MrBlonde

But I read about a guy in the USA ... I'm sure you did, but the way NHRA and tracks operate in the US is different to ANDRA. Their cutoff for chutes is 150 MPH for example. Their rollcage specs are different. In general it seems to me that ANDRA is stricter in the rulebook. That means more hassle but it also means safer. Another important point is that US "private track rentals" on NHRA sanctioned tracks do not apply the NHRA safety rules consistently. I've seen multiple incar footage of people I know racing turbo street cars on US tracks wearing t shirt, shorts and thongs with no helmet. But running low nine second passes at 150+ MPH. That's never going to happen at an ANDRA sanctioned track in Australia. Just won't happen. That might help explain why you see US R35s that run into the nines without rollbars/rollcages, no wheel studs, no onerous firesuit/gloves/arm restraints etc. It's just the way it is.

Quick reference for R35s that do nines By the time you're thinking about this you would be experienced with ANDRA, your technical inspector and your local track officials. You'd be pretty much in the know. Here are the incremental concerns over and above what you need once you run quicker than 10.99. If you run a single digit pass you're going to get a lot more attention from ANDRA officials, there's no doubt about it. They would basically have never been in the situation before. A stock appearing street car with street tyres that can run quicker than 10.00. I would love to be there to observe their reactions! 4.6.2 Liquid Overflow Cars quicker than 9.00 seconds must have a breather/oil tank with minimum capacity of 4 litres. Would they care in a R35 street car? Probably not. 4.6.3 Lower Engine Containment Device Cars quicker than 9.00 must be equipped with a "nappy" capable of containing oil and debris. Same as above. they would be unlikely to care about a nappy. 4.12 Interior 4.12.1 Upholstery/Seats Purpose built race seat is required for cars quicker than 10.00 4.14 Roll Bars & Safety Cages 4.14.6 Full 6 point roll cage with removable support members Unmodified cars ET 8.00 - 9.99: full cage mounted at six points with removable side intrusion bars 4.14.7 Full 6 point roll cage with welded support members All other cars quicker than 10.99 Notes about bars: Main hoop to rear of driver's helmet must be within 125 mm to 150mm Taxi bar must support (touch) the rear of the driver's seat Intrusion bars must be included on passenger's side IF PASSENGERS ARE ALLOWED. So if they are NOT allowed then you do no need a side intrusion bar on passenger's side. Hint. All new fabricated roll bars must be inspected by ANDRA technical inspector in unpainted state (and preliminary Tech Sticker approval given in Log Book) 4.15 Tyres & Wheels 4.15.2 Tyres Cars faster than 160 MPH are required to use tyres specifically built for drag racing. Radial front tyres are not allowed for use on RWD cars quicker than 10.00. My reading is that a R35 is AWD and therefore not RWD. Interesting to see what ANDRA says to that. 4.19.7 Helmets Cars quicker than 9.00: SFI 31.1 helmet 4.19.8 Protective Clothing Cars slower than 8.99: Driver suit SFI 3.2A/5 Fire resistant gloves, boots, socks, underwear SFI 3.3

