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Drap Strip

andrewc4

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 6, 2005
Messages
96
Location
Tamarac, Fl.
Corvette
1994 Polo Green Coupe
My 94 is a six speed with 98k and a DD. I've never really 'punched it', but have recently driven past two drap strips.

I'm wondering:

1) How safe is it for the car to really push the tac up to the 4-5K, redline range?

2) I've spoken to some folks who say start shifting at 4.5K because that means you'll actually shift by 5.5K

3) How do I handle the gas peddle? i.e. do I 'slam' it down to the floor, do I take a 1, 2 count to get it to the floor.

4) Should ASR be off?

I'll probably do this a few times just to get the feel of, not till I break my first rod, (been there, done that with a 4 cylinder Mopar, poor car died and was junked, not worth fixing).

Thanks for the input, any and all opinions/advice are welcome.
 
I've never really 'punched it', but have recently driven past two drap strips.
That'll make your Corvette faster. I walk past a bakery and gain 5 pounds.
[sorry about that :D ]

I'm wondering:

1) How safe is it for the car to really push the tac up to the 4-5K, redline range?

2) I've spoken to some folks who say start shifting at 4.5K because that means you'll actually shift by 5.5K

3) How do I handle the gas peddle? i.e. do I 'slam' it down to the floor, do I take a 1, 2 count to get it to the floor.

4) Should ASR be off?

I'll probably do this a few times just to get the feel of, not till I break my first rod, (been there, done that with a 4 cylinder Mopar, poor car died and was junked, not worth fixing).
.
It shouldn't do any harm to the car.
Practice your launch at empty parking lots or highway entrances.
Practice powershifting, you be the judge on how best to handle the 1/4 mile.

The drag strip will stress-out the cars drive train, but if its in good shape, nothing should break.
 
As long as you stick to highway tires, you should be fine. The tires should break loose before any parts break. I have about 250 passes in my Z06, and I have not broken anything.
 
I've got an 87 Vette. I bought it with 97,000 miles on it. I've run it down the 1/4 mile over 450 times since I've had it. Nothing has broken on it. The only problem I've had is the clutches in the rear have worn out. Probably from the burn outs I do with drag radials.

If you go to the track occasionally you shouldn't have any problems with your Vette.

My Vette is an auto so I can't help you with the shift questions.

Check out the Corvette Challenge down there. I think there are three different Challenges down there. All three of them have a great bunch of guys in them. And they are always looking for new guys to run with them

Check this site out http://www.corvettechallenge.info/national/
 
;shrug
My Vette is an auto so I can't help you with the shift questions.

Doug 87L98, I have an Auto and have not quite found the right launch points (eg. ASR off/on, O/D-D-3,2,1??, full throttle punch or 3/4 then full??). The car launches well , but what have you found to be the best? thanks, D.
 
I cannot speak to the C4, but I had quite a few passes with a '97 automatic. I put it in drive, put my left foot on the brake, took the revs up to about 1500 with the gas, and released the brake as I rolled into the gas at launch. Do not take the revs high enough to cause the wheels to spin before launch. Wheelspin is slow. Hit it at the last yellow light. The start line is about 18" in front of the staging lights. If you run street tires, drive around the water box, keeping the tires dry. A burnout is not of major benefit with highway tires, and it will scrub your tires off in a hurry anyway. Madmic has lots of experience with drag racing C4's, so he might be of help. In bracket racing, fast times matter much less than consistent times. Do you understand how bracket racing works?
 
Thanks DRTH, I'll give it a try!! (By the way, you did mean "D" and not "O/D" right?)
 
Thanks DRTH, I'll give it a try!! (By the way, you did mean "D" and not "O/D" right?)

I don't know enough about the Nash system to answer that. I suspect that a full throttle run would never allow the overdrives to kick in. But I do not know about that particular system.
 
