# Drag Strip test run



## RicanGoat (Aug 25, 2009)

Today I decided to take the GTO to the drag strip at Bremerton to see how it would run. My car is completely stock. Nothing has been modified yet. I chose to leave the car as close to the way I drive it everyday as possible; 3/4 tank of fuel, 35 PSI on the tires (OEM 17" wheels and tires), 92 octane gas (Washington State Premium) etc. I have not raced at a drag strip in many, many years so I have to factor in the nervousness into the equation. 

I ran the car a total of 6 runs almost at a hot lap pace; maybe 15 minutes at the most.

So here are my results:

my best E.T. was 14.166 at 102.36 mph; worst 14.680 (fell asleep at the tree)
my best trap speed was 103.91; worst 98.41
my best 60 ft. was 2.287; worst 2.701 (same sleepy run)
best 1/8 was 9.328 @ 79.40; worst 9.845 @ 79.17(sleep)

I kept the traction control on in every run except one. When I turned the traction control I spent approx. a third of the run spinning wheels. My best run was my first one and my last one was my second best. Everything in between sucked. So, now that I have a baseline, what can I do to make the car dip into the 13's? Anyway, thanks.

:seeya:


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## Kraemer (Aug 5, 2008)

Those numbers seem unusual. You should be in the 13s stock.
Whats the altitude there? At nearly sea level here in FL, the worst run I've ever made with my stock GTO was my very first run in the car. 13.8 with traction control on. After that I turned off traction control and every other clean run dropped below 13.5. Even missing 4th once, I rolled in at 13.7 @ 91mph.
Edit: also an 06 M6


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## RicanGoat (Aug 25, 2009)

I'm at if not very close to sea level. I don't think power is a problem...my biggest problem seems to be traction. I'm fighting the traction control half way through the track. When I ran with the traction control off, I went sideways for a good third of the track. I started babying it off the line and it improved but as soon as I got on it, I would break loose. Please let me know from your experience what I seem to be doing wrong.

:cheers


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

Your trap speed is an indication of power. An LS2 GTO should trap in the 109's at sea level. Your best of 103 indicates that you aren't making or more likely from your description, aren't using full power. 

There are some great posts on here about launch techniques, try searching them. I'll try to give you an abridged version here. 

First off you have 400 hp and you can't just mash the gas and go. 

Start off by adjusting your tire pressure. On stock street tires somewhere between 22and 26 psi is going to be a sweet spot. The track prep will determine this. 

Turn the traction control off!!!!!!! 

As you approach the starting line there is a water box for burnouts. Always bypass this and back up to the edge of the water. Spin the tires for 1-2 seconds, just enough to get a little bit of heat in them and to clean off the tires. 

Stage shallow, just barely trip the stage light. By the way, your reaction time will not affect your elapsed time at all. Your ET doesn't start till you break the staged light beam. 

Take the car to somewhere between 1800 and and 2400 rpms for M6 cars. This will depend on track prep. If you are spinning too much lower the launch RPM, if you bog raise it. When you think you see the bottom yellow light turn on, do a relatively quick lift on the clutch with minimal slippage and work your foot into the throttle. You want to keep it lightly spinning till you are near 4000 rpms where you want the car to completely hook up. LIGHTLY SPINNING is key. When you get to 6000-6100 shift to second. The tach doesn't spin as fast as the motor and you will hit the rev limiter if you don't. On your 2-3 shift use 6200-6300 and use 6400 for the 3-4. 

If you are an A4, it is the same thing till you get to stage. Stage normal not shallow. Put your left foot on the brake and hold it firmly. Put your right foot on the gas and take it up to 800 rpms. You will need to adjust this depending on track prep. More rpms if you bog and less if you spin too much. 

When you think you see the bottom yellow light up sidestep the brake and slowly roll into the throttle. Again, lightly spinning till 3500-4000 rpms. LIGHTLY. Adjust the throttle with small amounts of input to correct for too much or little wheelspin. By 4000 you want the car hooked up and you just mash the gas and let the car do the rest. Do not try to shift it yourself. The computer is much better at this than anyone here. 

You should be able to get low 13's with good conditions. 

Track prep, a temperature of under 75 degrees and low humidity and a good barometer. 

It takes a bunch of practice. Especially with the A6.


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## RicanGoat (Aug 25, 2009)

Thank you *Fergyflyer *for the input. I think I took a completely opposite approach hence all the wheelspin. I think I underestimated the power a little. I've launched other less powerful cars before and had not had such a traction issue. I'm glad you brought up the waterbox; I by-passed it completely but never attempted to warm up the tires. This upcoming Friday I may just head to the test&tune again so I can practice my launch. My car is a M6 BTW. Thanks for the pointers and if anyone else has any more input please bring it on. I'm humble; if I thought I knew it all I would not be here asking. Thanks!!

:cheers


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## svede1212 (Nov 1, 2005)

what he said was pretty much right on. sticks are much harder to launch and run. the little burnie is more to get the looses stones and grit off the tires. you really need to let some air out of the back to stand a chance at traction. 25# is able right for street tires in the back and then i pumped my fronts up to 40# to lose a little rolling resistance. with just those 2 things i was able to get my stock M6 '04 below a 2.0 60' and a 13.38 ET @ 104. another thing is if you start to get wheel hop get out of it right away or you're going to break something.


