Drag racing +100K cars

[TheMeaningOfLife]

Well, this summer i really hope to amke it to the track once or twice, but only if it will hold up. My main question is, im looking at all these really helpful tips on staging, launching and racing (awesome tips btw Reddog and Daytona)
But it looks like its really hard on the car. Is it really ok to race an alero with 114K miles on it, the first 100K or so are a mystery to me, but i know a college girl and her dad shared it so it can be thaat bad. What do you all say? yay or Nay?

[jackal2000]

if its acting up already then racing it will obviously not help. if it drives fine now, i don't think a couple times to the track will really hurt it any.

[[ion] C2]

<-- 177,000 miles, all original parts
7 PSI, raced 18 times down the track, driven hard/raced many more times not on said surface

[Redog]

If it's fine now, it should be fine for a few runs, but not every single weekend.

Keep your load up launches around 1000 RPM's and you'll be fine and get better times that way.

I used to launch at 2250 RPM's which is above the converter's stall, which led to Transmission failure. Daytona been racing his car with 180,000 miles on it (Chrysler 3.0, it's amazing) and it still runs good. Lost about .5 seconds since 100K but it's still not bad. Don't hold it too long though. if the other guy hasn't starged up yet, don't load it yet!

1000 RPM launch FTW

[[ion] C2]

Again, we have the 2.4L, launch at 2000-2200 RPMs.

[AJules]

when you guys say launch, are you referring to footbraking it?

or putting it in neutral then throwing it into 3?

[Oldsnut]

Shaking out the cobwebs once in a while won't hurt your car.

[99-alero]

you gotta feed some speed to your ride lol (cant remember the movie its from )

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by AJules

when you guys say launch, are you referring to footbraking it?

or putting it in neutral then throwing it into 3?

LOL powerbraking, I'd love to see someone rev to 2200 then throw it in D..

[Oldsnut]

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

LOL powerbraking, I'd love to see someone rev to 2200 then throw it in D..

Just say Billyman.

[01silveralero]

Originally Posted by AJules

when you guys say launch, are you referring to footbraking it?

or putting it in neutral then throwing it into 3?

neutral bombing is the worst thing to do for it

[Daytona]

Originally Posted by Redog

If it's fine now, it should be fine for a few runs, but not every single weekend.

Keep your load up launches around 1000 RPM's and you'll be fine and get better times that way.

I used to launch at 2250 RPM's which is above the converter's stall, which led to Transmission failure. Daytona been racing his car with 180,000 miles on it (Chrysler 3.0, it's amazing) and it still runs good. Lost about .5 seconds since 100K but it's still not bad. Don't hold it too long though. if the other guy hasn't starged up yet, don't load it yet!

1000 RPM launch FTW

Yep, 180K on 100% stock/original engine! Been racing it every year since 2001 in Points Series and other events. Only tune it up once a year and do the regular 3,000 mi. oil changes.

Footbrake your car.

[Alon Alero]

I'll be going to a drag track sometime soon too.

When u say footbraking, what do u exactly mean? is it like holding the brake while revving to 1000, then release the brake and push the gas all the way?

[[ion] C2]

hold brake down with left foot
push gas and hold it so the revs stay at whatever you want to launch at
release brake and gently put the gas pedal to the floor (too fast and you'll spin like crazy and ruin the whole launch point)

[Daytona]

^Wrong on the gently accelerate. If you are getting wheel spin on a footbrake launch then you are not bringing up the RPM's high enough before launch or you have too much tire pressure in your tires. I stage my Daytona @ 1500 rpm w/ 28 pounds of pressure in tires and then slam the gas at the same time that I release the brake. Clean launch every time.

Alon - your understanding of footbraking is correct. Always launch your car at 200-300 rpm less than your stall speed (per Redog's comments). Too much is not good for your convertor, too little rpm is almost as bad as neutral drops and will cause wheel spin. Also, you'll want to reduce your tire pressure in the fronts a little, the amount dependent upon how new or old your tires are. Brand new street tires can be launched easily with full tire pressure. Old tires are better off launched with less than 30 pounds of pressure. Test different inflation levels to see where your car likes to launch from best.

[spyhunter]

Originally Posted by [ion] C2

Again, we have the 2.4L, launch at 2000-2200 RPMs.

with an auto *cries*

if you have a manual get some slicks and dump the beast at 4500-5000 for some hook n book action.

[[ion] C2]

Originally Posted by Daytona

^Wrong on the gently accelerate. If you are getting wheel spin on a footbrake launch then you are not bringing up the RPM's high enough before launch or you have too much tire pressure in your tires. I stage my Daytona @ 1500 rpm w/ 28 pounds of pressure in tires and then slam the gas at the same time that I release the brake. Clean launch every time.

Really? Spilner321 said not to just gun it because that basically negates the launch thing and throws too much power to the ground initially. I run with 26 PSI pressure in the fronts, launched at 2200 all the time when I raced. My tires suck, though. Drag radials would be far better.

[Daytona]

Let me ask you question... Has Spilner321 been drag racing for literally 20 years? And has he won a track points championship and an NHRA National Event? I won the Raceway Park track points championship in a RWD Camaro and the National Event in a FWD Daytona, and then came 2 points away from a 2nd Points Title using the Daytona.

Either his "advice" lost something in the translation to you or he's totally misunderstanding the entire launch process. If you accelerate slowly you waste a significant amount of torque and lose quite a bit of ET. Every successful bracket class racer on the planet launches hard off the start. At what RPM they pre-stage their launch at will vary depending on their car's set-up (amt of HP/torque, stall convertor rpm, FWD vs. RWD, weight of car, Radials vs. Slicks, etc.).

You can look to Redog's and my tips on drag racing elsewhere in the Racing forum, but essentially, you want to footbrake your car at 200-300 rpm less than your stall speed of your convertor (I don't bracket race manual trans cars so that advice will need to come from another stick driver with actual successful experience). Launching above your stall speed hurts the transmission and doesn't utilize the whole reason for your convertor. Launching too low and you end up shocking the convertor too harshly and the result is wheel spin.

When you see the 3rd amber light up on the tree, release the brake and slam your gas pedal the rest of the way to the floor either simulatenously or, at least, as the brake pedal completely disengages. By the time the light turns green, the momentum will begin to carry your car through the timing light and your reaction times should be decent. Wait until the green to go and your reaction times will suffer.

You will need to practice your launches to find out precisely what the ideal amount of tire pressure AND gas is in the car. Since our cars are FWD, too much gas shifting in the back tank will actually be counter-productive to you keeping a solid enough foot print with the fronts on launch. I race with no more than 3/8 of a tank of gas, preferably less if I can guesstimate correctly when I fill up on the way down to the track. For the Camaro she always launched best with between 1/2 and 3/4 tank of gas to force more pressure on the rear tires but not overweigh the car (race weight was already 3,850 lbs.with driver). Tire pressure is also important for launch as too much pressure will cause the tires to spin and not hook properly. Too little pressure will bog and slow the car. Practice with different set-ups.

[[ion] C2]

I'm not attacking you and your huge experience, I'm just saying what he told me made me have no wheelspin and launch hard. By gently I mean smoothly, not just flooring it instantly, which caused me to spin no matter what. As soon as I left off the brake while revving at the correct RPM the car hooked and took off, and I put the pedal to the floor after it hooked. Milliseconds afterward, but enough to make sure traction was had before gunning it. That's all I'm saying.

[TheMeaningOfLife]

Whats the 2.4s stall speed then?