Disappointing 1/4 mile times
 

I finally got my 90 T2 out to Cecil County Dargway last night to see what I could do in on the 1/4. The night started out well due to the fact is was prom night for most of the area schools so all the kids with 5.0 Rustangs weren't there. It was also very overcast with a very strong chance of rain so that also helped keep the crowd low.
I made my first pass at 15.95 with an .844 reaction. I attributed the slow speed to poor driving and thought the times should surely drop as the night went on. The second run was 16.17 with a .989 reaction. I was getting worse! I finished .07 seconds behind a Monte SS that normally I would have smoked.
The great thing about last night though was the small crowd so we all got plenty of runs. I managed to run 16 times! Most Friday nights you are lucky to get 3 or 4. I simply used it as a great practice time to work on my reaction and try to get the T2 to go faster.
As it happened, the first run was the best I ran all night. Except one 17sec run in which I was watching my shift points instead of watching the race, I managed to run the rest of the night at a consistent 16.3, though I did get my reaction down a bit. On my last run of the night I pulled a .588 reaction. I didn't think this was too bad for someone that has not raced a 1/4 mile in nearly 15 years.
I did happen to notice that my turbo was not producing enough boost. It was barely coming up above the "0" mark under full acceleration even over 5000 R's. I am hoping that it is just a line blown off or a stuck wastegate or something simple. I will get into it this week and check it out and hopefully run better times in the coming weeks.
Just thought I would share it with you! ---Jeremy

Not bad for 1 psi of boost :)

What were your 60' times?

Even my N/A runs faster than 15.9x :p:

But you'll be "TII fast" once you get your boost fixed, good luck. :cool:

PS - MAN i LOVE the little boxes to reply in, yuo dont have to click "Reply To" anymore :D

Why are you so concerned with RT's?&nbsp It has nothing to do with your run - all it is is how fast you reacted to the christmas tree.&nbsp More important is the 60' times...

You guys all think it's so easy to go drag racing - it's not.


-Ted

i dont think its that easy, even tho i been practicing ever since 15

My reason for being concerned with reaction times is when it comes to handicapped bracket racing, you can win or lose according to your reaction time. The 60' time was a consistent 2.5 seconds. I was trying to launch by slightly slipping the clutch from 3500 R's. It seemed to work out better than dropping the clutch and feeling the engine bog. I'm sure all the #'s will improve after the boost issue is addressed.

:eek: dropping the 60' time to a 2.1 or so will easily get you down at least to low-mid 15's. Get your boost back! :D

I have never thought of drag racing as easy, but I learned to pull a .5xx RT when I was around 8 years old. I see it as another category in which to measure driver skill and vehicle performance. I grew up around both drag racing and the IMSA RS series. Dad built the first Honda to run in IMSA and SCCA back in the 70's. He also was the operator of Gainesville Raceway in Florida back then so I got the chance to learn both styles of driving. I have never been of the opinion that drag racing is the only measure of a car's (or driver's) ability nor is the road course. They both are intended to show different aspects of a vehicle. A truly fast car can do well at both venues. There will also always be a tradeoff in a car that performs well in both. This is also where a really good adjustable suspension comes into play. The settings for going straight really fast are completely different from getting a car to corner well. I feel my T2 has the capability of doing both pretty well but certainly will never run the 1/4 mile as fast as a blown 454 tube-frame nitro-injected Camaro. I would like to see him keep up with me on the curves though!

If your T2 runs 16+ I dont think you have to worry about bracket racing! Just foolin

If this is so, then why are your RT's all over the place?


Are you talking about RT or the whole 1/4-mile thing?&nbsp I hope you're not talking strictly about RT, cause RT has NOTHING to do with vehicle performance.&nbsp A 1.3-liter Honda can pump out "perfect" RT's all day, if the driver is dialed into the car.&nbsp A 2500hp dragster can cut perfect 0.400's all day if they are dialed into their car.



-Ted

Wow something is definitely wrong with your car. Stock it nets low 15's. With bolts on i ran a 13.9....ALL day long. the reason you got slower it due to the fact that your intercooler is one big heat sink. After repetitive runs it just get slower. My first time out to the Drags went like this....show up 15.1..then 20 mins later a 15.3...then a 15.6.....then i got pissed. I was icing the I/C and didn't know why it was going slower. So when they called last call. I just dumped the ICE all over the I/C and the manifold. Like a 8" pile of it.....Suddenly on the last run of the evening......BAMM 14.68 It's all about effiency. Get that I/C as cold as you can. I thinking of trying compressed CO2 next time on my front mount. Texas gets HOT.

All it takes is practice!
 

