Ennis - Post Your Times! :) (Details as well)

[Artesia]

Ennis was PACKED on Friday night. At most, we only got 3 runs. I only got 2 runs because my battery decided to die. (the person I bought it from put a Wal-Mart battery before he sold it to me...nice going) Couldn't jump the car...had to take Adam's battery out of his car and put it in mine, start my car, then put his battery back. It really sucked.

Anyway, as for everyone's times...I think Adam and Mike had some decent runs, I don't remember because I didn't see Mike's results. I think he was pulling 15's though. Adam pulled a 15.6 completely stock '95 ATX. Not bad! And that was one run...he didn't get anymore runs. If my battery wouldn't have died, he would've gotten two, but he chose to help me out instead. Thanks a LOT Adam, I really appreciate it. I'm paying your entry fee next time we go to Ennis in a few weeks.

Toni got some good runs for a slipping clutch. Apperantly SHOShop sent him a "revs jr" clutch instead of the racing clutch for his supercharger setup. So his clutch was slipping something horrible and his best time was his second run...14.2 sec. I don't remember the mph...I think it was 95mph, but I'll have to ask him.

Oh, and you guys feel free to post your stats in here.

As for me, I did horrible. I got two runs, (I wanted 4 runs...two with secondaries unplugged and two with secondaries plugged in) both with the secondaries unplugged. The first time I didn't rev the engine at all on the launch...so I ended up having an incredibly slow take-off. My 60 ft time was like 2.7 seconds! Horrible. Then, as if that wasn't enough, I missed second gear something horrible. This car misses second gear really bad, or at least it did when I got it. Now, it only does it on occasion. Well, anyway...needless to say, after trying to shove it into gear for a good two seconds, I finally hit 2nd and took off...pulling a 16.169 @ 91.34mph.

Second run was equally as horrible. I accidentally launched a little high...at 4000 (I was shooting for 3000)...well, I spun the tires something horrible for about 3 seconds, then finally it grabbed and took off. At this point, the Civic hatchback beside me is like 3 car-lengths ahead of me. LOL So, about at the 1/4mile mark, I had caught him, but he still had a half a car length or a nose on me. But I had a quicker time than he did. 15.891 @ 93.52mph.

So between my bad take-offs and shifts, and Tony's slipping clutch, we didn't all have the greatest of time at Ennis. If it would have been less crowded and there wouldn't have been an event going on, it would've been a LOT better and we would've gotten a LOT more runs. BUT...alas...we got screwed. Oh well...next time will be better.

I weighed my car in at 3555 lbs with me in it on an empty tank, but I had at least 150 lbs of junk in it that I took out today. I relieved my car of tons of books, videos & the spare tire and jack and spare parts in the back. And I'm dead serious...there was something growing in the back of my car! Apperantly I had thrown a bag in the back with some food in it, and well...it grew. I had to take it out and clean the mold out. NASTY!

Anyway, since this is all I have, I'll put my times up here with the details. If the other guys see this post you should post your time slips in here too for everyone. Talk to you guys later!

1st Run

ME Eclipse Turbo (modded)
R/T - .930 .836
60 - 2.725 2.559
330 - 7.197 6.510
1/8 - 10.701 9.752
MPH - 70.56 76.18
1000 - 13.685 12.509
1/4 - 16.169 14.837
MPH - 91.34 96.80

- As you can tell from the speed at the end and the 330ft time, he got a MUCH better launch than I did. But heck, with the horrible launch, I was going ALMOST as fast as him when I hit the 1/4mile mark. Oh well...old used Firestones suck!

ME 89 Civic Hatchback (modded)
R/T - .957 .749
60 - 3.009 2.475
330 - 7.257 6.884
1/8 - 10.595 10.412
MPH - 73.36 70.95
1000 - 13.477 13.410
1/4 - 15.891 15.968
MPH - 93.52 88.48

- Look at those 60 and 330 ft times! I was spinning tires through most of that. LOL It was horrible. Finally at the 1/8 mile mark I'm about at the same TIME as him, but not caught up with him yet. Then at the 1000 ft mark I've caught him and I'm moving up on him. And finally at the quartermile mark, I'm about to pass him. It was a horrible race. I was pretty ticked that I didn't get ANY good runs. Oh well...I'll get better ones in a week or so. Street Nights is next week and I'm considering going to that since there are not any events. Well, later guys.
Grip @ Ennis shoot

 

[DfwSho]

Dude those times suck major ass.

