Drag Virgin - assistance please

[psybic]

Powercruise in August is coming up and I'm really keen to get down there and have a crack on the drag strip, BUT...

I know nothing about what to do and stuff.

Is it scary knowing what to do and stuff? Do you just rock um and line up, then wait for the green, then go, then what? Its all so scary.

The other thing is setup, I have adjustable suspension, should I have it low all around with lots of movement so it can rock back (Its jacked up like a monster truck at the moment until the Defect is cleared)

I need some advice, I really wanna get some good times, in a stock R32 GTR

[Abo Bob]

You line up for ages.

Then you get ushered to a car shaped spot where you stopand wait.

Then you get ushered to the start line - you can do a burnout in the water on the way if you like.

You creep forward till both white staging lights are lit.

The orange lights go.

Green light - go for it.

Keep suspension soft as you can.

[psybic]

Thanx for that man.

I think I better get down for a few runs before hand.

How hard is it to adjust the suspension? do u just take the wheel off then screw something? I haven't played with it yet.

Should I also drop the tire pressure? If so, to what?

[SR32]

depends what type of suspension it is. If they are adjustable coil overs, you'll need a tool called a c spanner. I dont know any other way of doing it.

You can purchase some at garage 13, $49 for a pair. http://www.garage-13.com/suspension.html

[Leewah]

If this is your first time out, keep it simple. Don't worry about things like impressing the crowd wih a massive smokey burnout. If you stuff it, you'll look like a tosser. Trust me on that one

As for suspension, 0 camber is good as you get the most surface area on the tarmac. It should be as soft as possible (without being stupid) on the rear as weight transfer on the launch will mean the car will squat and lay a bigger surface area of rubber on the tacmac resulting in better traction. Tyre pressure also will make a big difference. Drop the tyre pressures to make the side wall softer and allow more squat when you launch the car.

When you are lined up in the queue, mentally picture what you want to do. Picture the right rev range you want to launch at. Your ideal rev range will depend on the power , setup and tyres of the car. Generally, stiff suspension and high revs = wheel spin, too soft suspension and low revs = bog, stiff suspension and low revs = bog. A bit of wheel spin is better than bogging IMO.

Once you are called up to the line, you will see a patch of water. Cars on slicks and drag radials (some even with semi comps) will do a burnout in the water to get heat into the tyre to improve traction. If you're on street tyres, either do a very small burnout or not at all as a tyre which heats up too much is worse than a cold tyre as it is too plyable and won't get traction either.

After the burnout, if you do one move up to the starting line. There are 2 sets of lights there. The Xmas tree has 3 sets of lights. Set 1 (2 sets of white lights) are used to line you up at the 0 foot mark, set 2 (a set of yellow lights) are used for counting down to the green. The 3rd set is the green light.

You will move your car forward until you light up the first set of white lights. This means you are staged and ready to race.

From there, once both racers are staged, the yellow lights will come down and then eventually hit the green in which time it is time to go.

Keep in mind though, depending on the situation, the green lights don't mean you HAVE to launch. They are only important when you are racing in a 'head to head' situation. If you are simply setting a time, the green doesn't mean much. It simply means the timer is armed and ready to go. The timer will not start until you leave the line. You have about 6 inches to move before the timer actually starts.

From there, you're off and racing. Drag your way past the line and keep the foot to the floor past the line. The timing line has a laser about 60' before and 60' after the line which calculates your ET and terminal MPH. If you take your foot off the gas at the line, you will slow which gives a slower ET and MPH. By the time your brain works out you've crossed the line, you would have covered the 60' anyway so you can come off the gas and begin braking. Don't be sudden on the brakes either. Ease them on and apply more and more pressure as you slow.

Hope this info helps. Good luck with it. Let us know of the results when you get them.

[psybic]

Thanx for that guys, I certainly will post up my results. Might go pop it on a dyno first to let you know how much power it has (doesn't feel like much at the moment).

[Guest two.06l]

Thanx for that guys, I certainly will post up my results. Might go pop it on a dyno first to let you know how much power it has (doesn't feel like much at the moment).

dont panic, as powercriuse use rolling starts with a bogan waving a flag!...it allows for them to use their discrection when determining the winner....(we got disqalified in the final for jumping the start)...biggst load of sh1t ive seen!

[fresh]

mate its easy as, also if u r racing head to head try and launch when the last yellow comes on or just after the 2nd last one has come on, ur reaction time will be shit if u wait till u see green then go, u wanna have ur foot almost off the clutch by then

[spx25t]

as Stace mentioned there is no Christmas tree, no water and no burnout. the reason for that is eastern creek circuit is not allowed to run ANY Drag racing event only WSID can do this so they have labelled the event as street racing not drag racing. if running a stock 32 just enjoy yourself. Powercruise is a great event for drivers

I had a field day at Powercruise Easter and will definitely be there for august

Cruise laps around the circuit is the most fun.