My First Trip To The Track

[goonsquad]

Last night I went to the track for my first time ever in Englishtown NJ. I ran my car at 10 PSI but everything else stock. I got two runs and my best time was 15.552. I had hoped to do better but apparently I suck at driving. I guess I need practice. Here are my stats.

R/T 1.010 1.206
60' 2.624 2.452
330 6.858 6.636
1/8 10.298 10.085
MPH 71.64 71.48
1000 13.242 13.032
1/4 15.756 15.552
MPH 89.64 89.60

First off my R/T is terrible. From what I understand, however your reaction time does not factor into anything else, ie the 1/4 mile timer only starts once I've left the line. Can somebody confirm this for me? Other than that, my first run I tried to avoid peeling out and wheel hop and took off at around 2200 which was too low. My next start was a lot better. I took off at about 3000 and peeled out only a tiny bit which seemed pretty good. Other than that, I seemed like I was losing a lot of speed on my shifts. My buddy was telling me i need to be power shifting. Apparently I shouldn't let my foot off the gas at all when I shift? I guess this is what people are doing when they squeel their tires shifting into 2nd and third. Is this effective and safe for the transmission? Also I was pretty much trying to ride out all the gears to redline. Should I be doing this or shifting a little earlier? Any other tips? I want to be better next time I go.

 

[servoeyes]

yeah...that's not that great a 1/4 time (but who am I to talk...I've never gone!) in anycase...it does start after you've left and your R/T will only go as low as .500 (i believe). Your launch seems fine, but you could probably go higher/faster if you feather instead of drop. Ride it to redline, you're right there. As for power shifting...no it's not good for the tranny. I don't PS, I just shift faster. Once you're in gear and moving you only have to have your foot press on the clutch a bit, not all the way to the floor to get a good shift. Don't take your foot too far off the gas either, because you're gonna be right back on it. Just keep practicing...it's a physical response, like double clutching is, so the only way to get good is to practice (that may mean you grind it a couple times, but you'll learn to avoid that over time). In any case! Nice job keeping it legal at the track, and keep working at it. You'll do fine next time!

 

[BeamerKillr]

Hey man, well if you look at all of the stock dyno graphs for our car the power drops from peak at 5610 RPM's, If you shift there you will be more in the power band. There is a thread that has several dyno's run at different gears. If you shift in the peak HP & torque range you will have faster times. Try pouring ice water over the inter cooler before you run also. that will help
That quarter mile time is VERY high for our cars, we should be running high 14's or low 15's stock.Check your adjustments on the MBC you may have it runnig on low boost.

 

[BeamerKillr]

Hey man, well if you look at all of the stock dyno graphs for our car the power drops from peak at 5610 RPM's, If you shift there you will be more in the power band. There is a thread that has several dyno's run at different gears. If you shift in the peak HP & torque range you will have faster times. Try pouring ice water over the inter cooler before you run also. that will help
That quarter mile time is VERY high for our cars, we should be running high 14's or low 15's stock.Check your adjustments on the MBC you may have it running on low boost.

 

[Wesman]

Goonsquad, something is up with your mph. Was it really hot weather, did you park the car with the hood up to let it cool down, etc. Was there a lot of wheelspin at the line?

 

[Micah]

Hey, don't feel bad - wait until I post my times.

I have never driven a car at the track. All my friends are telling me not to worry about it, but I know like nothing about staging and that sort of stuff. Plus, I have an automatic tranny, and I'm not going to tach it up and then neutral drop it. I'll basically have to just stomp on the gas.

Truth is though, I never wanted to build the car for drag. I just want more power under the hood. I'm not saying my automatic stock ES is slow. I don't have to say that, plenty of other people on the forum have already declared/established that point.

I am doing the turbocharger for the fun aspect. But if you look at my avatar, my car will lend itself perfectly to the "sleeper" persona. I have a few more things that I would like to do, but first I wanna see how it runs after the turbo is done. Car should be done on Friday, I can't wait. It would have been done last friday, but Nick wasn't happy with the fitment, so he ordered me a new intercooler, and a spal fan. I mounted up the gauge pod last night, and they were making the mount for my extra injectors. It's really been a great learning experience, no regrets - just can't wait to feel my car with some boost.

 

[servoeyes]

Hey BeamerKiller....dude...you can't shift like that, you fall off the powerband. IF he was staying at peak torque/HP constantly then it wouldn't be a problem, but when you shift the RPMs will drop to below 3k and you have to spool up again. Dangit...I found a really good website about this....basically even though you've hit peak torque you'll still make more power after that point than the lower RPM once you shift. Then when you shift from the higher point you'll be right back around your peak.

 

[goonsquad]

It wasn't hot. My two runs were at 75 and 72 degrees and 67 and 77 % humidity. I'm pretty sure my boost is accurate because when I first installed my gauge I was boosting 7 and now I'm at 10. Also I feel a big power difference. My engine was hotter than I would have wanted it to be. On my first run it was hot from a 40 mile drive and only 10 minutes rest before my race. My second run I idled my car probably 20 minutes before the race. Some ice probably would have helped. Seriously though, I'm pretty sure it's my (lack of) driving ability that kept my time high. I need a lot of practice. I consider myself a competent driver but I've never raced before at the track. The car I owned before this was a '92 hyundai elantra stock so I'm pretty new at this.

