When you are heating up the tires on a car with an automatic trans. should you be in
L1 or drive?

 

Start off in first then shift to second as wheel speed increases. When you're done heating up the tires, shift to third and gradually come off the throttle.

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Follow my racing progress on Stephen's racing page
and check out the race car

87 IROC-Z SuperPro ET Bracket Race Car
461 naturally aspirated Big Block

Best ET on a time slip: 11.242 altitude corrected to 10.89
Best MPH on a time slip: 121.52 altitude corrected to 125.89
Altitude corrected rear wheel HP: 497.9
Best 60 foot: 1.546

Racing at 3500 feet elevation with a typical race day over 5000 feet density altitude!
Member of the Calgary Drag Racing Association

87 IROC bracket car, 91 454SS daily driver, 95 Homebuilt Harley

 

...with drag racing tires.

On street tires, go ahead and leave it in "D". You're only going to let them turn over twice before you let off of it anyway.

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R4. 2.93 limited slip. 2-1/2" cat-back, ZZ3 intake, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/'87 LB9 block, ZZ3 cam, ported World 305 heads, Hooker 2055 headers, 3" Catco cat & 3" cat-back, Spohn SFCs).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. '66 396, 9.7 CR forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Holley 750VS w/4150 conversion, GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlocks, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, MegaShifter, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Idles smooth @ 600 RPM in D. Best 15.02/95.06 @ 5800' Bandimere (corrected 13.93/102.4 @ sea level).

 

But doing a burnout with street tires does nothing except make lots of noise, some smoke and wears a lot of tread off the tires. They won't get hot and sticky like a drag tire will.

I see lots of cars doing a burnout as a light turns green. I just laugh at them and wish they would go to the track. I'd beat them every time. It just shows me that they have no traction. A car should launch hard with no wheel spin. As soon as the tires start spinning, you slow down.

Actually the proper way to do a burnout is with a line lock. You step on the brakes and push the line lock button. When you release the brake, the front brakes stay locked until you let go of the button. This allows the rear brakes to release and when you do a burnout, you don't heat up the rear brakes. Nothing worse than brake fade at the end of the 1/4 mile.

 

I guess you missed my point. You're not exactly doing a "burn" out when the tires only turn over twice.

You're right on the money about street tires. I've even seen guys at the track sitting there staged, with the line lock on, turning the tires as the yellows come down - impressive! As are their 1.xxx reaction times...

[This message has been edited by five7kid (edited September 05, 2001).]

 

You guys might want to hear something. Any car I have owned and raced on street tires, if I dont do a burnout, the tires will fry off the line. Street tires will not have the same effect as even equal size slicks, but what does rubber do when it heats up? It gets sticky. So to a point, burnouts do help. Now I just have to keep my "John Force" burnouts in my 16-second T/A to a minimum

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1983 T-top Trans Am. All stock (for now) LG4/auto/3.73 posi. 70,000 original miles. SLOWLY going through a Knight Rider conversion. (it will be done one of these years)
Bset of 16.001@85mph 2.16 60ft

 

Huh, that's odd. My 89 RS runs consistent 15 oh's (w/ a 14.91 best ET) and it will spin much if worse if I DO a burnout, than if I don't. My street tires get very slippery even if I do a small, short burnout. I do, however, do a few short dry-hops on the street tires, but that produces very little, if any, wheelspin. Most compound street tires I've ever seen seem get almost oily when you do a burnout on them. Your street tires must be of a pretty soft compound, and when they heat up, they actually get sticky instead of slippery like most do.

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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
Trans: Turbo 350 w/ 4000 stall -- Rearend 7.5 w/ Richmond 4.10's, Auburn Minispool
Best ET:11.60 @ 114.56, w/ a 7.34 1/8 @ 93.50, and a 1.622 60'


89 RS, L03 305, Hypertech Chip,cat delete, Dynomax exhaust,K&N open element Filter,160 stat, MSD coil --Trans:700R4 Corvette Servo -- Rearend: 7.5 GM 3.42 w/ posi-lock

Bassett Racing

 

Well what works for me is doing a very short burnout for like a second to a second and a half. Just enuff to give the tires some heat and clean then off, or else ill just spin off the line and go nowhere.

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89 T-Top GTA 350 5-speed (soon to be 6-speed)
(Jet hot coated)1 3/4 SLP headers,flowmaster force 2,no cat's,SLP cold air,MSD 6al,march pulleys,ported plenum,air foil,B&M ripper shifter,180 stat,alston SFC,spohn LCA relocation brackets,ES LCA and Panhard bushings,free mods.

0-60 5.2s
Track Time
60' 2.049
E.T. 14.14@96.7MPH (2270 FT)
13.76@99.4MPH corrected

 

One thing to think about...If you roll through any water, do a burnout. I made this mistake last time I went to the track and decided not to do a burnout to save my tires. I wasnt thinking about that water, and I just spun, spun, spun. Next time I did a short spin and like that traction returned.
Just a thought

 

my best time i ran was when they put down some of that track bite stuff!!

oh man my tires didnt spin at all

but i did a big burnout a couple runs b4 that and noticed how bald it made my tires and then just stopped doin them for the rest of the night......so i guess what you might get outta this is that dont do them for too long on street tires or you wont have any tread to get home with

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84TA T-tops L-69 305HO TH-700R4 stock 190hp and 240 ft-lbs.
new best E.T. (dont laugh) 15.986 @84.93mph
old best E.T 15.997@86.04
http://www.geocities.com/K_towngangsta

Mods-

K&N Air filter

 

All you need to do is a very very very small burnout. In fact I dont think i would even call it that. Its more like just spining them enough to get all the crap off of them for optimal traction.

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j.wolfe
_ ____ _
91 GTA L98 MSD K&N 194,000
Best time: 14.389@95.49 (VMP) Done with 193,000 miles and no engine work what so ever.
"...Deception..." Brandon Sloan * ...wounds heal and chics dig scars...

 

I think the street tires that you guys keep referring to that don't get sticky when heated up are not the ones found on your average performance application. If the tires are V or Z rated then they are likely made of a fairly soft compound and most assuredly get stickier when they are heated up. My VRs definately give better traction after I do a burnout or two compared to if I just give em hell. I have done plenty of back to back runs with the same conditions and gotten significantly better traction after doing a burnout - al-beit a short one.

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1987 GTA L98 MD8
355, TFS Heads, LT4 Hot Cam
My GTA

The Minnesota F-body Club

 

V and Z rated tires are built for high speeds and designed to not heat up. You don't want tires to get hot at 120+ mph. Heating them up in the water box may heat them up a bit but they won't get any more sticky than with a short drop hop.

 

I know my dunlops like me to drive around the water box and do alittle burn out. The reason i say this is because i get a 2.064 60'time on street tires and if you guys dont think your tires get sticky when you warm them up look at how much crap they pick up after you are done doin a brake stand. Thats my 2 cents.

 

Hey,

I tried BF-goodrich touring t/a, S rated.

No matter how much I burn 'em, I get no traction out of the gate.

I tried firestone firehawk ftx.. S rated.
At 14lbs, if I heat 'em up rilly good, I get
good traction.

I don't drive through the water. To me that sounds silly with tires that have a tread, itwill take the whole 1/4 for them to run off.

(5 spd car btw)

-- Joe