Quick Reference for R35s that run quicker than 10.99 but slower than 9.99 All Hell breaks loose once your street car runs 10.99 or quicker. A whole world of pain awaits you if you want to continue to race your car at an ANDRA sanctioned track. The safety requirements are many and diverse but remember they are there for a good reason. Once your car runs 10.99 or quicker that's it for you for the night. There is no option to continue racing without a host of requirements, so unless you've already got your UDL licence and Log Book with current tech inspection, your racing is over. You're now faced with a decision. Do you want to install a rollbar, 5 point harness, wheel bolts and get all the driver safety stuff (firesuit, gloves, boots, arm restraints) and go through the technical inspection and Log Book rigmarole or do you want to give up drag racing your GTR. Only you can decide! If you do want to continue racing, then you'll need some industry contacts and advice on how to go about it while keeping your ANDRA technical inspector happy. Please ask here to get advice and save yourself from unnecessary hassles. The UDL licence part is easy. You fill out the form, pay your money and then you get a medical test form back. you go to your GP and get the test done every two years (it's s piece of piss .. literally). Gaining endorsement on your UDL is easy too but it's only necessary if you ever want to enter into an ANDRA competition event. 2.3.4 Unlimited Licence (UDL) Permanent ANDRA race licence renewed annually with simple medical examination required. Good for cars quicker than 11.00 2.6 Vehicle Log Books Required for cars quicker than 11.00 or any car "deemed necessary by ANDRA officials". The log book is granted after a Technical Inspection has been successfully completed, upon which an ANDRA "tech" sticker will be applied to your roll cage/rollbar. Log books are good for 2 years from issue and the Technical Inspection dates will be aligned to the Log Book reissue dates. 2.8 Performance/Licence Testing All new holders of UDLs will be required to undergo performance testing. This consists of: a solo half pass and full pass observed by the ANDRA steward. In my experience, once I obtained my "provisional" UDL, I simply went up to the ANDRA steward at my local track during the weekday street meet, explained I wanted to have my provisional UDL endorsed and then did a pass and returned to the steward. He then initialled my UDL. You do that at three separate street meets/test and tunes and then you send your UDL off to ANDRA HQ and they return it marked "Fully Endorsed". You are then set. I did not have to do a solo half pass or full pass under observation other than what I just mentioned. 2.8.3 Level Two (All cars requiring parachutes) You must notify ANDRA and the track you want to do a level two performance testing for your chute 14 days before the event. The ANDRA Steward/Observer will endorse the lice at the following points: + Blindfold test. (You get out of your car with a blindfold on) + Burnout/half pass and shut off at half track + Full solo pass + Second full solo pass As above in my experience (including a street registered car with a parachute) all you need do is ask nicely for endorsement at three separate street meets and you're golden. These sort of tests are more for the full on racecars with methanol/nitromethane and flopper bodies/dragsters that are very tricky to get out of. Section 4: General Regulations 4.4 Engine 4.8.8 Battery Isolation Cars quicker than 11.00 require a battery isolation switch/master cutoff operable from the exterior of the vehicle and located in the battery location marker. The off position must be clearly indicated with the word "off" 4.9 Drivetrain 4.9.1 Auto Trans Protection Transmissions must be fit with an SFI approved ballistic blanket. Interesting to see what an ANDRA technical inspector will make of a GR6. 4.9.5 Driveline Protection Require driveshaft loop. Interesting to see how ANDRA tech inspectors treat AWD cars with OEM setups that run quicker than 11.00. 4.9.7 Flywheel Shields/ Bellhousing Cars quicker than 11.00 require bellhousing shield. Interesting to see how ANDRA treats this. 4.11 Frame & Chassis 4.11.6 Parachutes Cars exceeding 140 MPH must be fitted with drag racing parachute. "In all instances of parachute use, the chute must be seen to be deployed by the end of the speed traps." In practice at a street meet the ANDRA starter will walk behind your car to verify the chute pin has been removed and then continue with the start. I have never been questioned about not deploying my chute at a street meet. This is definitely a key area where reality bites. The rules about when you need a chute were written a long time before stock street cars could run quicker than 11.00. It's ridiculous to enforce deployment of a chute on every pass at a street meet when tender vehicles are prohibited. I think they would let this slide until the trap speeds really start getting up there. Another note is that if you require a chute to be mounted you will require a crew of at least one person who can be at the water box/start area and remove the chute pin before you stage. 4.12 Interior 4.12.2 Window Nets Cars quicker than 11.00 require window nets UNLESS arm restraints are used instead. Hint. 4.14 Roll Bars & Safety Cages 4.12.4 Single Rollover Hoop with removable Support members Unmodified cars ET 10.00 - 10.99: Single rollover hoop with two back stays, side intrusion bar and taxi bar of bolte construction (removable) that meets ANDRA specifications. 4.14.5 Single Rollover Hoop with welded support members Modified cars ET 11.00 - 11.99: single hoop, two back stays and welded side intrusion bars 4.14.7 Full 6 point roll cage with welded support members All other cars quicker than 10.99 Notes about bars: Main hoop to rear of driver's helmet must be within 125 mm to 150mm Taxi bar must support (touch) the rear of the driver's seat Intrusion bars must be included on passenger's side IF PASSENGERS ARE ALLOWED. So if they are NOT allowed then you do no need a side intrusion bar on passenger's side. Hint. All new fabricated roll bars must be inspected by ANDRA technical inspector in unpainted state (and preliminary Tech Sticker approval given in Log Book) 4.14.12 Roll Bar Padding Where helmet can contact roll bar must be padded (SFI 45.1) 4.15 Tyres & Wheels 4.15.3 Wheels Cars quicker than 11.00 must be fitted with open ended wheel nuts (wheel studs). Factory alloy wheels may use original wheel nuts/studs. 4.17 Technical Inspections Cars quicker than 11.00 require Tech Inspections carried out prior to issuing (or renewal of) Log Books. you must get "Teched" every two years. Evidence of Tech Inspection is by chassis sticker on the vehicle (on the roll bar). 4.19 Driver Safety 4.19.1 Arm Restraints Cars quicker than 11.00 require arm restraints to prevent arms from extending outside confines of roll cage. 4.19.5 Head Protector Cars with a roll cage rehire a padded head protector at bcd of driver's helmet. 4.19.7 Helmets Cars slower than 9.00 SFI 41.1 4.19.8 Protective Clothing Cars quicker than 11.00: Driver suit SFI 3.2A/5 Fire resistant gloves, boots, socks 4.19.9 Safety Belts/ Harnesses Cars faster than 130 MPH: 5 point harness Shoulder straps mounted behind the driver must be above a line drawn downward from the shoulder at and angle of 40 degrees from the horizontal.

