I'm going to the track for the first time on Friday. I'm excited, but a little ignorant of how things generally work. I was hoping you guys could give me some tips on how to get the most out of my trip.

First off, I'll tell you what I have. My car's a bone stock 1985 Trans Am with an LG4. Besides a K&N air filter and a rotted off exhaust (stops at the cat ), the car has nothing done to it. I know I'm not going to see any great times, but that's ok because this trip is to see where my car stands before I start modding it.

Anyway, basically I wanted to know how I should launch my car off the line. I've heard different things but I don't understand the theory behind any of it. I'm assuming that the idea is to get as much power to the tires as possible without losing traction, but that's just a guess. Can someone explain to me what to do?

Also, why do people do burnouts before running a race? Is it because the tires become more sticky after being heated or what? Should I lower the PSI in my tires for the track? I use plain old street tires... no slicks or anything.

Sorry for the newbie questions, I just want to get the most out of this run before I go. Thanks again!

 

You won't need to do a burnout with regular street tires. Lower the pressuer to about 25-28 psi, drive around the water box, and then spin them quicky to clean them off before you stage at the starting line. Slicks need to be heated up; street tires do not.

When leaving the line, try to take it somewhat easy the first time as many first timers leave the starting line in a pile of smoke by being to aggresive. Try shifting at 5k and adjust accordingly depending on the results you see.

Make sure that your car will pass tech (battery tied down, rad overflow, no loose objects, neutral safety works, etc).

Good luck, have fun, and let us know how you do.

Trevor

 

Thanks for the tips. My car's an automatic though, so I don't know about the shifting part.

Should I just floor it off the line or should I revv to a certain RPM before hitting the pedal?

 

What does the transmission shift at by itself?

As for leaving the line, you should be able to get into it fairly quicky as a stock LG4 isn't the tire melting machine that others with street tire traction problems have. Once you are rolling, you could likely go WOT. It depends on the condition of your tires and the track surface though. You'll have to experiment.

 

I haven't really had the opportunity to go WOT on the street, but if I remember correctly, the last time I did it shifted at 4500 RPM.

The tires themselves are fairly new. I've only put about 6000 miles on them thus far.

I've never really had any traction problems during the few times I have got on it from a stop. Usually my tires will let out a small chirp and then catch easily.

 

Depending on the track condition, you may have more trouble hooking at the track than on the street. Work up to more aggresive launches.

As for shifting, you could let it shift itself until you get the hang of and then try 4800rpm, 5000rpm, etc. See what works best for you.

 

Alright, thanks a lot for your help and advice.

 

How did you do?

 

It's just my luck the track got rained out that night and I can't afford to take off any more days... I need the money.