Driving tips and questions

**SP33Daddict** · 03-11-2011, 04:45 AM

Ok, I've never raced at the drag strip but I have done a few street races before. I have a few questions for some of the more experienced drag strip drivers:

1)Will I be faster at the strip with traction control on or off?

2)I know how to drive a stick, but right now I have an automatic. Is power braking faster off the line than just going? Does it damage your car?

3)For an auto, is it faster to start in L1 and shift gear by gear up to drive or just leave it in drive? Does that damage ur tranny?

4)What is the optimal redline for a stock trans am?

5)Do you know of anymore tips for squeezing every ounce of power out of an automatic?

**Spikito** · 03-11-2011, 04:58 AM

These are good questions, I'm curious to know the answers, but I'm sure you'll get conflicting info.

I'm on tapatalk on my phone, so I can't see your list but I'll do my best.

I'd think no traction control, because of how it shuts you down and pulls the pedal away, turn it off, if traction is an issue then, you need stickier tires or a better burn out.

Power braking is pretty standard, bit with a stock torque converter you can only do it up to about 2400 RPMs

From my understanding, most guys run in drive, some drop it back to 3. I you floor it, the 4L60e will run all the way to redline. My first camaro was a stick, and manually shifting has a bit of a lag.

I dunno about a max safe redline, but on a stock motor, peak horsepower is about 5700, so past that is useless, factory ECM shuts us down about 6000.

I don't know if if call it the best mod for an LS1, but specifically for an auto, id def say a stall, 2500, 2800, something like that, especially if you're concerned with track times. If heavily modding you can go higher.

Hope this helps, guys, feel free to correct me

**FasstChevys** · 03-11-2011, 08:14 AM

Originally Posted by SP33Daddict

Ok, I've never raced at the drag strip but I have done a few street races before. I have a few questions for some of the more experienced drag strip drivers:

1)Will I be faster at the strip with traction control on or off?

2)I know how to drive a stick, but right now I have an automatic. Is power braking faster off the line than just going? Does it damage your car?

3)For an auto, is it faster to start in L1 and shift gear by gear up to drive or just leave it in drive? Does that damage ur tranny?

4)What is the optimal redline for a stock trans am?

5)Do you know of anymore tips for squeezing every ounce of power out of an automatic?

Hey there - I'll try to give you some ideas to try:

1. Definitely turn your traction control off. You'll be faster that way.

2. Explain what you mean by "power braking" please. If you have street radials on your car, all you really want to do is roll your tires over to brush any rocks/pebbles off of them. At the line, lightly hold in the brake and bring your RPM's up to 2,000 or so.

When the lights start coming down, when the third large amber light gets to it's brightest point before the green light comes on, take your foot off the brake and stomp the gas simultaneously and have fun

3. Let the transmisison do the work. Put it in "D", and just go when it's time.

4. I can't remember exactly, but let your transmission do the shifting. You'll be WAY more consistent than trying to do it manually.

**jiveass** · 03-11-2011, 08:21 AM

Heres what i learned when i had my formula...same rules apply to my trans am now..
If your transmission is tuned, then i would leave it in "d" and go from there..but since mine wasnt when i first got it, i manually shifted and got a better time....i dont care what anyone says, its the truth. there is a serious delay at wot when going from 2nd gear to 3rd gear. when you learn your car's shift points, you can time your manual shifts to be spot on where they should be. otherwise youre goin to fall on your nose when it goes into 3rd gear.

also, there is no need to do a nhra burnout...just clean the tires with a little burnout... the track should be prepped good enough to launch without spinning.

**35th-ANV-SS** · 03-11-2011, 08:28 AM

Here is some other drag racing info.

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61330

**Packy** · 03-11-2011, 09:21 AM

Everything else these guys have said is good advice just be sure to pull into the burn out box around the water so you drag a bunch of water down the track with street radials.

**bluehawk2** · 03-11-2011, 11:50 AM

thats a good tip.

Also With a stock converter I would probable not try to powerbrake it any. Just put your foot on the gas a little to the point where it barely pushes and side step the brake when you see yellow(on a pro tree)

Bracket tree pre stage, stage then first yellow, second yellow and go on the third yellow.

pro tree pre stage, stage and go when you see yellow flash

**bluehawk2** · 03-11-2011, 11:51 AM

also turn the A/C off

**02Sweet** · 03-11-2011, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by bluehawk2

also turn the A/C off

If you are on the stock 10 bolt trailer the car.

