Team Integra Forums banner

Nate's Drag Racing Tech Corner

20K views 66 replies 23 participants last post by  JointheRejects 
#1 ·
#2 ·
Little insight from M/T tires:
"Should I use rim screws with Mickey Thompson slicks?

Starting line launches can cause the rim to spin inside the tire, which can be hazardous. If you are not sure your rim is doing this, mark the tire and wheel with a line to gauge tire slippage on the wheel. Also, check for tire slippage when you check your tire pressure after each pass. If it moves one-half to one inch, you should use rim screws. But do not use rim screws on radial tires unless they move on the rim."

What you do is before the rim goes on..

We have a tool my friend made the evenly proportions the holes around the wheel.. you would drill holes through the rim at those points and then have the slick mounted. once the slick is mounted you would take your screws and screw the slick to the rim on each drilled hole. I do not run tubes due to the decrease in MPH at the end of the 1320 but they lose air ever so slowly while sitting in the pits.. Tubes will not lose air but like said above a slightly lower mph and et in the 1/4..

Another reason for using screws especially if you use tubes is said best here "I went to the track and marked the rims to the slicks and observed that the spun about 4 inches from the mark! They are tubed and I'm in danger off ripping out the valve stems."

Its to keep you safe a slick blowing out at 100+ mph could be very dangerous..

Here is a diagram and how to screw slicks to rims

HT Innes DIY on screwing slicks to rim

My short lesson for today
 
#5 ·
TRACK COURTESY

This is an issue that most don’t understand or sometimes even know about.

Driving around the water box
The water box is the area that you pull into to do your burnout. Driving straight through the water with regular tires can drag water out of the water box and prevents slick tired race cars from completely drying their rear wheels off, and this can cause accidents to happen! If you do not plan on warming up your tires, pulling around the water box prevents your front tires from dragging water out of the box and keeps everything dry.

Courtesy staging
Assuming we all know how the “Christmas tree” works at the strip I can explain to you the act of courtesy staging. When pulling up to stage your vehicle and prepare to race, the act of courtesy staging comes into play. In the spirit of fairness one should only “pre-stage” their vehicle if your first to the line and wait for the other competitor to pull up to the line and “pre-stage” their vehicle before proceeding and fully staging your vehicle. This is simply to give time to the other competitor to be ready for the race, THIS IS NOT A RULE, but it’s courtesy at the track. We all want a fair race and if someone did it to you at the track you’d be a bit pissed too.

If you fully stage before you competitor it gives your opponent around 5 seconds to fully stage before the lights drop, if he isnt ready he gets redlit and it gets people upset because your rushing their prep procedure, which in some cars could be several minutes worth or prep. Prestage and be patient, your opponent will roll in..

Breakages on the track
This is something we never want to think about but it happens when racing. If a breakage happens while on the track pull over IMMEDIATELY and stop as close to the guardrail as you can and as quickly as you can without being unsafe! Pulling over prevents anything leaking from your vehicle from getting onto the racing surface and makes the track cleanup much quicker. This allows for more cars to go down the track and more chances for you to run. You dont want to be that guy who oils down the whole track.. cleanup for that could put a 1-2 hour pause on EVERYoNES day.

Pulling off the track at the end of the race
This pretty much explains itself, but exiting the track at the end of the race can be confusing. Basically whoever gets to the exit first can pull off the track first, just check your mirrors to make sure the guy next to you is stopping before you pull in front of him or her to get off the track. If you both get to the exit at the same time, give the right of way to the competitor who has the inside lane.

More to Come!
 
#6 ·
Another excellent post! If everyone would abide by all of the courtesy rules a track day would go very smoothly. Would you be able to do a write up on pre loading the clutch and launching procedure? I have tried to read about it as much as possible and this is what I have come up with:

Launching

1. Depending on the tires, warm them up if slicks or drag radials, if not drive around the water box.

2. Prestage the car

3. Pull the ebrake lever up while holding the button

4. Rev the car up to your launch RPM or where your two stage is set

5. Slowly release the clutch until it grabs just enough to pull the car into the staged lights and therefore loading up the suspension (This also preloads the whole drivetrain instead of just dropping the clutch and instantaneously torquing it)

6. To launch let off the clutch and let down the ebrake (usually before you ever see the green light to get the best reaction times)


This is what I have gathered from my reading feel free to correct me or add anything else.