Quick Reference: R35 slower than 11.00 OK so here's a summary of the relevant points to note if your R35 is slower than 11.00 at an ANDRA drag strip. Life is pretty easy until you run 10.99 or quicker! Firstly once you run quicker than 12.00 they will make you purchase a Super Street licence before you can do another pass. You can buy one on the night at your track. Apart from the standard requirement of helmet, long sleeved top and long pants, shoes and socks, the only thing you need to worry about is if you get an overzealous ANDRA official who flags you for not running a 4 point harness once you are quicker than 12.00. It's rare but it has happened. As with everything to do with ANDRA and track officials, stay on their right side by being unfailingly polite and cheerful (even in the face of being treated like shit) and you're much more likely to have a hassle free time. These officials are almost always volunteers and are often of the old skool persuasion. Young rich kids with expensive Japanese turbo AWD cars that can blitz their hardcore V8 Toranas in stock form often fail to float their boat. Obviously they are not all like that but the knuckle draggers own drag racing and it is a sport slow to change. Donlt give them any reason to find a rule infringement they can use to shut down your fun for the night (or forever). 2.3.3 Super Street Licence (SSL) Permanent ANDRA race licence renewed annually. Good for cars 11.00 or slower. 4.19.7 Helmets Cars slower than 9.00 SFI 41.1 4.19.8 Protective Clothing Cars 11.00 and slower: Long sleeved upper garment, full length trousers, shoes and socks 4.19.9 Safety Belts/ Harnesses Cars 12.00 and slower: 3 point lap/sash belt Cars quicker than 12.00: 4 point harness Cars faster than 130 MPH: 5 point harness