**pajeff02** · 03-11-2011, 12:40 PM

Originally Posted by 02Sweet

If you are on the stock 10 bolt trailer the car.

I ran our car at the track when it was basically stock on street tires and after the first round of serious mods. I was almost 2/10 faster foot braking it at the line and running the rpm up to around 1,800 or so. Stock stall is pretty low, but you still get an advantage. On street tires, you'll just have to vary your launch and see what happens.

Always be aware of what is going on around you. Pay close attention to the boys in the waterbox and the starter. As stated -- with street tires drive around the water box and just do a short burnout to clean the tires. At the end of your run, always be wary of the guy in the other lane if you have to turn across a lane to exit the track to the return road. Depends on the track as to how this will work.

**SP33Daddict** · 03-11-2011, 01:10 PM

Thanks for all the input guys. I might just go to the track tomorrow to test it out. The Natural Bridge drag strip is about an hour away. I was gonna wait for my friend to get his car back outta the shop but I don't suppose it would hurt to get a little more experience first. We've been in competition ever since high school when I had a Dodge stealth and he had a 300zx. He's about 2 years older so he usually had the edge on me all the way up until now. It's always been close though, when I had an STI, he had an EVO. Right now he's driving a Honda Civic hatch with a B18c engine swap with a setup for road track. It would be a close race on a road track but on the drag strip I've got him all the way and even if he decides to make a few more mods, I've still got a bottle of nitrous I haven't hooked up and it wouldn't take much for me to buy a nice cam, intake and exhaust.

**jiveass** · 03-11-2011, 01:44 PM

Originally Posted by SP33Daddict

Thanks for all the input guys. I might just go to the track tomorrow to test it out. The Natural Bridge drag strip is about an hour away. I was gonna wait for my friend to get his car back outta the shop but I don't suppose it would hurt to get a little more experience first. We've been in competition ever since high school when I had a Dodge stealth and he had a 300zx. He's about 2 years older so he usually had the edge on me all the way up until now. It's always been close though, when I had an STI, he had an EVO. Right now he's driving a Honda Civic hatch with a B18c engine swap with a setup for road track. It would be a close race on a road track but on the drag strip I've got him all the way and even if he decides to make a few more mods, I've still got a bottle of nitrous I haven't hooked up and it wouldn't take much for me to buy a nice cam, intake and exhaust.

i see you have a mystic teal trans am.....post up some pics of that

**SP33Daddict** · 03-12-2011, 02:44 AM

Here are the only pics I have, the paint job just looks green instead of showing all the tones because it's a dull day:

And just for kicks heres a pic of my STI before I sold it *tear*:

I'll see if I can't get some more pics at the strip, Im horrible about taking pictures lol. Anyway, I can't believe I forgot the main question I wanted to ask:

If your car is stock is there any benefit from using race gas or will it just burn out the o2 sensors? How about with nitrous?

Oh yeah, btw I saw ur post about the gxp Jiveass. I was just wonderin how that went or if you ever raced. Im curious because one of my other friends has a GXP or maybe its a GTP and another one has a G6. Anyway just wondering how that went. If someone could answer that fuel question though I would appreciate it before I head to the track. One of my friends told me they used cam 2 in their C5 'vette and it ruined all the O2 sensors, so if thats the case im not doing it. Just wanted to know if there was any benefit for a stock car.

**jiveass** · 03-12-2011, 04:20 AM

if you are stock, no sense in running race fuel. 93 octane........

i havnt raced the g8 gxp yet....but when i do, ill post a video...

**pajeff02** · 03-12-2011, 04:34 AM

Originally Posted by jiveass

if you are stock, no sense in running race fuel. 93 octane........

Running race fuel in a car not set up for it will actually hurt your power. A lot of people do not understand this.

**Whamhammer** · 03-21-2011, 04:42 PM

I'd definately "load" the torque converter like someone mentioned earlier. My last T/A was an 89 305 TPI with 700R-4 (Non electric 4L60E). I'd load it to 1,800 rpm (just before where I felt the engine working against the brakes) and I'd get 2.05 to 2.1 60 foots all day long and .501-/.510 lights (anything under .5 is disqualified). Also ease into the whole thing, feel for how the car acts at the track before you go all out on it, a couple of 90% passes (not as hard of a launch) will tell you how it hooks up.