Mike
 
#7 ·
integratuner77 on Jul/09/08 said:
Another excellent post! If everyone would abide by all of the courtesy rules a track day would go very smoothly. Would you be able to do a write up on pre loading the clutch and launching procedure? I have tried to read about it as much as possible and this is what I have come up with:

Launching

1. Depending on the tires, warm them up if slicks or drag radials, if no drive around the water box.

2. Prestage the car

3. Pull the ebrake lever up while holding the button

4. Rev the car up to your launch RPM or where your two stage is set

5. Slowly release the clutch until it grabs just enough to pull the car into the staged lights and therefore loading up the suspension (This also preloads the whole drivetrain instead of just dropping the clutch and instantaneously torquing it)

6. To launch let off the clutch and let down the ebrake (usually before you ever seen the green light to get the best reaction times)


This is what I have gathered from my reading feel free to correct me or add anything else.

Mike
Ill Write up a detailed Preloading/Launch article tonight..
 
#9 ·
with Launching step 7 should be if on slicks hit rev limit one or two times, to let the slicks catch up, so when you shift the car does not fall on its face (mostly higher hp car). this will help with 60ft times
 
#11 ·
Launching

Picture of the tree for reference:


1. Depending on the tires, burnout to warm them up if slicks or drag radials, if not drive around the water box. This all comes down to preference, seat time and trials can result in knowing and learning what will be best for how long the burnout should be held out for (heat the tires more) or a slight burnout to clean off the tires and get a little heat in them

2. Prestage the car get the top bulbs lit (see tree reference above)

3. Courtesy Stage for opponent if he isnt prestaged already

4. Pull the ebrake lever up locking the rear wheels while holding the button (tape the button or remove the spring in the button so you can just drop it when light turns green)

4. Rev the car up and literally slip you clutch dragging you car into full stage second set of dual lights come on (see tree above "staged" lights)
(This preloads the drivetrain)
(still holding ebrake up)

5. once both are fully staged hit your 2step, antilag or revlimit (5-6k rpm depending on where your testing shows you what your car likes best for launching with its setup)
(still holding ebrake up)

6. To launch let off the clutch and ebrake and your off

7.Note: If on slicks hit rev limit one or two times, to let the cars mph catch up so your not just "spinning your tires" causing your car to bog when shifting to the next gear because the mph hasnt reached with how fast the wheels/tranny is spinning (this mostly happens higher hp car 400+whp cars). This will help with achieving better 60ft times and no bogging
 
#17 ·
Not yet Dan but it should be


Here is Knowing the differences for the Tree and Different types of Staging:

How a NHRA Tree works:
The “Christmas” Tree pre-stage lights are connected to an infrared beam about two inches off the ground and about six to eight inches from the starting line. When the edge of your front tire rolls forward and "breaks" this beam the pre-stage lights will illuminate.
A second infrared beam is mounted on the actual starting line...When the edge of your front tire breaks this beam the stage lights illuminate. You can "nudge" forward at this point and "deep stage" which shortens the distance to your tripping the clocks. When the rear of your front tire clears the starting line infared beam, your time starts.

Difference in how timing works and light sequence:

Sportsman Tree:
With the Sportsman Tree the three ambers march down in a .5 second sequence with the green illuminating .5 seconds after the third amber light. The goal is to "cut" a perfect .5 second light by anticipating the green. Anything under .5 seconds is a red light.

sportsman tree (Thanks to cluelessmale)

Pro Tree:
With the Pro Tree the three ambers illuminate at the same instant with the green illuminating .4 seconds later. The goal is to "cut" a perfect .4 second light by anticipating the green. Anything under .4 seconds is a red light.

pro tree (Thanks to cluelessmale)

Different ways to stage:

Regular Stage:
When both the Pre-stage and Stage lights are lit up

Deep Stage:
When you drag the car far enough forward where the stage lights are on and the Pre-stage lights have been turned off

Side Note:
Your vehicle's reaction time (VRT) could be anything from .2 to .5 seconds and is obviously influenced by "how deep" you stage. In the real world this has to be factored into your strategy. The driver's reaction time (DRT) plus the VRT is your universe in Drag Racing. Races are won or lost on the starting line. It's not as simple as it looks!
 
#19 ·
The **lights** are whats separated for the .5 or .4, Reaction time is on driver and car. So you can get a perfect .000 ive seen it a few times, just means your anticipating and launching perfectly with the lights.

Don't get the separation time for the lights and the RT confused.

A saying that we have at the track, "If your not red lighting your not trying hard enough"
-Meaning your not pushing to try and get that perfect reaction
Another saying "If you see green your too late"
-Meaning you should be anticipating and the car should be moving or launched riighhtttt as its changing to green so you just barely see it..

Im trying to find a .gif or video of the lights dropping.
 
