A lot of emphasis is put on lowering the 60' time and therefore, the overall ET. For a car running in the 11 second bracket, by dropping the 60' ft time by 0.10 sec, typically, you can lower the ET by .15 to .20 seconds.
There is a problem with that last comment, it is only true if you have 100% traction after the 60 ft light. I installed a set of double adjustable Penske's this year. After using them on both the track and in autox, I now know I should have installed them a long time ago. They give you the ability to tailor the suspension for the type of traction that is encountered.
I had made some engine changes in addition to the shocks. I lowered the 60' ft times, but, did not see all the gains that I anticipated in ET. I log most runs, but, in the past had not paid attention to the 1st gear/launch part of the log because there was not a lot of suspension changes (pre Penske) I could make that would affect ET. Adjusting the shocks takes a little knowledge and initially a little time. I am still experimenting, but, for sure. they can affect the ET. You absolutely need a record of what your changes/shock settings were and what the results were.
With double adjustable shocks on both the front and rear you can dial in more traction right at the start line or you can move the max traction to a point further down the strip. Most tracks (Ohio for sure) always VHT the first sixty ft, but, do not go any further unless there is some special high hp event. After looking at my logs I showed that the car would almost stall even when launching at 5000 rpm. That is max traction, but, as soon as I approached the 60' light it would lose traction. This is also a car with a metallic clutch, so there is no feathering.
In short, because of the viper's torque and the way most drag strips do track prep, you can have a good 60' time, but, that does not always translate into a much better ET. In other words, we have to pay just as much attention to traction in the latter park of first gear as we do to traction at the launch. However, with double adjustable shocks you can move that max traction point a little further down the strip, therefore maximizing the suspension and the ET for that strip. Keep in mind this is for an 10-11 second NA car, this all gets ultimately more complicated on a high hp car. A note of caution, unless you are somehow logging acceleration you are typically not going to be aware of the limits of traction.
There is a problem with that last comment, it is only true if you have 100% traction after the 60 ft light. I installed a set of double adjustable Penske's this year. After using them on both the track and in autox, I now know I should have installed them a long time ago. They give you the ability to tailor the suspension for the type of traction that is encountered.
I had made some engine changes in addition to the shocks. I lowered the 60' ft times, but, did not see all the gains that I anticipated in ET. I log most runs, but, in the past had not paid attention to the 1st gear/launch part of the log because there was not a lot of suspension changes (pre Penske) I could make that would affect ET. Adjusting the shocks takes a little knowledge and initially a little time. I am still experimenting, but, for sure. they can affect the ET. You absolutely need a record of what your changes/shock settings were and what the results were.
With double adjustable shocks on both the front and rear you can dial in more traction right at the start line or you can move the max traction to a point further down the strip. Most tracks (Ohio for sure) always VHT the first sixty ft, but, do not go any further unless there is some special high hp event. After looking at my logs I showed that the car would almost stall even when launching at 5000 rpm. That is max traction, but, as soon as I approached the 60' light it would lose traction. This is also a car with a metallic clutch, so there is no feathering.
In short, because of the viper's torque and the way most drag strips do track prep, you can have a good 60' time, but, that does not always translate into a much better ET. In other words, we have to pay just as much attention to traction in the latter park of first gear as we do to traction at the launch. However, with double adjustable shocks you can move that max traction point a little further down the strip, therefore maximizing the suspension and the ET for that strip. Keep in mind this is for an 10-11 second NA car, this all gets ultimately more complicated on a high hp car. A note of caution, unless you are somehow logging acceleration you are typically not going to be aware of the limits of traction.
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