Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Dyno and Drag Drag racing advice

I'm just looking for any advice you guys could give me to do a good time in 1/4 mile. Anything you guys could come up with. All ideas will be cosidered.

practice,practice,practice...the only way to get better is to practice..also experiment with launch techniques,and shift points....and don't forget most of all have fun..

Personally, I powershift and love it. Haven't had any tranny problems yet. Launch between 2500-3000 with a lil slip of the clutch.

Assuming you are running street radials, set your tire pressure to street pressure in the front and a little higher in the rear. DO NOT DO A BURNOUT ON STREET TIRES, OR FOR ANY REASON IF YOU HAVE THE STOCK DIFFERENTIAL. AVOID THE WATER PUDDLE. Just do a quick little dry peel out to clean any debris from the tires before you stage.

Don't worry about the reaction for now. You want to focus on your 60' time. That is the true measure of how well you are launching, and you will see the results in your overall times as you get this lower. My best run to date had a R/T of over 1 second, because I wanted to ignore the light and concentrate on the launch. The timers don't start until you leave the staging lights. R/T is only important when you are competing with someone.

Seat time is most important, really. With a little practice, you'll find the sweet spot for launches. It took me 3 trips to the strip to get a 60' below 2.4 - 2.6, and once I got that straightened out and started to put down 2.2x's, I won a small bracket event that very same day.

Most important: HAVE FUN! Don't get discouraged if you put down some bad times on your first trip. Unless you are like Iceman22 or SVT ST PETE, your first time racing will probably not be very good. At the very least, a trip to the drags will give you a chance to check out some cool cars.

I've only been to the strip once, but got 6 runs in that evening. My 60' times were all 2.5 (one 2.6), but my fastest 1/4 was only 16.491 (at altitude). I guess that means my 60' is decent, but I think I'm missing something on the higher end, doesn't seem like it pulls as well as others. I have a '00 SVT with slight intake & exhaust mods, along with an s-afc. Does it seem okay? The track is around 6000ft. I'll be going back to the track in a couple weeks, maybe I'll do better.


Tim
'00 SVT

Originally posted by totwellsvt:

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My 60' times were all 2.5 (one 2.6) ... I guess that means my 60' is decent.

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I'm not sure how your altitude affects the 60' time, but I'd be shooting for a 60' below 2.40 if I were you. I'll admit, I have a Quaife, which is a nice advantage when launching. My goal is to get it down below 2.20 (which would be an excellent launch on street radials for any Contour). I remember your old post about the times you put down, and IIRC they equated to a time that would be expected for your car at sea level. Rule of thumb is every 0.1 saved in the 60' will give you 0.2 in the 1320.

The best 60' times I have been able to get were after a pretty substantial burnout to get the KDW's nice and sticky. I guess it depends on the type of tires.

I launch at 3000 with a tiny bit of clutch slip.

Last time I was at the track I was getting consistent 2.3 60' times, but everyone was saying the track was slick that night. My best is a 2.20.

Thanks guys very helpfull. What about tire press? and shifting range?

Run street tires at normal pressure. Shift at redline

Originally posted by fst4dr:

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Shift at redline

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AMEN! And practice. Lots of it. I spent two hours in the staging lanes at Cecil on a Friday night and F'd up royally down the straight. How does 18.79 sound? Always pay attention to what the car is doing. Turns out my B&M wasn't that good for my '98 SVT. It's coming out as soon as I get the stock shifter chopped.