Going to the track on Saturday...for the first time...

[xtremerevolution]

So I finally finished my CAI and I'm going to the Joliet (route 66) drag strip on Saturday to do a few runs and see how fast my car can go. I've never taken it to the track before, or any other car for that matter, so I have just about no clue what I'm doing at all.

 

Having said that, I have no clue what staging is either, although I remember some thread not too long ago about shallow and deep staging and the differences. Can someone pull that up for me?

 

I honestly have no clue what I'm going to do when I get there, so any advice or instructions any of you can give me would be very much appreciated.

[FordBoy]

just wondering where do you live neway?

good hope to see good numbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

its a w body it wont be that good

[slick]

Take out spare tire and jack, remove pretty much any unnecessary weight. Once you get to the track, lower the front tire pressure to about 27, keep the rears as normal.

 

Once you get to the tree, the first set of lights means that your almost there. The second set means your good. You will have a few yellow lights, then green.

 

Personally, I would try manual shifting. Once you get to the line, have your shifter in the 2, and go that way. If your car feels like it needs to shift out of two at the quarter(doubtful), you can move it into D.

 

As far as at the line, you need to figure out how high you can hold the gas while staying still. Go out to a country road, hold your one foot on the brake hard, and start pressing on the gas pedal with the other. Right before it starts to move, thats your limit.

 

Once you get up to the line, and before you go down the track, try to brake torque it up to that limit, you will do much better.

 

IMO, if you have NEVER been to the track, I would watch the staging lanes for 30 minutes or so to see whats going on before you attempt to run your car.

 

Oh, and drive around the water trap. On these FWD cars, they do no good.

[xtremerevolution]

Water trap? What's a water trap...

 

What about the burnout box? With the tires I'll be using, I'll definitely break the front wheels loose, so I'd like to get some traction. I hear you're supposed to burn them up a bit to heat up the tires so they grip the track. On pavement if I keep the handbrake pulled I can burnout for at least 60 feet from a 2000 rpm launch.

[slick]

Burnout box is the water trap. Don't drive through the water, go around then do a burnout. Then, back up to the staging area.

 

And handbrake??

[xtremerevolution]

Burnout box is the water trap. Don't drive through the water, go around then do a burnout. Then, back up to the staging area.

 

And handbrake??

 

You can keep your car still during a burnout by keeping the handbrake pressed while flooring full throttle. Otherwise, your car pulls forward when you floor the gas. Here's an example of the way I did it with my car:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvgqNkBC2mU

 

Am I allowed to do a burnout ahead of the staging area? Can I do one just behind the burnout box? Why shouldn't I do a burnout there? Just stuff I'd like to know.

 

BTW, I'll be using the same front tires you see in that video.

[slick]

These cars never came equipped with a handbrake, thats why I asked. We have a foot pedal parking brake.

[xtremerevolution]

These cars never came equipped with a handbrake, thats why I asked. We have a foot pedal parking brake.

 

Yeah same thing. That's basically what I meant.

[slick]

Yeah, don't use that at the track.

[xtremerevolution]

Yeah, don't use that at the track.

 

Don't use the handbrake to burnout?

 

If I have really good tires, will it be easier or harder to break the tires loose on a track as opposed to regular pavement. I don't want to lose any time spinning wheels off the line.

[19Cutlass94]

you would need dragslicks in order to use the burnout box. radials will not warm up at all/gain more traction by using this. You just abusing your car more than you need to. Just driving tpo the track will get them warm enough.

 

when your watching the tree, when the last yellow light comes on, punch it. but like slick said, watch for a while and see what the other guys do as well.

[slick]

Really, your gonna find that the track surface is more than sticky enough to do a small burnout(which is all that you will need) without using the parking brake.

 

Again, once you get up to the line, and your about to go, one foot on the brake pedal, the other on the gas, giving it gas to the limit before it will start to creep forward. As soon as you see that green light, let off the brake and mash the gas.

[xtremerevolution]

you would need dragslicks in order to use the burnout box. radials will not warm up at all/gain more traction by using this. You just abusing your car more than you need to. Just driving tpo the track will get them warm enough.

 

when your watching the tree, when the last yellow light comes on, punch it. but like slick said, watch for a while and see what the other guys do as well.

 

Alright sounds good. The tires I was thinking of using were the older Lemans SR 235/60/R15 on the stock 15" rims. Those were $360 for the set of 4. The tires I have now are Michelin HX MXM4 215/45/R17, which run for $200 apiece. I'm guessing if I'm not going to worry about burnouts, I should just roll up to the line with my better tires.

 

The Lemans SR tires have horrible traction. I can brake in wet pavement just about as well as I could brake in dry pavement with the Lemans SR tires. Which tires do you guys think I should use. Here's what they look like:

 

 

I'm only worried about not having enough traction when I do my runs.

 

[slick]

I would go with the 15's, solely for the fact that it will take less to move the wheel around, and then stop the car once you get to the end of the track.

