What an awesome writeup! Much thanks. This is way more than I expected anyone to write, and I really do appreciate you typing it all out. I'll reply in the order your comments/questions were typed, so that it can all flow properly.
If you wanted to see my actual datalogs for real, just click through some of the recent pages on my engine build thread. I take a phone screenshot of each datalog, and I post it right with the GoProvideo and timeslip of that pass. I just included the hand-written info above as a cliff-notes version of my datalogs.
http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthr...t=69033&page=9
-Yes, I have been tracking weather conditions at the track each time I go. I use the $5 Summit Racing "Drag Racing Log Book" and also use a few phone apps to track the weather conditions each time. For consistency, I use the weather data from the (That Racing Channel) TRC app when compiling my log-books. I have come to learn from experienced racers that a 150 foot change in the DA will result in a .01 change in my ET.
- I have had only one day during this year where the track was not too crowded and I was able to hot lap the car. It was on Saturday June 5th and I made 11 passes in 3 hours...and the last 6 passes were all within 1 hour, some only a few minutes apart. Also, I do have engine temperature data in the datalogs, it is the CTS sensor on the datalogs, I just usually glance at the values, but don't keep the datalog trace on for viewing unless I see it is "not within a normal range" This engine stays very cool, and trans temp is usually 160-170 during a racing day. I have two trans coolers, one in the radiator and the other behind the frotn bumper where air deflected up from the front air-dam passes over it
-That idea of the several repeated launches back to back would be awesome. If I had a chance to get in on a track rental I would do that for sure. Very doubtful that Island or Atco would let me do that, as I've never seen anyone else do it at a Test-N-Tune day. Usually too many cars in the staging lanes.
- I actually never thought about the topic you mentioned where "tires sticking to the glue downtrack" That is very interesting indeed and makes total sense. Like a bone-head I simply assumed it would make more sense to stay in the grove the whole way down the track; I will have to SAFELY try to nudge the car out of the groove a touch if the track is super sticky! For sure I am not spinning any tires in 2nd or 3rd gear so maybe as I get close to the 330 foot cone I can nudge the car over to the less sticky part of the grove.
- I have been doing a little bit of weight removal before the race events. Since I bring a ton of tools, gear, spare parts to the track with me it helps me to transport them in the car if I take out the passenger seat, rear seats, un-used nitrous bottle, trunk mounted stereo system. weight removal and storage space for tool transport. I also keep the front sway bar removed, but without cutting various parts of the car away, I can't think of much more to "easily" remove for weight. This winter I will do some serious digging into the weight removal topic, because since I still plan on installing a 6 point roll-bar, I would like to offset/negate that added weight by removing the equal amount of weight elsewhere on the car. I would like to keep the car at or under 3,500 pounds WITH me in it and with the upcoming roll bar installed. So I will have to shed about 150 lbs somehow. winter project. This Friday, I also plan on taking off the rear cat-back exhaust again since last time I did that (August 9th) I didn't really determine if it was helpful or not because at that time I was still making ignition timing changes and using different target AFR numbers. It will probably remove another 50 pounds, but then I will have to quickly put it back onto the car before the car show on Sunday in Linden that I plan on going to.
- I was using my street wheels for the first few track sessions this year, but back in August I got a heck of a deal on a barely used set of front-runners from my good buddy on this forum Joey D. They are Jegs SSR wheels 15x4.5" and they have a hardly-used set of MT sportsman SR tires on them. I run those at 37 psi hot, even though the warning label on the side of the tire says "35 psi max hot". They still seem to bulge out where the tire meets the pavement, and I would really like less of a tire bulge for less rolling resistance, but I am a little leery of dangerously over inflating them? Perhaps it is ok for the smooth drag strip passes, but I should air them down for the drive too/from the track? Photos of the wheels can be seen on page 7 at post #153
http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthr...t=69033&page=7
- Running 93 octane fuel from either Shell or Sunoco gas stations only (unless low fuel emergency). The tune my tuner created is based around a 93 octane pump-gas VE table. I have not tried any octane boosters or enhancers, just stuck to straight up 93 octane. Part of me is curious if I could mix in some higher octane fuel next year, but I would need a new or modified VE table for that as all my CL comp and learn numbers would probably go wacky? The holley sniper EFI setup I have has no provision for knock sensors. I have heard that it is a monumental and often unsuccessful process to try to select a knock sensor (and its parameters) that might work for a shop built crate motor as opposed to a mass produced engine. Apparently there is a easy way of detecting knock that I have used.... looking for abrupt spikes or dips in the RPM line/trace on any of my datalogs. I have certainly seen some and that was when I had timing at 37 and 38 deg at certain RPMS. Now knowing that, I keep the max wot timing at 35 deg. if you look at the screenshot photo from my day racing August 9..on pass 3, 4, 5 on post #169 of the
http://www.njfboa.org/forums/showthr...t=69033&page=7 and look at the red rpm line, you can see the spikes where the engine was knocking (jagged line) especially in 3rd gear. the rpm line should be as smooth and diagonal as reasonably possible.. any jaggedness is a sign of pre-detonation and abnormal rpm fluctuation... so I have been told.
The rear tires are the Mickey Thompson ET Street SS tires. I have 35 passes on them, plus about probably 400 miles of street driving too. They were brand new back in May of this year. They seem to do quite well with the launch, but I am unsure about how well they will do next year when I am launching with the nitrous shot. Despite being new, the tires seem to be a little bit scuffed up.... in that they are a little bit peele-y... probably from street driving to/from the track with them? At island dragway, I always go in the "race tire" staging lanes where they then line you up in the rubber groove of the starting line. For other cars with pure street treaded tires, they put a cone on the starting line, forcing the street tire cars to line up on the out-side of the groove, so that their tires don't peel up the good rubber in the starting line groove. This winter I hope to install an electric vacum pump to help give me more vacuum assist with my front brakes (for street, strip, and autocross purposes). I might even wire up the 2-step rev limiter to get a consistent launch, but I don't think I am ready to add a trans-brake anytime soon. The 2-step is super easy to wire up with the holley efi; just two wires and a switch and done... but if my brakes can't hold me from pushing through the beams, well...
- As for staging, I had a very enlightening conversation about this shallow/deep staging concept with Jerry (the Haz Guy on this board) just a few months ago. Prior to that, I had not focused on where I staged. Now, I do my best to shallow stage as often as I can. Like you said, it will result in a better E.T. because I get a rolling start before breaking the beam. I am not bracket racing, nor index racing so shallow staging seems to make the best sense for me.
- yup, that is where I am at currently, and sadly it is the end of the year. I'll say it hasn't been a bad year, but it took me a while and many days at the track to even get to this point. My first real deal street/strip car and build and doing my best to learn what really is important in a drag pass. MUCH MORE THAN I THOUGHT! We all agree that if the car was a true drag-strip dedicated car it should be way faster, like low 11's.. but It the car is a compromise between street-show-drag-autocross so I had to make sacrifices in areas of converter, transmission, rear, wheels, tires, and weight/creature comfort. I am not expecting massive gains from shifting and launching adjustments, but anything I can do to keep getting faster, well, I would like to learn and try it. Overall, the EFI tune is finally set and needs only the most minimal changes, but it is the end of the year now anyway.
---Much thanks for your input; feel free to keep it coming!