Quarter mile tips and info!?

I did a search for Nitto NT555R's in 245/50/16 and the best price I found is Discount Tire. They actually have a special on Ebay right now for two of these heat cycled and shipped for $295... sounds like a good deal to me.
 
I did a search for Nitto NT555R's in 245/50/16 and the best price I found is Discount Tire. They actually have a special on Ebay right now for two of these heat cycled and shipped for $295... sounds like a good deal to me.

On Discounttiredirect.com, they're listing the 555r for $142/ea shipped, so that's $284/pair. Not sure about heat cycling or tax. Ebay would be better if they had the paypal discounts or something.
 
alright the race is next saturday guys, to clear up everything, can someone make a short list of everything I should do?

-launch at what rpms? 3k?
-Ease out of clutch or dump clutch?
-Shift at what rpms?
-DSC off?
-Front tire pressure?
-Rear Tire Pressure?
 
alright the race is next saturday guys, to clear up everything, can someone make a short list of everything I should do?

-launch at what rpms? 3k?
-Ease out of clutch or dump clutch?
-Shift at what rpms?
-DSC off?
-Front tire pressure?
-Rear Tire Pressure?

launch at as close to peak torque as you can without spinning the wheels. slip the clutch (this helps keep the revs high and helps prevent wheelspin or bogging down). rear tire pressure as high as your tires will allow you to run (normally about 50psi) - front tires, go as low as is practical without losing contact patch due to the sidewalls deforming the tires (i usully push my tires down around the 20 to 25psi mark).
 
You may also want to test your car out and find at which rpm the turbo starts losing it's steam. Since you are modded fairly well, it may pull a bit farther than 5500 - 5600 rpm's. Mine with just an intake and test pipe seems to pull all the way to 6000 before dropping off.

As for your buddy, I think all Trifecta did when they tuned his car was up the boost 7-8 psi over stock. Maybe his engine will blow and you'll win easy :D
 
My take on it is - come off the clutch pretty quickly, but don't dump it. Modulate the throttle to manage spin. Pull the lever about 5800 rpms. Go out and practice these things on some deserted country road or industrial park.

DSC off, don't worry about tire pressure (that's something to tweak down the road, not something to fret about on your first pass).

I think you're getting mired in the fine details when you've never made a pass in the car before. Go out and have some fun. I wouldn't worry too much about launch RPM or tire pressures or cutting a light. You're just going to spin like crazy no matter what RPM or pressure until you get a feel for modulating the throttle. Once you get that figured out, you can start to tweak the roll out with details like pressure and RPM, but that is not where you'll be on your first trip to the track.

If you line up on your first pass against an experienced driver in a car that's even in the same ballpark as yours, you will almost certainly lose. But go around for another pass. And then another... and another.

By the way, the Hoosiers hook like crazy on the street, but man is first gear over fast! I need to improve my shifting.
 
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By the way, the Hoosiers hook like crazy on the street, but man is first gear over fast! I need to improve my shifting.
that is scary on a mazda gearbox - they don't like power, especially when you hook it up hard.... i suggest preloading the drivetrain against the handbrake to reduce the shock load on the gearbox - its a little more tricky (one more thing to worry about) - but your transmission will thank you for it.

wheel spin sucks for a good time - but you rarely see someone breaking a gearbox while frying tires ;)
 
I am actually going to run the car a few times before I run him. I want the run against him to be my last so I can atleast have a feel for the car by the time I get to him. :) My racing beat exhaust goes on tomorrow, will have a full 3inch catless turboback now :) and yes, my car pulls to about 6k then it pretty much falls on its face.
 
Best of luck. Driver skill may make all the difference, so, as everyone here says, there is no substitute for practice, practice, practice on your launch technique.

There are quite a few variations here on recommendations on how to launch. The experienced racers in the group do agree on one thing, however, regardless of technique: keep wheelspin to a minimum, just enough to keep from bogging. That means feathering the throttle. It also means that the 1-2 shift will come up lightning fast, especially if you have drag radials. If you are even thinking about when to shift to second, you're probably staying in first two long.

Go get 'em and let us know how you did. Even if he beats you, a good launch will give you a respectable time to be proud of.
 
I've been practicing the hell out of the 1-2 shift with wheel spin and I seem to get it down pat. At first I was having a problem with bogging a bit, but now, soon as the wheel spin hits, the needle raises right to 6k rpms and bam I hit 2nd gear. Seems to pull nicely. Now I just need to practice on my launch this next week and then I will be ready. I am already expecting to lose, and if I do, that is fine, I don't care. Its all in good fun. I was just proving I have a pair of nuts by answering his challenge instead of tucking my tail betwixt my legs and declining his challenge.

I have noticed quite a few times I have a problem with the 2-3 shift, seems like 3rd wants to lock me out sometimes. I hope to GOD it don't happen at the track next week, that would kill my time.
 
The 2-3 shift in these things is a crap shoot. Even with shifter mount bushings and motor mounts, I still jam 3rd about 1 in 5 shifts when I powershift.
 
If you do win, I say you can credit it all to driver skill. You probably are close to 300 whp and maybe around 330 lb-ft's. Think you could sneak in a dyno before you race?
 
The 2-3 shift is a b****. Oh, one more little trick, if you think of it. Stage very shallow. Enter the lights just enough to prestage and then inch up to the stage light until it just lights and STOP.

If you are going for low ET rather than the win light, staging shallow lets you get a little bit of a running start at the first timing light, if this makes sense. It can shave as much as a whole tenth of a second, sometimes a bit more on the ET, although your opponent may be a bit closer to the actual start line.

The other guy, if he is smart and knows the objective is low ET will definitely stage shallow.

Good luck!
 
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dmn man im headin to Dinwiddie didnt know which one you went to, was gonna check out the strip between you n ur buddy. let us know how it goes though
 
So the race never happened, we got a tsunami and street fights was cancelled, so it will be a few weeks before I will get to run it :(
 
yea dude we got rained out too, it sucked. but hey you got 7 pages worth of response out of your post haha
 
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