Drag strip preparations

[Remy13]

Originally posted by SeanJohn1802
i dont know about all that...

i'd rather keep my engine a lil warm... with out vtec, my s**t is pretty fawkin slow... and vtec wont engage unless the motor is warm...

i would assume its the same for an EX

i recently found out (after being flamed on in person) that lowering the tire PSi isnt all its cracked up to be... still have some researching to do....

Very true, I notice a big differance when getting on the freeway first thing in the morning with a cold engine. It takes twice as long to get the RPMs to red line after it hits the powerband range(right after 4000RPMs for me) then when the engine is at the proper temp. When the engine is cold it will not hit the power band.

On the other hand you do not want to sit with your engine running in one place for long periods of time as it may cause it to over heat especially with all the other cars around and the heat coming off them.

 

[Prez]

just put ice on your intake to lower the E.T and if you want to, take the passenger seat, spar tire, and AIR CONDITIONING out for lots of acceleration

 

[scottyfordy]

Originally posted by nightkids1
well also, wieght matters most on rims, if you take 10 pounds of each rim thats the same as lossing 200 pounds(around that, or at least thats what i heard), also smaller rims helps. taking out your seats is the easiest thing to take out also, front pasenger seat is like 30lb's

It's called inertia, but that "extra weight" actually diminishes as you reach higher speeds.

*You also don't want to deprive you car off too much fuel. Run 1/4 tank with Premium. Add an additive from an auto store too if you'd like. Try to create equal weight distribution aswell. Typically the drivers side weighs more than the passenger side of the vechile - and seriously consider moving weight you must keep from the front to the back, or left to right. A lot of people move their battery to the passenger side or back of the car.

Check out specifications for your engine, the key is to shift at maximum RPM usually, not torque. That way in the next gear you're not entering significantly below your max power.

Taking the air conditioning out can help a lot, but it'd be a lot easier to just install an underdrive pulley. Plus, by turning the air condition on full blast heat, you can actually greatly assist in COOLING DOWN your engine.

 

[LiLCivicSpEc]

This is for Automatic peeps for gettin off the line quicker if you wanna try it go ahead it's jus an idea that i tried n got a .502 reaction tyme bein a 00 Civic Sedan ( purely Stock at that tyme ), but this is for those cars with basic bolt on's or jus bein plain stock. At the startlin line you should be in D4 or maybe D3 but not D2 cause once u launch i think u get a laggy start. Anyways you hold down the brake pedal all the way down. Wit ur other foot or left, u press the gas pedal maybe half way or a lil over half way down. I dont knoe what RPM you should hold it at cuz i dont have a tach on mah civic but i do knoe that u dont redline it, so i jus listen to it or feel that mah Civic wants too pull. Jus think like your a Guy tryin to hold your Crazy Barkin Pitbull down with a leash, get the idea now...?. This also might put wear on ur brakes but thats if you keep doin it alot. Anyways you hold it till the lights go down, now after the 2nd yellow light passes let go of the Brake pedal. Your Civic should pull off the line right when it turns green giving you a .5 somthin reaction tyme or a perfect ( .500 ) or maybe almost .600 rather then jus waitin till the 3rd or green light lights then stompin on the gas pedal but the car respone would be late n thus u start off late with a reaction tyme maybe 800-1.000 somthin...

Now after u leave the line dont quickly floor your car or you get laggy but after maybe 15 or 20 mph then floor the biotch. From there ur on ur own with only Hopes n dreams..... well like i said you can try if u want it's ur choice n thats if u have a automatic that ish , you can also use it for illegal street racin at the traffic light or if some one gonna wave u down jus to get off the line quicker. Jus take it too the tracks cuz then u knoe how quick u launch ^_^

 

[briancie]

ok i have a 90civic with a zc(160hp,headers,cai,exhaust).for the weight reduction,my car is strip all the way in the interior.only have 2 seats,dash and door panel.when i go to the track,my gas tank 1/3.

you guys said that with the weight reduction,your car should have better acceleration.i can say when the green line turn on,my car kicked ass until my 2nd gear.at the first gear,i'm always first at the starting lines.(car in my range).

i could say that my car is very fast in the beginnig of the race.i think that it help you when your car is less heavy for the acceleration.

 

[stuffinopolis]

where the hell did you people learn to write?? i can barely make sense of any of this. ya know, they invented punctuation for a reason.

 

[caddy]

I usually go to the track with even less than a quarter tank. There's a few good tricks. There's the obvious remove spare tire and subwoofer and everything. Drop your tire pressure but experiment with it because you want a balance between rolling resistance and grip. When you launch, you usually want a little bit of wheel spin but not too much. Unless your running slicks and massive torque, you dont need to make big smoky burn outs, just enough to heat up the tires. a few turns is fine. You can ice your intake with those ice bags to make your intake air more dense, or push the car to the start line to have the engine run cold (it also runs a little more rich when the engine is first started). Advance your timing a couple degreese and use a higher octance fuel. Remove your power steering and AC belts if possible to give you a little more power. If you have and adjustable suspension, tighten up those rear struts so the weight doesnt transfer off the front drive wheels. Some people go as far as removing the back seat. Like everyone says, use a small light wheel. Rotational mass will make a big difference. Even if you have a 15" and a 17" that weight the same the 15" will spin easier because there's less weight to the outer diameter. And most of all, practice (especially launching) and talk to others and what they do at the track. Oh and very important - dont buy those $60 electric intake super chargers because we will all laugh at you

 

[Civicdreams]

What should I do in My 94 Coupe? Strip my back seats? Im gonna do a full synthetic oil change. Does doing a tranny oil change help in shifting better? What should I launch at my buddy says 4000rpm but all I have is an Si engine AEM cai Magnaflow full exhaust and a full racing short shifter?
Also putting on Eibach sportlines when I get my car back in a week.