Detailed ANDRA rules that may apply to R35s (depending on how quick and fast they are) Section 2: Competitor Info 2.3 ANDRA Racing Credentials 2.3.1 Divisional Drag Racing Licence (DDL) DDL available as a temporary (for the day) licence at an ANDRA track and is good for cars 12.00 or slower. 2.3.3 Super Street Licence (SSL) Permanent ANDRA race licence renewed annually. Good for cars 11.000 or slower. 2.3.4 Unlimited Licence (UDL) Permanent ANDRA race licence renewed annually with simple medical examination required. Good for cars quicker than 11.00 2.6 Vehicle Log Books Required for cars quicker than 11.00 or any car "deemed necessary by ANDRA officials". The log book is granted after a Technical Inspection has been successfully completed, upon which an ANDRA "tech" sticker will be applied to your roll cage/rollbar. Log books are good for 2 years from issue and the Technical Inspection dates will be aligned to the Log Book reissue dates. 2.8 Performance/Licence Testing All new holders of UDLs will be required to undergo performance testing. This consists of: a solo half pass and full pass observed by the ANDRA steward. In my experience, once I obtained my "provisional" UDL, I simply went up to the ANDRA steward at my local track during the weekday street meet, explained I wanted to have my provisional UDL endorsed and then did a pass and returned to the steward. He then initialled my UDL. You do that at three separate street meets/test and tunes and then you send your UDL off to ANDRA HQ and they return it marked "Fully Endorsed". You are then set. I did not have to do a solo half pass or full pass under observation other than what I just mentioned. 2.8.3 Level Two (All cars requiring parachutes) You must notify ANDRA and the track you want to do a level two performance testing for your chute 14 days before the event. The ANDRA Steward/Observer will endorse the lice at the following points: + Blindfold test. (You get out of your car with a blindfold on) + Burnout/half pass and shut off at half track + Full solo pass + Second full solo pass As above in my experience (including a street registered car with a parachute) all you need do is ask nicely for endorsement at three separate street meets and you're golden. These sort of tests are more for the full on racecars with methanol/nitromethane and flopper bodies/dragsters that are very tricky to get out of. Section 4: General Regulations 4.4 Engine 4.4.3 Harmonic Balancers Cars quicker than 11.00 require steel or forged aluminium harmonic balancer or scatter shield. 4.4.5 Exhaust Exhaust must exit the rear of the vehicle and not toward the track surface. All turbo cars without mufflers must have two 10mm bolts across the diameter of the turbine outlet pipe (exhaust tip) at90 degrees to each other to prevent exit of debris(!). Many of these rules show the slow uptake of contemporary high tech street cars. I've never seen a GTR pulled up for not having bolts on their exhaust tips. This is more about turbo race cars that have a 6 inch dump pipe exiting from behind the front wheels. 4.6 Ancillary Components 4.6.1 Intercoolers No fluid may drop onto the track (no water spray) 4.6.2 Liquid Overflow Cars quicker than 9.00 seconds must have a breather/oil tank with minimum capacity of 4 litres. 4.6.3 Lower Engine Containment Device Cars quicker than 9.00 must be equipped with a "nappy" capable of containing oil and debris. 4.8.8 Battery Isolation Cars quicker than 11.00 require a battery isolation switch/master cutoff operable from the exterior of the vehicle and located in the battery location marker. The off position must be clearly indicated with the word "off" 4.9 Drivetrain 4.9.1 Auto Trans Protection Transmissions must be fit with an SFI approved ballistic blanket. Interesting to see what an ANDRA technical inspector will make of a GR6. 4.9.5 Driveline Protection Require driveshaft loop. Interesting to see how ANDRA tech inspectors treat AWD cars with OEM setups that run quicker than 11.00. 4.9.7 Flywheel Shields/ Bellhousing Cars quicker than 11.00 require bellhousing shield. Interesting to see how ANDRA treats this. 4.11 Frame & Chassis 4.11.4 Ground Clearance Minimum of 75mm ground clearance from front of car to 12" behind centreline of front wheel and then 50mm for the remainder of car (excepting sump, containment and headers). 4.11.6 Parachutes Cars exceeding 140 MPH must be fitted with drag racing parachute. "In all instances of parachute use, the chute must be seen to be deployed by the end of the speed traps." In practice at a street meet the ANDRA starter will walk behind your car to verify the chute pin has been removed and then continue with the start. I have never been questioned about not deploying my chute at a street meet. This is definitely a key area where reality bites. The rules about when you need a chute were written a long time before stock street cars could run quicker than 11.00. It's ridiculous to enforce deployment of a chute on every pass at a street meet when tender vehicles are prohibited. I think they would let this slide until the trap speeds really start getting up there. Another note is that if you require a chute to be mounted you will require a crew of at least one person who can be at the water box/start area and remove the chute pin before you stage. 4.12 Interior 4.12.1 Upholstery/Seats Purpose built race seat is required for cars quicker than 10.00 4.12.2 Window Nets Cars quicker than 11.00 require window nets UNLESS arm restraints are used instead. 4.14 Roll Bars & Safety Cages 4.12.2 Requirements Cars slower than 12.99: no bar required Unmodified cars slower than 11.00: no bar required 4.12.4 Single Rollover Hoop with removable Support members Unmodified cars ET 10.00 - 10.99: Single rollover hoop with two back stays, side intrusion bar and taxi bar of bolte construction (removable) that meets ANDRA specifications. 4.14.5 Single Rollover Hoop with welded support members Modified cars ET 11.00 - 11.99: single hoop, two back stays and welded side intrusion bars 4.14.6 Full 6 point roll cage with removable support members Unmodified cars ET 8.00 - 9.99: full cage mounted at six points with removable side intrusion bars 4.14.7 Full 6 point roll cage with welded support members All other cars quicker than 10.99 Notes about bars: Main hoop to rear of driver's helmet must be within 125 mm to 150mm Taxi bar must support (touch) the rear of the driver's seat Intrusion bars must be included on passenger's side IF PASSENGERS ARE ALLOWED. So if they are NOT allowed then you do no need a side intrusion bar on passenger's side. Hint. All new fabricated roll bars must be inspected by ANDRA technical inspector in unpainted state (and preliminary Tech Sticker approval given in Log Book) 4.14.12 Roll Bar Padding Where helmet can contact roll bar must be padded (SFI 45.1) 4.15 Tyres & Wheels 4.15.2 Tyres Cars faster than 160 MPH are required to use tyres specifically built for drag racing. Radial front tyres are not allowed for use on RWD cars quicker than 10.00. My reading is that a R35 is AWD and therefore not RWD. Interesting to see what ANDRA says to that. 4.15.3 Wheels Cars quicker than 11.00 must be fitted with open ended wheel nuts (wheel studs). Factory alloy wheels may use original wheel nuts/studs. 4.17 Technical Inspections Cars quicker than 11.00 require Tech Inspections carried out prior to issuing (or renewal of) Log Books. you must get "Teched" every two years. Evidence of Tech Inspection is by chassis sticker on the vehicle (on the roll bar). 4.19 Driver Safety 4.19.1 Arm Restraints Cars quicker than 11.00 require arm restraints to prevent arms from extending outside confines of roll cage. 4.19.5 Head Protector Cars with a roll cage rehire a padded head protector at bcd of driver's helmet. 4.19.7 Helmets Cars quicker than 9.00: SFI 31.1 helmet Cars slower than 9.00 SFI 41.1 4.19.8 Protective Clothing Cars slower than 8.99: Driver suit SFI 3.2A/5 Fire resistant gloves, boots, socks, underwear SFI 3.3 Cars quicker than 11.00: Driver suit SFI 3.2A/5 Fire resistant gloves, boots, socks Cars 11.00 and slower: Long sleeved upper garment, full length trousers, shoes and socks 4.19.9 safety Belts/ Harnesses Cars 12.00 and slower: 3 point lap/sash belt Cars quicker than 12.00: 4 point harness Cars faster than 130 MPH: 5 point harness Shoulder straps mounted behind the driver must be above a line drawn downward from the shoulder at and angle of 40 degrees from the horizontal.

