck and god speed

You mention this is your first time to the strip , and you are going to see what it is all about. That is EXACTLY what you should do the first time..........go and observe.

Stand as close as you can to the burnout box and the staging lanes and watch every move all the other guys do. Watch how they do their burn outs, watch how they roll to the lights. Watch how they trip the first and second lights., etc.

You will want to know as much about starting line technique as you can BEFORE you ever take your car there.

In your case, you will want to avoid the water box, and just back into the damp spots. Do as much of a burnout as you can, and let the car spin out to the dry area. Then stage.

Pay NO attention to the guy next to you RACE YOURSELF, and pretend he isn't even there. Put the car in drive, and let the tranny shift when it wants to. Focus all of your attention on the lights, and leave when you see the last amber light up. Once underway, bury your foot into the floorboard and concentrate on the finish line.

Now, your heart is going to be coming out of your chest, especially the first few times, and you may even make a few mistakes when staging. Don't worry about it, everybody has this same reaction until you get comfortable with it. But that is why the bracket classes are so cool, because it gives you and me a chance to play Don Garlitts.

Above all, remember it is just a race, and everybody gets smoked every once in a while. But at least you tried, and will keep making your car faster and faster.


JMO,


Don

A couple of points.

- Many drag strips will not let amateur class cars back up. They've seen too many drivers get spooked and forget to take it out of reverse.

- Street tires don't react well to burnouts like slicks do. Many of them ball up the rubber, and lose traction, not gain it.

I'd drive around the water box, squeak the tires once to get the dirt off, stage and go. Don't try to get tricky the first time out. Just get used to the game.

Your car is WAY heavier than his. If you both hook up it comes down in no small part to specific HP, which is your peak useable HP divided by your gross weight.

These little ricers typically are no slouches. Fact is though you are not in his weight/performance class and are at great risk of being smoked.

Suggestion is a healthy 150 HP shot of nitrous along with some street drag slicks.

Gal-dang ricers

Good luck, Kitz

Car launches great, feels like she's going to slip out from under me sometimes. She feels like shes got alot of torque to push her through. Keep in mind i've got about 150lbs of tools and a spare tire in my trunk and a backseat to take out. not that all that makes a huge difference but i plan on running my tires at about 38psi, uncapped headers, and an emptied trunk.

Should I run higher octane?

Keep the headers capped, all you will do is make a lot of noise and gain very little if anything. After you've made a few passes try them uncapped and see if there is any differenc in your et. I wouldn't power brake much above a grand and I wouldn't bury the throttle at launch.

Check around your local machine shops, and tell them what's up- see if they have any "good" hp heads sitting around for your budget.
As for gas- I would run 92 that day.
Most of those stock ricers are turning in the 15's, you should be able to walk on that.

Good Luck !!

crowbie, just relax and have a good time no matter the outcome. This is supposed to be fun . Be safe