 

Like I mentioned, once you get to the track, drop your tire pressure on your front tires, keep your rears at normal.

[xtremerevolution]

I would go with the 15's, solely for the fact that it will take less to move the wheel around, and then stop the car once you get to the end of the track.

 

Like I mentioned, once you get to the track, drop your tire pressure on your front tires, keep your rears at normal.

 

Would that make up for the difference in that the tire quality is much lower than my Michelin tires? Am I going to run into traction issues on the track off a dead stop? When I switched up the tires, I had the impression that both sets weighed just about the same. I'm really not sure.

[19Cutlass94]

actually with those michelins, he should be able to keep normal air pressure. If the track is good enough ( put down compound ) he wont be spinning those tires anytime soon. plus, lowering air pressure will create more friction with the track. Id make atleast two runs. one normal air pressure and one lower air pressure. see what one works But on a good track I just dont see that car spinning the tires down the track. the michelins I have have execellent traction. I would expect the same of the tires he has

[xtremerevolution]

actually with those michelins, he should be able to keep normal air pressure. If the track is good enough ( put down compound ) he wont be spinning those tires anytime soon. plus, lowering air pressure will create more friction with the track. Id make atleast two runs. one normal air pressure and one lower air pressure. see what one works But on a good track I just dont see that car spinning the tires down the track. the michelins I have have execellent traction. I would expect the same of the tires he has

 

Alright sounds good. I know with these Michelin tires, I have a LOT more traction than with the Lemans SR tires I had before and even the Falken Ziex tires I used before that. They're absolutely incredible. With the Lemans SR tires I could break the tires loose any day. With these, I really have to pre-throttle the engine to do any significant traction loss. Off the line they squeal a bit but not a whole lot.

 

So what I'm really trying to figure out is if a normal track will have better or worse traction than say...an empty black paved parking lot.

[19Cutlass94]

the drag strip should have tenfold more traction than a paved parking lot. Especially the first 100ft of the track.

[xtremerevolution]

the drag strip should have tenfold more traction than a paved parking lot. Especially the first 100ft of the track.

 

Awesome. That really is great to hear.

 

So I should just keep it with my Michelin tires then I assume? And just go around the burnout box. I could switch up the Lemans SR wheels for the fronts if I can get a concrete "yes, it will help your track time" from a few people, but otherwise, I'll think I'll show up with the Michelin tires.

 

Other than that, I'm thinking of removing my back seats, and of course the sub box and spare tire and all its accessories. I'll probably take off the floor mats too. Any other suggestions? Taking out the left headlight won't help much because my CAI runs my filter right inside my front left bumper.

[19Cutlass94]

if the michelins have better traction, I would go with those. plus your 15" wheels will be alot lighter more than likely. Go around the burnout box cause you wont gain anything by using it. If you want to bring your other wheel set to see what happens go for it! Im just not sure how many runs youll be able to get in cause I dunow how busy the track is...

[Euro]

Just use the Michelins. Your car doesn't have enough power to lose traction off the line. Too bad I'm busy on Saturday, Rt.66 is only about an hour from me.

[xtremerevolution]

Hmm, ok. The Michelins are on the 17" rims and the Lemans SR are on the 15" rims. Are the 17" rims that much heavier?

[ZoomZoomFan]

This is good stuff to know. Sometime this summer I wanna take the Grand Am to the track, just to see what it'd do.

 

Sorry for the minor hi-jack, but does driving an hour or so to get to the track affect how the car acts when it's there?

[19Cutlass94]

Hmm, ok. The Michelins are on the 17" rims and the Lemans SR are on the 15" rims. Are the 17" rims that much heavier?

 

Sorry I thought it was the otehr way around. But bring the 17"s if they have the michelins. And not by a whole lot, but more than likely they will be a couple pounds lighter.

 

This is good stuff to know. Sometime this summer I wanna take the Grand Am to the track, just to see what it'd do.

 

Sorry for the minor hi-jack, but does driving an hour or so to get to the track affect how the car acts when it's there?

 

by driving to the track, all your fluids will be warm ( which is what you need ) and all the gease will up to operating temp. It will not affect it too much if any at all. I mean if you wanted to let it cool for a while that would be fine as well. But Id have to drive about an hour to the local track as well.

[mfewtrail]

Just use the Michelins. Your car doesn't have enough power to lose traction off the line. Too bad I'm busy on Saturday, Rt.66 is only about an hour from me.

 

That depends on if the track is prepped or not. A lot of tracks have piss-poor prep on test & tune type events(if that's what it will be).

 

I would personally pull around the water box, get your wheels straight, now stomp the gas to spin the tires one full revolution(to clean off rocks and other debris you pick up before you make a run). Now pull up to stage. If you're unsure of how to stage, just park to begin with and watch a few cars run. Typically, doing a real "burnout" on street tires will not make any difference. The method I mentioned above works best for me on street tires.

 

BTW, what track will you be running at?