This thread will be to provide a place to share information about drag racing a street registered R35 at an Australian ANDRA sanctioned track. The aim is to present the relevant rules for an R35 from the current 2011-2012 ANDRA rule book as well as provide hints and tips about getting the most from your drag racing experience. Please contribute if you have some information to add, corrections to make or questions related to drag racing your R35 GTR!

Those matt black warps look badass

Thanks so much to the organisers!

ANDRA event the weekend before.

Cancellation due to weather happens all the time, it's to be expected. I guess with track work going on the weather must have also slowed down things. the WSID management would want to cancel a lucrative track day even less than we want it cancelled, donlt worry about that! Looking forward to the reschedule.

Brad, no mate I'm just bringing my daily driver, a BMW 135 coupe. Stock diff(not LSD), stock wheels and stock runflats so don't expect anything!

Duncan I'm working on another BMW last minute entry

I see your confusion. Poor circuit boy no understandy drag racing lingo! Fear not, us knuckle draggers aren;t very smart so it can't be very hard to understand. Rubber - 1. Slicks are bias ply "Drag Slicks" purpose built for drag racing with soft compound and tall sidewalls. This is the best you can get for drag racing. 2. Drag Radials are radial tyres purpose built for drag racing to have soft compound, tall sidewalls and as much "give" as radials can manage. Second best. 3. Street Radials are radial tyres for street purposes. R compound street radials or "Semi Slicks" are street raidlas with a softer comound and a very stiff sidewall. They aren't very good for drag racing (compared to slicks or Drag Radials). You can't mix BIAS PLY and RADIALS. So you can run front runners and slicks (bias play all round) or you can run Street Radials/Drag Radials/R Compounds in any mix you care to try out. You can run street radials up front and R compound (semi slicks) on the rear without any issue.

You can run on slicks with all the usual rules that apply. You can't run quicker than 12.50 if you have slicks on the rear and radials on the front.

