Dragstrip tips - got any advice?

Great thread Saki. I’m definitely hitting up the strip a few times this year and this will be a helpful checklist.

read bangoman’s post - don’t worry about reacting to the lights. If you do, you’ll be too busy being a bracket racing star, and will fuck up your run.

I often go a full second or two after green. I really don’t care. The clocks don’t start till you pass that second beam with the back of your front tires. There are two times measured…your reaction time, and your elapsed time to run the quarter mile. The reaction time has nothing to do with ET, and when we talk quarter mile times, we ALWAYS talk elapsed time. ET. The reaction time or RT is only relevant when you’re in a bracket racing competition where you have to beat the guy beside you. THey add your ET to your RT (RT+ET) and the lowest overall is the winner…but that’s irrelevant for everyone who is reading this thread lol.

As for what to do with LA…I just sit there idling waiting as the lights start getting ready to go, I prepare to engage LA, then once i hit 5500 and hold for a quarter-half second, I go.

As for the e-brake, I wouldn’t bother. No need…the track is dead flat at the starting area to allow you to stage perfectly.

updated with some of bangoman’s additions

Anyone else with any advice, it is always appreciated.

So there is much more then just good power shifting skills to get good times ;D

I plan on getting my charger installed in LA then finding the closest strip for some runs but this may not be until mid Dec! Based on your post Saki it would be very optimistic of me to get any good runs in, especially if im alone. The reason why I want to get it right there in LA before driving back is that the DA in SLC is brutal, 4400ft elevation!

Can we have this moved to the 1/4 mile section? ;D

No, it is only for the S4/RS4 guys…lol

Can we have this moved to the 1/4 mile section? ;D

No, it is only for the S4/RS4 guys…lol

bumping this up…would also like to see this in the 1/4 mile section, and stickied.

bumping this up…would also like to see this in the 1/4 mile section, and stickied.

I’m going to weigh my car, either at a local dump or at a CAT Scale at a truck stop. With everything including the OEM wheels, full interior, and spare tire in it. Brim the tank then weigh. Easiest to keep weight of gas constant that way. No passengers obviously.

Then as time goes by and I’ve done this and that weight reducing measures I’ll weigh again.

Perhaps it will be possible to equate weight reduction to dragstrip results over time. Just an idea.

that has been done. You can bank on picking up about 1 tenth of ET for every 100 lbs reduced on these cars. So there you go, you don’t need to now.

Is it also one tenth for 10 pounds of rotating mass reduction?

I put 15mm spacers on all 4 corners - so I just killed a decent chunk of hp didn’t I?

maybe 30 lbs of rotating…

15mm spacers? Those things weigh the same as lint.

I’m going to weigh my car, either at a local dump or at a CAT Scale at a truck stop. With everything including the OEM wheels, full interior, and spare tire in it. Brim the tank then weigh. Easiest to keep weight of gas constant that way. No passengers obviously.

Then as time goes by and I’ve done this and that weight reducing measures I’ll weigh again.

Perhaps it will be possible to equate weight reduction to dragstrip results over time. Just an idea.

that has been done. You can bank on picking up about 1 tenth of ET for every 100 lbs reduced on these cars. So there you go, you don’t need to now.

Is it also one tenth for 10 pounds of rotating mass reduction?

I put 15mm spacers on all 4 corners - so I just killed a decent chunk of hp didn’t I?

maybe 30 lbs of rotating…

15mm spacers? Those things weigh the same as lint.

Good question.

I know from previous knowledge that adding 1lbs of rotation mass = the effect of approx. 8lbs of curb weight, but I am not sure if its the same with removing that mass as well? 10 lbs of rotating mass would equal to approx. 80 lbs of rotating mass, so that is right in the ballpark to be near 1/10th of a second.

Good question.

I know from previous knowledge that adding 1lbs of rotation mass = the effect of approx. 8lbs of curb weight, but I am not sure if its the same with removing that mass as well? 10 lbs of rotating mass would equal to approx. 80 lbs of rotating mass, so that is right in the ballpark to be near 1/10th of a second.