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In Drag racing, Does the 60 FT timer start when your car moves or when the green light comes on the tree ?
drag racing question
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Reaction time has nothing to do with your ET or MPH. The light can turn green and you can sit there for 5 minutes and it will not affect your 60ft, ET, MPH, or anything else.
The 60ft timer starts as soon as your car breaks the beams and takes off. If you just sit there, it won't start.
If you're not competitively racing then reaction time really doesn't matter. If you're just doing a test n tune just focus on your launch technique and getting that right and don't worry too much about reaction time.
I usually use the rule of leave when you see the third yellow light up. By the time you react and hit the gas and the car starts to move, the light will be green, so you'll be ahead of the game even without putting much thought into it.
The 60ft timer starts as soon as your car breaks the beams and takes off. If you just sit there, it won't start.
If you're not competitively racing then reaction time really doesn't matter. If you're just doing a test n tune just focus on your launch technique and getting that right and don't worry too much about reaction time.
I usually use the rule of leave when you see the third yellow light up. By the time you react and hit the gas and the car starts to move, the light will be green, so you'll be ahead of the game even without putting much thought into it.
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This^^^^^^^^
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Thanks cdahl383 . So basically all the times on the sheet 60' , 330 , 1/8 , 1000, 1/4 start when our car moves ?
THe RT is triggered once the green light turns on ?
THe RT is triggered once the green light turns on ?
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Correct. R/T starts once the green light comes on. The rest of the data on your timeslip is derived from your car moving down the track.
Leaving on the third yellow will get you a decent reaction time and you can fine tune it from there with practice.
Getting a great 60ft time is the key to a great ET. The faster you get out of the hole the better your ET will be. I've seen super high hp cars running low 13's and high 12's going 115-120 mph and then cars like my old Nova with way less hp running low/mid 12's going 105-110 mph. My point being, some cars making less power are killing the higher hp cars simply because they can put their power to the ground and the other guys are just spinning.
In general...
ET = traction/launch/shifting
MPH = power
When you get your launch right, you shift right, you have traction, and your engine is making great power and running right, you get a great ET and MPH which is what you want.
Leaving on the third yellow will get you a decent reaction time and you can fine tune it from there with practice.
Getting a great 60ft time is the key to a great ET. The faster you get out of the hole the better your ET will be. I've seen super high hp cars running low 13's and high 12's going 115-120 mph and then cars like my old Nova with way less hp running low/mid 12's going 105-110 mph. My point being, some cars making less power are killing the higher hp cars simply because they can put their power to the ground and the other guys are just spinning.
In general...
ET = traction/launch/shifting
MPH = power
When you get your launch right, you shift right, you have traction, and your engine is making great power and running right, you get a great ET and MPH which is what you want.
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Yep that is how my black car killed cars with more HP, my 4.56 gears and slicks made for a great 60' time and a great et for the HP I made.
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On an auto car one of the best upgrades you can do is to get a custom torque converter made with a higher stall speed. My Nova had a 2000RPM stall and I had a custom one made that's a 3800RPM stall and it's a totally different car now. Drives like stock around town but when you hit the gas it revs up and you're gone. Of course with a supercharger that might make things even worse. But if you can get it to hook up good, it'll be a rocket off the line! I dropped about .3 tenths from just the converter change and some cars will drop even more than that depending on the setup.
I'm not too keen on what converters are best for these cars, but I think some guys use Edge, ATI, ProTorque, etc. Something to consider since yours is an automatic.
I'm not too keen on what converters are best for these cars, but I think some guys use Edge, ATI, ProTorque, etc. Something to consider since yours is an automatic.
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thanks for the info brother on this post and previous one with torque converter. I was actually thinking of getting 3200 from FTI but i really need to understand my car, i really need practice getting more power on the ground instead of spinning.
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When you are ready for a trans and converter, I will get you hooked up with Bill from paramount. Great guy with a great product.
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Have you gone to the track yet? Made any passes yet? I'm guessing with your current tires you aren't hooking up any good. If you heat them up with a good long burnout they might hook a little better. My drag radials spin off the line when cold or on the street, but with a prepped track surface and after a nice burnout to get them hot they hook and go off the line.
Before you spend more money on a trans/converter I would get yourself a set of 17" rims and some real slicks. Mount those on the back and see how you do at the track. Once you get the hang of that and get your ET's down and consistent then it'd be neat to upgrade the trans/converter and see how much more ET you can drop from there.
I know autos are easier on the driveline than sticks are but you might want to look into getting stronger half shafts too if you're going to get the car to hook and go with a higher stall speed converter.
Without hooking up and having some solid baseline ET/MPH data to work with upgrading the trans and converter will be fun, but it won't necessarily translate into a faster car if you can't put any of that power to the ground.
I raced a few guys years ago on the street that had wicked cars with blower and all they did was spin when the light turned green. I took off and left them in the dust and I probably had 200hp less than they did.