Your mph doesn't seem too terrible so maybe there is hope for you yet. Hang in there. Will you believe me now? SHO's are horrendous 1/4-mile racers.

 

[SHOfun 93]

Ahh baby L, let young Brian learn the hard way....we are freeway racers, not 1/4 mile demons...I'll call you when I pick up my sho. They just got done putting a air cooled tranny cooler in there with an auxiliary fan. Hopefully no more tranny bye-byes..later..

 

[drivinhard]

The SHO is not that bad of a 1/4 mile car. It's not the platform you'd use to set records, but it's not bad, at least in MTX form.

And regarding the Turbo eclipse and you going *almost* as fast in the traps, he was almost 5.5 mph faster than you. Trust me, that's not "almost as fast". Hang around the a 1/4 mile track awhile, and fiddle with your car, and you will see how much it takes to pick up a full 5 mph on a 3400 lb car. 5 mph in a mere 1320 ft is a big difference between 2 cars.

3 sec 60' time?!?!? Even a so so 2.3 flat 60' would net you a full 1 - 1.2 sec on the other end. With a 93 mph trap speed, high 14's are within grasp.

What tire pressure were you running up front? Try 26 or 27 up front and 50 in the rear. Most of the time, less is more with these cars getting off the line. You can't just wind it up and dump it on street tires or you'll just sit there (as you have found out). Start around 2600 rpm (for the love of pete plug the secondaries in), feather the clutch some, and ease it out of the hole. As you get comfortable with it, you can get a little more aggressive. The typical rookie mistake I see most of the time with these cars is guys going up there and just blasting the clutch off the line. That's not the fastest way down the track. Less is more...

 

[SHOfun 93]

Thank you Dr Mark, the Texas sho owners thank you for your guest lecture. SHO Drag 101 class is dismissed...

 

[drivinhard]

Is that a sarcastic response?

If so I dunno why. I gave some tips to try. If you don't want to, that's fine. No skin off my back.

 

[SHOfun 93]

Mark, that was PURELY complimentary. You have by far the most experience at racing these cars..and I know it.....sincerely...thanks...

 

[Diameg]

Mark,

Are you saying to use 27 psi in the front tires and 50 (!) in the back? That seems aweful high for the back.
I have not been to a 1/4 mile track before and plan on it lots this summer, so you can bet I'll be asking you time and time again for tips, if you don't mind.

I guess tires are my first thing. My well worn Goodyears aren't going to cut it. I'm looking for a good performance tire for everyday use but will also help me at the track.
Any ideas anyone?

 

[drivinhard]

"I'm looking for a good performance tire for everyday use but will also help me at the track"

No such thing! Probably the best street tire that was a decent "drag" tire were the old BFG ZR's. I dunno if they even sell those anymore. They were pretty grippy straight line. The dunlop SP8k's are horrible for straight line use. Some of dunlop's less aggressive tires did ok when I tried them. I ran decent times with the stock GT+4's, although I didn't like them for the street.

If I was you, just get a spare set of slicers (or at least get 2) and get 2 nitto drag radials, 225/50 and use those at the track. You won't be smoking your street tires and wearing them out, and the nitto's work very very well. If you don't like changing at the track, you can do it at home and just drive them to the track.

Or you can buy my 1 season used 235/60 15" BFG drag radials on light-weight lace wheels wink

As for pressure, sure pump the rears up to 50, unless that goes beyond that tires max inflation pressure, but most are good for at least 50.

I plan to come up there to Canada a few times this year and go with josh to his "local" track. Also wanna do the pay per lap road course up there (shannonville?).

 

[SHOMurph]

Made two runs...

15.72 at 87 was best run.

Improved my 1/8 to 10.16 at 70.36.

Weight 3640 with me in it. One Fat Ford.

I think thats pretty fair for a bone stock ATX with crappy Firestone touring tires (on it when I bought it.)

Was a fun night watching other rigs run also. Still deaf from the Top Fueler.

Next should be a trip to Kennedale (1/8).

Mike
93 ATX Stock Rock

<small>[ March 17, 2002, 01:16 AM: Message edited by: SHOMurph ]</small>

 

[DfwSho]

I'm sorry if I inadvertantly communicated that running the SHO in the 1/4-mile was less than fun. I had a blast every time out!

