Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my '02 GTS

[dwhitt]

Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my \'02 GTS

All in all fairly satisfied. Mods are tubes, filters and muffler delete. Stock tires at 30 psi except went with 26 psi on last run. Air temp was high 50's and lower 60's on later runs. Low humidity. Track is at sea level almost.

Run 1 12.444 at 115.29 on 2.029 60 ft - suffered bad wheel hop launching
Run 2 13.346 at 113.78 on 2.306 60 ft - worse wheel hop than first run
Run 3 12.809 at 99.52 on 1.932 60 ft - bogged and missed 4th gear bad
Run 4 12.622 at 113.86 on 1.982 60 ft - bad bog on launch but clean shifts
Run 5 12.305 at 116.55 on 1.915 60 ft -
Run 6 12.561 at 116.71 on 2.200 60 ft - spun very bad
Run 7 12.351 at 116.06 on 1.948 60 ft - some bog and wheel hop - long cool down

Did see a 405 hp Z06 running 12.40's and 12.50's

Saw a new Mach 1 Mustang run 12.22 and then break the driveline on 2nd run
Saw a new Cobra break on its first run - heavily modified - sounded very strong
Saw a new Cobra with anniversary wheels run 13.55
Saw a Ford Lightning dip into the 12.90's at 108 mph - also ran many 13.0's

My new Sloan Qwik Load towed great on its first outing. Received many compliments in the pits.

One Question - WHAT CAUSES THE BAD WHEEL HOP ?

 

[Snakester]

Re: Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my \'02 GTS

Good set of runs for your first time out!!

-Dean.

 

[Mike 99ACR]

Re: Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my \'02 GTS

Pretty normal and not so bad for first time out. The more you race it the better it will get. I'm no expert by any means but learning to feather the clutch, good shifting, and LOTS of practice will result in lower times.

 

[SUN RA KAT]

Re: Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my \'02 GTS

Great start! I've yet to get a 1.9 60' time, but I've gotten quite a few 2.0's. Different tracks have totally different personalities - the closest track is slick in spots and wheel hop is a problem on launches. The other track I've been to was slick the entire 1320'. The only good track I've been to was at Norwalk, Ohio. I've only done 5 days of drags and practicing until you feel comfortable makes a big difference. You can't launch real fast on the street, but you can practice reaction times if you are 1st at a red light and you don't have too many other people run red lights in your area. You can practice quick shifting (at part throttle) in normal driving.

Your One Question - WHAT CAUSES THE BAD WHEEL HOP ? - is my One Question, too.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Re: Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my \'02 GTS

Kumho's cured my wheel hop, but only come in 17" size. Granny T/O and granny shifting will also result in no wheel hop, but not the quickest way to eat up the 1/4.

 

[fuelman]

Re: Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my \'02 GTS

Good times for your first trip out. Watch that wheel hop, it can break a lot of things on and independent rear. I usually run my Michelins at 20 psi and ride the clutch out for a smooth launch. It may make the clutch smell a bit but they usually recover well. Your car was built to race.

 

[Vic]

Re: Back from my 1st Drag Strip Outing in my \'02 GTS

7 runs in one night? Outstanding!!!

My first time, just three runs at CalSpeedway took me 8 hours! (I haven't been back since!)

Anyway, congrats on a great showing for your first time.