Tips for my first time @ E-town (8/17)

[Violat0rX]

hey guys, tomorrow i'm planning on heading down to e-town afterwork (6:30 ish??) and I'll be running my camaro for the first time ever! In fact, it will be my first time running anything at the track. I was hoping that some of you would be kind enough to pass along a few tips for launching the car and what not.

First of all...I don't have a helmet, but I heard I can rent one...correct?

now onto the car:
Like my sig says, it's a '96Z with a 383. It's got the spec stage 3 clutch with a light weight flywheel. B&M Ripper shifter, stock rear end with stock gears. I'll be running on regular street tires, 17" with 275's all around. I have Eibach springs, bilstein shocks, larger dia anti-sways front and rear, lower control arms and adj panhard rod. I know it's not ideal for drag racing, but it handles nice, i'm just going to the track for fun. Sadly i'm probably going to end up embarassing myself pretty badly...lol

But I know I should avoid the water box. What rpm should I launch at? Should I just let the clutch out all the way at once? When should I attempt to take off...right after the last yellow light turns off, slightly before, or right when the last yellow turns on? Thanks for your help guys!

[Tru2Chevy]

Your going to have to really work on babying that thing off the line - sounds like a beast

You will want to slip the clutch off the line, that way you slowly feed more power to the rear as you start rolling. I would prolly use 2500-3000 RPM as a starting point for RPM, and roll into the throttle more as you let off the clutch.

If you are feeling adventerous, climb under the front of the car and unbolt your sway bar endlinks. That will allow more weight transfer from the front to the rear.

- Justin

[Violat0rX]

when you say slip the clutch off the line, do you mean to let it it up gradually like I would if I were just driving on the street, except at a higher rpm (2500-3500)?

[Squirrel]

yup, but do it a lil quicker...what youre trying to do is let it out as fast as you can w/o spinning or bogging

[NJSPEEDER]

that is basically the idea. you want to get both throttle and clutch to be smooth movements.
you will just have to pick a starting point and play around from there. with all that suspension stuff for handling that car isn't gonna want to launch real hard. so gentle will be teh word of the day.
most important thing is to jsut have some fun. check otu what other guys have adn how they launch their cars.

good luck

later
tim

[1FastWS6]

What are the specs on your motor? (cam heads)

**edit** And get yourself a better muffler than the slowmaster

[skorpion317]

as for the tree, there's a split-second in between the last yellow light and the green. you want to leave right in that split-second. it's something you have to get a feel for. you'll notice it pretty quickly, after a couple runs.

avoid the water box, but go off to the side and spin the tires a bit to warm them up and clean them off.

also, don't worry about reaction time. It has no bearing on your ET. Worry about your 60' first. judging from your setup, you should be in the 1.8-1.7 second range for the 60', assuming you don't spin all that much. nail the launch, and the rest of the 1/4 mile becomes a whole lot easier.

good luck, and have fun.

[Violat0rX]

thanks for the input. Â*I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Â*I guess I won't worry about my reaction time that much since it doesn't count against my ET. Â*Do you know how many runs you can get on a wednesday night? Â*Is it limited to the # of ppl that show up or is it just a set number like 3 runs?

btw, anyone else going tonight??

edit:
cam: 224/230 112 LSA .503/.510 lift
1.6 roller rockers
ported stock heads

[skorpion317]

Originally Posted by Violat0rX

thanks for the input. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I guess I won't worry about my reaction time that much since it doesn't count against my ET. Do you know how many runs you can get on a wednesday night? Is it limited to the # of ppl that show up or is it just a set number like 3 runs?

btw, anyone else going tonight??

edit:
cam: 224/230 112 LSA .503/.510 lift
1.6 roller rockers
ported stock heads

E-town says it's only 3 runs, but they let you go more than that.

[j0n]

i was there....only 4th gen convertible racing i believe

[Violat0rX]

Jon, if you were the only t/a vert i saw your car in the staging lanes. It was a fun time...but I need to learn to launch this thing. I got to E-town kinda late and only got to run twice

but it's addictive, and i can't wait to go again.

[ar0ck]

I think I hold a record for 6 passes on a test & tune @ e-town

[j0n]

Originally Posted by TransAm4Life

I think I hold a record for 6 passes on a test & tune @ e-town

i've done 8

[Koll]

****. Had I known both of you were there, I woulda went.

[skorpion317]

i've had about 8 too, just doing time trials.

Violator, what'd you run?

[j0n]

also whats your car look like? i prolly saw it in the staging lanes

[Violat0rX]

my car looks like this:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...99637480Wfzevj

This time I got there around 7:30 and I only got to run twice...I guess next time I'll have to get there closer to 5.

As for my times, i had a great time, but did a pretty poor job. I couldn't launch the car correctly.
1st run:
60' 2.683
1/4 14.654 @ 101.35mph

On my second run, i ran even slower because I grinded third . Hopefully I'll do a little better next time.

[j0n]

oh! yea...i saw you...i was talking to the kid in the red gti that was near you in the staging lanes...i was walkin around in a foley cat t-shirt and jeans