Mark is a racing guru and is correct when stating that 5 mph in the traps is something you wont make up by altering tire pressure, etc.

If people based the SHO experience on drag racing alone, then they would seriously miss the other great aspects of the car.

Good luck and keep practicing! It can and will be frustrating, but Rome wasn't built in a day either.

 

[SHOfun 93]

Laurence, is that really you?? eek! That is the kindest, sweetest post you have done in months....

 

[Axianator]

Yes, I only got to run once. And this was my first time at Ennis and at a 1/4 mile track. It was QUITE fun, and definitely exhilarating.

My best (and only time so far) was 15.6 flat @ 89. My launch was pretty good (.901 R/T), but I could definitely improve upon it. I just got my LPM today, so I KNOW I can improve upon my times at a later date.

My SHO weighed in at 3585. That's with me (175 lbs.), 3/4 tank, and no spare. Not bad for the heaviest year for the SHO, WITH an ATX.

All in all, I had a GREAT time last night. Hope to do it again soon. thumbs_u

<small>[ March 17, 2002, 02:59 AM: Message edited by: Axianator ]</small>

 

[Artesia]

DFWSHO - NO KIDDING those are horrible times! LOL Did you notice the 60ft and the 330ft times? LOL 3 seconds on the 60ft time. Someone in a later post said that 2.3 was a decent 60ft time, but not THAT great...so with a 3 second 60ft time I did pretty good. Gotta' give me a break on that account right?? I was trying to emphasize how horrible these runs were. The first run was launching with no revved RPMS and secondaries unplugged...I screwed the pooch on that one horribly, but STILL a quicker 60ft time (2.7) than the second run. And I missed second gear...took me about 2-3 seconds to get the car into 2nd gear and I still pulled a 16.16...so no, that's not a bad time at all considering what happened. Gotta' give me a break here. I really had two horrible runs. BUT in light of all the flack I'm getting for having my secondaries open, if I get my first unemployment check this week, I'm going back to Ennis Friday to get some more times...and Adam's comin' with me if he can and I'm payin' his way in. hehehe

As for the tire pressure, I am not at all surprized to hear that actually. When I went to Autozone, there's a guy there that's in the DFW SHO club and the first thing he said was, "Yeah, you gotta' get the tire pressure REALLY low in the front and you'll get TONS better grip. hehehe So, when I go to Ennis this time, on the first run, I'm running as follows:

1. 45psi tire pressure, secondaries unplugged
2. 45psi tire pressure, secondaries plugged in
3. 25psi tire pressure, secondaries unplugged
4. 25psi tire pressure, secondaries plugged in

That will give us 4 good runs to base times on with tires pressure and with secondaries pugged in and unplugged. Then I'll post them for you guys. Anymore runs I get I'll post as well. First thing I'm doing on the way home, though, is finding a gas station to air my tires back up though, cause I don't wanna' wear the outside tread down on the way back. hehehe I actually am swapping my spare tire for one of the front tires because the spare tire has more tread on it than all the other tires. LOL I opened up the trunk and emptied out everything and found that the spare looked perfect. lol Figured I better pop that on the car for racing. Should help out quite a bit, but they're all really crappy Firestone tires...oh well. We shall see. Everyone else did great, though! I was glad to see the ATXs pulling good times being stock! We had a lot of fun and I hope you guys will join me next week too.
Ennis Traction shoot

 

[Axianator]

Artesia:
I was glad to see the ATXs pulling good times being stock! We had a lot of fun and I hope you guys will join me next week too.

(evil laugh) heh, heh, heh! I'm not stock anymore, baby! If I get to go, then we'll see what I run with the newly added LPM. Still no 80mm MAF or UDP's, though, so the times won't be drastically different. Hopefully I can get a better launch, though.

 

[FordLover]

Artesia:
I actually am swapping my spare tire for one of the front tires because the spare tire has more tread on it than all the other tires. LOL I opened up the trunk and emptied out everything and found that the spare looked perfect. lol Figured I better pop that on the car for racing.

Don't put the spare tire on the front axle. you will break traction very quickly, and the handling sucks on the spare.
-Martin

 

[Artesia]

Now you've thoroughly confused me. How is the spare different from the rest of the tires??? It looks JUST like the others! You must think I have a donut or something. It has more tread than the rest of the tires too.