I feel like a real idiot writing this but I need help. Tonight I went out with the G-Tech Meter just to see what I could do. I was on a flat straight road, I was launching at around 1300RPM and letting the tranny shift when it wanted. I just left it floored the whole way. I had it in drive. I had a little tire spin but not bad. The best times I could manage were a 8.56 0-60 and a 16.34 quarter at 84.66 MPH. I know this car is capable of way better times. I need tips on how to race is the bottom line. What RPM should I launch at, when should I let it shift etc. etc. etc. Also what times should I be able to run with this car. Look in my sig to see everything.

 

Just takes practice thats all. Just pay attention when your engine seems to make peak HP and shift around there. Also, if traction is a problem, baby it off the line a bit. Good luck

 

keep a detailed log book and note all changes you make

 

Keep in mind that the G-Tech is kinda wacko sometimes. I mean come on, it says my car runs a 14.4 at 98mph?......

 

Having a stock car sucks doesn't it? Shift it at 5 grand the launch doesn't sound bad at all, just not enough power. Those things will generally put you within a couple of tenths normally on the fast side unless you're driving up hill.

 

My Experience with a G Tech.

First off, spinning at all really hurts your times.
Second, my first run ever was a low 16 on a GTech. If your windows were down I found I could knock of 1/2 sec by having them up. Have you done a tune up lately?

Like Nic said keep a log book.

Also, maybe try launching at idle, may sound weird, but with the steep first gear in the 700R and the fact stock TPIs don't breathe well past 4500 rpms, I would manually shift around then. Just be careful you don't want to slide into N.

 

been there done that.. I was racing a 305 IROC when i first got my car and I had him by a good 10 lengths and i accidentally shifted nuetral but let off the gas when I did..phew..that one was close. But ya definitly keep a log book of the changes you make. That's what I do whenever I'm trying to get the most out of my cars. But the thing that will help the most is practice. Once you know your car then you'll know how to make it go fast. So keep practicing.

 

U said U got a little wheel spin of the line.I have heard about a little trick and have used it many times.

What I do is go a little bit past where U want to start.Say 10 ft or so.Back up where U want to start at and While still holding the brake on shift the car into whatever gear U are launching in.U have to keep the the brake on or the sidegears in the rearend will lose their load and become free again.

It works pretty good to do 2 track burnouts to.



Also in my sonoma if I just put it in drive it shifts first pretty good takes it up to 4500.But seconds shifts out at about 3 grand and then once U are in drive it slows down until it can get the revs back up.So if I manual shift from seconds at about 4 grand it helps out alot.


Hope I helped a little bit.And yes practice helps alot.My buddy has an escort station wagon.When he first got it he couldn't beat a geo metro.But he since has learned and now holds up pretty well against most cars.

 

Ok, I am convinced that the G-Tech meter is a piece of crap. I decided to test out the HP on my car with it. According to the meter I have a max HP of 107. That is ridiculous to the point of being offensive.

 

I second Mark, try launching off idle. Mine gets moving noticably quicker when I do instead of stall out the convertor and launch. Why this is I have no idea. I'm going to the track tonight, I'm gonna mess with my launch a bit, I'll come back with some '60s and what I did. Don't get your expectations too high though guys its a TBI 305.

 

one thing about the G-techs...you have to input the car's weight right? Make absolutely sure you have the weight right...don't go by what people say you should have, don't go by the Gross Vehicle Weight sticker that might still be on your doorjamb....take it to a truck station, or something along those lines, and get it weighed....only cost a few bucks, and is well worth it if your after accuracy. Oh yeah, as Nic said, and as ANY serious drag racer will tell you, KEEP A LOG BOOK! Record anything and everything....time of day, burnout time, humidity (local weather station should be able to provide, if you must, by one of those little weather station things out of jegs.) launch RPM, shift RPM for EACH gear, ANY changes you make to the car, ect, ect. You've just got to play around with it....I would also suggest going to a test and tune night at a local track....you'll get better quicker in the controlled enviroment of the track, plus, as a added bonus, you won't kill anyone if you screw up. Except maybe yourself, but hey, every sport has it's inherent dangers....

 

Oh yeah another thing. Experimenting at the track is great. After every run, I just take a pen and make notes about that run on the back of each timeslip I get. Then when I get home I analyze the hell out of it because thats just the kind of thing I do.

I've been getting the best results launching off idle and leting it shift itself from 1-2 but hold it in 2nd a little longer than it will go on its own, and hit 3rd just before 4500 rpms.