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Drag tips

11K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  eRaced Cat 
#1 ·
Before I go and embarrass myself at the drag strip I'd like some pointers. Like what color heels go good with...oh wait, wrong drag....:eek:

Some actual questions I have. Is suspension ALWAYS in street? I don't believe I've ever seen anyone say they put it in track mode for any type of racing (maybe road coarse).

Traction control....what's best for the drag strip? Full off (ie hold the button for 10 seconds thing) or would it be wise for the inexperienced to leave some sort of traction control on to keep from breaking loose and slamming into the wall like I see so many videos of.

Water box....just someone tell me what to do with that thing. From what I gathered it's to help you spin the tires to warm them up but do we really need that? Can't you just spin them by pressing the pedal on your right at anytime you want without water on the road?

Tire pressure, I'm gathering that you want to lower your tire pressure at the track. Do most tracks have air so you can fill them back up before you leave (I assume that's the case but I've never been)

Bottom line, someone should do a wiki on drag racing the hellcat in an A8 and one in a M6
 
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#2 ·
Z there is a lot of information on the forum if you search, but in a nut shell trans in track mode and everything else off or in street mode. As for the burn out you need to tell us what your using for tires and if brand new.
TC
 
#4 ·
yea I've been reading and picking up little bits here and there, I guess this post was to get someone in the know to put together a consolidated post rather than picking up hints in various posts.

But to continue the discussion, why do we even have a track suspension? When would someone use that? (other than when I do...which is when a large breasted lady is sitting next to me in a tight shirt but the distraction is VERY dangerous...talk about texting/driving, this is 1000 times worse)
 
#5 ·
The track modes seem to be for road racing, I'm not really sure why Dodge engineers did this but it sure looks like they never drag raced to understand what was needed, it's a good thing the street mode works, the one area I want to explore is the launch feature, no one seems to use it but is that because we all use the information posted here and if it works why try something new?
TC
 
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#7 ·
In a nutshell:

Track mode is there for road course use. It's set up to aid driver control, particularly on corner exit.

Launch control is there for launching on the street, not on a prepared surface at the drags. It's there to help you get the best launch out of sub-optimal surface conditions. At the strip, you'll outperform the launch control by doing things the old-fashioned way: matching your throttle application to the current conditions.


Rich
 
#8 ·
Traction control....what's best for the drag strip? Full off (ie hold the button for 10 seconds thing) or would it be wise for the inexperienced to leave some sort of traction control on to keep from breaking loose and slamming into the wall like I see so many videos of.

Water box....just someone tell me what to do with that thing. From what I gathered it's to help you spin the tires to warm them up but do we really need that? Can't you just spin them by pressing the pedal on your right at anytime you want without water on the road?

Tire pressure, I'm gathering that you want to lower your tire pressure at the track. Do most tracks have air so you can fill them back up before you leave (I assume that's the case but I've never been)

Bottom line, someone should do a wiki on drag racing the hellcat in an A8 and one in a M6
Traction control off before you go to the water box then powerbrake burnout to heat up the tires but tell us what tires your running stock / DR ??

You have a air pump in the trunk of you HC you can use that to air back up before the ride home.
 
#9 ·
Personally I would never take a street tire thru the water box, the treads carry the water on too the track a spoil any hopes of a decent time. Street tires should drive around water, back up short of touching it and scrub tires if you wish..... But don't drive thru it. Some tracks won't even allow street tires thru the water!
Not safe IMHO
Don't expect the same times as guys who have hundreds or thousands of passes at the track.
The MOST IMPORTANT THING WHEN STARTING TO LEARN IS......

HAVE FUN!!!!! And learn from you runs and time slips. Experience cannot be taught, must be learned....

No matter what someone will always be faster ;)
 
#10 · (Edited)
since i just did my first time at the track a few weeks ago and made 4 passes ill give you my beginner advice..

you didnt mention if you have A8 or M6?

