6/24 - Bandi

[warrtalon]

I can't miss yet another day of work just to race (too many recently), so I can't do the track day tomorrow - big shame since it would be a perfect time to learn on my DRs. However, I plan to be there right when TNT opens at 4pm if I can get away from work in time. Regardless, I'll be there with the new DRs that are on the car right now to see if I can actually cut some crazy 60's. Never done it, and I did some 1.65-1.68s on the streeties Saturday, so I'm not sure how much more to expect.

Anyway, if anyone happens to have experience with DRs on an AWD platform, come find me and give me some pointers, hah. :o

[dsm_gsx97]

Hey there Clayton this is Chris Webb. I met you on Saturday when I was pulling air out of Tobes tires for him. I was with Kenny most of the day so I ran into you a lot. Hopefully you remember with all that was going on. :)

Anyways, I run BF Goodyear ET Drags on my '97 and my one thing I learned was the higher the launch the better the 60s. With DRs you just want them spinning so you don't break anything but obviously not to much for wheel hop. I found that 6K launches really got my tires spinning good and got me out of the hole fast. The only trick is how much spin you get before you hook up and the only time I had an issue with that was in Oct when the temps dipped into the low 60s and I would bounce off the rev limiter before they hooked (8500RPM Rev Limit). But you won't have that issue this early in the season. :) I usually shifted at 8K which I think you guys are shifting much earlier because the fall off of the turbo, right? Sorry no experience with the Evo's on that one.

I keep around 20-22psi in the tires and try to get a spotter to help me see if I need to add or lower pressure depending on the day and track conditions. If I have no spotter and I'm spinning quite a bit before they hook then I drop pressure and try again. The one major thing is not to bog that launch with the DRs or things will break. Easiest way to avoid that is the higher RPM launch which actually helps get you out of the hole faster anways. Not sure how much this helped you as you seem to have a pretty good idea of what you're doing, but I figured it wouldn't hurt and I'd say hi while I was at it.

[warrtalon]

Yep, I shift earlier (6400-6500rpm) due to the inefficient turbo. Most Evos up here don't, because they don't understand or realize the concept of maximizing the powerband. Yes, I do remember meeting you and mentioning this screen name. :)

Yep, I plan to start at 6500rpm on the 2-step and 35psi in the tires, since I'd rather rip 'em loose than bog and break. I will adjust the 2-step and tire pressure from there until I find a happy medium.

On Saturday, I was doing 6300-6500rpm on the street tires (very stiff sidewall) and was getting just some intermittent spin with pretty decent 60's other than my last run where I spun completely and got a 1.82.

What does the spotter look for that you can't feel in the cabin? Do they watch the tire for spinning/crinkling? I might have Dave spot me if he's there...

[warrtalon]

That 11.49 was an unrealistic goal for now I guess. The car ran strong and consistently, but I need to hit an 11.5 before I can worry about 11.4s. It was way hot when TNT started, so I was down 1mph on the traps, but I was still running well. It took 4-5 runs to kinda figure out the DRs, since I started at 35psi and ended at 22-24psi. From run 4 on, every 60' was from 1.63-1.69, and all the runs were 11.62-11.71. I am a little confused on why my better 60's didn't give much better ETs, but there was a pretty strong headwind as the day went on. As it got cooler, we got the headwind, so it didn't help much in terms of conditions - my traps stayed very consistent within 1mph range. Here are my times once I got the DRs working well:

11.712 @ 118.86 - 1.685 60' (all my left lane traps seem 2mph higher than actual)
11.696 @ 112.40 - 1.671 60' (all my right lane traps are ~6mph slower than the left for me)
11.677 @ 118.54 - 1.687 60'
11.647 @ 119.18 - 1.659 60'
11.639 @ 113.67 - 1.693 60' (hmm, worst 60' but very good ET - trap is my highest in the right lane by over 1mph to date)
11.633 @ 119.40 - 1.637 60' (wtf, great 60' and high trap but barely better ET than the 1.69 60')
11.627 @ 118.60 - 1.654 60' (worse 60' and lower trap but best ET - hard to figure out)

I had the DRs at 22-24psi and was launching at 7000rpm on the 2-step - it was nasty, but the ETs didn't seem to mimic the 60's. My 11.64 and 11.69 on Sat with street tires were both 1.68 60'. Maybe the conditions weren't quite as good, so my 60's were making up for that difference but not enough to drop down to the 11.5s. I am not sure if I should drop the 2-step down to 6500-6800 and raise the tire pressure some so I keep the drag to a minimum up top. I am not sure if I was spinning or what - I couldn't really feel the DRs as well as my streeties.

(admin please delete previous post and remove this comment, thanks)

[hisandherturbo]

VERY Impressive!!! Nice runs! so close to "roll cage" territory.

[Hal]

Clayton,

Try breaking the runs into the 1st 1/8th and 2nd 8th.

That might help you with crunching E/T vs trap.

[dsm_gsx97]

Very very nice and consistent Clayton. I thought I was consistent with launches, but you're freakin amazing with how close all your 60's are. I was ranging from low 1.6s to high 1.7s. You're all within a few hundredths in the 1.6 range which means you're damn near a machine at launching. Well shifting too obviously with your consistent times. Bracket racing might be your calling if you decide not to cage your Evo. You seem to get things dialed in quite well.

[warrtalon]

No need for a new thread - nothing exciting, but some more proof of messed up trap speeds, hah. :p

Here is my best from last week:

1.654--4.793--7.435/93.97--9.704--11.627/118.60 (left lane)

Here are the ones this week:

1.654--4.793--7.435/91.30--9.699--11.633/113.46 (right - almost identical splits but way lower traps)
1.661--4.801--7.438/91.20--9.709--11.649/112.99 (right - just about identical but more low traps)
1.688--4.799--7.436/94.30--9.716--11.649/119.34 (left - huge trap that is too high)
1.709--4.831--7.463/91.51--9.723--11.654/113.62 (right - track starting losing its stick at this point)
1.676--4.811--7.456/94.52--9.732--11.658/119.74 (left - notice this was a better 60', but the above run was quicker despite the huge trap discrepancy)

Wierd. Finally, though, someone else who had no clue this was happening realized it was happening to him. Zoso from CRN was doing 12.0s in both lanes but with 120 on the left and 112 on the right. We had been talking, and he kept saying he was heatsoaking with almost 8mph less after a few runs. I then asked if his times suffered, and they hadn't, so then I showed him how obvious it was that the trap readings were way off. He had identical 60's on both sides with 8mph less on the right yet a slightly QUICKER ET on the right.

[turbomirage]

That is wierd and pretty conclusive from what I can tell. I've never noticed a difference, in fact, my fastest traps have come in the right lane on street tires. Granted, I just like the right lane better but I wonder if wheel base has anything to do with it?