On a funnier note, my boss claims he can run a 12 second (flat) 1/4 in his stock 545i. The thing is automatic with the sequential shifter also. He is out of his mind. I will make some money off him for sure. Time to think like Johnny Chan.

 

[kwiktsi]

Hey man, well if you look at all of the stock dyno graphs for our car the power drops from peak at 5610 RPM's, If you shift there you will be more in the power band. There is a thread that has several dyno's run at different gears. If you shift in the peak HP & torque range you will have faster times. Try pouring ice water over the inter cooler before you run also. that will help
That quarter mile time is VERY high for our cars, we should be running high 14's or low 15's stock.Check your adjustments on the MBC you may have it running on low boost.

5610??? Haha- mine pulled to the rev limiter with ease in first and second and was shifted from 6500-6800 from 2-3 and 3-4. Maybe stock, but with more boost and then an open exhaust, the car will use every bit of it's RPM range.
Joe

 

[kwiktsi]

It wasn't hot. My two runs were at 75 and 72 degrees and 67 and 77 % humidity. I'm pretty sure my boost is accurate because when I first installed my gauge I was boosting 7 and now I'm at 10. Also I feel a big power difference. My engine was hotter than I would have wanted it to be. On my first run it was hot from a 40 mile drive and only 10 minutes rest before my race. My second run I idled my car probably 20 minutes before the race. Some ice probably would have helped. Seriously though, I'm pretty sure it's my (lack of) driving ability that kept my time high. I need a lot of practice. I consider myself a competent driver but I've never raced before at the track. The car I owned before this was a '92 hyundai elantra stock so I'm pretty new at this.

On a funnier note, my boss claims he can run a 12 second (flat) 1/4 in his stock 545i. The thing is automatic with the sequential shifter also. He is out of his mind. I will make some money off him for sure. Time to think like Johnny Chan.

What do you have for a boost controller? Also, do you have my FPR kit in the car? I would assume no judging by your MPH- it is in the stock range- with 10 psi you should be upper 90's.. These cars run way too rich stock and will not pull at all up top.
Joe

 

[InsidiousMSP]

I also had bad times at the track with just the MBC @ 10psi. Just put in Joe's FPR kit yesterday and it made a huge difference. Gonna head back to the track next week.

 

[goonsquad]

I have your boost controller Joe. And no I don't have the FPR installed. I have it but I haven't put it on yet because of the hope of an ECU flash that would cure the problem. **** it, I'm putting it on tonight. No more waiting around. I can just plug it up if necessary right? Just a thought, but you should include an inline connector (like a t-fitting but only 2 connections...what's it called) for the vacuum hose and a rubber stopper or something to plug up the intake for when people want to remove their FPR kit.

 

[KyRaceFan]

Goonsquad, something is up with your mph. Was it really hot weather, did you park the car with the hood up to let it cool down, etc. Was there a lot of wheelspin at the line?

Sport Compacts msp ran the 1/4 at 15.4 @90.1 or something. His MPH is right there.. but then again he is running more boost. Id assume its just the launch.. and if you read my post, you know i suck at the launching too.

 

[kwiktsi]

Sport Compacts msp ran the 1/4 at 15.4 @90.1 or something. His MPH is right there.. but then again he is running more boost. Id assume its just the launch.. and if you read my post, you know i suck at the launching too.

His launch won't cost him approx. 7-10 MPH up top (he should be 95+ with his boost).
Joe

 

[MrRoseBlackMSP]

hey goonsquad i saw you there last night i had the black speed

 

[InsidiousMSP]

My MPH at 10psi was 90.8. It was about 85 degrees with some humidity. I could just feel the car drowning in fuel. Now that I have the FPR kit on, my 3rd and 4th gear pull WAY harder. I can not stress enough how vital it is to do this mod. (drinks)

 

[goonsquad]

HAHA great. I was looking for you. I talked to the guy Jim (I think that was his name) with the orange one. He was running I think like low 16s with just the injen CAI. He said you were running...what was it? He also mentioned you were boosting 10 and I assume you have in the Injen also by the stickers. Hey also what is a good day/time to go to raceway park? It was packed. I waited about 2.5 hours between my first and 2nd runs. I want to go again but not wait that long.

 

[MrRoseBlackMSP]

i ran a 15.2, 15.1, and 14.9, yea im boosting at 10 with CAI, i heard saturdays arent as crowded around like 5ish, it toook so long last night because of all the unmufled fars spuing oil all over the track they were like cleaning it after almost every run

 

[Dr.Sound]

I have your boost controller Joe. And no I don't have the FPR installed. I have it but I haven't put it on yet because of the hope of an ECU flash that would cure the problem. **** it, I'm putting it on tonight. No more waiting around. I can just plug it up if necessary right? Just a thought, but you should include an inline connector (like a t-fitting but only 2 connections...what's it called) for the vacuum hose and a rubber stopper or something to plug up the intake for when people want to remove their FPR kit.

the pic below is what i use when i want to remove FPR kit.
Total cost $0.98 in Autozone.

 

[goonsquad]

Exactly, I got the connector. Did you get that plastic screw at the auto parts store?