Hey Brad I hope you and your lovely lady will be there! Be good to catch up.

Duncan, I'm on it. Also asked around other car guys I know.

I can check if other BMW guys are interested in trying out their street cars. They will all be total beginners but might get some more warm bodies.

There is nothing about a short time to get you booted, just ET or trap speed. You can also be booted if you are running quicker than 12.50 and have slicks without front runners. I did this in testing and sandbagged at half track .. and got booted.

An ANDRA or WSID official will boot you for that sort of thing. If you break the beam and then hammer it or if you sandbag in the top end. Even if you go hard to half track and button off. I've been booted for that in the past but it DOES depend on who is the chief official on the day.

Rundown of how a WSID private day works Why is it better than a Wednesday night? These private days are fantastic opportunities for a beginner to try out drag racing. They are also good for more experienced drag racers who want to have a red hot go at getting their personal best ET and trap speed in their street car. At a Wednesday night street meet, assuming you get there and wait for 30 minutes before the gates open and registered immediately and get your car through scrutineering quickly, you are lucky to get 3 or 4 passes if you stay all night. That's an hour wait between each pass and it's damn cold out there! They also interrupt the racing for that dopey burnout competition to keep the spectators happy. But a private day is a VERY different experience. Instead of 3 or 4 passes with an hour wait in between you can get AS MANY PASSES AS YOUR HEART DESIRES. I have never been to a private day where people bothered to race until the closing time. They hvae always finished early because everyone has had enough. You can literally get 50 or more passes in if you want to. At first people get all excited and do a pass, come back down the return road and then pick up their timeslip and hot lap back around through the pit area and rejoin the staging lanes again. But after a little while people calm down and realise there is no rush. The smarter way is to do a pass, go back to the pits, pop your bonnet and have a bit of a rest and a think about what to do differently next pass and let your engine cool off a bit. There's absolutely no rush at all. What to do when you first get there? With these WSID days you need to have your competitor ticket and spectator tickets with you before you arrive at the WSID facility. Bring all your people together and arrive at the competitor gates and show the security guys your ticket to be granted entry. Then drive your vehicle up into the pit area and find yourself a nice spot to camp for the day. Basically it makes sense to be as close as possible to the scrutineering shed so you have a shorter distance to walk, but you can park right up the other end if you want to. Race credentials Once you've parked in your pit area space (they are marked out like a carpark) then get out of your car with your ANDRA licence or RTA licence and walk over to the scrutineering shed to register. You'll fill out some paperwork and show them your licence and be given a wristband (plus a different coloured one for all your spectators) and assigned a temporary racenumber. Armed with this, return to your vehicle. Scrutineering Once you've got your wrist band get into your vehicle and drive it SLOWLY from the pit area, along the staging lanes and turn right to enter the queues to the two scrutineering shed lanes. You'll move your car a bit at a time as the car in front of you moves forward. Eventually you'll get to the scrutineering shed itself and the WSID officials will motion you to drive your vehicle into the shed an stop on the weightscales or space. They will read your paperwork and then do a basic check of your vehicle to ensure it is raceworthy. They will also check you have your helmet, long trousers, long sleeved shirt and covered shoes. When they are satisfied they will paint tyour temporary race number on your windscreen with white paint (eg T44 or T28, etc). that matches the race number on your wrist band. Once they are done they will motion you to drive out of the shed. When you drive out of the shed, you're back in the pit area again. Simply drive your car to your pit area spot and wait for racing. When racing starts - the staging lanes When the racing for the day starts the WSID officials will advise you to begin lining up in the staging lanes. There are 8 lanes and they will probably use say 2 lanes to feed into the two race lanes. I can't stress enough to just be patient and relax at this point. There is HEAPS of opportunity for everyone to get as many passes as you want on the day, so take it easy. if you are first in line or last in line, makes no difference at all. The staging lanes stand out like dog' balls, you can't mistake them for anything else. They run along the outside of the pit area and turn right to then run straight under the WSID control tower in two archways, and from there to the race track. When the staging lanes begin to move, you just move your car up a bit at a time as the car in front of you moves. When you get up to the archways you know you're about to go under them and