1st run it was recommended to me not to do the water box....just run the car as is to get used to the track
i used track trans, street tc and sport suspension....i have DR's

there are 2 lights on the tree to pay attention to...no one told me this even though i told the guys running the races it was my first time.....move forward until the 1st light and then move slightly until the 2nd light appears...now your ready and lined up...

i recommend practicing 0-60's on the street....this will give you good practice at launching.......you will be so nervous that you will do worse at the track than at home.....i would get 0-60 3.6 at home, best at the track was a 3.8, funny thing is that run was my 2nd fastest of the night....and the highest MPH....my best run was the first run where i did no burnout

if you try the water box dont do like me!....i backed into the waterbox and forgot to put it in D....i did a Reverse burnout for a 1/2 second and instantly realized what i did.......i was told doing a burnout w/o the water box could make your car slide around too much....the crowd is a couple of feet away...you could touch the crowd as you drive around the waterbox......put the TC in track mode for the burnout and then put it back to street if you want TC on

i dont know if there is a purpose to the waterbox on street tires....a small burnout did not seem to help my nitto's, but i was later told by dr.buick that i needed to do a long burnout with nitto's to get them to work properly......

i left my TC on for all my races....im a beginner, so i wanted to play it safe as possible

if you have a manual you will need much more advice.....some of the guys new to drag racing struggled with traction with m6 cars

tire pressure i used was 18lbs

after my 1st run i was shaky for about 30 minutes......by my 4th run i was feeling much better....doing 0-122 at the track feels much faster than doing 0-100 on a freeway on ramp....dont know why, but it does
 
#11 ·
thanks guys, personally I'm in an A8 with stock summer tires (but I'll probably be getting new tires fairly soon as I may or may not have been enjoying the car too much and showing it off for friends.....)

And Billet Hellcat.....I totally forgot about that air pump in the back.

Ok, another question, do you drop all 4 tires to the same lower pressure or just the backs?
 
#12 ·
Just the back tires Z, if you have never raced before take a few mins and watch some other cars on the procedures they use to do a burnout thru staging, it's like riding a bike, first few rides maybe shaky but each one will get better, most of all if something does not feel right get out of the run and try again. I said this because things happen we done always see, example Linda had a run Saturday that on launch the car spun , something it never does and half way down the track I saw her get out of the run, next car did the same, as I was walking back to the pits I could see the crew looking at the track and shut it down to clean it up as the car before Linda dropped some oil and was not noticed until two cars had issues.
Lastly have fun, everyone starts at the same place and good drivers are good because the go often and practice.
TC
 
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#13 ·
On street tires-make sure to start in second gear, and then slide the shifter into D for 3rd on up. Pro Tip seems you can get more if you hand the shift out manually for the next 100-200 rpms but hitting the rev limiter is embarasing and slows you down. Classic risk vs benefit
(personally think this things needs a fuel cutoff and shift time higher above its power peak than it is currently).
 
#14 ·
Most tracks will chew you out if you take street tires through a water box. Always drive around it. The purpose of the water box is to wet a drag radial or a slick so that they easily break traction relieving strain on the drivetrain as opposed to breaking the tires loose dry. The reason you do a burnout is to heat up the rubber. The compound in drag tires is designed to get stickier when hot. The compound in street tires is totally different and will actually lose traction ability when too hot. A big smoky burn out on street tires might look impressive to some but those who know may chuckle at what looks like an inexperienced driver who doesn't know any better. Instead, briefly break the tires loose to clean of any debris.

When staging, at the signal from the starter, you move forward until you activate the first light. This is called pre-staging. Then, you wait until your opponent does the same. This is track etiquette 101. Once your opponent has pre-staged, you move forward activating the second light. This is called staging. Once both both cars are staged, the starter will activate the tree. You want to practice leaving as close to the green light without going too soon as you will be disqualified if you're early. This is called red-lighting. A good rule of thumb is to go on the third amber light. By the time you react, you will be pretty close to leaving on the green light. It takes practice to get better and be more consistent.

As mentioned, track mode is for the twisties. To drag race, try sport mode for traction if you have Drs and/or you're on a prepped track. If not try track mode as you get some forward traction control but not as much as street mode. Try street mode for suspension. It will help transfer more weight to the rear of the car when you launch and help the tires hook up better. For you with A8s, use sport mode for shifting. It may be a little different for each driver and car but this is a good place to start. My friend ran a 10.9 on DRs using these settings.

Have fun!!! That's what it's all about.
 
#16 ·
If I could add. (I know it's an old thread)

For whatever reason, if you start blowing your tires away, just a big ass rolling burnout, let off the throttle. The track surface is slick if you are sliding. Your run is over. Just drive on out. Do not try to feather the throttle, do not try to ride it out. This will put you into the wall, or possibly your competitor.

Make sure your a/c is off. You don't want any water dripping on the track.

You are not there to show off to anybody, or to even race the guy next to you. Focus on what you are doing, and always try to perfect yourself.
The crowd, the announcer, and the car with the open headers next to you are all distractions.
(We can talk about sandbagging later )
 
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