I come off the line pretty much the same as how DRTH VTR has already mentioned...one thing I'll add to a little bit, just as he mentioned driving around the water box and not doing a burn out, when it's burn out time, instead I do what you could think of as a practice launch behind the line. If I did accidentally get water on the tires (or dirt or something else) it'll end up doing a little bit of a burn out, tires will spin easy...most of the time since this doesn't take long to realize your tires are spinning and you get out, you can stop and try it again before the guy in the opposite lane has finished doing his burn out. If they did spin, the second time they should be cleaned off and you should hook up and get an idea of how the lane is holding up and how hard you can hammer it off the line.
 
;shrug


Doug 87L98, I have an Auto and have not quite found the right launch points (eg. ASR off/on, O/D-D-3,2,1??, full throttle punch or 3/4 then full??). The car launches well , but what have you found to be the best? thanks, D.

DRTH VTR's advice is probably better for you, as your car is closer in HP to his than mine is to yours.
The only things I can add is ASR off, put the trans in Drive (not Over Drive). If you're on street tires drive around the water box and spin the tires just enough to get any stones or other debris off of your tires. Do not do a burn-out, it will not help, you will just wear your tires down faster for nothing gained.

My car is a stock 87 with only 215 HP @ the rear wheels. I don't have a problem with wheel spin. I launch at 1400 RPMs on the third yellow, and slam the throttle to the floor.

Consistent times are key in bracket racing.
 
My 94 is a six speed with 98k and a DD. I've never really 'punched it', but have recently driven past two drap strips.

I'm wondering:

1) How safe is it for the car to really push the tac up to the 4-5K, redline range?

2) I've spoken to some folks who say start shifting at 4.5K because that means you'll actually shift by 5.5K

3) How do I handle the gas peddle? i.e. do I 'slam' it down to the floor, do I take a 1, 2 count to get it to the floor.

4) Should ASR be off?

I'll probably do this a few times just to get the feel of, not till I break my first rod, (been there, done that with a 4 cylinder Mopar, poor car died and was junked, not worth fixing).

Thanks for the input, any and all opinions/advice are welcome.

I don't know if you are close to this track, but they have a Corvette Challenge race this Sat.
Check this out => http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=1665992
Don't let the 5th race scare you off. Anybody with a Vette can run any time.
 
rascal and Doug mentioned a couple of things that I also do. The short wheelspin to clean the tires off is a good idea with street tires. I usually run drag radials and do a burnout (tricky with a manual and no line lock!), but when I have run regular tires, that is just what I do.

Also, the traction control should be turned off. My Z06 also has an active handling system. I leave that turned on at the strip. Some of the C5's have a competitive driving mode where the traction control is off and the active handling is on.

I turn both systems off on the autocross course.


One other thing- when I drove an automatic, I let the transmission shift where it wanted to. I did not shift manually.
 
Thanks for comments guys, much appreciated. Moroso is not far away at all and sounds like a great idea.
 
Not that I run my 92 6spd too hard very often, but after all, it IS a sports car and I treat it as such. In my spirited driving moods, I have found that turning off traction control will smoke the tires (yes, thru 1st and most of second even with my new Goodyear F1 GS tires) There is a rev limiter which shuts off ignition somewhere around 6200 rpm on the LT1, Yup, I know its there and it works on mine, so you probably will not hurt your engine by over revving it, but on the other hand, the stock hp & torque charts I have seen indicate little is to be gained by going over 5500 rpm. Leaving trac control on and trying to do hard launches applies the brakes to the spinning rear wheels and kicks your gas pedal back at you, limiting acceleration. I have'nt run mine at the strip yet so I dont know what effect TC has on the e.t. but I would imagine you can run faster with it off. So, experiment a little, you have a dana 44 rear end which should be strong enough to hold up to some pretty good abuse, as long as your u joints are in good shape. The stock clutch with 98k on it may slip, but if youve babied it, it may be in surprisingly good shape. I bought my car from someone who never abused the car in the manner I have and my clutch and dual mass flywheel were very well preserved when I changed them out last summer. It had about 90k at the time. The ZF transmission is a very solid unit and shouldnt give you any troubles, the weak link is actually the hydraulic clutch actuators and account for many of the transmission woes some guys have experienced.
 

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