drag racing technique question

[toph99]

actually we were going to go down an empty road... there are tons of country backroads around here that go straight for kilometers, you can see if there's traffic way down the road. no drag strips near by that i know of anyways

 

[notfred]

<< actually we were going to go down an empty road... there are tons of country backroads around here that go straight for kilometers, you can see if there's traffic way down the road. no drag strips near by that i know of anyways >>



Be VERY careful if you do that. It's REAL easy to make a street race REAL dangerous REAL fast.

 

[Big Bwana]

especially on dirt roads...on asphalt grip loss is predictable and fairly linear, but on dirt-yikes!

BB

 

[toph99]

<<
Be VERY careful if you do that. It's REAL easy to make a street race REAL dangerous REAL fast. >>



i know, but on these roads you're lucky to see one car during the day we'll choose a section where there are no intersections just to make sure

oh, and they're paved roads

 

[Cyberian]

<< of course unsprung weight includes everything that is not supported by the suspension which includes tires and wheels. the heavier the tires and wheels, the more rotational mass the engine will have to move.

BB >>

Right you are! (Duh)
I was thinking about shock rebound, damping, springs, etc, and forgot all about rotational inertia.
Thanks!

 

[Pacfanweb]

Typically, the rule of thumb is, shift at the power peak for maximum ET, shift a bit over the peak for maximum MPH.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

<< What the hell kind of crappy drag race is a Taurus vs. an Accord?

As far as shift points - you want to shift a little past peak. you want to keep as much power for as much time as possible, the best shift point will vary from car to car. I shift my Mustang at 5500. >>


You think that's crappy?? How about my old '91 Corolla auto vs my friend's old '89 Chrysler Sundance with an exhaust leak!! We were neck and neck by around 40mph, and then I inched forward once I got out of 1st. In my defense, I had around 4 heavy people in the car while he had none but himself.

As to the original topic, it depends on the car. But the rule of thumb is to shift a little bit after the peak power. You can do this in an auto also, but most likely you don't need to. Also you can brake-torque which is also called flashing the torque converter during you launch. What you do is, hold the brakes, keep the car in D or 1, and and rev the engine and keep it at around 2k RPM, and soon as its time to go, slam the gas pedal and release the brakes. This way the torque converter is 'loaded up' and your engines already in the powerband during launch. Don't brake torque for too long though since its bad for your transmission.

 

[CraigRT]

U want a crappy race? the corolla one was good though

My old 86 Celebrity 2.8V6 against a 91 Aerostar van.. we were neck and neck all the way upto around 160 km/h!!!! these 2 vehicles are almost identical in speed in almost every single way!! acceleration all the way upto almost top speed was alarmingly close!!

I also raced a 2000 Geo Metro in my Celebrity when I had it and he had the 4 cylinder and a 5 speed, he beat me...

I've seen many a crappy race!

the ideal point in shifting is probably to get out of first gear and end up in 2nd right where you get the power (if you can) but that probably will not work out in most cases... on the other hand, if your car has alot of power, and you do that, you'll light 'em up in 2nd, but for cars like this, it's a good thing to try.

 

[DaiShan]

peak hp, but that is normally just b4 redline (I believe at redline when the ecu comes in and cuts fuel to engine is why you lose power) also if that 95 accord is the ex with stick the taurus is doomed, I have a 96 ex v6 185 hp but auto and I have slaugtered tarus's b4 (car length)

 

[Big Bwana]

<< '89 Chrysler Sundance with an exhaust leak >>



hahaha...that chrysler must have sounded like a freakin' monster truck...

BB