HELP! Got some horrible 1/4 mile times!

[firebird49er]

So last night out was my first night at the tracks ever. I have a ram air intake, flowmaster 80 series for exhaust, and i removed my subs and spare tire/jack. my best time all night was 16.950 on a 65 degree night. my best reaction time was .655 but they were usually around .8 or .9. i have read some of the tips on the other posts to how to get the time down, but i don't know if it's cuz it was my first time or cuz my car just sucks. next time i plan to try icing the intake, using the tips for a good reaction time, but i want to know what i'm supposed to be running with what i have. i'm hoping i can get it down to a low 16 but i see other people here running mid 15's. what's the best reaction time some of u all have gotten here? i did about 6 runs, and not to make excuses but another guy i raced says he usually runs low 15's but was running mid 16's last night cuz he said the road was pretty slick, don't know if there's any truth to that or if he was making excuses himself. i have an auto tranny and i guess anything u all do to help out the times, if u can post them. i tried starting the car from 1st gear and then leaving the drive on 3rd gear and found leaving it on 3rd all the way gave the best results.

[shortdog273]

Is your car a 3.4 or 3.8? What was your 60 foot time? Is your car tuned up and running ok? Reaction times has nothing to do with your 1/4 time.

[ January 30, 2004: Message edited by: shortdog273 ]</p>

[hawgs]

His profile says its a 98 so 3.8. Where in Texas are you? Alt. can play a role in your times.

Whether you put it in 3rd or in 'D' will make no difference... youre not trapping high enough to worry about going into OD.

[mjparme]

Can you give us all the times on your timeslip. That may help us help you.

R/T
60'
1/8 ET
1/8 mph
1/4 ET
1/4 mph
etc, just all the times off of it

[MustangEater8251]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mjparme:
Can you give us all the times on your timeslip. That may help us help you.

R/T
60'
1/8 ET
1/8 mph
1/4 ET
1/4 mph
etc, just all the times off of it<hr></blockquote>


Exactly...

also state if you spun the launch...

[zlexiss]

With the auto, are you powerbraking at the line, or flooring it from idle when the lights change?

-Jeff

[Tru2Chevy]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by hawgs:
Whether you put it in 3rd or in 'D' will make no difference... youre not trapping high enough to worry about going into OD.<hr></blockquote>

Well, at WOT on a dragstip you wouldn't have to worry about shifting into overdrive. Not on a stock tranny anyway. I think stock it will only shift into OD below 1/3 throttle. I'm pretty sure that's what my old '85 2.8/auto did.

- Justin

[Bird_Of_Prey]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Tru2Chevy:


Well, at WOT on a dragstip you wouldn't have to worry about shifting into overdrive. Not on a stock tranny anyway. I think stock it will only shift into OD below 1/3 throttle. I'm pretty sure that's what my old '85 2.8/auto did.

- Justin<hr></blockquote>

The 4L60E is a different beast compared to the 700R4. It will shift in to OD at WOT. However, you need to trap about 115 for that to occur.

[firebird49er]

Sorry it took awhile to reply, i only have internet access at school. anyways, i'm from south texas, the track is in edinburg. I was flooring it from idle, but from what i've read i'll try revving it next time. I had just gotten an oil change about 2 days before, and the car is in really good running condition. First couple of times i would spin at the launch, the first time was horrible, i spun for about 5 seconds before the tire could catch grip and the time was 20.98 seconds. What i was doing to avoid it later on was putting 3/4 throttle for like the first second or two so i wouldn't spin, and then flooring it. on my best run, i clocked 16.95 on the 1/4 mile @ 88mph with a reaction of .81 seconds. pretty sad. i know i can really work on the reaction, but even then i'm still in the 16's. what do other stock firebirds run? none of hte other times were filled in on the time slip. that night i did beat a 2000 mustang v6 (barely though, i think by like .3 seconds [they werent posting times up on the board or showing u what u won or lost by that night, times were only for u to see]). i lost of course to the 8's, but also to a monte carlo SS (the recent model, not sure the exact year) and lost to a ford focus svt (thats the one that just made me feel like crap). anyways, any tips u all could post would really help. thanx.

[njspder]

http://www.camarov6.com/cgi-bin/ulti...&f=10&t=001504

start with this and go try again. once you get the basica at teh line down you will see your times improve.
it would also help if you could post up at least 2 complete slips with all the increments and speeds.

later
tim

[shortdog273]

Once again, reaction times don't have anything to do with your 1/4 time. Part of your problem is that you're having traction issues. Most likely, your car don't have 3.42 gears and LSD.

[MustangEater8251]

R/Ts don't mean anything... just for the race against the guy next to you...

we are not worried about that we are worried about getting your car running good times...

post your entire timeslip and we can see if its your car or you, then we can give tips on what to do to prevent it.

But we need to see an entire timeslip...

60'
330'
1/8th
mph
1000
1/4
mph

[SlowCamaro96]

I only trapped 86 and ran a 15.5. Its all about knowing how to drive the car. I put down a 2.1 60' and a 9.9 1/8th @ 70mph. Oklahoma sucks, so if i went down to texas, i could probably trap about 90 and run a 14.9...

In agreement, the R/T has no effect on the 1/4 time.

Make sure you clean off the tires really good (i like smokey burnouts [img]graemlins/dunce.gif[/img] ) and then hold the brake all the way and push the gas til your about 1600 rpms. then when you take off, just let go of the brake and slam the gas. I think its a little easier on the drivetrain that way too...

Ahh anyways, thats my .02, nobody prolly wants to listed cause my cars slow [img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

[Tellez]

Hey firebird49er I also go the track in edinburg. I'm going this friday hoping for some fourteens.

['94firebirdv6]

i thought i heard you arent supposed to do a burnout on street tires before a race something about them glazing over?