go from the staging lanes into thew WSID race area itself. From this point any spectators who have walked up and are seated in the stands can see you. You'll have some bloke i nthe lane nest to you and this will be who you race against. If you want to race someone in particular then make sure you're next to them. If you get a bit out of order, then the first guy to the official just ask them if you can wait and let another car go first so you can race your mate. At a private day this is a piece of piss and the WSID officials should be happy to oblige. When you enter the race area you'll still have a bit to wait before your turn is up. You will see the pair of cars in front of you waiting inside painted box areas on the track. From there the cars move up to the waterbox areas where you can do a burnout. After you've done your burnout the officials will motion you to move up to stage your car at the Christmas tree. So taking it back a step, when you can see the cars in front of you in the waiting boxes move up to the waterbox, the officials will motion you to move forward to park on the waiting boxes. then you know after the cars in front of you have left the starting line, it will be your turn next to move into the waterbox, do your burnout and then race. It's totally natural to get nervous or quite excited the first few times you actually line up and race. Don't worry about it, you will become far more confident as the day goes on. Just keep everything as simple as possible and try to have fun. Do not put pressure on yourself to be the world's best drag racer on your first go! That's not how it works. How to race See my earlier post on the details of how to do it. remember for your first time KEEP IT SIMPLE. Just drive through the waterbox with no burnout. Creep up slowly onto the Christmas tree and try to stage carefully. When the last amber shows, move off down the track and work your way slowly and carefully through your gears. Deliberately leave the line SOFT and change SLOWLY your first few goes. Put no pressure on yourself. As you gain confidence, try to shift a bit faster. When you feel like you're up for it, try to get off the line smartly. With GTRs the way to get a good launch his to sidestep the clutch but please remember DRAG RACING HARD BREAKS STUFF. If you want to minimise your chance of breaking driveline, go easy on the launch and concentrate on shifting fast and accurately. After you cross the stripe When you cross the finish line slip your gearbox into neutral and slowly use your brakes to wash off speed. There is a long runoff area and the track turns hard right at the end where the return road starts. As your speed gets down you can put the gearbox back into gear. When you reach the end, turn right SLOWLY and follow the return road back past the start line. The speed limit on the return road is SLOW. You will be right alongside the spectator seats so you can wave to any mates. When you go back under the arch you will turn left to go alongside the scrutineering shed and stop at the timeslip window. The friendly WSID lady will hand you your timeslip (she knows who you are by your racenumber painted on your windscreen). you pull up next to the window and she will hand it to you in your car. You an now drive SLOWLY back into the pit area and find your pit area space. Turn your car off, put your bonnet up and get out, stretch your legs and review your timeslip. Relax. Take it easy. Have a drink of water. Gie the Mrs a kiss. talk soem bullshit with your mates. Organise a pass with a mate. Take it easy. When you are ready for more, get back into your car and drive to the edge of the pit area and into the staging lane. Move down the staging lane as before until you're lined up behind another car. As the day goes on you will frequently be the only car in the staging lane. You'll basically go straight to the start line. Have another crack at it! Tucker on the day Usually the Lion's club or a WSID vendor will be there to sell sausage sizzle or the like. It makes sense to bring some water/drinks and other food stuff if you have family or wives/girlfriends coming along. Facilities There are male/female toilets near the timeslip shed. Spectators Depending on how they have arranged it, the seated spectator areas inside the race area are available. You get an awesome view of the racing from here and can see everything that happens along with the timeboards. If it's a nice day, this is the go. If it is really sunny and hot, you'll get fried here without an umbrella or something. WSID usually allows spectators and competitors to enter the race area to watch up to the line of about the waterboxes (but over to the left hand side). You can walk there to get a different, closer view of the action. The WSID officials will soon tell you if you go somewhere you're not supposed to be. Most of the time they are reasonably friendly at a private day. What are the pit areas like? They are like a dirty great big empty carpark with marked spaces. There are light poles and electricity outlets here and there, usually turned off for a private day. There's heaps of room to put all your stuff, but no place to lock anything away. If you want to hang out in the pit area, remember to bring some camping chairs. Any other questions please ask.

