Couple of simple Drag Racing Questions for you experts....

[JH23JOB]

Is there an optimum amount of fuel to have in your tank for Drag Racing ?? How about the spare tire........ leave it in, or remove it ?? I know that you must have a little weight in the back end, but has anyone ever experimented with the rear weight issue before ?? Thanks........

 

[JH23JOB]

One more thing..

Has anyone ever run a stock Viper with straight headers to see if it would lower your ET ?? How about using exhaust cut-outs at the flex pipe ?? Any advantage to doing anything like this ??

 

[Makara]

I wish I could give you a good answer but I don't have the most drag experience out of all the people here. I haven't noticed a huge difference if any between having a full tank or an empty one. My et seemed to vary within the tolerances that I would consider normal for someone with my experience. I thought I remember JonB saying something about having about a third of a tank as a good place to start. I try to show up to the track with about that much gas but that isn't always the case.

 

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

Dan,

I'm far from an expert - but I'll add my $.02.

First - the less weight the better. I would suggest a 1/4 tank or less. Removing the spare will help a little as well.

Second - straight headers would not work as the hot exhaust would dump right into you side sill - burning the paint/insulation. Albert C runs straight exhaust (no cats or mufflers) out to the rear - seems to help some.

Good luck.

 

[HouseofSpeed]

While shaving weight is a good idea....here's food for thought on the fuel issue.

An intank pump relies on the fuel surrounding it to cool the pump while in operation....lower fuel levels reduce the heat transfer medium (fuel) that helps keep the pump alive. The fuel pump module is designed so that sloshing at low fuel levels is not really an issue and the pump should always have a suffcient supply at the pump inlet. For maximum performance and maximum life out of the pump...I suggest always running as close to 1/2 tank as you can.

 

[jcaspar1]

Just to confuse the issue, Tom Welsh's drag racing video recommends running with a full tank to increase traction!

 

[JH23JOB]

Thanks for the advise.......

I'm heading out in the morning, and I'll post my results when I get back on Sunday.

 

[SUN RA KAT]

In just hot rodding on the street I notice a big difference in traction from full to half tank. As easy as it is to spin the tires at part throttle with a full tank, it's so much more prevalent at half tank. I rarely go much further than a half tank before I fill up again. And part throttle is usually 1/4 to 1/3 throttle in 1st & 2nd gears.