#22 ·
Article I found discussing How to read your sparkplugs. This helps you to fully understand how your motor is running internally. Any good tuner would and should be able to check your plugs to see how well your motor is running:

Spark Plug Reading 101
by Mike Canter
Other than installing thermo-coupler sensors in the combustion chambers the only real way that you know what is happening inside your engine is to read the spark plugs. Both the fuel mixture and the ignition timing result in coloring of the spark plug’s porcelain and ground strap. The trick is to how to get the correct coloring without going into detonation and destroying the engine or by going too rich and raising the ring lands.
Spark plugs can only be correctly read if the car has been shut down immediately at the end of a run without driving it back to the pits. Get off the track and coast to a place you are safely out of the way and either read the plug there or change one or two with some you have in your pocket so you can read these uncontaminated plugs when back to the pits. Or you should tow the car back to the pits. It may take a couple of runs to get see the sparkplug color.

Reading For Air Fuel Mixture
The porcelain around the plug’s center electrode can be divided into three areas for reading. The area that is closest to the tip is affected by the idle and transition circuits carburetor circuits and is of no real concern to a racer. If this area is gray then you drove the car back to the pits and you cannot correctly read the plugs. The middle area is only colored when you drive down the road at around a steady 30-40 mph and is normally affected by the primary circuit jetting with the power valve closed and this is really of no concern to the racer. The area you are interested in is that third that is all the way up inside the plug where the sun don't shine. This area is colored when all is wide open under full power because the combustion chamber heat totally cleans off the other two areas. It will take a special plug reading flashlight with the magnifying glass to view it correctly. Plugs cannot be correctly read by just quickly looking at them with the naked eye. You see people doing it all the time because they do not know how to read plugs.
Normally aspirated cars should have a light gray or tan hydrocarbon ring or as some call it a "fuel ring" all the way up inside around the third area closest to the point where the porcelain is attached to the metal jacket of the plug. The actual color may depend on type of fuel you use. This fuel ring should appear like a light shadow. Most VP C-15, C-16 or C23+ fuels will show as a light gray when correct. This fuel ring starts to color on the porcelain side that is below the ground strap and works its way around either side of the center electrode until it completely joins. Sometimes it may take two or three runs to see a good coloring. Note: New engines or engines that pump a little oil may show a thin oily line way down inside on the porcelain where the porcelain meets the metal wall of the plug. This oil line has nothing to do with the air/fuel mixture but may be confused with the fuel ring you are looking for.If you are having a hard time figuring out if what you are reading is correct or because you are not sure if the plug heat range is correct then tow the car back to the pits and drop the headers and look inside the pipes. If they are black then you are too rich, if they are light gray or white then you are too lean. The pipes should be a medium to dark gray or tan color.
Normally the white area of the porcelain has a chalky appearance. If you see the porcelain take on a shine then it is time to change the plugs because the glass that is in the porcelain has been melted and has glazed the surface. If the car has been running rich (due to lots of idling or incorrect fuel mixture) then it is possible to glaze the plugs and short them out during a run because of the sudden heating of the plug with the soot on the porcelain. This glazing appears to be a glossy coating on the porcelain with a splotches of color of greenish yellow or brown. These two different glazings will cause the plug to short out and misfire and raise ring lands or make a popping through the exhaust when going down the track.

Reading For Ignition Timing
Ignition timing is directly responsible for the heat in the combustion chamber and therefore the color of the plug’s ground strap and the color of the first few threads on the outside of the plug. The ignition timing can be checked by looking at the color of the plug’s ground strap and the position of the "blue line" on the strap. The blue line really indicates the point at which the strap has reached annealing temperature of the metal. To help to understand this think of a bar of steel (ground strap) on a table that is being super heated with a acetylene torch at one of the tip ends. As the end heats up and the heat starts moving down the bar you will see a blue line across the bar at some point down the bar away from tip with the torch. This blue line reflects the temperature that is the annealing point of the metal. As the temperature increases the blue line moves further down the bar away from the torch. Similarly, the blue line moves down the spark plug ground strap as you put more heat in the engine.
If you are using a gold colored ground strap like with an NGK spark plug then not enough timing will show the ground strap as still gold or going light gray maybe with a few bubbles on it after a run. As you advance the ignition and put heat in the engine the plug ground strap will turn darker gray as well as the metal at the end of the threaded area. As the metal turns medium to dark gray you should start looking for the blue line (band) around the ground strap. Ideally, you want this blue line to be just below where the ground strap makes the sharp bend and above the weld. If you advance the ignition too far the blue will disappear off the strap and the strap will pick up rainbow colors (blues and greens). The next step beyond that is to start melting the strap from the tip end and detonation. When you are close to the correct timing then only change the timing by one degree at a time. If you ignition system has the capability of adjusting the timing of each cylinder independently (ICT) then you can use that feature to have the blue line in the same position on all the plugs. First, adjust the basic timing to get as many of the plugs to have the blue line just at the sharp bend in the strap. Now adjust the ICT to move the blue line to the same point on the remaining plugs. once all the plugs read the same you can advance the ignition a little at a time to put the blue line just above the weld on the strap or whatever point gives you the best performance.

