UVA3rdGen

ok, I fully accept your chuckles at this stupid question but I went to my first drag race the other day and I was wondering what is the differance between the two lights or just one at the top of the tree. What exactly is the differance and what are the benifits of staging the two diffent ways? I am crossing my fingers that their is a differance so I do not sound like a total dumb*ss. Thanks in advance guys.

Birmass

Not a stupid question at all. It is intimidating the first time you go, but you'll get the hang of it!

The first single light is the Pre-stage light. It tells you that you're close to being fully staged(ready to race). The second set of two lights is to tell you that you have fully staged. Basically, most people hit the pre-stage lights and then creep foward to trip the second set of lights. Both sets of lights should be on at this point. This signals the tower that you are ready to race. Once both sides of the track are fully staged is when the light tree starts.

Some people like to do what is called "deep" staging. They will trip the second set of lights and then creep even more foward to turn the pre-stage lights off. So instead of the laser being at the front of your tires it is at the back. This will make the clock start sooner than if you had to roll all the way through the lights while you were taking off. This gives a better reaction time. I would suggest though tripping the staging lights and stopping as soon as possible because it will give you more time to get rolling before the clock starts.

Hope this makes sense.

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NJ SPEEDER

if you are going for ET's you will want to "shallow" stage. that means getting as barely into the beams as possible.
the easiest way to do this is to roll slowly into the prestage beams and stop as soon as they come on. then while applying some pressure to the brakes(just enough to hold the car still) give the gas a series of little pops, just enough to rev the car a little, when you get it right you will feel the car creep forward an inch at a time, this is good to practice in an empty parking lot.
just bump it until the full stage lamps just come on. this givews the car the most "roll out", which means the car actually has more space to roll forward before it leaves the beams and starts the timers.

later
tim

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91'firebrd

The difference you see in ET from an extra 3 inches of rollout could not be more then .02 seconds. I'd try both and whatever method gives you your best reaction time, without red lighting, do it.
I'd think even if you were just trying to get your best ET you'd want your best RT too?
Some people seem to do better shallow staging and hitting it a hair after the 2nd light comes on. I like to deep stage and hit it right when the 3rd light comes on.

AlkyIROC

I shallow stage and as soon as I see the last yellow light reach it's brightest (yes you can see them come on and go off) I go. By the time you and the car react, you should cut a good low .5xx light. It just takes practice to know how much of the third yellow to leave on.

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UVA3rdGen

I now get it. It is so worth the 2 hour drive, drag racing is great. I only wish I could pay to play, right now I can only watch because I cannot afford to break something. One day though, I will definitely get into this.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Just turning on the 2nd light is the right method for a responsive race car. For highway-geared daily drivers, the deeper staging can be beneficial.

I went to test & tune last night with my '57, which not only has highway gears, but is heavy, too. My typical staging method has been to turn on the staged light and roll just a little more, but not turn off the prestage light. With the new Holley and my final .499 light on Sept 1, I wanted to try the more "normal" lights, just turning on the staged light. Although I didn't Rudolph all night (7 runs), my lights were more in the .540's to .570's (acceptable in most situations - certainly better than a .499). On my second-to-last run, I deep staged and let that yellow get real bright - .507 RT.

I don't know why we spend so much time talking about this. Everybody knows all there is to drag racing is flooring it when the light turns greeen...

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camaro chick

I don't know why we spend so much time talking about this. Everybody knows all there is to drag racing is flooring it when the light turns greeen...

[/B][/QUOTE]
But keep in mind if you wait for the actual green, your R/T will suck!

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Will now remove tongue from cheek...

Basett_Racing

Not true. A very deep stage can hurt your 60' time up to 5 hundreds, and kill ET by over a tenth, Try it some time. It is really amazing how much difference it makes. Even like somebody further up this thread noted, you can stage regular and cut .560-.570 lights consistantly, and then deep stage and get 5 oh's - 5 teens. When after a new best ET I stage as shallow as possible. I have even staged so shallow that the "staged" light is flickering, as a matter of fact, my best 60' came on a run like that. Try it out, it will surprise you.


It wouldn't matter at all what your RT was in relation to ET. You could have .800 RT, and a 12.00 run will still be a 12.00 Deep staging is really only benificial in Bracket racing, and when after your your best ever ET, you want to stage as shallow as you can. This has come up several times when I've driven some of friend's (or inexperienced driver's) cars, and they wonder how I am getting such a good 60' time compared to their's


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82 Z28 383, Ported 215cc Dart Iron Eagle Heads 72 cc Comb. Chambers, Comp custom grind Hyd roller cam, Speed Pro .250" domes, Wheeler Motorsports 4340 I beam rods, Eagle 5140 steel crank, Weiand Team G intake, Holley 830 DP, hedman headers
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Bassett Racing




[This message has been edited by Basett_Racing (edited September 24, 2001).]