First time drag racing last night, hot in Houston but lots of fun. First run was quite the learning experience, excessive tire spinning off the line and concern I broke my car as it kept cutting out going down the track; figured out I kept hitting the rev limiter. Six passes all total, slip on the left is my first run other two are my best runs. I do have a problem to solve before I go again, having a heck of a problem going from second to third and sometimes even first to second, like hitting a wall. I've done some research and appears I have an engine torquing problem. Motor mounts are original so I'm thinking urethane bullet mounts might help. I know I lost at least a half second on my two runs. Thoughts on this and my times are much appreciated.
Thanks
Considering your in Houston heat, first time at the track and discovering the rev limiter, I'd say you did good hitting low 14s.
Motor mounts will help some with shifting and putting the power more directly to the wheels but I've still missed 2nd to 3rd a couple times. Not as much as with the stock mounts though.
With more seat time at the track, you're shifting should get better and better.
Glad it was fun for ya. That's what it should be.
Get an after market shifter, NOW. It's not the engine mounts. The OEM linkage is soft and flexy, and causes disastrous missed shifts even when brand new.
Thanks for your encouragement Maryland! Hitting 3rd was so hard I just knew it had to be a mechanical issue and no way caused by operator error (lol)!! On my best run I missed 3rd either once or twice, this had to cost me at least 1/2 second. Do your prothane mounts cause additional noise? I can see how this could be addictive, and COSTLY.
Thanks for responding Dana, my MGW was one of my first mods.
Practice makes perfect, or in my case hopefully within a reasonable proximity. Too much fun.....
To me, I swear it was slightly louder while cranking at startup. But after that, I really don't notice any extra NVH. Although this car was already noisy when I installed them.
I can't believe your worried about extra noise with your set up. Lol.
I say get the mounts, give em a chance at the track and around town for a while, then come back and report.
They're a relatively cheap mod compared to most, and I don't see a down side to them.
I think you'll feel improvement too.
The "mod bug" can be addictive. Chasing 1/4 mile times on top of that will drain your bank account twice as fast. Lol.
Reducing tire spin alone will have you in the low 13's high 12's based on 105 mph. You know you have the power , it's just getting it to the track. A little slower 2-3 shift is still faster than missing it, so you might try that. We all get "amped up" going down the track especially in the beginning of your racing experience. I remember when I started racing in 1967. Missed shifts , tire spin , broken axles and u joints. Now 49 years and 4,000+ runs later I'm still racing.
Practice and drag radials. One mistake that I always see with guys in manual cars (I did the same 16 years ago when I would hit the track with 95 mustang GT m5) but your seat is too far back. Still in driving/cruising position. When I learned to move my seat pretty far forward n straight up...almost never missed 3rd.
Your mph looks good but looking at your 60', could be due to that. Don't be surprised to run a better 60', faster quarter mile but lower mph.
Went to the track again last night and much happier with the results, especially taking into consideration Houston heat and street tires. Worked hard on my launching (60 ft time down) and concentrated on making my shifts. Also, bought a Wiki 3 which plugs in the omb port and talks to apps on my phone telling me when to shift. The phone lighting up bright red at the preset shift point really helps. Need to do a little tweaking, set the the shift point at 5800 (6000 redline) but probably need to set lower because my hand/eye coordination for some reason is not what it use to be. Question, with my MGW do you slam the gears hard? I may be a little delicate when it comes to slamming gears. Also figured out if I get serious about this will need to upgrade my brakes, at least better pads.
As always, feedback is appreciated
"Slamming gears" doesn't have as big an effect as spinning the tires. I'm not talking about "granny shifting" but more work is needed on your tire spin. Until you get some tires on it , the ET isn't going to get much better.
Actually, not much spinning on my "good run". Considering heat, tires and my abilities, I was excited about my ET and 60' time. I know there is still room for improvement if I can get my shifting down. I agree better tires will help, but working with what I have for the time being.
You ARE doing good for what you have! The thing to remember is the best way to improve ET is to get moving from the starting line as fast as possible. Tires ( when you can get them) will allow higher rpm launches with ( hopefully) no tire spin. This will dramaticly drop the 60' times and the overall ET with it. You have enough horsepower ( based on your MPH to run low 13' to high 12's. More runs will hopefully get you to what veteran drivers call "at one with the car" , so you will have the "feel" when you are on a good run. All it takes is time and concentration. After almost 50 years of doing this , I can tell when I was late on the tree or on time and when the car is off or on an good pass.
Randy
For back ground, I started drag racing in 1967 when Orange County International Raceway opened here in So Cal. This was the days before reaction timers , 60' clocks etc. When I bracket raced , most of the time I would get a head start on the tree but be the second to leave LOL. I found the Ford racer that won the most often ( still a friend today) and asked him to tell me why I was constantly losing. He taught me about leaving on the last yellow (or where ever) to improve my chances. For a couple of months that was all I worked on. I began to get a feel for my car and what was needed to leave on a yellow and see green. After that we worked on consistency and eventually all the details involved in "scientific" bracket racing. So when I see an enthusiastic guy that really wants to learn , I remember the help I got and reach out.
A shift light will help a lot. What mods do you have? Shifting st 6k rpms could be too high and out of your power band. Most 05-2010's make power around 5300-5500rpms. I think my 05 made peak at 5400 with the norm mods. Once I got the stage 3 cams, then it was 6500rpns. Also if you shift like you do when leaving a red light n driving, that's soft. You need to be able to quick shift it. Also what gear and rpm do you trap at? If you get drag radials, rev to around 4K rpms, slip the clutch as you take off, once it is going and you know it's hooked (happens quick)....floor it. And remember, for best times ignore the car beside you and ignore the tree. Focus on your set up, rpm and what's next. See the tree hit green, no rush. Focus and take off. But Don't wait at the tree for 5 mins on green but if you did wait for 5 mins at the tree, time doesn't start to you break the staging light. That's what I do when going for time. Now if someone asks you too race, then focus on the tree/reaction time.
+2 on the shift light. There's no way to watch the tach needle while you're driving! You can shift on feel or sound, but you won't be consistent or achieve the best performance. Note that the RPM you set the light to come on needs to be a little lower than where you actually want to shift due to reaction time. That's driver-dependent of course.
See post #10, hopefully this method for shifting is fairly accurate. Haven't been back in a while because just too hot!
Thanks
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