Other Things To Look For
The round flat circular area of the plug at the end the threads should be dark gray or flat black and should not be sooty. If it is sooty then it can mean that your plug has not been tightened enough and you are sucking and blowing fuel and air past the threads of the plug.
Detonation shows up on the plugs as spotting on the porcelain. There are two different types of spotting seen. one type appears as just black spots and the other appears as little bright spots like diamonds. The black spots (look like pepper sprinkled on the plug) indicate a little too much heat on the plug which causes detonation by having the heated plug fire off the mixture prior to the spark firing. This creates two flame fronts that collide and can cause great amounts of damage. If you see black spots on the porcelain and you know the tune-up is correct then you may need a colder plug. If you are not sure then increase the carburetor jet size slightly, take out some timing, or go to a colder plug. If you hold the plug in the sun and you see what appears to be small diamonds on the porcelain then your detonation is severe enough to be blowing off the aluminum from your piston and you need to add fuel and/or take out timing now.

Spark Plug Heat Range
If you keep on adding timing until your finish MPH falls off but you still have no color on the plug’s ground strap but the porcelain has good color then your plug is too cold.
If you have lots of color on the ground strap but the porcelain is clean and white then the plug heat range is too hot. The heat from the plug is cleaning of the fuel ring from the porcelain.

To check out pictures of what this is discussing Please click here

Added:
In our race car to fully check the spark plug readings we will change spark plugs every pass.
Car starts burns out, makes its full pass and then at the end of the 1/4 mile it gets shutoff and towed back to the pits. We let it cool down then check the readings on each sparkplug to adjust each cylinder trim and adjust air/fuel mix.

Its a constant process that will help to make your car perform and run at a optimal level.
 
#25 ·
Different Racing Series, Rest of Event Calendar for 2008 and Rule Books:

Sport Compact Racing Series has several different series you can race in. To compete for cash prizes (other then the bracket class), The classes are different per racing series so please check into their rule books to see which class your car is legal for or that you can participate in.

Different Racing Series Include:
BOTI – Battle of the Imports
IFO – Import Face Off
NOPI - Number one Parts Incorporated Motorsports (they host with NHRA Sport Compact) -SUSPENDED OPERATIoNS-
CMI – California Modified Imports
Other Sanctioning Bodies (Import Wars or Big Local Events)

Rule Books per Racing Series:
BOTI’s Rulebook

CMI – uses BOTI rulebook (see above)

IFO – uses NHRA’s Rule Book (see below)

NHRA PDF of 2008 Rulebook
NHRA Accepted Body List
NHRA Accepted Fuel List


Event Calendar for the Rest of 2008:

July
CMI
July 6
All Pro classes and all brackets.

BOTI
July 11-12 Friday-Sat Race!
Las Vegas NV, Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Import Wars
July 19 Sat IMPORT WARS #4 3pm - 11pm
Great Lakes Dragaway

Pan American Nationals
July 19-20
Atco Raceway

August

BOTI
Aug 8-9 Friday-Sat Race!
Sacramento CA, Sacramento Raceway

Import Wars
Aug. 16 Sat IMPORT WARS #5 / BUGFEST 3pm-10pm
Great Lakes Dragaway

BOTI
Aug 22-23 Friday-Sat Race!
Seatle WA, Pacific Raceways

IFO
August 24
Columbus, OH - National Trail Raceway (3rd annual)

IFO
August 31
Kansas City, MO - Kansas City International Raceway (5th annual)

September
Imstar Sport Compact Series
Sunday, September 7
Budds Creek MD, Maryland International Raceway

Import Wars
Sept. 14 Sun IMPORT WARS #6 9am - 5pm
Great Lakes Dragaway

IFO
September 21
Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Raceway Park (2nd annual)

CMI
September 21
North Vs. South
All Pro and Bracket Classes

BOTI
September 27-28
Portland, OR Woodburn Dragstrip

October
AirWerks by BorgWarner Turbo Systems Inaugural Outlaw Street FWD $10,000 Shootout
October 11 & 12
Urbanracer.com Fall Nationals
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
230 Pension Road
Englishtown, NJ

Import Wars
Oct. 12 Sun IMPORT WARS #7 9am- 5pm
Great Lakes Dragaway

IFO
October 19
Dallas, TX - Texas Motorplex (3rd annual)

BOTI
October 18-19
fontana CA, California Speedway

November
World Cup Finals
Import vs. Domestic
Sunday, November 9
Budds Creek MD, Maryland International Raceway

December
IFO
December 14
San Antonio, TX - San Antonio Raceway (5th annual)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top