Finally went to an 1/8 mile drag race track today. Temps were 62 degrees in the afternoon, full sun, and light wind. Conditions were perfect. The track was well preped and re-preped several times. A number of classes of cars were present and running, including Pro-Mods and a few rail dragsters. Fastest guy I saw made it down the track in 4.00 seconds at over 180 mph. Did not spend much time watching the various classes of cars. They even had 3 classes of junior rail shaped race cars. I fit in-between several of the classes with a Test and Tune run. Was by myself. No video. Did not even do a data log of my runs as the laptop was left at home. Just wanted a couple of passes without any issues on my part or with the car.
My first pass turned out to be the best. The car was set with the street tune (about 400whp). My reaction time at .591 was pretty slow. 60 foot time was 2.047 seconds, also kinda slow. 330 foot time was 5.296 seconds. 1/8th mile time was 7.982 seconds ET, and 89.02 mph. I did feel some minor tire slippage, but the car ran straight and I kept on the gas, hopefully at full throttle.
Waited about 45 minutes and got to make a second run. Heated the tires some, but did not do a long enough burnout. My line block was working well to lock the front tires, but with no braking on the rear tires. Staged, got setup on the tree, saw the green light and hit the gas on my 500whp tune. Launched hard and straight, shifted into second and the wheels started spinning on 10.5 inch rims with air pressure set on the Nitto DRs at 20 psi. The rear of the car kinda started drifting to the left slightly while the rear tires were spinning. Had to let up on the gas for a moment, then back on the gas again. Finished the pass with .621 seconds reaction, 2.057 seconds for 60 foot, 5.40 seconds for 330 foot, 8.286 seconds for the 1/8 mile ET, and 83.9 MPH.
Headed back to the pits and thought things over and what to do about the tires slipping. Lowered the rear tire pressure to 16 psi to get more rubber on the ground. Was about ready to get back in line and run the 600+ whp tune when one of the Pro-Mod guys hit the wall real hard at the end of his pass. The track was going to be shut down for an hour or so to clean up the mess, tow the car, pick up parts, and clean the track of fluids. The car also caught on fire, but the driver escaped sorta unharmed per the announcer. Was not willing to wait at least an hour plus for another pass and headed for the house before sundown. Hope to get a chance to return to the track soon. It's only 30 miles away and has only been open about 2+ years. The track and setup was real nice, clean, smooth, and a long runout with 2 turnouts.
Think lowering the tire pressure ahead of time before the first pass will help. And, the fuel tank was almost full for extra weight in the rear. Plus, will make sure to do a longer burn-out for each pass.