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

RicanGoat said:


> Thank you *Fergyflyer *for the input. I think I took a completely opposite approach hence all the wheelspin. I think I underestimated the power a little. I've launched other less powerful cars before and had not had such a traction issue. I'm glad you brought up the waterbox; I by-passed it completely but never attempted to warm up the tires. This upcoming Friday I may just head to the test&tune again so I can practice my launch. My car is a M6 BTW. Thanks for the pointers and if anyone else has any more input please bring it on. I'm humble; if I thought I knew it all I would not be here asking. Thanks!!
> 
> :cheers


Hope I helped you out there. 

Practice is the key. 

Get a little bit less nervous and work on one thing at a time.


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

12.65 at 109 in a tuned 05 A4 with just a tune (stock 18 tires also). I will admit that an M6 is relaly more of a driver then car race. You can easily beat your time with some practice. Always race with t/c off!


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## RicanGoat (Aug 25, 2009)

All good pointers...I will take all of them into consideration. I'm going back again this Friday to see if I can crack this nut. 

One more question. Should I let the car cool down between runs? The test and tune at Bremerton lets you line up when you want since there isn't that many people out there.


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## jpalamar (Jul 22, 2008)

RicanGoat said:


> All good pointers...I will take all of them into consideration. I'm going back again this Friday to see if I can crack this nut.
> 
> One more question. Should I let the car cool down between runs? The test and tune at Bremerton lets you line up when you want since there isn't that many people out there.


Temps can play a big role in your time, but if I were you I wouldn't worry about anything other then the 0-60 time. Without that, it doesn't matter how fast your car is.


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## Poncho Dan (Jun 30, 2009)

Is the dragstrip just a slippery place? I don't get wheelspin in 2nd or 3rd on the street with t/c off...


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## RicanGoat (Aug 25, 2009)

I was just thinking about this morning as I was driving to work. The track is very slippery...I guess it doesn't get too much prep for test and tune. I will consider that as well. Thanks!!


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## RicanGoat (Aug 25, 2009)

Update:

I went to the track again today and applied all the tips you guys provided and I'm glad to say I improved quite a bit in my eyes. I ran a fairly consistent 13.7 1/4mi. I know those are not numbers to really brag about but I feel better tha last week when I was able to run no lower than 14.1. I think that with more practice I can do much better. I deflated my tires to 26 PSI and that made quite a difference in grip. So, for those of you that took the time to offer advise...thank you. Now I'm even more in love with my Great One.

:cheers


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## fergyflyer (Apr 18, 2005)

Congrats on the improvement. 

Kepp playing around and the practice and familiarirty will keep improving your times.


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## RJ_05GTO (Jul 6, 2008)

RicanGoat said:


> Today I decided to take the GTO to the drag strip at Bremerton to see how it would run. My car is completely stock. Nothing has been modified yet. I chose to leave the car as close to the way I drive it everyday as possible; 3/4 tank of fuel, 35 PSI on the tires (OEM 17" wheels and tires), 92 octane gas (Washington State Premium) etc. I have not raced at a drag strip in many, many years so I have to factor in the nervousness into the equation.
> 
> I ran the car a total of 6 runs almost at a hot lap pace; maybe 15 minutes at the most.
> 
> ...


You need to get your intake air temperatures down under 85 degrees preferebly but at least under 100 degrees. You need to get a scan tool or programmer to monitor the temps. The computer pulls a butt load of timing above 100'. I switch over to my vector iat relocator at the track and run it outside the airbox to bypass the heatsoaked factory sensor. Dont use traction control and launch the car off of the brake. A 14.1 is horrible for a ls2. You should be pulling at least a 2.0** 60 foot and a low 13 second 1/4 mile. Just my 2 cent... follow these directions and you will be in the low 13 second range.


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## RJ_05GTO (Jul 6, 2008)

RicanGoat said:


> Update:
> 
> I went to the track again today and applied all the tips you guys provided and I'm glad to say I improved quite a bit in my eyes. I ran a fairly consistent 13.7 1/4mi. I know those are not numbers to really brag about but I feel better tha last week when I was able to run no lower than 14.1. I think that with more practice I can do much better. I deflated my tires to 26 PSI and that made quite a difference in grip. So, for those of you that took the time to offer advise...thank you. Now I'm even more in love with my Great One.
> 
> :cheers


arty: Nice improvement!!! You still have at least a half a second to knock off. If traction is a problem you could try some nitto 555s or some other performance tires. I took mine to the track and was pretty suprised with the nittos. I heated em up a little... maybe a 5 second burnout or so and they bit pretty nicely.


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## formercg (Aug 28, 2009)

nice improvement. What really helped me was the drag radials and drag bags. With those two mods alone i picked up six tenths and four mph in the 1/8 mile. I have yet to race with those mods in the quarter yet. As for hot lapping, I have noticed that our cars suffer horribly from heat soak. I usually leave the hood open and never idle while in the staging lanes.


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## RicanGoat (Aug 25, 2009)

What is the vector IAT relocation kit? Where can I get one? 
confused:confused


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## RJ_05GTO (Jul 6, 2008)

RicanGoat said:


> What is the vector IAT relocation kit? Where can I get one?
> confused:confused


Vector Motorsports - LS2 Heat Soak Reduction Kit - Generation 2

Here it is.


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## formercg (Aug 28, 2009)

Does that kit work as advertised? If so, I'm ordering one asap.


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## RJ_05GTO (Jul 6, 2008)

formercg said:


> Does that kit work as advertised? If so, I'm ordering one asap.


yea it works pretty good. it has a faster reacting sensor and you can put it in a cooler place. I have a cold air intake and that helps a lot with the heatsoak so i dont run the hsrk all the time. I only use it at the track outside the air intake to bypass the heatsoaked sensor because i have to drive over 50 miles to the track and it would take hours for it to cool down


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