I think the popular combo on here is Cobra replica wheels or the Weld RTS rims on 17" diameter with M&H slicks. Some of the other more experienced guys can probably help you there. I race my Nova more than my Challenger, just took the Challenger a few times to get some numbers and see how it went.
But that's where I would start, get some dedicated rims and slicks for the track, make some passes, get some seat time with the car, practice launching, get your 60ft time down, and once you get consistent with that, look into getting a new converter like you mentioned (FTI 3200, etc). Get the power you have currently to the ground, then work from there.
Before you spend more money on a trans/converter I would get yourself a set of 17" rims and some real slicks. Mount those on the back and see how you do at the track. Once you get the hang of that and get your ET's down and consistent then it'd be neat to upgrade the trans/converter and see how much more ET you can drop from there.
I know autos are easier on the driveline than sticks are but you might want to look into getting stronger half shafts too if you're going to get the car to hook and go with a higher stall speed converter.
Without hooking up and having some solid baseline ET/MPH data to work with upgrading the trans and converter will be fun, but it won't necessarily translate into a faster car if you can't put any of that power to the ground.
I raced a few guys years ago on the street that had wicked cars with blower and all they did was spin when the light turned green. I took off and left them in the dust and I probably had 200hp less than they did.
I think the popular combo on here is Cobra replica wheels or the Weld RTS rims on 17" diameter with M&H slicks. Some of the other more experienced guys can probably help you there. I race my Nova more than my Challenger, just took the Challenger a few times to get some numbers and see how it went.
But that's where I would start, get some dedicated rims and slicks for the track, make some passes, get some seat time with the car, practice launching, get your 60ft time down, and once you get consistent with that, look into getting a new converter like you mentioned (FTI 3200, etc). Get the power you have currently to the ground, then work from there.
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If he plans on the track The rear conversion preferably a Paramount 8.8 and Drag Radials or slicks are the first things he should do As Phil said in a different thread. Its senseless to go with a converter and put all that power on one wheel if the rear is open ended.
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Even if he does they are junk, they will not hold up to power
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I would say around 500 WHP for an auto and maybe that might be too lofty and probably lower with a
6 speed, the Getrags are notorious for breaking under heavy load, if you plan on throwing major power like im hearing on a few of these threads an 8.8 Paramount is definitely the way to go, no question about that at all.
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Sticks are definitely harder on driveline parts than autos. I know with older Chevy's guys would upgrade their stock GM 10 bolt rear ends to 12 bolts, and if that wasn't good enough they'd swap in a Ford 9" rear end. I just upgraded the axles on my stock 10 bolt rear end and so far it's holding up just fine, but I'm only putting 360-370hp to the wheels vs you guys putting 500hp to the wheels and having the extra weight to move too.
How much are those Paramount 8.8 rear ends, like the complete upgrade/swap? You mentioned above something like $3K?
How much are those Paramount 8.8 rear ends, like the complete upgrade/swap? You mentioned above something like $3K?
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From article listed in the link below:
Axles break (anytime the car hooks up): Unitrax and the Driveshaft Shop offer stronger half-shafts that might crutch things through 500 hp . . . then the gears break.
’09 And Up Getrag 226mm
The ’09 and up 5.7L six-speed cars, all ’09 to ’10 6.1L, and the ’11 6.4L have a beefier 226mm Getrag rear with a limited-slip, clutch-style diff. The stock axles aren’t too bad, but stronger aftermarket half-shafts are available from Unitrax and The Driveshaft Shop. Unfortunately, no aftermarket gears are offered.
Limited-slip diff clutch failure (650-750 hp): The limited-slip clutches are weak for competition applications, and no one offers a better diff.
Good info on how much power various components of our cars can take can be found here http://www.challengerforumz.com/showthread.php?t=83965’09 And Up Getrag 226mm
The ’09 and up 5.7L six-speed cars, all ’09 to ’10 6.1L, and the ’11 6.4L have a beefier 226mm Getrag rear with a limited-slip, clutch-style diff. The stock axles aren’t too bad, but stronger aftermarket half-shafts are available from Unitrax and The Driveshaft Shop. Unfortunately, no aftermarket gears are offered.
Limited-slip diff clutch failure (650-750 hp): The limited-slip clutches are weak for competition applications, and no one offers a better diff.
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There is no doubt that putting Drag Radials or slicks on increases your chances of breaking something. It seems that the serious 1/4 mile racers go with the Paramount because of their ability to withstand a real pounding that comes with all that high rpm launching and extra HP. I think Williamsrt would be able to answer your question about the cost but im sure it's not cheap. The price on the Getrag conversions has gone up more than 50% since i bought mine, it looks like Mopar raised the price on them when they found out that there were a lot of people getting rid of these open ended rears to do this swap.
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More like $5,000 plus, pricey but high quality. Personally I think I'd just get a slightly used 226mm getrag and update the clutches unless you were going to make a ton of power.
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That's what makes me think twice about going further with HP modding, it gets really expensive.
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