Exactly. The big black dyno never lies! A real ego popper for some. here's a video of my mate Benny in his R32 a few years back to see what an 11.00 @ 132 MPH pass looks like! This is as quick as you can go without getting booted at a private day. http://www.youtube.com/user/bha00549#p/a/u/0/O4qf6uOmFf8 I believe his engine made 400+ rwkw http://www.youtube.com/user/bha00549#p/u/15/tXlhQwIonDI

Duncan happy to help out if I can mate. I remember the first few times I turned up to a drag racing meeting. The track and ANDRA officials tell you f**k all and often treat you like a retard when they can see you aren't sure what to do. It's stupid really, if you want a sport to grow then you need fresh blood. The quickest way to turn a potential newbie off is to treat them like shit! It really is a simple process once you've got your head around it but a friendly helping hand for newbies would go a LONG way to making things more enjoyable.

Steve, the 10.999 cutoff is a WSID regulation (ie not ANDRA). WSID also offer a different private day package for sedans quicker than 11.000 but the numbers are limited (I think to 8 vehicles) and they frequently enforce a one lane only rule. That means you can't run head to head either. The stated reason is to avoid this sort of private track day competing with an ANDRA test and tune day. I'm hoping that recent changes in WSID management might see some of these decisions revisited in time! The complicating factor with cars quicker than 11.000 is that ANDRA considers them to be race cars. If you run 10.999 or quicker then there are a bunch of ANDRA technical rules you need to adhere to (like roll cage, wheel studs, arm restraints ,etc). But the real hassle is that sedans 140MPH or faster must be seen to deploy their parachute on every pass. So then you need a tender vehicle. And you can imagine the chaos at a street meet with tender vehicles!

You need a helmet. You need EITHER an ANDRA race licence or an RTA licence. The RTA licence does not have to be current (ie you can have lost your licence). You need footwear with covered toes and a long sleeve top and trousers.

For street/strip cars Kenny's ideas on drag racing a turbo street/strip car. I've assumed the following: + Turbo street/strip car (not racecar) + Drag Radials or Drag Slicks + Racing fuel (like C16 or VP109) + Manual transmission + Line locker + Racing clutch + Boost controller Setup At The Strip - Tyre Pressures Set the pressure in your front runners to the maximum allowable (say 55 psi). Then forget them. (Not if you are running AWD). Cars over 3000 lbs are considered a heavy car by drag racing standards. There are special slick compounds for cars over 3000 lbs (most of us). I'd recommend starting with 18 psi and varying to see what gets you the best short time. Remember small slicks need more air in them, especially with high power sedans. Don't listen to knuckle draggers who argue for 6psi. That's fine in their 2000 lb dragster with 33"x17" slicks at 300 MPH in the top end! The Burnout - How Long? Drag Radials (eg Mickey Thompson ET Street) require two hard burnouts to get up to heat. After tha a quick burnout before each pass. Drag Slicks require one hard burnout at the start of the night, followed by a light burnout each time. For a hard burnout wait until you can see the rubber hazing and then button off. The Burnout - How To Do One? Select 3rd gear with your rubber in the waterbox. Now pump up your brakes and activate your line locker (if you have a brake pressure guage you're aiming for 2000 psi). If you are running a twostep activate it now in burnout mode. Fully press the gas pedal down and wait until you hit the two step, then step off the clutch while keeping the line locker activated. When you see the rubber hazing, deactivate the line locker and allow the RPMs to drop, then button off. Stage immediately while the rubber is sticky. How To Bump On To Full Stage Creep into Pre-Stage. Pump up your brakes to about 300-400 psi on the brake pressure gauge. Activate your line locker. If you are running a two step activate it now in launch mode. If you're running anti-lag activate it now. With the line locker on, dial up some RPMs and slip the clutch out a little so the car is pulling against the brakes. This way you can very precisely bump in to full stage. Once in full stage clutch in and floor the gas pedal. You are now bouncing off your twostep limit and antilag is popping away nicely. The Launch When you see the last amber light drop the line locker and step off the clutch in one motion. Start shifting fast! At the Stripe Stay into it for one-one-thousand-two-one-thousand after you think you've crossed the stripe. That's to make sure you actually have crossed the finish line before you button off. Stay into the gas as you trip your parachute and wait until it's deployed, then button off and slip your tranimission into neutral. Let the 'chute kill most of your speed and then ease on the brakes slowly and gently. If You Break If something lets go then it's usually at the start line. Immediately drive off the race line towards the sidewall and stop as quickly as possible. That reduces the cleanup time for the track officials if you're dropping any fluids onto the race surface. They will like you a lot more if you remember to do this. If the Car Gets Loose When deciding to stay in it, click up a gear or button off ... button off!