I thought the track was supposed to hook harder than the street!

[StangLou]

Was at Darlington NC for the Test and Tune night for Mustang Week. Decided to pay my $10 and make a few passes. On the street I have 0 trouble hooking. The tires will make a couple quick rotations, then bite and Im off. First time I lined up I hazed the Nittos to a light smoke, staged at 2500rpms, and waited for the lights. Tree fell and I side stepped the clutch and spun all the way through 1st and all the way through 2nd . It bit in 3rd and I was off. Passed the line in 14.9 seconds with a 2.8 60ft at 98mph!!! I was ticked to say the least. Figured my Nitto's would hook better than that.
Lined up the 2nd time. Light smoking of the tires, staged at 2000rpms this time and dumped the clutch. Again I went to spinning completely through 1st, and most of 2nd. It bit over halfway in 2nd, I missed 3rd and said screw this run. 17.6 with a 2.4 60ft at 59mph lol.
Final run I was determined not to spin. Hazed the tires, and lined up. No staging this time. I waited for the light and took off like I normally would from a stop light. Once I got rolling I stomped the gas and of course spun like mad . Spun all the way through 1st, but caught 2nd this time. Nailed 3rd perfectly and passed the guy I was racing, powershifted to 4th but I was already at the finish line by then. 60ft was 2.3 1/4 was 14.6 at 96mph.
Somehow my time and mph went down I powershifted every gear except from 1st-2nd. I also drove around the water box each time. Anyone have any advice for next time Im at the track. I know Ill get better with practice, but I expected MUCH better hooking racing at the track than on the street. It was humid as crap that night, and finally rained on us before I could do a 4th run. Best time I saw all night was a nice clean green notch... 8.9 seconds at 149mph!!! Best time I saw from a modded Cobra was a 12.4. Best run I saw from a Mach I was a 13.6. Most Mach's and modded GTs I saw race were in the 14's so I didnt feel to alone. Ehh live and learn I guess.

 

[2013 Geee T]

I think people tend to get to anxious at the track trying to get that perfect light and end up dropping the clutch too quick or having the RPMs up too high and end up spinning. Or maybe the track wasnt prepped worth a crap.

 

[Modular2v]

i thought the same thing my 1st time at the track 3 years ago...it really depends on how well they prep the track the track i go to got fined 90,000 last year because they had an NHRA regional event and the track was so bad due to lack of preping that they had to send a NHRA crew in to get the track caught up...

 

[03gtmustang]

Damn man, I feel your pain. Are those Nitto DR's? Next time try dropping the psi between 16-18.

 

[StangLou]

They are the Nitto 555's. I didnt go with the 555R's which is the dr version from what I could read. I did keep the tire pressure up at 30psi which Im sure didnt help. From what I saw the track just wasnt prepped worth a crap. There some several modded cars spinning the entire length of the track. Those with straight slicks didnt have a problem, but the rest of us did

 

[03gtmustang]

Hit up another track and get some real times.

 

[Sleepy1]

Sorry to hear that. I went to the track for the first time last fall and my car was all over the place. I don't think tracks prep very well for test/tune nights. Better luck and fun next time.

 

[Modular2v]

the key is to catch a track the week before a national, regional or local event

 

[StangLou]

I had a blast doing it, even though I was disappointed with the results. Nothing like blazing down a track at speeds that would make a cop piss himself .

 

[mcmmotorsports]

Your first post was almost an exact description of my run at Kinston Dragway last Thursday.
See:http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=485600&highlight=track
Anyways, traction sucked big time at the track, nothing like the street in front of my house, which is kinda like a Drag Strip in itself see:

 

[twogts4us]

As was said above, drop the tire pressure, and don't side step the clutch. Finessing the clutch/tires is the key...

 

[Jesus]

I had the same experience when i took my GT to the track. I cut an outstanding 2.3 60', managed to spin through first, second, part of third. I eneded up with an awsome 15.1 at 96 MPH. I just drove home after that. Didnt want to wait in line for an hour again to see if I could do better. This was at Tucson Intl. Raceway which I believe is around 2000 ft. above sea level. The temp was around 80-83 degrees. I was pretty happy with the MPH considering how horrible the rest of the run was. Not happy with the fact that I turned in a similar time to a modded v6 though

 

[Smeech]

Only ran twice, I went the first day the tracks opened... 15.05 first run, 2.3 60' but grannied it out of the hole.

Second run spun too much in 1st and missed 3rd but still managed a 15.7.

 

[StangLou]

Wouldnt dropping the tire pressure to 16-18psi almost cause me to bog off the line? Also, why not side step the clutch??? With the Nittos I would think it wouldnt be a problem given good track conditions. Again thanks for the help and pointers guys

 

[AirWolf87]

Your first post was almost an exact description of my run at Kinston Dragway last Thursday.
See:http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=485600&highlight=track
Anyways, traction sucked big time at the track, nothing like the street in front of my house, which is kinda like a Drag Strip in itself see:

i would give anything to have a street like that in my home town!

 

[stangluver02]

You cant side step it and expect to hook at all. I cant even dump it and i have dr's and I heat them for around 8 seconds. I usually try to leave at about 4500 and slip the clutch. This has proved the best for me. My best 60 ft. is 1.95 so far not great but not horrible i guess. dont feel bad my first time to the track I ran 14.3 on street tires and eventually got it down to 13.8. Now my best is a 13.48 with the nittos. There is more in it because the humidity was 88% and it was 80 outside. Anyone that goes to edgewater knows the track prep isnt exactly great on test and tune night.

 

[GregGTStang]

Probably lack of track prep, like said above.

 

[BAFMustangGT]

Drop pressure....

And learn to slip-it. The street is where you drop...the track is were you become a big dawg and learn to slip...

BTW...i ran a 14.1 with a 2.4 60'...

 

[GregGTStang]

14.1 with those mods and a 14.10 stock? Hmmm, something's wrong.

 

[BAFMustangGT]

What?!