The reason my RT was so off was that this was the first time in nearly 15 years that I've run on a 1/4 mile. I'm sure even John Force would have a hard time going out and pulling a low RT on the first few runs if he were out for 15 years! Plus, the RT went down as the night went on. Just shows what some practice will do.
Yes, I was referring to the whole drag racing event as a measure of vehicle and driver. RT has nothing to do with the car except that each car will leave in a slightly different manner. Many years ago, when I was growing up, both of my parents were active in drag racing. In fact, my Mom was the one who really taught me how to catch the light at the right time for a perfect RT. She made it to the final round of National Bracket Finals one year in a 78 Accord daily driver so I think it's fair to say that she knows what she's talking about. It is not difficult to get into the .5xx range but it does require a good deal of practice (and being in tune with the car). Back then, I used to have several hours each week to practice by myself on the track. Give me a week or two to get back into the swing of things. I'm sure I can get it back to a consistent .5xx again.
fastrotaries: Thanks for the insight on the IC. I'm sure that the car was getting warmer as the night went by even though the ambient temp was getting lower. I raised my hood every time while stopped in the staging lanes to try to lower the underhood temp a bit but I don't know how much it helped. I don't think the slow runs had much to do with heat any more than the lack of boost. I drove my car to the track so it was sufficiently warm during the first run (this was also the hotter part of the day before the sun went down). I will have to try icing down my IC next time though. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out. ---Jeremy

Turbo Lag
 

**** Once again, SPAM removed by Management ****

Re: Turbo Lag
 

WTF? I am going to chase you down in every thread. Don't listen to this guy.

How many miles on the turbo? There has to be a REAL reason it's not producing boost...

Don't feel bad, I pulled a low 16 in my TII. Haven't figured out why yet though.

Re: Turbo Lag
 

BWAHAHAHA!! Well you can't say he's not determined

Re: Re: Turbo Lag
 

You can't say he's not stupid either... :dunce:

Re: He thinks turbo lag is the issue???
 

Is this guy on crack??? I don't want to replace or change or modify my intake or turbo right now. I had a BRAND NEW factory Hitatchi turbo installed by Bret at Rotary Performance in Manassas, VA just last October. I have less than 12,000 miles on it. It should be performing perfectly now but I need to work out the bugs, not throw in some kinda "MYSTERY FAN".
Are you suggesting that I upgrade a factory turbo with some infomercial type ,RONCO food processor, no-name, off-brand, fly-by-night company fancy-named MASS AIR FLOW METER??? Are you seriously convinced that this little electric fan like I have 3 of on my computer tower can bring my turbo boost level back up to factory specs from "0"???
NEWS FLASH!!! I care about the car I drive. I don't use anything on or in my vehicle that I have not thoroughly researched. I'm guessing by the $300 price and the lack of bidders, that it must not be too hot of an item!
AND....To top it all off, this guy has an eBay rating of 26 with 6 NEGATIVE FEEDBACKS. That's right, 6 NEGATIVE FEEDBACKS. Including NEGATIVES from someone with nearly 2500 positives!! I have 67 without a single negative. It just doesn't sound like the kind of business I prefer to deal with.
Really now, tell me the truth..... You are making these things in your parents' basement aren't you?
It has been said so many times that it is almost cliche: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Then again, maybe I will order and install one in my T2... right after I lose 30 lbs overnight on my new fad diet I found on an infomercial last night.

Are you kidding? Slower cars are better for bracket racing because you don't have to worry about the launch as much.

Last year's Norwalk bracket racing series was won by a guy in a brown-and-rust 4-cylinder Celebrity that ran 18's. Very very consistent 18's.

The launch is the HARDEST part.... ideally when the tires or clutch hook up the engine will be in its powerband and under boost. Too much and the tires are done, not enough and it's bogsville...

"slower cars are better for bracket racing....." Sounds like fun

Do you not understand the concept?

This can be very true. In Handicapped Bracket Racing, you are racing against the clock. This is where dial-in times are important. If your car consistently runs 15.00 seconds, then you want to dial-in as close to that as possible. If you go faster than your dial-in time, you automatically lose by way of a break-out. If you dial in too low, then the other guy may run closer to his dial-in and beat you. It is all a game of accuracy and knowing your car and exactly when to leave on the tree. Nobody who has ever raced has ever said it was easy even though a lot of people think it is all about how fast you can drive the 1/4 mile. Sure, I want my car to be as fast as possible, but where is the fun in racing if I go against an 8 second Super-Gas Vega every time?

yeah I always just go to street night up my way. I can understand the idea behind it now, thanx for the info Rx7GT.

Now you understand why bracket racing isn't as fun as heads-up racing. It just seems wrong for a 12-second car to win against a 9-second car, and hit the brakes before the end of the track to do that. :rolleyes:

I guess there is a time and place for everything. I would never say that one is more or less fun than the other but, Bracket Racing is good for those people who don't have enough money to own or drive the fastest purpose-built car out there. I also like the old addage "run what ya brung".
Just remember that no matter what you drive, someone will have a faster car. Unless you are driving Mike Dunn's TF Dragster.