 

[He11_SPaWn]

ive seen people take thier hood off? im sure downforce will suffer but i guess it wouldnt matter a whole lot in a 1/4 your engine would certainly be cooler though.

 

[Spencey]

man, I need to get rid of my 17"s for a set of really light 15"s, or maybe even 16"s

 

[samad]

dude i start at 5 or 5.5 rpm.
i run 9 psi and if i go anywhere below this my car spins like crazy, its the same for anything higher but this is perfect and the launch is amazing.
i dont have any 1/4 times because there are not any tracks around here, my experience comes from street racing every sat.
another thing which i noticed helps is if ur tires are warm, just do a small burout before ur launch and you will feel better grip.

 

[SpitfireEX]

i was runnin last night with 25psi in tires and full tank o gas (lol)
my but i need that extra weight....and if you got the power heavy rims help with traction....light rims just spin all day......i spin for bout 2 seconds as it is
and i spin no matter what i launch at so i usually give it bout 4-5 grand
our 1\8 has a burnout pit right in front of the starting line...but i dont notice a difference in traction even if i do

 

[bacardiq007]

How much does the civic coupes whole back seat weigh?

 

[stuffinopolis]

while we're on the topic of weight savings, does anyone know how much weight you save with a carbon fiber hood? btw, i mean the real deal, like fiber images or carbon creatons, not that apc crap. i've heard some companies claim it's half the weight of the oem one, but who the heck knows how much that weighs?

 

[stuffinopolis]

scratch that. i just saw a post saying it's like 40 for oem, 20 for a decent CF hood, and like 8 for the real deal, really expensive ones.

 

[ReggieSD]

i too have yet to take my ride to the strip...but my buddy (who drives a 94 integra ls) keeps annoying me to take it to a 1/8 mile strip in our area. so can you guys hook me up with some advice on everything like tire psi, what rpm to launch from, other weight reduction stuff i could do, etc....here's my set up:

18" wheels - street tires...don't have the stock ones anymore..and reading this thread just made me realize that i guess i have more weight having these rims.
i do have a carbon fiber hood.
d16y8 w/ a drag turbo kit (205 whp at 7 psi)
ummm...i pretty much have almost all the top end power i need but the block isn't built for more boost so i can only boost it all the way up to 10 psi.

what other things do i need to put out? lemme know if there's anything else i should spill out. i don't really have any experience on the track and would appreciate any tips from the experts here. thanks!

 

[Destroy]

something I always bring with me....in a back pack

-paper towel/or rags
-tire pressure gauge. Usualy two, because people will be asking to use yours
-bottles of water...for you and maybe you car
-duct tape and/or electric tape
-zip ties
-socket wrench set
-a jack (for slicks)
-shoe polish....a must
-a quart of oil

 

[bobbowithacivic]

This thread is kinda funny... I've been to the track a bunch of times and this is what I have learned:

#1 go and run your car. you need to be 100% comfortable in your run before anything will make any difference whatsoever. My friend built a nitrous fed 5.0 LX mustang and he could run low 13s without the juice and his brother couldnt run 14s with it. driver confidence is HUGE in any racing.

#2 go and talk to people at the track. you are going to get a ton of missinformation here and at the track, but people who are actually there probably will have more to offer than people on this site.

#3 tire pressure. most people believe that the tire flex experience at low psi's help your car to grip at the launch, but we all know that you dont get something for nothing. the sacrifice is the amount of surface in contact with the pavement. when you lower the pressure, the middle of the tire bubbles up off the ground and you basically just run on the outsides of your tires. me, I leave my tires at 32 psi and I have never had a problem.

#4 weight: just strip your car of the crap you dont think you need. if you take stuff out, you can guage if you think it is worth it when you are holding it in your own two hands and you feel how heavy it is.

#5 pullies: the easiest thing in the world is to take off your power steering. the pump bracket has its own tensioner and it is the only accessory running off of that belt. at least it is in my motor (d16y8)

just go and have fun man. half of the fun is finding this crap out for yourself.

 

[JDMCIVIC TYPE R]

get some del sol stock whels there light as hell and they still look ok.

 

[JoeB]

the track should have 100 octane, mix half 100 half 93..this will slightly advance your timing..but do not run 100 straight, I take out seats 31lbs, spares always out, jack, amp, my car already doesnt have PS or AC, the condenser of the ac weighs around 35 lbs, front seat 32lbs , side panels( they dont weigh much)glove box, center console, sticky tires...